Lyme disease may cause Bell palsy , paralysis of the facial nerve. You may have difficulty closing one side of your mouth and one eye. If you experience this, seek immediate medical attention at the hospital. Inflammation of your brain can lead to confusion or coma, both of which require immediate hospital care. The doctor will ask whether you know if a tick has bitten you and about outdoor exposure in an area with a high tick population.
Physical findings are important, especially the presence of the characteristic rash.
If there is doubt whether a rash is Lyme disease, the doctor might measure its size and then remeasure 1-2 days later. Lyme infection usually exhibits an increase in size of the rash. Physical findings help to distinguish Lyme disease from other infectious ailments. Doctors may perform blood tests to examine for antibodies of the bacteria. Antibodies can be absent early in the course of a Lyme infection, so a negative test result may be misleading.