Lyme disease should be immediately diagnosed if a patient presents with the telltale eye rash

Doctors were asked to immediately diagnose patients with Lyme disease if they had a revealing rash.

Rather than wait for blood test results, new guidelines from the National Institute for Excellence in Health and Care (NICE) encourage doctors to look for the rash, which is present in about two third of cases.

Laboratory tests do not always detect the infection, which can slow down the start of treatment.

Lyme disease can usually be treated with antibiotic treatment for three weeks.

But if it is not treated, the infection can lead to inflammatory arthritis, meningitis and even heart failure.

Doctors should immediately diagnose Lyme disease in patients who have revealing rash, according to the National Institute of Health and Quality of Care (stock)

"For most people with Lyme disease, antibiotic therapy will be effective. It is therefore important to diagnose and treat people as quickly as possible, "said Professor Gillian Leng, Director of Health and Social Services at NICE.

"A person with Lyme disease can have a wide range of symptoms. We therefore offer professionals clear advice on the use of laboratory tests for diagnosis and the most appropriate antibiotic treatments.

"In case of a typical skin rash, healthcare professionals must be able to diagnose Lyme disease with confidence."

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is transmitted to humans through infected ticks found in forests of Europe and North America.

Most people develop a distinct circular eruption – known as erythema migrans – within 30 days of a bite.

This rash looks like a wick because of the fact that the affected area is red and the edges are slightly elevated.

More serious symptoms can develop in a few weeks, months or even years if Lyme disease is not treated or is not treated early enough.

Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose because its early symptoms resemble those of other conditions.

These symptoms may include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle and joint pain
• Tired

Blood tests can confirm the diagnosis, but they are often negative in the early stages of infection.

In fact, they look for antibodies in the blood (anti-immune proteins released in response to an infection).

However, it can go off six to eight weeks before the Lyme disease antibodies appear after a person has been stung.

In the UK, patients had previously required two blood tests before an official diagnosis was made.

The new orientation project – currently being consulted until 12 March – is expected to increase the number of early diagnoses.

This will allow patients to receive treatment immediately, reducing their risk of complications.

In the absence of rash and when the symptoms are unclear, doctors will be asked to perform blood tests as usual.

Professor Saul Faust, chair of the guidelines committee, said, "Laboratory tests are needed when a person's symptoms are unclear, but they are not necessary if a person presents the same". Characteristic red erythema, erythema migrans.

"Doctors should be able to prescribe antibiotics immediately to people with erythema migrans."

Veronica Hughes, executive director of Caudwell LymeCo, a UK charity for patients with Lyme disease, added: "Waiting for blood test results still delays treatment.

"When a patient has a rash, this delay is unnecessary and reduces the chances of total recovery."