Lyme disease has been divided into three stages. If treated with antibiotics, it does not progress from one stage to the next. A rash the size of a dime or quarter is not Lyme disease. The rash is neither painful nor itchy. It lasts 2 weeks to 2 months.
Many children develop smaller spots of rash at several locations.
Some children develop a flulike illness including fever, chills, sore throat, and headache that lasts for several days. Often these people have had no stage-II symptoms. It usually affects the knees. The bacteria are transmitted by little deer ticks the size of a pinhead, dark brown, and hard to see. If not disturbed, a tick will remain attached to a person's skin and feed there for 3 to 6 days.