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Treatment for Lyme Disease
How is Lyme disease treated?
Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics.
The type of antibiotic your doctor gives you and the number of days you take it will depend on your symptoms and the stage of the disease. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions about your antibiotic treatment.
Early treatment
Antibiotic treatment for early Lyme disease works well. Symptoms usually go away within 3 weeks of starting treatment.
The earlier you start this treatment after infection, the faster and more completely you will recover.
It's important to get treatment for Lyme disease as soon as you can. If it's not treated, Lyme disease can lead to problems with your skin, joints, nervous system, and heart. These can occur weeks, months, or even years after your tick bite. The problems often get better with antibiotics. But in rare cases, they can last the rest of your life.
Later treatment
If the disease gets worse, treatment options include:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
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These are usually helpful for symptoms of arthritis that can occur with late Lyme disease. NSAIDs include aspirin and ibuprofen.
- Antibiotics by mouth.
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These may be used for achy joints caused by chronic Lyme arthritis. But joints that have been badly damaged by Lyme arthritis may take a long time to get better. Antibiotics may not improve symptoms.
- Intravenous (IV) antibiotics.
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IV antibiotics are commonly used to treat nervous system problems from Lyme disease. These include tingling and numbness or conditions such as meningitis.
- Antibiotics plus other treatments.
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These are used to help people who develop serious heart problems, such as severe irregular heartbeat or pericarditis, from Lyme disease. But these problems are extremely rare. Heart problems may start to get better on their own, even before antibiotics or other treatment has started.
People with partial facial paralysis as a result of Lyme disease may improve on their own without more treatment.
Even after successful treatment for Lyme disease, you can get it again. So it's important to keep protecting yourself against tick bites.