Mt Sinai, NY
A 28-year-old male asked:
How long should antibiotics be used for lyme disease? i was stopped before the two weeks was up whole being treated on doxycycline for a past infection of lyme.
2 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in
Dr. Barbara Stark Baxteranswered
Allergy and Immunology 42 years experience
Treatment of lyme: Lyme disease is an extremely complex illness sometimes , and what is diagnosed as lyme may include other "piggyback" infections. A simple case of lyme discovered early may resolve completely , but cases that are not diagnosed early may become chronic . I have CT relatives with recurrent symptoms that respond well to different antibiotics but don't want to clear . http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/treatment/
2.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Randy Bakeranswered
Holistic Medicine 40 years experience
It depends: Antibiotics are very helpful when started within days of being infected (the sooner the better). ILADS (Drs. who specialize in Lyme) advises doxycycline 200 mg 2x/day for 30 days,a higher dose and longer time than most Drs. prescribe, but many cases will be cured taking lower doses for shorter times. If it's been weeks since infection antibiotics may not help much! See https://tinyurl.com/y8opon3c
316 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
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Last updated Jun 22, 2018
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