Late Disseminated
This stage occurs several months after the tick bite. The common symptoms of this stage are arthritis, brain disorders, short-term memory loss, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, and numbness in the arms and legs. Blood tests are often required at this stage to determine the condition, which includes Elisa Test, Western Blot, or Polymerase Chain Reaction.
Extensive research has shown that Lyme disease is not a transmittable disease. There is no evidence that it can be spread to another person through sneezing, coughing, or kissing. Also, neither do Lyme disease get transmitted sexually, nor can it be transmitted through a blood transfusion.
This condition can be treated with medication. Common drugs for Lyme disease in children and adults are doxycycline, amoxicillin, and cefuroxime. Usually, these antibiotics take up to two weeks (fourteen days) to eliminate the bacteria causing the disease.
If symptoms are severe, intravenous antibiotics can be administered for a period, before switching to oral medication.
In some cases, patients can experience post-Lyme disease syndrome, in which their mobility and cognitive skills are affected. This condition calls for an extended treatment period which includes pain-relief medications.
Post-Lyme disease syndrome includes swelling in the joints, short-term memory loss, and speech difficulty. It may take up to several months or a few years before the patient recovers.
Here are eight common symptoms of Lyme disease. [3]