Lyme Science Blog

Can Lyme Disease Be Misdiagnosed as Long COVID? Lyme disease and Long COVID can look nearly identical. Fatigue, brain fog, and POTS overlap. But the timeline often reveals the difference. Yes—Lyme disease can be misdiagnosed as Long COVID because both conditions share symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, dizziness, and exercise intolerance. The key difference […]

What to Do After a Tick Bite: Wait or Treat? If you’ve been bitten by a tick, one of the first questions that comes up is: What should I do now? Deciding whether to wait or start treatment early is one of the most important decisions after a tick bite. There are different tick bite

Tick Bite Ethical Concerns Go Beyond a Single Dose of Doxycycline This article reflects broader ethical issues in medical diagnosis when certainty is lacking—especially in early tick-borne illness. A SINGLE DOSE? WHEN REASSURANCE GOES TOO FAR Tick bite ethical concerns begin when patients are reassured before the full risks of Lyme disease and co-infections are

Autonomic Dysfunction in Lyme Disease: Why Symptoms Fluctuate Not all Lyme disease patients present with joint pain or a rash. Some arrive with symptoms that do not fit cleanly into any box — heart rate changes, dizziness, temperature swings, or gut problems. In many of these patients, the underlying contributor is autonomic dysfunction triggered by

Traveling With Lyme Disease: Tips for Summer Traveling with Lyme disease requires pacing and preparation. Heat, dehydration, sleep disruption, and food sensitivities may worsen symptoms. Realistic planning may reduce flares during summer travel. As a Lyme disease expert, I often hear the same concern: “Is traveling with Lyme disease even possible?” The answer depends on

Single Dose Doxycycline After a Tick Bite: What Patients Aren’t Being Told One woman followed medical advice after a tick bite — took the single dose — and still got Lyme disease. The limits of single-dose prophylaxis are rarely explained to patients. Informed consent and clinical follow-up matter more than a one-size-fits-all protocol. That’s what

Lyme Disease and EDS: Can Infection Make Symptoms Worse? Lyme disease may worsen autonomic and neurologic symptoms in EDS. Fatigue, POTS, pain, and brain fog often overlap. A sudden decline deserves careful evaluation. That’s a question I’ve heard more often in recent years—from patients, parents, and even colleagues. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is already a complex

Lyme Disease Fatigue: Why It Causes Crushing Exhaustion Quick Answer: Lyme disease fatigue is driven by immune activation, neuroinflammation, autonomic dysfunction, sleep disruption, and co-infections such as Babesia. It often includes post-exertional malaise, where even minor activity leads to significant energy crashes. Lyme disease fatigue is one of the most common and disabling symptoms of

Do I have Lyme disease? Do I have Lyme disease? It’s a question many people ask after experiencing fatigue, pain, or brain fog without a clear explanation. You may not remember a tick bite—or even see a rash. Testing may come back negative. Yet Lyme disease can still be the cause. That’s why early signs,

Lyme Brain Fog vs Dementia: Is It Alzheimer’s or Lyme Disease? I’ve spent much of my career studying cognitive decline. Before I specialized in Lyme disease, I taught medical students about dementia and directed programs evaluating memory loss in older adults. So when I say that Lyme brain fog and dementia can be confused, I