Navigating Lyme
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and we’d like to do our part in helping to spread the word about the dangers of this tick borne illness. Lyme may well be the number one infectious disease in the United States and Europe, practically an epidemic. Yet making a Lyme diagnosis is not an easy task for a physician. Both insurance companies and government agencies discourage a diagnosis. Many physicians have been investigated, disciplined, and/or stripped of their licenses because of their approach to healing Lyme Disease.
Lyme Disease is an infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a spirochete bacterium. Spirochetes are bacteria named for their spiral, worm-like shape. Lyme Disease was first recognized in the United states in 1975, following a mysterious outbreak of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in a rural town near Lyme, Connecticut. Entomologist Willy Burgdorfer, Ph.D. discovered the cause of Lyme Disease in 1982, when he isolated spirochetes belonging to the genus Borrelia from Ixodes ticks.
Borrelia burgdorferi can infect both humans and animals. It was originally believed that only deer ticks were capable of transmitting the disease, but now it has been shown that it can also be transmitted by fleas, mosquitoes, and mites. Inspect your skin after being outdoors and if you find a tick, remove it properly and promptly. Removing a tick within 24 hours will usually prevent infection. Peak season for ticks is usually between April and September.
Elusive Diagnosis
Lyme Disease is particularly challenging because it is more than a simple infection. Lyme is a complex illness that can consist of other co-infections, like the parasitic pathogens Babesia, Bartonella and Ehrlichia. Lyme spirochetes are insidious invaders that can attack multiple organ systems and mimic other diseases. If the early symptoms like muscle pain in the large joints are ignored, more serious, chronic problems can develop in later months and years.
Lyme disease can elude many doctors because of its ability to mimic so many other diseases. Well-meaning physicians may not have considered a bacterial infection as the possible cause of a variety of conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Alzheimer’s, severe hormone imbalances, and other chronic, degenerative diseases.
Many people who do not go down the path of tick bite/bull’s-eye rash/positive diagnosis/short-term antibiotic with Lyme Disease may have a story of how they were misdiagnosed. Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis since blood work is inconclusive and false negatives are commonplace. Accurate diagnosis is made by a trained physician or Lyme specialist based on a thorough health history analysis, backed up by blood testing for Lyme co-infections, as well as other markers of inflammation and immune function. One common fact about the spirochete bacterium responsible for Lyme is that it is a very tricky pathogen.
Tick Tips
To help raise awareness of Lyme Disease and any tick borne illness, read our list of tips, and nutritional and supplement suggestions to help navigate the symptoms;
1. Prevent tick bites by using a natural insect repellent like “Buzz Away”.
2. The “bulls-eye rash” is only found in a minority of cases.
3. Unless Lyme is diagnosed at a very early stage, it is rarely solved simply by antibiotics.
4. Our bodies do not maintain an immunity to Lyme, so reinfection is possible.
5. Lyme is not just a disease that makes you feel tired and achy, but can be health destroying.
6. Maintain a balanced lifestyle of natural foods, exercise, adequate sleep, and stress reduction.
7. Clinical trials have shown that “Allimed” kills the bacteria responsible for Lyme Disease. This product contains Allicin, the active ingredient in garlic, one of nature’s powerful antibiotics.
8. Reduce inflammation with protease enzymes, like Vitalzym and Zyflamend, along with high doses of Omega 3 oils (molecularly distilled only).
9. Support the immune system with supplements like Vitamin C, mushroom combination formulas, astragalus, colostrum, thymus formulas, beta-1 3d glucan, zinc, green drinks.
10. Schweitzer Formula is a universal disinfectant, a blood purifier, anti-inflammatory, and immune booster, which can be used both topically and internally.
11. Electromagnetic frequency devices known as Rife Machines and Tesla Coil based field devices such as the Biocharger can offer helpful therapy.
Are you ready to learn more about Schweitzer Formula and the amazing benefits it provides for the treatment of ailments related to Lyme Disease and so many other health conditions? Visit our shop here.