What You Need to Know about Lyme Disease
by Rika Keck ·
Rika Keck, is the founder
NY Integrated Health.
Rika is trained extensively in Applied Clinical Nutrition, Metabolic Typing, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition and Exercise.
As a Health Expert, she is able to address underlying metabolic imbalances contributing to e.g. digestive ailments, weight gain, food sensitivities, skin conditions, fatigue, Candida, immune dysfunctions, inflammation, hormonal imbalances, painful joints & detoxification concerns. In addition, she can provide a metabolic – health evaluation of blood labs.
As an Exercise Expert, she is able to facilitate improved function, sports performance and post-surgery rehabilitation exercise. As a Health Advocate, she is an impassioned and knowledgeable speaker on a broad range of holistic Wellness topics.
Today, Lyme disease is the #1 infectious agent in the US. Two or three weeks of antibiotics is not sufficient for many, and up to 40% experience ongoing symptoms despite early treatment after a tick or spider bite. Late stage Lyme disease and co-infections are often misdiagnosed such as rheumatoid arthritis, IBS, fibromyalgia, bipolar disorder, Autism spectrum disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other illnesses. Doctors in medical school are not trained in this arena, and the pharmaceutical industry sees no profit with generic drugs and are not interested in getting involved. Hence the is lack of funding for research (except for profit-driven vaccine manufacturers.)
The Lyme Labyrinth
Many are misdiagnosed with various diseases and idiopathic illnesses, yet they are actually infected with Lyme disease and co-infections. This is why I call it a ‘Lyme Labyrinth.’ Conventional medicine disputes chronic Lyme disease and many patients run from doctor to doctor trying to find out what is really going on, as they remain very sick and in chronic pain. No, it is not ‘in their head.’ In the Lyme-literate community, chronic Lyme is now referred to as PTLDS (post treatment Lyme disease syndrome) and persistent Lyme.
There tends to be more attention on Lyme disease in the spring and summer, however the potential for infection exists all year round. It is important to note that not every tick is infected, but currently roughly 50-60% in the northeast are. Last year over 300 000 individuals were diagnosed with Lyme disease in the United States. It is our responsibility to take appropriate measures to prevent a tick bite I the first place, or when pregnant to be in treatment to avoid transmission to the fetus.
Did You Know That One Tick Bite Could Transmit As Many As 15 Infectious Agents?
Besides Lyme disease, two infections are prevalent in the northeast area: These include babesia, a parasitic infections that is related to malaria (it does not respond to Doxycycline), and ehrlichiosis. However, anaplasma, bartonella, mycoplasma, chlamydia pneumonia and the powassan virus are also co-infections that can occur with a tick bite.
Infections suppress the immune system and that allows for dormant viruses in the body to activate, including, e.g. EBV (Epstein Barre virus) or herpes viruses. With a chronic condition multiple infections and viral activation must be considered. If you were infected with Lyme disease a while ago, did short term antibiotic treatment, and are still sick, do consider the impact of co-infections and viruses.
How Long Does It Take To Become Infected? Myths and Facts!
While doing research for her book Nourish, Thrive, Heal: A comprehensive and holistic guide to living with Lyme disease, I researched the transmission time of infections. It is widely believed that infection only occurs once the tick regurgitates contents from its gut where infectious agents, including Lyme spirochetes, reside. But in my research I found that infectious agents are also present in the saliva glands in the cheeks of the tick. As they embed and start feeding on the host, the tick introduces its saliva into our body. This can be a pathway for infections to occur within a much shorter time frame than originally thought.
The CDC and media display incorrect information that transmission of infection only occurs after 48 hours.
Ticks can attach to any part of the human body but are often found in hard-to-see areas such as the groin, armpits, and scalp. In most cases, the tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted. https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/index.html
This myth is being touted in the media during the summer season giving many a false sense of security if they find an attached tick on their body. As a result, individuals delay seeking treatment when symptoms arise, as they think they could not be infected after a few hours or one day. The media also reports this and, frankly, it makes me angry, as it is a giant myth.
At Lyme disease conferences, I also heard of one child being infected within 20 minutes of a tick attachment. It is not appropriate to set a timeline guide for transmission, and thus I believe in prophylactic care with herbal and homeopathic treatment for one month with any tick attachment. In addition I would apply essential oils, e.g. oregano oil or frankincense oil to the site for two weeks.
Why Testing Is Flawed:
The traditional ELISA and Western Blot test ONLY check for Lyme disease. They do not test for any the co-infections. Both tests are highly flawed and can come back negative despite a Lyme (Borrelia burgdorferi) infection being present.
If an individual does the Western Blot test shortly after infection, chances are high that it will come back negative. It takes the body a few weeks to make antibodies against a Lyme disease infection.
Also, if the immune system is already weakened by use of steroids such as an inhaler, or immune-suppression medications, the body also will not be able to mount an appropriate antibody response and the test will come back negative.
The Western Blot test was never designed as a diagnostic test. It only takes into account strain of Lyme (Borrelia), while there are over 100 hundred different strains. If you were infected in Germany or Hungary, and test in the US, your test will come back negative as we are only checking one strain in the Western Blot test.
Specialized And Specific Testing For Lyme And Co-infections
Specialized, but expensive, testing is available. Labs that engage in specialized testing include DNAConnexions, Igenex, Galaxy Labs (only bartonella), and Armin Labs in Germany. There are other companies developing tests BUT no test is foolproof. One can be infected with multiple infections, despite testing negative. Ultimately, Lyme and co-infections are a clinical diagnosis if labs are negative or inconclusive.
Wrapping Up: A holistic Lyme protocol has a healthy diet as the foundation, focusing on vegetables, herbs, and whole foods, with the elimination of processed and refined foods, especially those with toxic chemicals added to them.
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I do not recommend the CDC as your truthful resource on this matter (despite them having made changes to their site recently.) Instead, check into ILADS.org to learn what to do and what to look out for. Go on, have a good time outside, but beware. I do use essential oils for protection including lemongrass or neem oil in a dilution. I do not like chemicals. Yet Permethrin, a chemical spray, sprayed on the hiking boots can be very effective but it is a brain poison.
RIKA KECK
ACN, FDN-P
Author: NOURISH, HEAL, THRIVE: A comprehensive and holistic approach to living with Lyme Disease
Research shows that those with a selenium or magnesium deficiency are more susceptible to getting Lyme. It’s always important to be made aware is once you get Lyme Disease it’s best to get it treated as quickly as possible bef0re it bec0mes a chronic disease!!! The best known cure for Lyme disease is to take 3000 mcg of selenium daily? Paul Kangas 🙂
The Marshall Protocol has a 95% cure rate, after being near death and trying antibiotics for years. The Best MP doc in the world Vancouver BC. Dr Brian Davies has been treating me for Lyme Disease using the Marshall Protocol.
Why I Don’t Recommend the Marshall Protocol by Dr Mercola
In this webinar replay, British-born Naturopath and Founder of Infusio, Philip Battiade, shares his 20 years of experience and research into the treatment of Lyme disease through cell therapy and most specifically, the mechanisms of neurological healing. He’ll – also – go through the comprehensive science behind cellular breakdown & how Infusio can rebuild the immune system. Other Holistic Protocols!!!
But I have one qualification that most other physicians do not. My life—and a busy medical career—were disrupted midstream by fibromyalgia, later diagnosed as Lyme disease. Bill Rawls M.D.
Learn how treating Autism led Dr. Nicola McFadzean down the Lyme road, to where she is today. Beyond the Bandaid Founder, Bec Mills shares a sneak peak at this exclusive interview with USA Naturopathic Lyme Disease Doctor.
Dr. Nicola McFadzean BHSc (Naturopathy), is a key note in the upcoming Part II of the Invisibly ILL Series and is the founder and medical director of Restore Medicine, an integrative medical centre based in San Diego, California U.S.A. Having done her naturopathic training and completed the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Naturopathy) in Australia, she moved to the United States and obtained her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine, starting a private practice soon thereafter.
Dr. Nicola McFadzean is a Lyme-literate Naturopathic Physician, combining conventional and integrative approaches to treating Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses. She is a member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) and has completed her ILADS Training Program under the mentorship of Steven Harris, MD. She is on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Institute For Integrative Medicine.
Dr. Mc Fadzean is the author of The Lyme Diet: Nutritional Strategies for Healing From Lyme Disease and her latest book titled Lyme Disease in Australia; Fundamentals of an Emerging Epidemic, will be released in 2012. Dr Nicola McFadzean is also a chapter contributor to Connie Strasheim’s book, Insights into Lyme Disease Treatment: 13 Lyme Literate Practitioners Share Their Healing Strategies.
Dr. Nicola McFadzean conducts clinics in Australia twice a year, helping Lyme- sufferers navigate the testing and treatment options for tick born illness and is the Medical Advisor to the Lyme Disease Association of Australia.
In this interview learn Dr. Nicola’s opinion on: video below 🙂
*The transmission of Lyme; vector borne, congenital, sexual.
*Why natural medicine combined with antibiotics is the superior way to treat chronic Lyme and co infections.
*Insights to order of therapy for Lyme and co infections such as Babesia, Bartonella and Lyme.
*Symptom pictures of Babesia, Bartonella and Lyme.
*Lyme treatment helping with Autism, MS and Parkinson’s.
*Consideration for treatment of viruses
For more about Dr. Nicola McFadzean and her published books follow the links:
www.restoremedicine.com
www.lymedownunder.com
Heather talks about how she beat late stage chronic Lyme infection and lifelong illness.
she talks about how she first realized she had Lyme and the first symptoms, like anxiety, depression, social phobia, depersonalization, derealization she encountered which were purely neurological. Lyme Cured Naturally – Heather’s Story