Outlook

• When treated early, most people with Lyme disease experience rapid improvement and minimal complications from the disease. Later stages of illness are avoided by effective treatment of early Lyme disease.



• People with later stages of the disease may also do well when they are diagnosed soon after their later-stage symptoms first occur.



• A small percentage of people with Lyme disease do not fully recover or recover very slowly. There may be residual facial palsy or residual knee pain. Other people develop chronic muscle and joint pains, fatigue, and concentration difficulties that seem to have arisen from the time of the original Lyme infection. While these chronic and recurring symptoms have been called chronic Lyme disease, recent studies have not shown any evidence of Borrelial infection in the blood or spinal fluid, and further antibiotic therapy does not appear to have a durable effect in relieving the condition. For the present, patients with this problem are being treated with supportive measures.

Viewer Comments & Reviews

Lyme Disease - How Was Diagnosis Established

The eMedicineHealth physician editors ask:

How was the diagnosis of your lyme disease established?

Anonymously share your comment to help others.
See 3 Viewer Comments & Reviews

Submit Your Review