Pediatric Lyme

Why Did My Child Suddenly Change? PANS, PANDAS, and Lyme Disease in Children PANS, PANDAS, and Lyme disease can trigger sudden neuropsychiatric symptoms in children. Understanding these conditions can help families seek the right evaluation and treatment. One of the most distressing things a parent can witness is a sudden, unexplained change in their child. […]

Only a Minority of Children With Lyme Disease Recall a Tick Bite Children and Lyme Disease: Why Most Never See a Tick Bite Many parents believe that Lyme disease cannot occur unless a tick bite is seen or a rash appears. However, research shows that most children diagnosed with Lyme disease never recall a tick

Growing Pains or Lyme Disease? How to Tell the Difference A nine-year-old complains of knee pain at bedtime. A twelve-year-old wakes up crying with leg aches. A teenager limps after soccer practice. When children report joint or muscle pain, “growing pains” becomes the default explanation—delaying investigation of Lyme disease. Understanding the key differences prevents months

When Doctors Say Nothing Is Wrong: Pediatric Lyme Disease and Missed Diagnoses A mother brings her daughter to multiple physicians over several months. The child has fatigue, headaches, and joint pain. Each visit ends the same way: “The tests are normal. There’s nothing wrong.” But the symptoms persist—and worsen. Situations like this raise a difficult

Is My Child’s ADHD Actually Lyme Disease? A straight-A student starts forgetting homework. A focused child suddenly can’t sit still in class. An organized teenager becomes scattered, impulsive, and unable to concentrate. When cognitive symptoms appear abruptly rather than gradually, the diagnosis may not be ADHD—it could be Lyme disease affecting the brain. The overlap

Lyme Disease Misdiagnosis: Why It Happens & What to Know Lyme disease misdiagnosis occurs more often than many clinicians realize, particularly when symptoms evolve across multiple organ systems. Patients may present with fatigue, cognitive changes, pain, or neurologic symptoms that resemble conditions such as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, or depression. As symptoms shift

Pediatric Lyme Disease: Why Children Are Frequently Misdiagnosed Pediatric Lyme disease misdiagnosis occurs because the illness rarely looks like the textbook descriptions clinicians learn in medical school. While adults often present with fatigue and joint pain, children may develop sudden behavioral changes, academic struggles, or psychiatric symptoms that are attributed to other causes. This diagnostic

Most Tick Bites Go Unnoticed A patient once told me, “I check myself carefully — I would have seen a tick.” This is a common belief. But actually, tick bites are very easy to miss. The ticks that most frequently spread Lyme disease aren’t large or obvious — they’re nymphs, smaller than a poppy seed