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The Children of Lyme Disease


Current research indicates that the Lyme disease bacterium Borrelia
burgdorferi can be transmitted within hours after an infected tick
attachment. Failure of parents, teachers and physicians to
recognize Lyme disease early in its course can result in a child
developing a chronic difficult to treat infection in the brain,
eyes, joints, heart and/or elsewhere in the body. In my experience
in treating over 8000 children between the ages of one day to 18
years old with Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, 50% have
no known history of Ixodes scapularis tick (deer tick) attachments
and 7% or less have erythema migrans (bullseye) rashes, but all of
these children with Lyme disease have a history of living in or
having visited a Lyme endemic area and have a decline in the way
they play and perform in school. They are tired, wilt easily, have
dark circles under their eyes and are sick.

Lyme disease has a profound negative impact on a child’s
life, cognitive function and ability to perform maximally in
school. Severe fatigue unrelieved by rest results in decreased
stamina and a decreased ability to play and do schoolwork.
Insomnia, headaches, nausea, abdominal pain, impaired concentration,
poor short-term memory, inability to sustain attention, confusion,
uncharacteristic behavior, outbursts and mood swings, fever/chills,
joint pain, dizziness, noise and light sensitivity, and difficulty
thinking, expressing thoughts, reading, writing, and making
decisions as well as a feeling of being overwhelmed by school work
plague a child with Lyme disease. Pain and impaired cognitive
function make it difficult to sustain attention and learn and recall
new material.

Although Lyme disease is usually transmitted by Ixodes
scapularis (deer) and Amblyomma americanum (lone star) ticks, it can
also be transmitted in utero and through breast milk. The children
with gestational and breast milk Lyme disease are ill early in their
lives. These children are frequently floppy with poor muscle tone,
they are irritable with frequent fevers, increased incidence of ear
and throat infections, joint and body pain, and pneumonia. They
have gastroesophageal reflux, small windpipes (tracheomalacia),
cataracts and other eye problems, developmental delay, learning
disabilities and psychiatric problems. All respond to months or
years of continuous antibiotic therapy.

When Lyme disease is a possible diagnosis, a child should be
evaluated by a Lyme knowledgeable physician who will evaluate for
other tick-borne diseases and continue antibiotics until all
symptoms resolve. In most circumstances, Ixodes scapularis and lone
star tick attachments should be treated with one month of
prophylactic antibiotic therapy. All erythema migrans rashes should
be treated with one month of antibiotics.