{"id":31168,"date":"2021-05-18T09:30:06","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T13:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=31168"},"modified":"2021-05-24T14:43:50","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T18:43:50","slug":"lyme-disease-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/lyme-disease-symptoms\/","title":{"rendered":"Lyme disease symptoms\u2014and how to protect yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"

As summer gears up, so do the bugs. Before heading outdoors, plan how you can ward off those pesky insects\u2014especially ticks. There are a variety of tick-borne diseases, but Lyme disease is the most common. More than<\/span> 30,000 cases<\/span><\/a> of Lyme disease are reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) each year, although experts suggest the numbers of actual cases are actually much larger.<\/span><\/p>\n

In North America, when a particular kind of tick infected with a certain type of<\/span> bacteria burrows into your body and bites, it may cause a bull\u2019s-eye-shaped rash and flu-like symptoms\u2014two hallmark Lyme disease symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, it\u2019s spread by blacklegged ticks, or deer ticks, carrying <\/span>Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi) <\/span><\/i>bacteria. On the West Coast, the western blacklegged tick is the vector for this infection. But in the Upper Midwest, the blacklegged tick may be spreading either the <\/span>Borrelia mayonii<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>B. mayonii) <\/span><\/i>bacteria or the <\/span>B. burgdorferi<\/span><\/i> bacteria.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both kinds of bacteria can lead to Lyme, so wherever you live, be prepared as the weather warms up and you start spending more time outside.<\/span><\/p>\n

Early signs of Lyme disease<\/span><\/h2>\n

The ticks that spread Lyme disease are so small that a tick bite might go unnoticed\u2026until you start developing the early Lyme disease symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s usually the nymphs, or immature versions of these ticks, that are most likely to bite and spread the disease, according to the CDC\u2014and they\u2019re tiny. Blacklegged nymphs are less than 2 millimeters in size, about the size of a poppy seed. So, they\u2019re extremely hard to see, especially since they tend to home in on areas like the groin, underarm, and scalp.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since they\u2019re easy to miss, even if you\u2019re carefully scanning your body for ticks, be vigilant for the early symptoms of Lyme disease. The symptoms typically will begin somewhere between three and 30 days after an infected tick bites you.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>symptoms of Lyme disease<\/span><\/a> may include:<\/span><\/p>\n