Archive for the ‘Ticks’ Category

Can A Tick Bite Make Me Sick Years Later?

https://danielcameronmd.com/can-a-tick-bite-make-me-sick-years-later/

long-term complications of Lyme disease

Can a tick bite make me sick years later?

This is one of the most common — and most difficult —questions patients ask.

It often follows a long period of good health before the gradual or sudden onset of fatigue, joint pain, cognitive changes, neurologic symptoms, or unexplained inflammation. In many cases, patients never noticed a tick bite or it is recalled years later, once symptoms begin.

Questions about whether a tick bite can cause illness years later come up because tick-borne diseases don’t always follow a clear or predictable timeline. Unlike infections that cause sudden, obvious symptoms, illnesses like Lyme disease can develop slowly, come and go, or appear in stages.

Understanding this means looking at how the disease can progress over time, rather than focusing on a single tick bite or moment of exposure.

Tick-Borne Illness Timelines Are Confusing

After a tick bite, many people do experience symptoms within days or weeks. Fever, rash, fatigue, and musculoskeletal pain are common early manifestations, and when treatment occurs at this stage, recovery is often straightforward. This familiar pattern is what most people expect when they think about tick-borne illness.

However, not everyone follows this course. Some individuals never develop noticeable early symptoms, while others experience mild or nonspecific complaints that resolve and are quickly forgotten. When health problems surface years later, patients understandably revisit the question of whether a past tick bite could be relevant. At that point, the concern is no longer theoretical—it is personal.

Identifying When Illness Began

In typical cases, early infection is recognized and treated, and symptoms resolve. This reinforces the belief that tick-borne illness always presents quickly and clearly.

Yet clinical experience shows that timelines can vary widely, and absence of early symptoms does not always mean absence of infection.

When symptoms appear later, patients and clinicians struggle to reconstruct when the illness truly began. This uncertainty fuels the question of whether a tick bite could explain illness years later.

How a Tick Bite Can Be Linked to Illness Years Later

One explanation is that early infection was never recognized or treated. When Lyme disease is missed in its initial stages, it may later involve the joints, nervous system, or other organ systems. In these cases, symptoms can develop slowly and appear long after the original exposure.

Another possibility is that early symptoms were subtle and self-limited. Flu-like illness, headaches, fatigue, or migratory aches are often attributed to stress or viral infections. When these symptoms resolve, the connection to a tick bite is lost, only to resurface later when more persistent problems develop.

Immune and inflammatory effects may also evolve over time. Even after an initial infection, immune system activity can persist or shift, contributing to delayed or fluctuating symptoms involving cognition, energy levels, autonomic function, or pain perception. This helps explain how a tick bite can make someone sick years later without a dramatic early illness.

Triggers That Unmask Symptoms

Many patients report that symptoms became noticeable only after a triggering event such as another infection, major stress, surgery, trauma, or hormonal change. These events do not necessarily cause disease themselves, but they can reveal an underlying vulnerability that had previously been compensated for.

When this happens, it may feel as though illness appeared suddenly, even though the groundwork was laid years earlier.

Does a Tick Bite Making You Sick Years Later Mean Active Infection?

Not necessarily. When patients ask whether a tick bite made them sick years later, they are often asking two separate questions: whether an early infection was missed, and whether a past infection can lead to delayed or long-term effects.

Clinical guidelines recognize Lyme disease as a multisystem illness and emphasize careful evaluation of persistent or late-emerging symptoms while also stressing the importance of ruling out alternative diagnoses. Symptoms appearing long after exposure do not automatically prove ongoing infection, but they do warrant thoughtful assessment.

Why Clinicians Disagree About Tick-Bite Timelines

There is broad agreement that Lyme disease can affect multiple organ systems over time. Disagreement arises when symptoms appear well outside expected timelines. Some clinicians emphasize the possibility of persistent infection, while others focus on post-infectious or immune-mediated mechanisms.

Regardless of interpretation, symptoms that do not follow a classic pattern should not be dismissed simply because they are complex.

Clinical Takeaway

A tick bite can be linked to illness years later, but rarely in a simple or linear way. Delayed symptoms may reflect missed early infection, subtle initial illness, evolving immune or inflammatory effects, or life events that unmask disease. Understanding timelines helps reduce confusion and supports individualized care.

Resources
  1. New England Journal of Medicine. (1990) Chronic neurologic manifestations of Lyme disease.
  2. Current Infectious Disease Reports. (2011) Neurologic manifestations of Lyme disease.
  3. Dr. Daniel Cameron: Lyme Science Blog. Tick Bite Treatment Options: Wait or Treat?
  4. Dr. Daniel Cameron: Lyme Science Blog. Only a minority of children with Lyme disease recall a tick bite.

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Ticks, Transmission, Uncategorized

Scientists Issue Warning Over Rise to Ticks Carrying Multiple Diseases

https://www.newsweek.com/us-northeast-warned-rise-multiple-disease-bearing-ticks

Scientists Issue Warning Over Rise of Ticks Carrying Multiple Diseases

Mar 12, 2026

By 

Ticks capable of carrying and transmitting more than one potentially fatal disease at the same time are becoming increasingly common in the northeastern U.S., according to a new long-term analysis that raises fresh public health concerns for the region.

The research found that a growing share of blacklegged ticks—also known as deer ticks—are infected with multiple disease-causing pathogens. The study was led by Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies disease ecologist Shannon LaDeau and conducted in partnership with the SUNY Center for Vector-Borne Diseases at Upstate Medical University.

The findings come from nearly a decade of tick surveillance and point to a more complex and potentially dangerous tick-borne disease landscape, particularly because different infections require different treatments.

“Healthcare workers should be on the lookout for rising co-infection risks,” LaDeau said in a statement. “And for people spending time outdoors in the Northeast, as a general rule, if the ground is not freezing, it’s a good idea to take precautions to avoid tick bites. Prevention is key.”  (See link for article)

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Findings:

  • 1 in10 nymphs tested positive for at least two pathogens: Borrelia burgdorferi (19.3%) and Babesia microti (21%) were the most common followed by Anaplasma phagocytophilum (5.8%) and Borrelia miyamotoi (2%)
  • by the end of the study period 11% of sampled ticks had coinfections
  • coinfection rate has been increasing over time
  • 38% of nymphs were capable of transmitting at least one disease to humans

For more:

 

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group), Lyme, research, Testing, Ticks

Podcast: Why Lyme Disease Happens to Some People and Not Others

https://www.lymedisease.org/why-lyme-happens-some-not-others/  Go here for video

PODCAST: Why Lyme disease happens to some people and not others

By Fred Diamond

One of the most common questions I hear from Lyme survivors is simple but deeply loaded: “Why did this happen to me? Why did I get Lyme when others didn’t?”

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why me?” know that you’re not alone.

Thousands of Lyme survivors have pondered that same question. They were healthy. They were hiking. They were gardening. They were kayaking. They were simply living their lives. And then something changed.

On this week’s Love, Hope, Lyme podcast, Dr. Jennifer Miller of Galaxy Diagnostics, a scientist who has spent her career studying the Lyme bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, discusses why Lyme happens and why its effect may differ from person to person.

Her explanation reveals just how complex, and insidiously strategic, this organism truly is.

It starts in the wild

Lyme disease is what scientists call a vector-borne infection. In simple terms, that means it is transmitted by a vector and in this case, ticks.

But ticks are not born infected.

“The tick has to pick it up from a host that’s already infected,” Dr. Miller explains. “The larval tick will feed on an infected animal… and acquire the infection.”

That infected animal is usually a small mammal such as a mouse, chipmunk, or squirrel. These animals act as reservoir hosts. They carry the bacteria without becoming visibly sick.

After feeding, the tick molts into a nymph which is the stage most responsible for transmitting Lyme to humans. Nymphs are tiny, often no bigger than a poppy seed, and difficult to detect.

Many people assume deer are the main source of Lyme. Dr. Miller clarifies the nuance.

“Deer can have Lyme disease, but people aren’t going to get it from a deer.”

Deer play a role in the tick life cycle, but they are not the direct cause of human infection. The real issue is ecological.

“Because we have all these reservoir hosts, it’s a big part of the problem as to why Lyme disease incidence is increasing and why it’s spreading,” she says. “As humans, we occupy and consume more and more space… we’re encroaching on the territory of the deer, and with that, very unfortunately, comes Lyme disease.”

In other words, Lyme is not random. It is the byproduct of an expanding interface between humans and the natural infection cycle.

Borrelia is not an ordinary bacterium

Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium, not a virus, but it behaves unlike most bacteria.

Borrelia belongs to a family called spirochetes. It has a corkscrew shape that gives it unusual mobility.

“Borrelia will literally outrun the immune system,” Dr. Miller says. “Because it’s a corkscrew, it literally will burrow into the tissues.”

That corkscrew motion allows it to penetrate deeply into connective tissue, joints, and even cross protective barriers like the blood-brain barrier.

Even more concerning, Borrelia is highly adaptive.

“It literally will coat itself with host proteins. That allows it to evade immune detection.”

Camouflage

In essence, the bacterium can camouflage itself. It changes the proteins on its surface depending on whether it is inside a tick or inside a human. Once inside the body, it can alter its “coat” again to hide from immune surveillance.

Unlike some bacteria that cause disease by releasing toxins, Borrelia’s damage often comes indirectly.

“They’re not making toxins or poisons like other bacteria,” Dr. Miller explains. “But a lot of what happens with Borrelia is triggered by the immune system.”

The medical literature uses the phrase immune dysregulation to describe this phenomenon.

“Borrelia really interferes with the immune system,” she says.

In some individuals, the immune response becomes excessive and inflammatory, leading to joint damage, neurological symptoms, and widespread pain. In others, the immune response is blunted or misdirected, allowing the bacterium to persist quietly.

Why do some people get so sick while others don’t?

This may be the most painful question Lyme survivors ask.

“That’s still the biggest question that we need to answer,” Dr. Miller says candidly. “What I’ll tell you quite openly is that we don’t have all the answers.”

But there are clues.

Different strains of Borrelia produce slightly different surface proteins.

“Depending on which version of those proteins they’re making, some of those versions disagree with certain humans more than others.”

Some strains provoke a strong immune reaction. Others may slip past immune detection more easily.

Borrelia also actively interferes with antibody production.

“Borrelia will interfere with the timing of the antibody response. It interferes with the strength of the antibody response,” she explains. “It will trick them and confuse them so that they don’t produce antibodies in the right timeframe or of the right strength.”

This has enormous implications. If the immune system does not respond in a predictable way, both symptoms and laboratory tests become harder to interpret.

Host factors matter too. Genetics, previous infections such as Epstein-Barr virus, co-infections, mold exposure, chronic stress, and environmental burdens may all influence how a person responds.

There is likely no single reason why one person clears infection and another develops chronic symptoms. It is a complex interaction between pathogen and host.

The complication of co-infections

Lyme rarely travels alone.

“The number of different pathogens that were in the tick was far more than anybody would’ve thought… easily dozens,” Dr. Miller notes.

Ticks may carry Borrelia along with Babesia (a parasite similar in some ways to malaria), Bartonella (a different type of bacteria), Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and even viral pathogens.

“You really have a lot of diversity of pathogens with these co-infections. That’s part of why they can be so very difficult to treat.”

A tick can acquire pathogens from one animal, survive the molt, then feed on another animal and acquire additional organisms. Birds, which can transport infected ticks across geographic regions, add another layer of complexity.

This microbial diversity means that two people bitten by ticks in different environments may experience very different symptom patterns.

Why testing fails so often

Few topics frustrate Lyme patients more than testing.

The standard two-tier antibody testing protocol has been in use for more than three decades. It measures antibodies but not the bacteria itself.

“The current tests are detecting that antibody response, and that can be very tricky,” Dr. Miller explains.

Antibodies only tell you that your immune system has seen the pathogen at some point. They do not reliably indicate active infection. And because Borrelia interferes with antibody production, some people never produce a strong enough response to meet diagnostic thresholds.

“Not everybody even generates an antibody response to Borrelia, one that’s strong enough or in line with what our out-of-date tests measure.”

False negatives can occur. Partial antibody bands may appear but not meet reporting criteria. Cross-reactivity with other infections can create additional confusion.

Adding to the challenge, Borrelia does not remain in high concentrations in the bloodstream.

“They don’t hide out at large numbers in the blood. There’s just not a lot of Borrelia in the blood.”

After transmission through the skin, the bacteria migrate into tissues. Blood-based detection becomes inherently difficult. This is why some researchers are working to develop direct detection methods, including antigen testing strategies.

“Borrelia are unique,” Dr. Miller explains. “When Borrelia shed their outer proteins it just gets released into the environment.”

Unlike many bacteria, Borrelia sheds structural components that may be detectable in other bodily fluids, offering a potential alternative to antibody-based testing.

A final word to patients

Lyme disease is biologically complex. It is ecologically driven. It is immunologically disruptive, and it does not behave like many other infections.

The science is still evolving. Researchers do not have all the answers.

But one thing is clear.

“If you think you have symptoms of Lyme disease and you haven’t seen a tick and you don’t have that bull’s-eye rash, please don’t assume that you don’t have Lyme disease,” Dr. Miller urges. “Go and get checked out.”

For survivors searching for understanding, the question why did this happen may never have a simple answer. But understanding biology, ticks, the bacterium, the immune system, and the co-infections can bring clarity.

And the more we understand that organism, the closer we move toward better diagnostics, better treatments, and better outcomes for every Lyme survivor.

Visit the Galaxy Diagnostics website to learn more about Lyme disease testing.

Click here to listen to all episodes of the Love, Hope, Lyme Podcast or on YouTube.

Category:

Lyme, research, Testing, Ticks

The Hidden Truth About TBIs: IBS Treatment Center Article

https://www.ibstreatmentcenter.com/blogs/the-hidden-truth-about-tick-borne-illnesses

The Hidden Truth About Tick-Borne Illnesses

Dr Stephen Wangen
September 9, 2025

Today I want to talk with you about something that is often misunderstood and more common than most people realize: tick-borne illnesses.

When most people hear about tick-borne diseases, the first thing that comes to mind is Lyme disease—and usually only in the context of the northeastern United States. Maybe you’ve even heard about the “classic bullseye rash” that’s supposed to make Lyme easy to recognize. But the truth is much more complex—and more concerning.

Tick-Borne Illnesses Are Everywhere

One of the biggest misconceptions is that tick-borne diseases are only a problem in New England or a handful of rural areas. The reality is: ticks are found in every state in the U.S. They thrive in woodlands, grassy fields, parks, and even suburban backyards.

As our climate changes and animal populations shift, ticks are spreading into areas where they weren’t as common before. That means people all across the country—from the Pacific Northwest, to the Midwest, to the Southeast, and yes, the Southwest—are at risk of exposure.

More Than Just Lyme Disease

Yes, Lyme disease is the most well-known tick-borne illness. But ticks can and do carry and transmit many other infections, including:

• Babesiosis

• Anaplasmosis

• Ehrlichiosis

• Rocky Mountain spotted fever

• Bartonella

• And other infections

Each of these can cause significant health problems, and in many cases, people may not even realize that a tick bite was the original cause of their symptoms.

The Bullseye Rash Myth

Let’s talk about the rash. We’ve all heard about the “classic bullseye” rash that’s associated with Lyme disease. But here’s what most people don’t know:

• The majority of patients never develop a bullseye rash.

• Some might get a rash that looks nothing like the pictures online.

• Others may not have any noticeable skin reaction at all.

That means you can still have a tick-borne illness even if you’ve never seen a rash.  (See link for article)

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**Comment**

Good article except for the climate change bit.  I won’t pontificate but if you are unfamiliar with this, please read:

 

 

Category:

Activism, Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Ticks, Uncategorized

‘Lyme Disease Ruined My Life – I Was Misdiagnosed With Hypochondria and Depression For Over 20 Years’

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/lyme-disease-symptoms-bella-hadid-justin-timberlake-

‘Lyme disease ruined my life – I was misdiagnosed with hypochondria and depression for over 20 years’

Frédéric Roscop, 49, contracted Lyme disease aged five years old but wasn’t diagnosed with it until his mid-thirties. He tells Charlotte Cripps about his lifelong battle with the disease, along with co-infections and associated mental health challenges, and how he found his way to a normal life

As a child, I was raised in the French countryside in the Dordogne. From around the age of five, I’d help local farmers by collecting eggs and herding cows in the fields. I was also naturally curious and adventurous and would go exploring in the bushes. I’d often end up covered in ticks and an old lady at the farm would put me in an iron bath and brush them off me. This is not the right way of removing them, which is to pull them out of the skin, as soon as possible, to prevent the transmission of disease. It should often befollowed by a course of antibiotics.

The next day, I’d be covered in bruising and red marks, which we now call a “bullmark”, or the “bulls-eye” rash, medically known as Erythema migrans, a hallmark symptom of Lyme disease. My mum was always horrified and took me to the doctor, who thought it was an allergic reaction to a bite and prescribed me an antihistamine. But due to a lack of awareness years ago, nobody ever mentioned Lyme disease.

Looking back, I suffered years of mild symptoms. I had a delayed puberty because my body was not functioning properly; weight gain due to factors known to be caused by Lyme disease, such as gastrointestinal issues and hormonal imbalances; and I craved sugar because my body was stressed.

As much as I was exhausted, I was also hyper – Lyme disease can cause symptoms that mimic or contribute to ADHD – and I was also hyper-sensitive. I couldn’t switch off. By the age of eight, I was already seeing a psychotherapist who recommended more exercise to exhaust me.  (See link for article)

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**Comment**

A very dismissive article & video on Lyme disease appeared recently dissing celebrities who have the courage to share their battle with it.  Yet, because of these celebrities speaking out, more have become aware of Lyme/MSIDS.

You know it’s bad when you have to learn about a severe medical condition from a celebrity.  But, there it is…..  The truth is, it’s easier to get medical assisted death than treatment for chronic Lyme disease, which is what the man in this article had.

Whenever I see articles on how ‘things are getting better’ in Lymeland, I remember that probably every day someone just like the man in this article is being misdiagnosed and sent on a wild goose chase – maybe for years. 

No, my friends – it ain’t getting better.  Not by a long shot.  To date, the best chance a patient has is to bump into someone who will educate them about this, OR read an article about a celebrity who shares their story.

And this is where we’ve been for a long, long time.

For more:

The stories are endless and continue.  These stories touch people and like it or not, are for some the only way they will learn about this dreadful illness.  The medical and research establishments haven’t helped one iota.

I’ve always said, and I stand by it, the only way this needle is going to move is when enough people are infected with it.

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Ticks