Early Lyme disease commonly presents as what lesion around the bite?

• A. Nausea
• B. Red ringed area with a white or faded center
• C. Blistering rash with pus
• D. Dry scaly patch

Answer: (B)

The skin finding described is erythema migrans, the classic early sign of Lyme disease. After a tick bite, Borrelia burgdorferi often causes a circular rash that expands over days to weeks and develops central clearing, giving a red ring with a lighter center—a bull’s-eye pattern around the bite. This pattern is distinctive for early Lyme disease and helps distinguish it from other skin conditions. Nausea is not a skin lesion and is a nonspecific symptom; a blistering rash with pus suggests a bacterial skin infection rather than Lyme; a dry, scaly patch points to dermatitis or fungal conditions, not the expanding erythema migrans.