Timeline
When symptoms started, what changed before the first flare, what makes symptoms better or worse, and what has already been tried.
Pediatric Lyme disease · Functional medicine care
If Lyme is part of your child's story, the whole timeline matters.
Tick-borne illness can overlap with fatigue, pain, headaches, mood changes, sleep problems, gut issues, and neuroimmune symptoms. We help families look at exposure history, testing, immune load, gut health, and recovery support.
Written and medically reviewed by Kimberly Baggio, MS, CPNP-PC, BC-FMP Last updated May 10, 2026
What parents are facing
Lyme disease in children is rarely just one symptom.
Families usually arrive here after months or years of treating isolated symptoms while the bigger pattern keeps showing up at home. We look at the timeline, the body systems involved, the testing already done, and the clues that may have been missed.
- Your child has symptoms that keep returning, shifting, or affecting daily life.
- Standard testing may have ruled out urgent problems without explaining why this is still happening.
- You need a clinician who can connect gut, immune, food, infection, sleep, nutrient, and environmental clues.
What we investigate before recommending a plan.
Gut and food patterns
Constipation, reflux, picky eating, bloating, food reactions, microbiome balance, and gut barrier clues.
Immune load
Recurrent infections, allergies, autoimmune history, inflammation, PANS/PANDAS clues, and post-viral or tick-borne patterns.
Environment
Mold, water damage, seasonal triggers, chemical exposures, sleep space, school exposures, and other hidden stressors.
Nutrient status
Iron, vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, omega-3s, methylation needs, and other deficiencies that can affect resilience.
Real-life fit
What your child will tolerate and what your family can realistically sustain without burning out.
Simple plan
Start with the next right clinical step.
The free consult helps determine whether your child is a fit for a full intake, focused gut testing, 4-month concierge care, or a different referral first.
- 01
Start with fit.
Tell us what your child is dealing with and what care you have already tried.
- 02
Map the drivers.
If we work together, we review the timeline, symptoms, labs, medications, diet, sleep, and environment.
- 03
Follow a written plan.
You leave with prioritized next steps for testing, food, supplements when appropriate, routines, and follow-up.
Clinical deep dive
What parents need to know about lyme disease in children.
Tick exposure is not always a simple yes or no.
Some children have a known tick bite and a rash. Some never saw the tick. Some were treated early and recovered. Others have lingering fatigue, pain, headaches, mood changes, sleep disruption, gut symptoms, or sudden neuropsychiatric changes that made parents wonder whether infection or immune activation is still part of the story.
Lyme and tick-borne illness can become emotionally charged quickly. Families are often caught between “Lyme explains everything” and “Lyme cannot explain anything.” We take a more careful path.
What we look for.
We review exposure history, symptom timeline, geography, rashes, fevers, joint pain, headaches, fatigue, school stamina, mood, sleep, gut symptoms, immune patterns, prior antibiotics, prior testing, and other possible triggers such as mold, strep, EBV, or mycoplasma.
Testing may include conventional Lyme testing, specialty tick-borne panels when clinically appropriate, inflammatory markers, immune markers, nutrient status, stool testing, or evaluation for co-triggers. We do not order expensive panels casually. Testing has to answer a real question.
How functional medicine fits.
Children with tick-borne illness concerns often need both conventional medical thinking and functional support. Antibiotics may be appropriate when infection is active or strongly suspected, and that belongs in a responsible clinical framework. Functional medicine can support the terrain around the infection: gut recovery after antibiotics, inflammation, sleep, nutrition, detoxification capacity, mitochondrial stress, mold overlap, and nervous-system regulation.
Kim’s clinical approach to Lyme and tick-borne illness in children is informed by ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society) guidelines, adjusted individually based on each child’s history, co-infections, prior treatment, and tolerance. ILADS is the clinical community that takes chronic and persistent Lyme presentations seriously, and it tends to align more closely with what functional medicine families are looking for than the shorter standard guidelines.
We also look for other explanations. Not every tired child has Lyme. Not every positive result explains the symptoms. The timeline has to make sense.
When this becomes complex.
Lyme concerns often overlap with PANS/PANDAS, mold exposure, chronic pain, headaches, fatigue, ADHD-like symptoms, and gut dysfunction. Those cases are usually better suited for the 4-Month Concierge Package than a quick package.
The goal is not to chase every possible microbe. The goal is a clear clinical map and a plan that helps your child function again.
Work with us in Morgantown or by telehealth where licensed.
Families come to Calm Wellness from Berks County, Chester County, Lancaster County, Montgomery County, and across Pennsylvania and New York because pediatric functional medicine for complex children is hard to find close to home.
Morgantown clinic
In-person Friday clinic in Morgantown, PA.
See service area →Reading + Berks County
Care for Reading, West Reading, Wyomissing, Douglassville, and nearby families.
See service area →Chester County
Families from West Chester, Exton, Downingtown, Honey Brook, and Elverson drive to Morgantown or use PA telehealth.
See service area →Lancaster County
Lancaster families use the Morgantown clinic and secure Pennsylvania telehealth.
See service area →Pennsylvania telehealth
Secure video visits across Pennsylvania when clinically appropriate.
See service area →New York telehealth
Secure video visits for families anywhere in New York State.
See service area → Common questions
Things parents ask us about this.
Do you diagnose and treat pediatric Lyme disease?
We help families evaluate whether Lyme or tick-borne illness belongs on the clinical map and we coordinate with appropriate medical care when antibiotic treatment or specialist input is needed. The work also includes gut support, immune resilience, sleep, nutrition, inflammation, and recovery after illness.
What if my child's Lyme test was negative but the symptoms fit?
A negative test does not automatically explain the whole story, and a positive test does not automatically explain every symptom. We review the exposure history, symptom timeline, prior testing, immune markers, gut health, and other possible drivers so the next step is thoughtful instead of reactive.
References
- Lantos PM, et al. Clinical Practice Guidelines by the IDSA, AAN, and ACR: 2020 Guidelines for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Lyme Disease. Clin Infect Dis. 2021. doi:10.1093/cid/ciaa1215. PMID:33417672. Source
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Signs and Symptoms of Untreated Lyme Disease. Updated May 15, 2024. Source
This article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. See our medical disclaimer and editorial policy .
Start here
Start with a free 15-minute consult.
Tell us what has been going on. Kim will help you understand whether Calm Wellness is the right fit and which care path makes sense for your child.