Antibiotics for Lyme disease
Examples
Generic Name Brand Name amoxicillin Amoxil, Trimox cefotaxime sodium Claforan ceftriaxone sodium Rocephin cefuroxime axetil Ceftin doxycycline hyclate Doryx, Vibramycin, Vibra-Tabs erythromycin E-Mycin, Ery-Tab penicillin tetracycline hydrochloride Sumycin How It Works
These drugs kill Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which cause Lyme disease.
Why It Is Used
Antibiotics are used to cure early Lyme disease and to greatly reduce the risk of future complications. They may also be used in the later stages of Lyme disease, when additional symptoms involving the skin, joints, nervous system, or heart may develop.
The type of antibiotic prescribed depends on your age, symptoms, and stage of Lyme disease. These medicines may be taken orally, as an injection, or through a vein (intravenous, or IV). The length of antibiotic treatment varies according to how bad the disease and your symptoms are, but treatment generally lasts less than 4 weeks.
Early Lyme disease
- For people ages 8 and older, the number of days the antibiotic is used depends on the antibiotic and the severity of the infection.
- Doxycycline should not be used to treat pregnant women or children younger than 8.
- For children younger than age 8, amoxicillin is taken by mouth. Other medicines (such as erythromycin) may be used if the child is allergic to amoxicillin.1
Later stages of Lyme disease
- For Lyme arthritis, oral antibiotics are usually taken for several weeks. If treatment with the oral antibiotic is not successful, an antibiotic may be given intravenously (IV).
- For facial paralysis (Bell's palsy) with no other nervous system problems, an oral antibiotic for several weeks is usually effective.
- For severe heart symptoms of Lyme disease or for other Lyme disease nervous system problems such as Lyme meningitis, IV antibiotics may be given.
Pregnant or nursing women
- Women who have early Lyme disease usually take an oral antibiotic for several weeks. Some doctors believe that pregnant women with early Lyme disease should receive IV antibiotics to prevent Lyme disease bacteria from crossing the protective membrane (placenta) that surrounds the developing fetus; however, there is no proof such treatment is needed.
- In pregnant or nursing women who have late Lyme disease, IV antibiotics usually are used.
How Well It Works
Antibiotics are most effective in helping cure Lyme disease when they are taken early in the course of the disease2 Early treatment with antibiotics can help prevent future problems with arthritis, the heart, or the nervous system. But symptoms may not go away right away. Some symptoms may last for several weeks after treatment. This does not mean that the antibiotics were not successful, nor does it mean that you need additional antibiotic treatment.
Antibiotic treatment for early symptoms of chronic Lyme arthritis is usually very effective. Joints that have been badly damaged by Lyme arthritis may take a long time to get better after the infection has been cured, or they may not respond to treatment at all. About 10% of people in the United States continue to have symptoms of chronic Lyme arthritis after treatment with antibiotics.3
Heart symptoms often begin to go away before antibiotics are given. If not, they usually respond to antibiotic therapy within days. Mild heart symptoms that may occur with early Lyme disease usually improve after treatment with oral amoxicillin or doxycycline for 21 to 30 days.
Symptoms of inflammation of the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord (Lyme meningitis) begin to improve by the second day of therapy and usually disappear after 7 to 10 days.
Side Effects
Common side effects of these antibiotics include:
- Nausea.
- Mild diarrhea.
- Allergic reaction.
- Secondary yeast infection in the intestines, vagina, or mouth (thrush).
Some people treated for early Lyme disease have brief episodes of headache, muscle and joint pain, and fatigue that may continue for an extended period of time after treatment. These symptoms usually go away on their own within six months and do not require further treatment.
During the first 24 hours of antibiotic therapy, you may have a higher fever, redder rash, or greater pain. This is not an allergic reaction to the drug. It may mean that the bacteria are rapidly dying.
One large study suggests that people who take erythromycin along with certain common medicines may raise their risk of sudden cardiac death.4 The study showed that the risk of sudden cardiac death is greater when erythromycin is taken with some medicines that inhibit certain liver enzymes—such as certain calcium channel blockers, certain antifungal medicines, and some antidepressants—than when these medicines are not taken together.
See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)
What To Think About
The dosage of antibiotic given and the duration of treatment should be based on your age and body weight, how bad the illness is, and how you respond to treatment.
Doxycycline should be taken with plenty of fluids and not while you are lying down or right before bedtime.
With the exception of pregnant women and people with severe arthritis or heart problems, most people who have been exposed to ticks but do not have symptoms are not given antibiotics. Even in parts of the country where Lyme disease is known to occur often, the risk of getting Lyme disease is too small to warrant treatment before symptoms appear.
Doxycycline is the drug of choice for treating early Lyme disease in people ages 8 and older. However, it should not be given to pregnant women or to people who are allergic to tetracycline.
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| Author: | Amy Fackler, MA Debby Golonka, MPH Sydney Youngerman-Cole, RN, BSN, RNC | Last Updated: September 21, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Christine Hahn, MD - Epidemiology | |
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| Topic Contents | |
| Examples | |
| How It Works | |
| Why It Is Used | |
| How Well It Works | |
| Side Effects | |
| What To Think About | |
| References | |