The plays on words over Lyme disease and ticks are never-ending. Yet Lyme disease is a serious subject for all too many. There are possibly thousands or more already infected with Lyme disease who have yet to find out. Many have been misdiagnosed and continue to struggle with their health.
What really does make Lyme disease 'tick'?
Everyone seems to be in agreement that Lyme disease is a growing problem. One that beckons for more accurate testing and educated doctors armed with the understanding of how easily Lyme can be overlooked. Being a spirochete infection, it's not as simple as an illness just running it's course. Many of us remember Syphilis, and how it is/was called "The Great Imitator". Well Lyme is also a "Great Imitator", a stealth pathogen that comes as a package deal with other infections usually. It preys upon those with a weakened immune system that somehow lets the infection(s) take root. Many of us have weakened immune systems and are not aware of it.
Dr. Jemsek, once an HIV specialist, is now helping 'pioneer' the way with Lyme disease. In this video entitled, "Dr. Jemsek Speaks the Truth", he tells of how similar Lyme disease is to the early HIV/AIDS days.The University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter - Sept 2010 published an article on Lyme disease.
This monthly newsletter can be found online in part at www.wellnessletter.com, however it is a paid subscription journal, so only the the first paragraph is available free online. A family member has been receiving a subscription for over 20 years. I find the information usually quite current and helpful.
The Lyme disease article is entitled "What Makes Lyme disease Tick?", please find it in full below.
"What Makes Lyme Disease Tick"
Lyme disease turned 35 this year, but no one’s celebrating. Scientists first detected the tick-borne illness near Lyme, Connecticut, in 1975. In recent years, 20,000 to 30,000 Americans have been diagnosed with Lyme disease annually. The illness occurs in at least 44 U.S. states- with the great majority of cases in the Midwest and Northeast – and in every continent except Antarctica.
The good news is that you can do a lot to protect yourself from getting bitten by a tick. And if you develop Lyme disease it’s treatable with antibiotics.
Lyme disease 101
Certain types of ticks transmit Borrelia burgorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. One of the most prevalent carriers is the deer tick. Luckily, the disease is difficult to get because most ticks are not infected, and if they are, they usually have to be embedded in your skin for at least 36 hours to transit the infection.
If you do become infected, you may develop symptoms in 3 to 30 days. About 80% of the time, the first sign is an expanding red rash, typically around the bite site (even if the tick is not infected, the bite itself can cause redness around the site, usually less than an inch in diameter). Flu-like symptoms may also occur. If untreated, Lyme may cause a multitude of symptoms. The most common are facial paralysis, headaches, and heart rhythm disturbances.
Treatment: how much is too much?
If you have a rash and/or other symptoms, see your doctor. If I turns out you have Lyme disease, the recommended treatment is oral antibiotics for two weeks. For later-stage manifestations of Lyme disease such as neurological, joint, or heart problems, you will need another two weeks of antibiotics, usually given intravenously. Some people get better without treatment, but antibiotics shorten recovery time and prevent complications.
Many websites talk about ”chronic Lyme disease” or “post-Lyme syndrome” and claim this is a common illness, even though the terms really have no accepted definition. You’ll find assertions that antibiotics won’t cure Lyme disease, along with recommendations for alternative treatments. You’ll even find claims that the government is unwilling to admit how many cases of “chronic Lyme disease” there are. None of this is supported by scientific evidence.
Of particular concern is long-term use of antibiotics for Lyme disease. Taking them for more than a month has not been shown to have any benefits and, in fact, can be dangerous. Recently, a review panel of the Infectious Disease Society of America reaffirmed the group’s earlier conclusion that long-term antibiotic therapy constitutes “considerable risk of harm, including potentially life-threatening adverse events.” If a doctor wants you to take antibiotics for a prolonged period, get a second opinion.
How to protect yourself
Ticks are most active between April and October. If you spend time outdoors in areas where there are ticks, take these steps:
Þ Wear light-colored, long-sleeved shirts, socks, and pants. Tuck your pants into your socks.
Þ Apply a repellent containing DEET or picaridin on exposed skin, and spray permethrin on your clothes.
Þ When you get home, look for ticks all over your body, including your scalp and groin area. Unless they’re engorged with blood, ticks
can be hard to spot. A magnifying glass can help.
Þ Tick-proof your property by clearing brush and leaves.
Þ Cats and dogs get Lyme disease, too. Check your pets regularily for ticks.
Þ One bout of Lyme disease will not make you immune to future infections, so always take precautions when you venture into
tick-infested areas.
What to do if you find a tick
If you find a tick embedded on your body, do not use a hot match, petroleum jelly, or gasoline to remove it. Instead, after cleaning the area, remove the tick with tweezers (preferably fine-tipped), grasping it firmly as close to your skin as possible, and pulling away with a steady motion.
Don’t twist the tick, since that may break off the mouth-parts and lead to an infection. Don’t crush, puncture, or squeeze the tick’s body. If the mouthparts break off in the skin, use tweezers, as you would to remove a splinter, then wash the bite site with soap and water.
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Below I have taken excerpts from the newsletter's article and inserted some links, comments and references."What Makes Lyme Disease Tick"
"In recent years, 20,000 to 30,000 Americans have been diagnosed with Lyme disease annually. The illness occurs in at least 44 U.S. states- with the great majority of cases in the Midwest and Northeast – and in every continent except Antarctica."
*According to Dr. Oz from his May 11 2010 television show, Lyme is found in every state, except Hawaii.
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/avoid-bite-lyme-disease
"The good news is that you can do a lot to protect yourself from getting bitten by a tick. And if you develop Lyme disease it’s treatable with antibiotics."
*Lyme may be 'treatable', however without early detection the probability of successful treatment declines. Since the testing is not reliable most cases of infection go undetected.
Lyme disease 101
" Luckily, the disease is difficult to get because most ticks are not infected, and if they are, they usually have to be embedded in your skin for at least 36 hours to transit the infection."
* I had the classic bulls-eye shaped rash, and yet did not see a tick on my body. The rash presented on my left inner wrist while camping at Long Point Provincial Park, Ontario Canada- July 2002. This is a highly visible area on the body and the only insect I saw was a mosquito that bit me in that area a few days before. Lyme disease is endemic is this region of Canada now- along the north shore of Lake Erie- a bird haven.
Yet the Internal Medicine specialist I saw stated I had not been anywhere that there were ticks!
"Flu-like symptoms may also occur. If untreated, Lyme may cause a multitude of symptoms. The most common are facial paralysis, headaches, and heart rhythm disturbances."
* So how is this 'multitude of symptoms' to be taken care of then and who is going to pay?
Treatment: how much is too much?
"If you have a rash and/or other symptoms, see your doctor. If I turns out you have Lyme disease, the recommended treatment is oral antibiotics for two weeks. For later-stage manifestations of Lyme disease such as neurological, joint, or heart problems, you will need another two weeks of antibiotics, usually given intravenously."
*How is it that it might 'turn out' that you have Lyme disease?- with unreliable and largely unavailable testing combined with primary care doctors that are not yet fully informed about this disease, how are people to get a timely diagnosis if they do become infected?
"Some people get better without treatment, but antibiotcs shorten recovery time and prevent complications."
*Yes, is true, yet just a bit incomplete, to the point of being misleading.Some people who are HIV positive never do develop AIDS either..Antibiotics even when administered early, still do not prevent later complications in far too high of a percentage of people. Then there are those who are mis-diagnosed. The longer it takes to get an accurate diagnosis the more difficult and lengthy the treatment.
More needs to be addressed regarding the above quote, as this subject area is not quite as simple as as been stated in this newsletter.
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"Many websites talk about ”chronic Lyme disease” or “post-Lyme syndrome” and claim this is a common illness, even though the terms really have no accepted definition."
* The award winning documentary, "Under Our Skin" follows the lives a several Lyme patients, showing that Lyme symptoms for many people often do continue on after conventional treatments."Instead, the IDSA Lyme guidelines endorse an indirect antibody testing protocol that misses well over half the truly ill patients, and attributes ongoing Lyme disease symptoms to the “aches and pains of daily living."
From Pubmed, Two-Year Evaluation of Borrelia burgdorferi Culture and Supplemental Tests for Definitive Diagnosis of Lyme Disease
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1248466/?tool=pubmed
I find the information in this newsletter misleading, too much valuable information has been omitted. For instance the following Lyme treatment recommendations are from the Government of Ontario's website:
"If symptoms of Lyme disease develop, antibiotics should prevent further complications. The earlier treatment is received, the better. If the initial infection is not treated, symptoms involving the heart, nervous system or joints can occur." http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/ms/lyme/public/
So in response to the UC Berkeley's newsletter, it is only the 'definition' of "post-Lyme syndrome" that has not been accepted. This is not to say it does not 'exist'- just by what definition? It is important for the public to be aware that this debate is about what to call a set of symptoms, and who is going to pay.
This information could mislead many less informed people, if not clarified quickly. The IDSA is policing itself- leading the public to believe they are not at risk of to the degree they really are. Lyme is endemic in many regions now. It is not easy to treat and the price being paid is far too high.
"You’ll find assertions that antibiotics won’t cure Lyme disease, along with recommendations for alternative treatments. You’ll even find claims that the government is unwilling to admit how many cases of “chronic Lyme disease” there are. None of this is supported by scientific evidence."
*This is simply not true- there is supporting evidence (more links to follow to refute this). TO state something as fact and declare it is true, just 'because we said so', is not a valid argument. The IDSA has not yet been held accountable for the poorly written Lyme disease treatment guidelines, and their conflict of interests.
Lyme being a spirochete infection, which is the same type of infection as Syphilis, can cause complications later on especially for far too many.. This is what the CDC has to say about late untreated Syphilis:
"The latent (hidden) stage of syphilis begins when primary and secondary symptoms disappear. Without treatment, the infected person will continue to have syphilis even though there are no signs or symptoms; infection remains in the body. This latent stage can last for years. The late stages of syphilis can develop in about 15% of people who have not been treated for syphilis, and can appear 10 – 20 years after infection was first acquired. In the late stages of syphilis, the disease may subsequently damage the internal organs, including the brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones, and joints. Signs and symptoms of the late stage of syphilis include difficulty coordinating muscle movements, paralysis, numbness, gradual blindness, and dementia. This damage may be serious enough to cause death.".
Please leave your feedback. This type of article on Lyme disease can stir an emotional response in those who have struggled with their health after being infected with Lyme. For many the journey has been very long and expensive. The cost has not only been in momentary terms. Yet it helps get our message received more readily if we remain calm and respond with logic and fact, rather than anger and sadness.
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Be Well
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