I can’t trust single-dose doxycycline to prevent Lyme disease. A perspective: A single 200 mg dose of doxycycline administered orally was reported to have been successfully used to prevent the development of erythema migrans at the bite site of Ixodes scapularis ticks,” writes Wormser in an article entitled “Doxycycline for Prevention of Spirochetal Infections-Status Report.” […]

Understanding how ticks move is important in developing ways to minimize our risk of tick bites and infection. As the authors point out, “less is known about the distances adult ticks are willing and able to travel in the short term and when a host is in close proximity.” The study looked at how adult […]

The retrospective review included 93 children with idiopathic Bell’s palsy to the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust from 2010 to 2017. Idiopathic facial nerve palsy, formerly called Bell’s palsy, is seen in early Lyme disease. Very few children in the study with Bell’s palsy reported a tick bite or rash. In fact, only 14% […]

The clinic’s program to over Lyme disease treatment and its effectiveness are described in a recent article by Portman, “Implementing a pharmacist-run Lyme disease postexposure prophylaxis clinic augmented by academic detailing within the Veterans Health Administration.”¹ In April 2018, VA Butler Healthcare in Pennsylvania opened a pharmacist-run Lyme disease PEP clinic, known as PharmLD clinic. […]

The Canadian authors point out that in their country alone the number of Lyme disease cases has increased 14-fold over an 8 year period (2009-2017). They reviewed studies published between 1994 and 2019 to assess the extent of long-term sequelae due to Lyme disease. Based on eligibility criteria, 21 studies were included in the analysis, […]

“Many physicians will mistakenly defer to the CDC’s Lyme disease case definition in making a diagnosis. These clinicians require that patients meet this strict and narrow criteria in order to be diagnosed with the disease.” [2] “However, this definition was designed as a surveillance monitoring tool to track the number of Lyme disease cases throughout […]

It can be difficult to find a Lyme doctor who treats patients who do not live in an endemic area or have a history of a tick bite. It can also be difficult to find a doctor when a person presents with non-specific manifestations of Lyme disease, which may include: Neuropsychiatric Lyme disease [1] Pediatric […]

Shor and colleagues identified a broad range of symptoms, signs, and conditions present in acute and chronic Lyme disease patients regardless of whether or not they received treatment.All of the cases referenced by the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) working group had been diagnosed with Lyme disease based upon direct laboratory evidence of […]

The number of tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, has been steadily rising in the South as tick populations expand into new territories. One study reports, “The trends in these data paint a clear picture of southward expansion of Lyme disease.” As a result, communities once considered non-endemic for Lyme disease will be at risk, including […]

Long term lyme disease symptoms are all to common. According to one study, at their six-month follow-up visit, “36% of patients reported new-onset fatigue, 20% widespread pain, and 45% neurocognitive difficulties.” [3] So, how could Lyme disease symptoms persist long term? There have been many theories, including recent findings that suggest persistent symptoms may be […]

The woman, a mother to three boys, initially assumed a lump in her breast was due to Lyme disease. “Before I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I thought a lump I had found was part of my Lyme disease. I thought, ‘Okay, let me just watch this and see if it goes away over the […]

Researchers surveyed 137 participants from 11 professional and recreational organizations across New Brunswick between December 2018 and February 2019 to better understand Lyme disease in canada. Thirty-six percent of the participants spent time outdoors for their occupation and 64% for recreational activities. Only one of the participants had been previously diagnosed with Lyme disease in […]

In the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) guidelines, Wormser and colleagues initially dismissed Lyme disease symptoms as nothing more than the aches and pains of daily living.[2] A Lyme literate doctor would disagree. That conclusion, however, has been undermined by findings from clinical trials, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which report […]

In their article “Increasing incidence and changing epidemiology of babesiosis in the Hudson Valley region of New York State: 2009-2016,” ¹ Joseph and colleagues question how cases of Babesia infections are spreading given that the animal reservoirs mice, shrews, and voles typically do not travel large distances. Cases of Babesia have been reported in two counties […]

An article entitled “Antibiotic treatment in patients that present with solely non-specific symptoms and positive serology at a Lyme centre,” published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine, ¹ describes a study which addresses the question: Are short-term antibiotics used to treat Lyme disease effective in patients whose symptoms are subjective? The study examined 97 patients […]