While I appreciate all and any awareness created around Lyme disease, I don't think it's enough. Sure, plenty of blogs and organizations post endless Lyme facts, articles, personal stories, and statistics, but unless you or a loved one has Lyme disease, you most likely aren’t following those sites. It’s important to know how minor the preliminary signs of Lyme disease can be so you can do your best to stop the disease before it becomes late-stage.

What to know:

Ticks can be as small as a poppy seed
Ticks don’t carry only Lyme Borrelia, but also co-infections (think of them as “strains” that can cause a whole slew of various symptoms complicating a Lyme diagnosis and treatment). Some of the symptoms associated with co-infections are extremely specific, i.e. Babesia is synonomous for the symptom of “air hunger”.
Not everyone get’s a bullseye rash
PEAK season is April-September though ticks can survive in below freezing temperatures
Ticks can be found in suburban AND urban areas
Birds and mice are among many animals other than deer that carry ticks. Pets also carry ticks and should be checked regularly
Pediatric Lyme: Kids can get Lyme of any stage. I’ve met many parents with kids with late-stage Lyme after noticing neurological and behavioral changes in their children

Tips:

Do tick checks if you spend anytime outdoors. Check behind the ears, in the hairline, along the waist, in the bellybutton, between the toes, around the groin, and fully around knees and ankles.
Spray yourself with tick spray every couple hpurs
If hiking, wear high socks and light colored clothing
Avoid tall grass, sand dunes with grass, leaf piles etc. as ticks love it there
Remove and wash or dry clothing on high temperatures after being in high tick infested area
Check pets, especially dogs, regularly even if your yard is sprayed for ticks. Ticks like to hide in yard perimeters, in leaves, trees, etc. and you never know where your dog is rummaging.
MOST IMPORTANT: If you find a tick on you, save it and send it into a lab immediately to be Lyme tested and then go to a Lyme Literate doctor immediately [this also goes for if you find a round rash on your body]. I HIGHLY recommend, no matter what your age, seeing a Lyme Literate doctor over your primary care physician who is not an expert, who is not highly trained/knowledgeable on Lyme, and who is not up to date with the most accurate diagnostic testing or treatment.
Answer this: Would you trust your primary care doctor single handedly to diagnose you with cancer, an aneurysm, MS, etc? If the answer is no, then you absolutely should not be relying on them to diagnose or treat a complicated and multifaceted disease like Lyme.

Other things to know:

For starters, don't write off weird symptoms as old age, coincidence, stress and anxiety. Listen to your body! And, don't let anyone convince you that's what it is. When I first got sick, I said right away, "I feel like I have Lyme disease" but everyone around me told me it was a herniated disc, my muscles were too tight and needed to stretch more and, the worst one, anxiety.

Secondly, as mentioned in the info-graph above, there are three stages of Lyme disease.

Stage 1. Early Localized: Symptoms may begin hours, a few days or weeks after a tick bite. The infection has not spread at this point. Symptoms can include, but don't always: bulls-eye rash, fever, stiff neck, flu-like symptoms and joint paint.

Stage 2. Early Disseminated Lyme: This occurs weeks or months after initial bite. Symptoms can include: pain, weakness, headaches, fatigue, numbness, vision changes, unexplained rashes, fever.

Stage 3. Late Disseminated Lyme: This can occur weeks, months or years after initial bite. At this point the infection has spread throughout the entire body and symptoms can include: joint, muscle, bone and nerve pain, headaches, vertigo, weakness, severe fatigue and lethargy, brain fog (mental fogginess/word recall/confusion), stimulation issues (sensitivity to light/noise/too much information), heart issues, insomnia, digestive issues...the list goes on and on and on.

The thing is, if you didn't see a tick or a bulls-eye rash, there is no "proof in the pudding" so you are left to figure out what is wrong with you. Most primary care doctors don't even think of Lyme, or think that because you didn't SEE the tick bite, Lyme isn't a concern. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Why do people have to see things to believe them these days?

If you have weird symptoms (this could be anything) and notice your body is off, get tested by a Lyme literate doctor, and if you can, a functional medicine or holistic Lyme literate doctor, as you could have other issues that most conventional docs won't find either such as a parasitic infection, heavy metal toxicity, mold toxicity, active Epstein Barr Virus, Strep, etc. These docs will check for it all and sometimes those other issues can cause more issues than Lyme. What tests do I get, you ask? No need to fret my friends. I will tell you.

The best testing for Lyme is: Igenx, DNA Connexions and Frye Labs. They run upward of about $600. Also, if you cannot find a doctor to order any of these tests, you can order your own DNA Connexions test (it's an at home urine test). In addition, get a CD57 blood test. "In cases of chronic diseases, including Lyme disease, the number of CD57 NK cells has been shown to be below normal."- Igenx. Basically, a number below 80 means something is going on. This doesn’t necessarily mean it's Lyme, but it could mean you have a chronic infection brewing.

Additionally, there is the non-conventional testing such as muscle testing or BAH. I have personally done both and can tell you that it was energetic testing that first diagnosed me with Lyme before my conventional blood test came back positive. These tests can be incredibly accurate. Be sure to do your homework when looking for practitioners who practice these sort of testing methods as you want someone who is an expert in this.