Lyme disease is a growing, silent epidemic, and mainstream medicine has only just started to take it seriously. Conventional treatment for this devastating illness involves antibiotic therapy immediately after infection. However, most people who contract Lyme disease are unaware that they’ve been exposed until years later when symptoms begin to surface: aches and flu-like feelings, severe pain and stiffness, rashes, fatigue, neurological problems, and blood pressure spikes. By then, antibiotics are virtually useless.
Once the infection takes hold, the bacteria that causes Lyme hides within cells and tissues where antibiotics — pharmaceutical or natural — often can’t reach. Natural treatment is difficult and requires a strategic protocol that considers contributing co-factors, including genetic susceptibility, which can make the disease harder to treat.
Fastest-growing vector-borne disease
A vector-borne illness is one caused by a microorganism transmitted by an insect bite, such as a tick or mosquito. In this case, the microorganism that causes Lyme disease is a spiral-shaped bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi, transmitted by infected deer ticks, tiny black ticks often smaller than a flea.
These ticks live primarily on deer and other wildlife, and with wild animal population booms over the last decade, we’re seeing a corresponding increase in Lyme disease in people, as our environments increasingly overlap. While the tiny deer tick appears to be the primary carrier of Lyme disease, other reports suggest that any tick can be a carrier, such as various species of dog ticks.
One way to protect yourself from Lyme disease is to follow proper tick removal instructions from the CDC. Many county health departments will test your tick for the Lyme bacteria. However, even if the tick tests negative, they often carry other organisms that can cause co-infections.
Hard numbers
It’s estimated that Lyme disease affects between 20,000 and 30,000 people each year, mostly in the northeast and northwest United States — though with a rise in numbers, cases have been documented throughout the US. Delayed diagnosis and treatment can lead to a chronic, degenerative, and highly debilitating condition that persists for years. And many cases are misdiagnosed initially.
Equally concerning, researchers now believe that the disease can be sexually transmitted, and partners can infect each other unknowingly.
In its early stages, Lyme disease can often be recognized by a telltale “bull’s-eye” rash at the site of the tick bite, which can appear an average of 1 to 2 weeks (range = 3 to 30 days) after disease transmission. However, the rash can sometimes be concealed, on top of the head, for example, or in many cases, it may not appear at all.
More than just a tick bite
Lyme disease is a stealthy intruder, but it doesn’t always act alone. The bacterium triggers the initial flu-like symptoms, but other chronic health conditions can make this degenerative disease much worse and more difficult to treat. Compounding co-factors include chronic inflammation, immune suppression, co-infections from viruses, parasites, other bacteria, and fungi, and elevated levels of heavy metals and toxins.
To successfully treat Lyme disease, you must incorporate multi-layered solutions involving detoxification therapies, anti-inflammatory approaches, and the diagnosis and treatment of co-infections. Moreover, targeting the blood-brain barrier is essential, as Lyme bacterium may hide within the nervous system.
Lyme bacterium and co-infections may also hide within biofilms, protective coatings formed by microorganism colonies like candida and Borrelia. A multi-targeted strategy of breaking up biofilms with specific enzymes, fighting the infections with antimicrobial agents, and following with detoxification and probiotic treatment is proving to be a potential solution to numerous persistent infections.
In truth, there are many integrative strategies to help strengthen immunity, detoxify the system, fight infections, and reduce inflammation. Things such as phosphatidylcholine, glutathione, acupuncture, full body heat treatments, and other naturopathic IV therapies help reduce inflammation, target infections, support neurological health, increase vital energy, and restore balance to the system.
If you have concerns about Lyme disease, it’s critical to work with an integrative health provider experienced in treating this area. Lyme disease is a complicated condition, but that doesn’t mean you are powerless against it. By integrating conventional treatments like antibiotics (especially in the early stages) with naturopathic approaches to boost immunity, fight infection, remove toxins, target biofilms and fight inflammation, you can control this debilitating condition, address potential complications, and restore health and vitality over time.
