The standard antibiotics used in the treatment of late stage lyme disease include ceftriaxone and penicillin.
Side effects of lymes disease after treatment.
Untreated lyme disease can produce a wide range of symptoms depending on the stage of infection.
Antibiotics are the only proven treatment for lyme disease.
Lyme disease is caused by infection with the bacterium borrelia burgdorferi although most cases of lyme disease can be cured with a 2 to 4 week course of oral antibiotics patients can sometimes have symptoms of pain fatigue or difficulty thinking that lasts for more than 6 months after they finish treatment.
Iv antibiotics also come with side effects.
Intravenous antibiotics can cause various side effects including a lower white blood cell count mild to severe diarrhea or colonization or infection with other antibiotic resistant organisms unrelated to lyme.
Even when treated immediately the effects of a bite from a lyme carrying tick may last or unexpectedly reappear long after the trademark bull s eye rash fades.
If you are diagnosed with lyme disease you re usually given antibiotics for 2 4 weeks.
If this lasts over 6 months it s known as chronic lyme disease or post treatment lyme disease syndrome ptlds.
With treatment and time the symptoms of lyme disease which is caused by a tick bite usually get better.
But the longer term.
Early signs and symptoms 3 to 30 days after tick bite.
These include fever rash facial paralysis and arthritis.
When diagnosed at an early stage standard treatment for lyme disease is a two to three week course of oral antibiotics.
Aucott m d associate professor of medicine at the johns hopkins university school of medicine and director of the johns hopkins lyme disease clinical research center.