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Children with Lyme disease can go through several stages. By the time it's diagnosed, your child has probably gone through Stage I. In the first stage there may be a skin rash called erythema migrans. Fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain, and swollen lymph nodes are reported in about half of all affected individuals.
Symptoms occur within days to weeks of the tick bite. Not all children show initial symptoms. About one-third of affected children have no early symptoms. Only about 10 per cent of the children with Lyme disease go to stage 2. This occurs weeks to months after the tick bite or after stage 1. The heart, nervous system, and musculoskeletal system are affected in stage 2 disease.
Stage 3 occurs months to years after the tick bite. This advanced stage of the disease is more likely to develop in children who aren't treated with antibiotics early on. Some patients who are treated still develop chronic neurologic and/or musculoskeletal problems. Chronic arthritis is the most common long-standing problem with Lyme disease.
But the good news is that early treatment usually results in complete resolution of the symptoms. In 90 per cent of the people affected by Lyme disease, symptoms go away completely with antibiotic treatment.
However, anyone with Lyme disease can get it again. Precautions for outdoor protection must be used each time the child or adult is outdoors in areas where Lyme disease is present.
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