06/02/2026
Lyme Disease & Tick Season: What You Need to Know
As tick season begins, I want to bring attention to one of the most commonly overlooked and misunderstood infectious diseases in the U.S., Lyme disease.
Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted through black-legged tick bites, is the most common vector-borne illness in the United States. Early symptoms can look vague or flu-like with fatigue, headache, fever, body aches, and sometimes include the classic erythema migrans rash. But not everyone develops the rash, which is one reason it often goes unrecognized early.
When untreated or missed, Lyme can progress and affect the joints, heart, and nervous system, leading to more complex and persistent symptoms over time.
One of the biggest challenges with Lyme is diagnosis. Standard testing like ELISA and Western Blot can miss cases or produce false negatives, especially early on or in chronic presentations. In addition, co-infections such as Bartonella, Babesia, Ehrlichia, and others are very common and can further complicate both diagnosis and treatment.
That’s why I take a comprehensive and highly individualized approach to care. I spend time listening closely to each patient’s story, evaluating symptoms, exposures, health history, and lifestyle factors to better understand the full clinical picture, not just lab results. My Discovery Sessions include an in-depth interview and symptom assessment, and when appropriate, I utilize advanced specialty testing such as IGENEX to help uncover infections that are often missed on standard labs.
As an ILADS-trained practitioner, I follow evidence-informed, patient-centered principles developed by the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS). In my practice, this means:
• I carefully evaluate symptoms, history, and environmental exposures
• I consider the role of tick-borne co-infections that are frequently overlooked
• I recognize that Lyme can present very differently from person to person
• I create individualized treatment plans based on the unique needs of each patient rather than using a one-size-fits-all protocol
Chronic Lyme can present with fatigue, brain fog, neuropathic pain, sleep disruption, and a wide range of systemic symptoms that significantly impact quality of life. Supporting healing often requires looking beyond a single diagnosis or test result and addressing the broader health picture.
Because Lyme disease is complex and nuanced, I tailor treatment based on each patient’s presentation, symptom burden, co-infections, immune health, and overall resilience. Depending on the case, treatment may include herbal therapies, antibiotics, or a thoughtful combination of both. I also work to support the other factors that influence healing, including gut health, inflammation, detoxification pathways, nervous system regulation, nutrition, sleep, and lifestyle patterns.
At its core, my goal is to help patients feel heard, find answers, and receive thoughtful, individualized care when they’ve often been told everything looks “normal.”
If you’re spending more time outdoors this season, prevention matters: tick checks, protective clothing, and prompt removal can all reduce risk.
