Lyme Disease:
Information for adults

Sometimes the tick can be found attached to the skin. Bite marks may not necessarily be visible.

Erythema migrans, the classic unraised red "bull's-eye" lesion on the skin, will appear days to weeks after the bite. However, about 25% of affected people never get this lesion. Some may complain of flu-like symptoms, including fever; head, neck, and joint pain; and generalized muscle pain. The lesion will resolve without treatment in about a month.

Weeks to months later the bacterium can affect the joints, heart, and nervous system.

The late phase of Lyme disease can also affect the joints, heart, and nervous system. In the heart, there can be an abnormal heart rhythm. The face can become paralyzed (facial muscle paralysis), and you can have confusion and abnormal sensations of the skin such as numbness, tingling, a prickling sensation, or pain. There can be inflammation in the joints, or arthritis, beginning with swelling, stiffness, and pain, commonly affecting the knees.