Pediatric Lyme

Lyme Treatment for Kids: Why Children Are Missing From Clinical Research Lyme treatment for kids is guided largely by studies that never included children. While clinical trials shape the guidelines doctors follow, the pivotal research on Lyme disease has focused almost exclusively on adults—leaving families and clinicians to extrapolate from data that may not apply […]

Teenager Lyme Disease: When Symptoms Look Like Attitude Teenager Lyme disease refers to Lyme infection affecting adolescents, often presenting with fatigue, headaches, joint pain, and cognitive changes that may be mistaken for normal teenage behavior. Note: Patient details have been modified to protect privacy. This case represents a composite of typical presentations I have observed

Lyme Rage: When Anger and Aggression Signal Infection Lyme disease can cause sudden behavior changes in children, including irritability, aggression, anxiety, and oppositional behavior. After 37 years treating Lyme disease, I’ve treated middle and high school students whose severe oppositional behavior resolved with antibiotic treatment. These weren’t psychiatric disorders—they were neurologic symptoms of tick-borne infection

Lyme Disease Misdiagnosis in Children: One Family’s Story A young athlete went from starring on the soccer field to unable to climb stairs without his heart racing. His parents searched for answers for two years before anyone mentioned Lyme disease. With no tick bite and no rash, they didn’t recognize the early warning signs. What

When Fear Delays Pediatric Lyme Treatment: A Year Lost to Lyme Disease When this family brought their son to me, they were facing a decision many parents encounter when delaying pediatric Lyme treatment—whether fear of antibiotics might outweigh the risk of waiting. They were not opposed to treating Lyme disease. But fear stood in the

Why Pediatric Lyme Screening Can’t Wait Lyme screening is rarely part of routine medical care, even in regions where tick exposure is common. When early Lyme disease is not recognized, diagnosis and treatment are often delayed until symptoms become more complex and disruptive. In children, these delays can affect learning, behavior, and long-term health during

Lyme Disease Mistaken for Child Abuse Lyme disease mistaken for child abuse is rare but possible when symptoms are misunderstood. In young children who cannot describe their symptoms clearly, infections such as Lyme disease may occasionally resemble traumatic injury. Some medical cases stay with us long after we read them. One such case—published by Pan

Lyme Disease in Kids Is Rising: What Parents Should Know Lyme disease in kids is rising—and it’s not just a seasonal spike or a testing artifact. Pediatric cases are becoming more frequent, more complex, and often harder to diagnose. In some children, symptoms appear younger and progress faster. Others never get a classic rash. Children