WARNING SIGNS TO WATCH OUT FOR

LYME disease can cause a range of symptoms which may take time to develop. If spotted quickly it can be treated with antibiotics — if not, other symptoms may appear. Early symptoms include:

A ROUGHLY circular red bull’s eye rash, usually around three to 30 days after being bitten. This is known as erythema migrans and its edges may feel slightly raised. It may grow bigger.

Some people have more than one rash, others have none. According to the charity Lyme Disease Action, one person in three does not get a rash.

FLU-LIKE symptoms such as tiredness, muscle and joint pain, headaches, fever and a stiff neck.

More serious symptoms may develop weeks, months or even years later. These can include: PAIN and swelling in the joints. NERVOUS system problems such as numbness and limb pain, paralysis of facial muscles, memory problems and difficulty in concentrating.

INFLAMMATION of the heart muscle (myocarditis) or the sac surrounding the heart (pericarditis), and, potentially, heart failure.

INFLAMMATION of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meningitis), which can cause a severe headache, stiff neck and increased sensitivity to light.

SOME people develop long-term symptoms, known as post-infectious Lyme disease, similar to those of fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, maybe due to an immune system over-reaction.