Headaches, dizziness, fever

Headaches, dizziness, fever, muscular soreness, and malaise are among frequent flu-like symptoms. Within a week of infection, almost half of persons with Lyme disease experience flu-like symptoms. Your symptoms may be mild, and you may not associate Lyme disease with them. When fever arises, for example, it is typically mild. In fact, distinguishing Lyme flu symptoms from those of normal flu or viral infection can be challenging. However, unlike the viral flu, the Lyme flu-like symptoms of some people come and go.

Here are some figures from several Lyme disease studies:

• Seventy-eight percent of children in one study reported headaches.
• Forty-eight percent of adults with Lyme in one study reported headaches.
• Fifty-one percent of children with Lyme reported dizziness.
• In a 2013 study of adults with Lyme, 30 percent experienced dizziness.
• Thirty-nine percent of children with Lyme reported fevers or sweats.
• Among adults with Lyme, 60 percent reported fever in a 2013 study.
• Forty-three percent of children with Lyme reported neck pain.
• A smaller number of children with Lyme reported sore throats.