Erythema migrans – diagnostic challenges, procedures, and treatment

Abstract

Lyme borreliosis is the most known and frequent disease caused by ticks. This disease may be limited to the skin, involve muscle and articular system, the heart, or the nervous system. Erythema migrans is a skin manifestation of an early Lyme borreliosis. Physicians specializing in infectious diseases, family doctors and dermatologists deal with treating the erythema. Its diagnosis is made on the basis of clinical presentation and patient’s history. Seldom is it easy since skin lesions may resemble other diseases, and the patient often fails to associate the lesion with a tick bite. This article presents interesting examples of atypical manifestations of erythema migrans, and discusses differential diagnostics. Moreover, the work shows diagnostic possibilities and therapeutic recommendations regarding the disease.

Keywords

• lyme borreliosis
• erythema migrans
• lyme disease
• tick bite