Some patients have been known to experience Lyme disease and hives simultaneously. Hence, the possibility of a connection between them is worth exploring. Sometimes the coincidence is seen as evidence that Lyme disease is a trigger for hives. Lyme disease also happens to be thought of as “the great imitator”: hence, it has been suggested that the Lyme disease rash occasionally mimics hives.
Notwithstanding the coincidences mentioned above, there are important differences between hives and Lyme disease. For one, Lyme disease is an infectious, tick-borne bacterial infection. Hives are not infectious, though. They tend to manifest as symptoms in a wide range of circumstances, including bacterial infections, viral infections, autoimmune diseases and allergic reactions. Thus, it is not entirely strange for one to speculate that, in some people, Lyme disease, a bacterial infection, might trigger hives.
Another difference between Lyme disease and hives is that Lyme disease has the capacity to provoke neurocognitive symptoms, while hives do not. Lyme disease is also unlike hives in the sense that it can result in miscarriages, joint pain and muscle pain. Hives are unlikely to be associated with any of these unless they occur simultaneously with other medical conditions or complications.
Parallels between Lyme Disease and Hives
There are some notable parallels between hives and Lyme disease: hives are often idiopathic, while Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose. In both scenarios, patients have to deal with the frustration of having symptoms whose triggers or causes they cannot identify.
Lyme disease and hives are also similar in the sense that their respective progressions vary from individual to individual. Hives can be chronic or acute, and they can manifest on different body parts. Lyme disease can manifest as any of a wide range of symptoms, and there is nothing predictable about the combination in which they appear.
Lyme disease and hives have another important thing in common: many people recognize them by a characteristic skin condition. Hives tend to be characterized by wheals, reddish bumps that disappear after a while, only to reappear elsewhere. Lyme disease is often characterized by a bull’s-eye-like rash called erythema migrans, which typically appears several days after the tick bite. Interestingly enough, sometimes the erythema migrans rash takes on the appearance of other skin conditions like eczema, hives, poison ivy or sunburn. Thus, some people may be under the impression that they have hives when, in reality, they do not. If they are lucky, they may ultimately figure out that they have been infected with Lyme disease.
