Symptoms of Lyme Disease and Other Tick-Borne Illnesses

NEWS RELEASE - August 4, 2026

Symptoms of Lyme Disease and Other Tick-Borne Illnesses

Don't miss these symptoms of tick-borne diseases. Treatment can prevent serious illness.

Lexington, KY - Ticks can transmit a variety of diseases to humans when they bite. And unfortunately, it's not always that easy to tell when a tick is on your body, or even when one has bitten you because many ticks are so small.

"Ticks are common across the eastern United States, so you are likely to come across one or more if you are spending time outside," said ARH Director of Epidemiology Amanda Taylor. "Take tick prevention seriously by wearing long clothing when possible, treating clothing with permethrin, and wearing insect repellent."

Taylor says that if you find a tick on you, "Carefully remove the tick using fine-point tweezers or a special tick-removing tool, and clean the area well. If you develop symptoms of a tickborne disease or have an unexplained allergic reaction after eating, go see your doctor. Tick-borne diseases can typically be treated with antibiotics."

Recognizing the symptoms of common tick-borne diseases makes it more likely you can get medical attention quickly if you have been bitten by a tick. Many tick-borne illnesses have similar symptoms, so if you have these symptoms after getting bitten by a tick, see a doctor:

• Rash

• Fever/chills

• Headache

• Muscle aches/joint pain

• Fatigue

Here are specific symptoms associated with some of the more common tick-borne illnesses affecting people in the U.S.

Lyme disease

Deer ticks that carry borrelia bacteria, which causes Lyme disease, are found throughout most of the U.S., as well as Canada and Europe. If you spend time in grassy, brushy or wooded areas, you're more at risk of contracting the disease. Symptoms include:

• A rash that looks like a target or bulls-eye, spreading out from the site of the tick bite

• Fever

• Headache

• Fatigue

• Joint stiffness

• Muscle aches and pains

• Swollen lymph nodes

Early symptoms usually appear within the first 30 days, although not everyone has obvious symptoms after getting Lyme disease. If the illness is not identified and treated during this stage, it can cause more serious and widespread disease.

Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS)

Alpha-gal syndrome is not a virus or bacterial infection but is an allergic reaction to a sugar found in the tissues of all mammals except humans and primates. The lone star tick can transmit AGS to humans, which can cause the immune system to produce antibodies.

Taylor says, "An allergic reaction can occur up to hours after eating, making it difficult for someone to connect the dots between the reaction and the food they ate."

There is no treatment for AGS but people who have the condition can prevent allergic reactions from occurring by not eating meat or other products containing alpha-gal. Levels of antibodies may decline over time, so some people may eventually be able to eat meat and products containing alpha-gal without an allergic reaction.

Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis

These are two closely related diseases that are transmitted to humans from the bite of an infected tick. The tick bite that causes these diseases is usually painless, and most people don't even know they've been bitten. The most common symptoms include:

• Fever/chills

• Severe headache

• Muscle aches

Less common symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, weight loss, abdominal pain, diarrhea, cough, aching joints, rash and change in mental status.

Babesiosis

This is a malaria-like parasite that infects red blood cells and causes flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, headache, body aches, fatigue, loss of appetite and nausea. Some people may not have any symptoms.

Babesiosis can cause severe disease in older people, people who don't have a spleen and those with compromised immune systems or other serious health conditions. It can even be fatal.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

This is a tick-borne disease transmitted by the American dog tick, the Rocky Mountain wood tick and the brown dog tick. The most common symptoms include:

• Rash

• Fever/chills

• Headache

• Sore throat

• Body aches

• Stomach ache

• Decreased appetite

• Nausea/vomiting/diarrhea

• Sensitivity to light

• Confusion

If untreated, serious complications can occur, including nerve damage, paralysis, gangrene, hearing loss, incontinence and even death.

Powassan (POW)

This virus is spread by the same type of tick that spreads Lyme disease. Many people who develop powassan do not have any symptoms, but if they do, symptoms may include:

• Fever

• Headache

• Vomiting

• Weakness

• Confusion

• Loss of coordination

• Speech difficulties

• Seizures

Severe infections may cause neurological symptoms, paralysis and even death.

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About Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH)
Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) traces its roots back to 1955, when the United Mine Workers of America opened the Miners Memorial Hospital system - a network of 10 hospitals dedicated to providing care throughout the coalfields of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia. Seventy years later, ARH has grown into a 14-hospital not-for-profit health system that serves more than 500,000 residents of central Appalachia each year. ARH hospitals in Barbourville, Harlan, Hazard, Hyden, Martin, McDowell, Middlesboro, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, West Liberty, Whitesburg, and South Williamson in Kentucky, and Beckley and Hinton in West Virginia, ensure that residents, tucked away in even the most remote areas, can access the highest quality of care without traveling hours from home. ARH's hospitals, clinics, multi-specialty physician practices, home health agencies, home medical equipment stores, retail pharmacies, and medical spas boast more than 6,700 employees with a network of more than 1,300 providers, making it the single largest employer in southeastern Kentucky and the third-largest private employer in southern West Virginia.

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