Anyone had experience w. Lyme disease?

my nephew contracted Lyme's while at Boy Scout Camp 4 years ago in Northern Illinois. He got feverish and had the classic "bulls-eye" red circle at the bite site. He was on strong antibiotics for at least a year. He has lethargic and tired easily for many months. He sees better now. I do not know if there is a relapse potential.

correction: He seems better now. to my knowledge he never had vision problems.

How long after the initial bite did he develop symptoms and start to take the antibiotics? (Did he know that he HAD been bitten by the tick or was it the symptoms that led him to seek medical advce)? There are lot of scary symptoms in addition to the bulls'- eye rash, which doesn't even show up on some people.

I don't know where you live, but according to the NIH, "98 percent of all reported cases are concentrated in the coastal Northeast, mid-Atlantic states, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and northern California" so if you're not in any of those states the chance is very low. Even in endemic states, the probability of getting Lyme after a tick bite is low. Plus, even among people who do get Lyme, the great majority are cured by a few weeks of antibiotics - I think the rash and flu-like symptoms are what you'd look for. I know the horror stories (I'm from a major Lyme area and do know a few people with bad experiences), but those are really rare, especially since you've caught it early.

Also - MedlinePlus has a lot of good Lyme info here: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/lymedisease.html

I live in a rural agricultural county southeast of Albany, NY. and just west of the Berkshires, MA. It has among the highest reported cases of Lyme in the country, unfortunately. So we are all nervous. I will check out Medline. Thanks.

I worked at a camp in Putnam County, NY --an area which had a very high incidence of Lyme disease. We probably found at least 40 ticks that summer and only one person came down with Lyme disease...Being bitten by a tick doesn't necessarily mean you will get it.

Thanks for the reassurance. I hope that you are right. I am two counties N. of Putnam County - On its website is a large banner: "May is LYME DISEASE Awareness Month. Be Tick Free."

been off site a few days, my nephew knew he had a tick bite cause the critter was still attached when discovered on his leg. They watched it when he got home from camp and when redness showed and he was feverish, went to doctor and immediately started antibiotics cause of high fever.

It is scary that he had to stay on strong antibiotics for a year....