Vax-Before-Travel, an international publisher of vaccine information noted that in 2025 Lyme disease ticks have progressed westward into many midwestern states. It has also reported a significant increase. However, while the Tick Season is back, there is a new Lyme treatment on the horizon. But, with it, there are also unique symptoms that one has to be aware of.

Unique Symptoms Of Lyme Disease In 2025

The ongoing threat of ticks is usual when one is enjoying their time as the weather warms up. They can be found in your backyard and can transmit Lyme disease, a tickborne infection caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi.

While Lyme disease is usually resolved with a short course of antibiotics, it is not always a simple illness. Sometimes, it can lead to prolonged symptoms, if untreated.

As per American Medical Association (AMA), Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the US, with an estimated 476,000 people diagnosed and treated each year. The numbers are also corroborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Maryland Government Health website also notes that for about 75% of those diagnosed with Lyme disease, the first sign is always a skin lesion. This appears within one to four weeks after being bitten by an infected deer tick. However, only about 20% of these lesions take on the classic bull's eye appearance, which is most commonly associated with Lyme disease. This means, 55% of those with lesions may not even be diagnosed with the condition, and may not get the treatment.

ALSO READ: Lyme Disease In US: How Worried Should You Be Of Ticks?

Here Are 7 Unique Symptoms Of Lyme Disease

Heart Problems

The Time reports that if Lyme is not treated early on, it can impact the cardiac, neurologic, and rheumatologic systems. The CDC notes that 1 out of 100 patients have Lyme bacteria in their heart tissues. The condition is also called Lyme carditis.

This leads to heart inflammation, light headedness, fainting, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, or chest pain.

Brain Fog

John Hopkins Medicine Lyme Disease Research Center notes that advanced brain imaging shows that Lyme disease brain fog is real. It can lead to various brain effects, including difficulty in focusing, thinking, reading, and absorbing information.

Bell's Palsy

There are 12 essential nerves, also known as the cranial nerves that originate in the brain and play an important role in sensory functions and movements in the different parts of the head, face, neck, and torso. Lyme disease can also affect those nerves, leading to Bell's Palsy, causing sudden weakness or even paralysis.

Eye Problems

Some people may experience eye irritation and conjunctivitis. The American Journal of Medicine's 1995 study also suggests that Lyme can cause sudden vision loss, damage to optic nerve, and neurotrophic keratitis (decreased corneal sensation). Other symptoms include blurry vision, eye floaters, tearing and extreme sensitivity to light.

Hearing Problems

A 2018 study published in Otolaryngologia Polska, reported of the 216 people with tickborne disease, 162 experienced otolaryngological symptoms—making them a “frequent manifestation,” according to the study authors. The most common hearing issues are tinnitus, vertigo and dizziness, headache, and unilateral sensorineural hearing or hearing loss in one ear.

Arthritis

It is one of the common symptoms of Lyme disease, especially in young people. It can be seen in form of a swollen knee, a low grade fever, or a kid limping. It usually starts at a fourth week of being bitten.

On a hopeful note, researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois recently screened over 500 antibiotics and FDA-approved compounds to identify treatments that specifically target the unique cellular makeup of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria behind Lyme disease.

Their findings, published in Science Translational Medicine, revealed that piperacillin, an antibiotic from the penicillin family, successfully cured mice of Lyme disease at doses 100 times lower than doxycycline, the standard treatment currently in use.

Fatigue

This is not just any fatigue, but a weakness that is debilitating. A 2022 study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases noted that people with a history of Lyme were 8 to 15 times more likely to report severe or moderate fatigue than those who have never had the disease.

READ: Family Shares How A Lyme Disease Misdiagnosis Cost Their Son's Childhood

How Long Do These Symptoms Last?

As per the National Health Service, (NHS), UK, in case of a rash, it can appear up to 3 months after being bitten by an infected tick. However, in most common cases, it appears within 1 to 4 weeks, and stays for several weeks.

In cases of untreated Lyme disease, the symptoms may appear later, and may become chronic, like debilitating fatigue.

We have all been there. You polish off a hearty meal, lean back with satisfaction and then comes that all-too-familiar burn in your stomach. For most people, the quick fix is to blame the food and pop an antacid. But what if that nagging pain is not just about what you ate?

According to Dr Akash Chaudhary, Clinical Director and Sr Consultant Medical Gastroenterology at Care Hospitals, Hyderabad, “That familiar burn after a meal might seem harmless at first. But when it starts showing up regularly, especially during long gaps between meals or waking you up at night, it could be your body signalling something more serious, like a peptic ulcer.”

What Is a Peptic Ulcer?

A peptic ulcer is basically a sore that develops on the inner lining of your stomach or the upper part of your small intestine. These sores form when the protective lining of the stomach wears down. “This kind of damage is often due to an H. pylori infection or the regular use of pain-relief medication like NSAIDs,” Dr Chaudhary explains. Without that protective cushion, the very acid that digests your food ends up irritating and damaging your stomach instead.

Unique Symptoms of Peptic Ulcer You Might Miss

Ulcers do not always announce themselves with big warning signs. Dr Pavan Reddy Thondapu, HOD of Medical Gastroenterology at Arete Hospitals, says that what often begins as “minor digestive discomfort, a burning sensation, early satiety, or bloating after meals can sometimes signal something more serious if ignored.”

Other tell-tale but easily overlooked signs include:

• Upper abdominal pain that keeps coming back, often worse after meals
• Unexpected nausea or changes in appetite
• Feeling unusually full too quickly (early satiety)
• Black, tarry stools or vomiting blood in advanced cases
• Unexplained tiredness, weight loss, or loss of appetite

Most people dismiss these symptoms as routine acidity or indigestion. But as Dr Chaudhary warns, “When the real cause goes unnoticed, ulcers can quietly progress, sometimes leading to bleeding or even a tear in the stomach lining.”

Why Antacids Do Not Always Cut It

Reaching for an antacid may calm the discomfort for a few hours, but it does not solve the underlying issue. “It is not uncommon for patients to self-medicate and ignore early symptoms, but that often delays recovery and increases risk,” Dr Thondapu points out. Antacids mask the pain, but the ulcer continues its work quietly in the background, setting the stage for bigger problems.

When to See a Doctor

The golden rule, if the burning pain keeps returning, especially after meals or early in the morning, is to not wait it out. According to Dr Chaudhary, “If someone experiences persistent burning pain after meals, they shouldn’t delay medical attention. What feels like a routine gastric issue may be a more serious condition silently progressing in the background.”

Red flag symptoms that warrant immediate medical evaluation include:

• Vomiting blood or black stools
• Difficulty swallowing
• Severe, persistent upper abdominal pain
• Unexplained weight loss or fatigue

How Doctors Get to the Bottom of It

Thankfully, diagnosing a peptic ulcer is not as scary as it sounds. “We usually diagnose peptic ulcers through simple procedures like an upper GI endoscopy or a breath test for H. pylori,” says Dr Thondapu. An endoscopy gives a direct look at the stomach lining, while non-invasive tests can quickly confirm an infection.

The Road to Healing

Ulcers are highly treatable once detected. Treatment usually involves:

• Acid-suppressing medications to give the stomach lining a chance to heal
• Antibiotics if H. pylori is detected
• Stopping or adjusting long-term NSAID use
• Simple but powerful lifestyle shifts

Dr Chaudhary emphasises that “with the right medicines and a few mindful shifts in daily eating habits, most people begin to feel better within weeks.”

Important Lifestyle Tweaks

Treatment is not just about pills; how you live day to day plays a big role in preventing recurrence. Dr Thondapu recommends:

• Eating meals on time instead of long gaps or binge-eating sessions
• Cutting back on alcohol and tobacco
• Avoiding overly spicy, oily, or processed foods
• Managing stress through exercise, yoga, or mindfulness

These shifts help protect the stomach lining and keep acid levels in check, making ulcers less likely to return. In a nutshell, stomach pain after meals does not always mean you overdid it on the food. Sometimes it is your body’s way of flagging a deeper issue. As both experts stress, ignoring persistent burning pain or bloating is not worth the risk. Early diagnosis makes ulcers easy to treat, while delay can lead to serious complications.

For the first time in history, scientists have captured on film the moment a human embryo implants itself—an elusive biological milestone that has long been considered a “black box” in early human development. The breakthrough, published in Science Advances, not only offers a rare window into the earliest stages of life but also carries profound implications for fertility science and reproductive medicine.

Before any of us became who we are, we were once a fragile cluster of cells adrift, searching for a home inside the uterus. That critical moment—when the embryo anchors itself into the uterine lining, is known as implantation. It is a make-or-break step for pregnancy.

Yet until now, scientists had little more than snapshots of the process. Ultrasounds only detect pregnancies weeks later, and the act of implantation itself occurs deep within the womb, hidden from view. Roughly 60 percent of pregnancy losses occur during or shortly after implantation, making it a critical bottleneck to life.

Dr. Samuel Ojosnegros, senior author and bioengineer at the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), explains the importance, “For the first time, we’ve been able to watch human embryo implantation unfold dynamically. We’ve opened a window into a stage of development that was previously hidden.”

How Scientists Filmed the "Hidden" Process?

Since it would be too risky to disrupt implantation inside a living uterus, researchers had to recreate the process in the lab. Using embryos donated by couples undergoing IVF, Ojosnegros and his team built a model of the uterine environment.

The embryos were placed into a collagen-based gel designed to mimic the structure and nutrients of uterine tissue. With advanced microscopy and fluorescence imaging, researchers recorded time-lapse videos showing the embryos penetrating the gel.

What they saw was surprisingly forceful. Unlike mouse embryos, which invaded only superficially, human embryos drilled deep, burrowing aggressively and reshaping the surrounding environment.

The footage revealed the embryo not as a passive passenger but as an active architect, exerting mechanical force, releasing enzymes to break down tissues, and remodeling its new home.

Watching The Surprising Force of Early Life

Implantation is not a delicate nudge. It’s invasive. The embryo pulls surrounding collagen fibers toward itself, digs deep into the tissue, and begins to prepare the foundation for the placenta.

“The embryo opens a path through this structure and begins to form specialized tissues that connect to the mother’s blood vessels,” Ojosnegros explains. “It is a surprisingly invasive process.”

In fact, this burrowing behavior underscores how different human embryos are from animal models. For decades, most implantation studies have relied on mice. But what happens in mice only loosely reflects the human experience. This research shows that human embryos go much further, both physically and biologically.

Why The “Goldilocks zone” Of Uterus Plays A Critical Role?

The study also raises new questions about the uterus itself. The maternal environment is far more than a passive host. The human uterus contracts one to two times per minute on average, and the frequency of these contractions changes throughout the menstrual cycle.

Some research suggests that too many or too few contractions on the day of embryo transfer in IVF can reduce the chances of success. The right rhythm, what some scientists call the “Goldilocks zone” of contractions may improve implantation rates.

Amélie Luise Godeau, lead author of the study, says the embryo appears to interact with these external forces as it burrows in, “We hypothesize that contractions occurring in vivo may influence embryo implantation.” Understanding this delicate rhythm between embryo and uterus could prove pivotal for advancing fertility treatments.

What Are The Implications for Fertility Science?

Implantation failure is one of the main reasons IVF doesn’t work. Despite technological advances, many embryos fail to attach, leaving patients and clinicians frustrated. By uncovering the mechanics of implantation, this research may open new paths to improve success rates.

Through their spin-off company Serabiotics, Ojosnegros and his colleagues are already working with pharmaceutical partner Grifols on protein supplements that could enhance implantation in clinics.

The model developed in the lab also offers flexibility. Since the matrix of collagen can be manipulated, researchers can experiment and see how embryos react under various conditions, nutrients, or drugs. That is, researchers can observe not just why implantation fails but also how to make it succeed.

What Are The Ethical and Biological Limits?

It's also worth noting that the model employed in this study is not a complete imitation of the uterus. It doesn't have human uterine cells, so the interaction is only half the story. Nevertheless, this restriction is also a chance—it enables scientists to manipulate the environment in ways that are impossible within the human body.

Ethically, the study stayed within the strict rules, employing donated embryos with informed consent. None of the embryos were brought to a point beyond reproductive law and ethical boundaries.

Since decades ago, the process of implantation has been told as one of biology's biggest mysteries. Now, thanks to this live footage, scientists are reauthoring the book on how life gets started.

It's not merely intellectual curiosity. For the millions of individuals around the globe who are infertile, the results might mean more targeted fertility treatments and better IVF success rates. For researchers, it provides a new method to explore the very beginnings of human existence.

Ojosnegros and his colleagues hope to refine their model further, study how embryos engage with the maternal environment, and look for signs that might some day prevent early pregnancy loss.

What this research establishes is that implantation is not a passive handoff between embryo and uterus. It's an active, forceful, highly coordinated process in which both partners—the embryo and maternal tissue are both key players.

By now, most of us know the liver as the tireless detox unit of the body. It takes in the grease, sugar, alcohol, and all the questionable late-night binge decisions and keeps life moving smoothly. But when the liver is badly scarred by cirrhosis, the consequences are not just digestive. According to Dr Joseph Salhab, a gastroenterologist, it can creep up and affect your brain in a condition known as overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE). And trust us, the symptoms can be stranger than ever.

Can your liver change your personality?

Yes, and it is not even funny. "OHE is a complication of cirrhosis and occurs when the liver sustains damage and loses its ability to remove toxins from the bloodstream effectively, causing toxins to accumulate and lead to impaired brain function," explains Dr Salhab.

The results in symptoms that do not immediately lead to liver problems. People may develop personality changes, tremors, disorientation, or even a complete shift in their sleep-wake cycles. Imagine feeling jetlagged without ever stepping on a plane.

Also Read: Why Your Anxiety Might Be In Your DNA: Study

Spotting the red flags

Dr Salhab stresses that OHE often goes undetected because its symptoms can look like other issues—stress, ageing, or even just a bad week. Confusion, forgetfulness, mood swings, and sudden changes in behaviour are all warning signs that should not be ignored. Families sometimes notice it first, especially when a usually calm person turns irritable or when handwriting suddenly looks shaky and uneven.

Tremors and clumsiness are another giveaway. These motor symptoms are particularly telling because they show the brain is being affected in very real ways.

It is this toxin overload that leads to the neurological and psychological effects we see in OHE. This makes OHE not just a medical problem but a quality-of-life bombshell.

Why it matters more than you think

Left unchecked, OHE episodes can become severe, even leading to hospitalisation. Patients might not recognise loved ones, forget basic routines, or lose the ability to care for themselves. The impact is not just medical but social and emotional. It affects families, careers, and independence.

In fact, many carers share stories of how they mistook early OHE signs for dementia or burnout. It is only after medical consultation that the link between liver and brain became clear.

Also Read: How Neoadjuvant Therapy Changes The Game In Breast Cancer Treatment

Can OHE be managed?

The good news is yes, but it requires vigilance. The first step is awareness. Knowing that cirrhosis can lead to OHE empowers patients and families to act early. Regular check-ups, honest conversations with doctors, and close monitoring of symptoms are essential in staying ahead of episodes.

Lifestyle choices also make a difference. Following medical advice on diet, avoiding alcohol, and keeping other health issues like diabetes under control can all reduce the strain on the liver.

Talking to your doctor without holding back

One of the biggest obstacles is silence. People usually do not report symptoms like confusion or mood swings because they do not connect them to their liver condition. But being open about every change, no matter how small, helps doctors spot OHE early.

Even something as simple as poor sleep or hand tremors can be clues your doctor needs. Despite sounding like a rare complication, OHE is more common than most realise. Cirrhosis itself is a growing health issue, linked not only to alcohol but also to obesity and viral hepatitis. As cirrhosis rates rise, awareness about OHE has to grow too.

If you or someone you love has cirrhosis, those little signs like irritability, shaking hands, or sudden confusion might not just be signs. They could be OHE waving its red flag. And the earlier it is caught, the better the chances of managing it.