Mel
8/14/2026
10:40:45 PM
MST
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As the long, warm days of summer begin to wind down, many of us are still trying to soak up the last moments of the season: hiking, gardening, walking outside, traveling, and spending more time in nature. But with that time outdoors comes something many people do not think about until it happens: tick exposure, whether the bite is seen or never noticed at all.
Tick-borne illness can be subtle in the beginning. A person may feel like they have a summer flu, a few days of fatigue, a headache, body aches, swollen glands, or vague joint pain, and then feel well enough to move on. Because the early symptoms can be nonspecific, many people never connect them to a tick bite.
Lyme Disease Is Only One Part of the Tick-Borne Picture
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by Borrelia bacteria and spread through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick, often called a deer tick. In the United States, Lyme disease most commonly refers to infection with Borrelia burgdorferi. However, other Borrelia species and related tick-borne infections also exist, which is one reason a thoughtful exposure history and a physician who understands the broader tick-borne landscape can be so important.
Lyme is not the only illness clinicians consider after tick exposure. Depending on geography, symptoms, immune status, and the type of tick involved, evaluation may also include other tick-borne or vector-associated infections such as babesiosis, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Powassan virus, and, when clinically appropriate, Bartonella or other co-factors.
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