Lyme Disease Tests

Lyme disease is an infection caused by bacteria you get from tick bites. Lyme disease tests look for signs of infection in a sample of your blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). CSF is a clear liquid that flows in and around your brain and spinal cord.

The test checks your sample for antibodies that your immune system makes to fight the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. You can get Lyme disease if an infected tick bites you. Ticks can bite you anywhere on your body, but they usually bite in hard-to-see places such as your groin, scalp, backs of the knees, and armpits.

Most Lyme disease is caused by bites from black-legged ticks (also known as deer ticks), which are about the size of a sesame seed. Baby black-legged ticks are about the size of a poppy seed, so you may not know you have been bitten. In general, an infected tick needs to be attached to you for 36 to 48 hours before it can pass Lyme disease bacteria onto you.

Without treatment, Lyme disease can cause serious health problems that may affect your joints, heart, and nervous system. But if you find Lyme disease early, it can usually be cured after a few weeks of treatment with antibiotic medicine. If it's found later, treatment may take up to eight weeks.

Why this test is done

You may need a test if you have symptoms of infection and were exposed or possibly exposed to ticks that carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. The first symptoms of Lyme disease usually show up between 3 and 30 days after the tick bite. Symptoms may vary from person to person.

Early signs and symptoms may include:

• A reddish, round skin rash that slowly gets bigger over several days. It usually doesn't itch or hurt, but it may be warm. As it gets better, it may look like a bull's-eye (a red ring with a clear center), but not always.
• Fever
• Chills
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Muscle and joint aches
• Swollen lymph nodes ("swollen glands")

Later signs and symptoms of Lyme disease usually involve your joints and nervous system. They include:

• Severe headaches and neck stiffness
• Rashes on other parts of your body
• Facial palsy (drooping of one or both sides of your face)
• Arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling, especially in the knees
• Pain that comes and goes in your muscles, joints, bones, and tendons
• Arrhythmia (a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat)
• Periods of feeling dizzy or short of breath
• Shooting pains, numbness, or tingling in your hands or feet

How to prepare

You don't need any special preparations for a Lyme disease blood test.

For a lumbar puncture, you may be asked to empty your bladder (pee) and bowels (poop) before the test.

Sample type

Blood CSF

Other names for this test

Lyme antibodies detection, Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies test, Borrelia DNA Detection, IgM/IgG by Western Blot, Lyme disease test (CSF), Borrelia antibodies, IgM/IgG