Note that most patients will have an inflammatory reaction at the site of the tick bite cause by tick saliva. Other acute symptoms include flu-like symptoms, such as fever, malaise, fatigue, headache, mild neck stiffness, enlarged lymph nodes, muscle and joint aches. These symptoms usually develop within one month after the tick bite, and often at the time when EM is present. Late manifestations include arthritis, neurological and cardiac symptoms. Virtually any neurological symptom can be caused by LD, including neuritis, meningitis, encephalitis, and facial palsy.
Heart block can occur, as well as inflammation of the heart muscle.
There are a variety of serological tests that can be performed to see if you have been exposed to Borrelia burgdorferi. However, there is no single gold standard test that can give you early, reliable evidence of a recent infection with the Lyme spirochete. These tests should be considered as an aid to clinical diagnosis, and if the clinical symptoms strongly suggest Lyme disease, then a positive test will be confirmatory. For most people, however, a serological test will not be necessary. Antibiotic Treatment Early Lyme disease should be treated with oral antibiotics.