When Lyme disease has been diagnosed because you have the “bull’s eye” rash from a tick bite or a positive blood test, your medical team will usually prescribe an antibiotic regimen. Depending upon your history of allergies, two of the most common treatments are amoxicillin (500 mg three times a day for 14 to 21 days) or doxycycline (100 mg twice a day for 14 to 21 days).
Intravenous antibiotic treatments are not often needed, but they are needed when the Lyme infections are more serious. These would include infections around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis) or heart (carditis).
I would like to leave you with two interesting facts about Lyme disease. If for some reason you get the infection and do not obtain treatment with an antibiotic, you have about a 10-15% risk of developing Lyme arthritis, and this needs to be treated with a different antibiotic plan.
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Even after treating Lyme disease and having no blood tests pointing to an active disease, about 10-20% of people will not feel well for months, having complaints of being exhausted and joint pain. Antibiotics do not seem to be the answer for this frustrating condition. The passage of time is the ultimate treatment.
Enjoy the rest of your summer and always check your clothes and body for ticks after working or playing outdoors in a grassy area. Then take a shower, which removes the ticks off your body and prevents those troublesome bites!
