What Are The Clinical Signs Of Lyme Disease
Some people with Lyme disease develop a characteristic bull’s-eye rash at the site of the bite within three to thirty days. If this occurs, the disease can be easily diagnosed at an early stage.
However, signs of Lyme disease are more difficult to detect in animals than in people. The characteristic rash does not develop in dogs or cats. In fact, Lyme disease is practically unheard of in cats.
“Affected dogs have been described as if they were walking on eggshells.”
Many dogs affected with Lyme disease are taken to a veterinarian because they seem to be experiencing generalized pain and have stopped eating. Affected dogs have been described as if they were walking on eggshells. Often these pets have high fevers. Dogs may also begin limping. This painful lameness often appears suddenly and may shift from one leg to another. If untreated, it may eventually disappear, only to recur weeks or months later.
Some pets are infected with the Lyme disease organism for over a year before they finally show symptoms. By this time, the disease may be widespread throughout the body. Non-specific signs which may indicate that Lyme disease is affecting the kidneys include vomiting, lethargy, anorexia , and weight loss. The kidney form of the disease is less common, but often fatal.
How Do I Remove A Tick
You should know how to remove a tick just in case one lands on you or a friend. To be safe, remove the tick as soon as possible.
If you find a tick:
- Use tweezers to grasp the tick firmly at its head or mouth, next to your skin.
- Pull firmly and steadily on the tick until it lets go of the skin. If part of the tick stays in your skin, don’t worry. It will eventually come out. But call your doctor if you notice any irritation in the area or symptoms of Lyme disease.
- Swab the bite site with alcohol.
Note: Don’t use petroleum jelly or a lit match to kill a tick. They won’t get the tick off your skin quickly enough, and may just cause it to burrow deeper into your skin.
Early Signs And Symptoms
Occur within a month of infection:
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Rash – A small, red strike may appear at the point of the tick bite. The rash, known as erythema migrans, is one of the characteristic of Lyme disease. Some may develop this rash at more than one place on their bodies.
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Flu-like symptoms – Fever, chills, fatigue, body aches and a headache may come with the rash.
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When Should I Call The Doctor
If a tick bites you, call your doctor. Other conditions can cause similar symptoms, so it’s always a good idea to discuss them with your doctor. That way you can get checked and treated, if needed. Call right away if you get a red-ringed rash, lasting flu-like symptoms, joint pain or a swollen joint, or facial paralysis.
Foods To Help You Recover From Lyme Disease
Lyme disease treatment presents unique nutritional challenges. The disease triggers inflammation that spreads throughout your body. Fortunately, you can nourish your body with foods that help you improve your health and fight inflammation. Thus, you will help your body in its recovery from the ravages of this illness.
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Four Herbs For Busting A Bartonella Infection
Greg
For people with stubborn Bartonellaby Greg Lee
Did you ever have a class clown in your school? In my class, I had a kid named Michael that would interrupt the teacher with his silly questions. He also brought in bugs and lizards that he found on his way to school. He was sent almost every week to the principals office for his disruptive behavior.
How is a class clown like a Bartonella infection?
Bartonella disrupts your body with its toxinsJust like a class clown, Bartonella symptoms can be annoying to downright disruptive to how you feel. This infection is also called cat scratch fever, because you can get it from an infected cat as well as ticks.
Many people report symptoms of burning feet, legs, and arms. Others report pains that feel like electrical zaps. In Chinese medicine, these symptoms are caused by fire toxins. When these toxins affect the skin, they produce red rashes that can look like long thin streaks. Patients also report increased bouts of anxiety, irritability, and brain fog. Certain foods trigger a flare-up of these symptoms.
Oils and sweets increase Bartonella brain fog symptomsEating foods like greasy meats, ice cream, and sweet fruits have increased symptoms of burning and brain fog in patients. Limiting or eliminating these trigger foods out of your diet helps to reduce Bartonella symptoms. Lyme literate medical practitioners describe challenges with Bartonella persisting despite antibiotic treatment.
How Is Lyme Disease Diagnosed
Dogs with lameness, swollen joints, and fever are suspected of having Lyme disease. However, other diseases may also cause these symptoms. There are a few blood tests that may be used for confirmation. The first is an antibody test, that your veterinarian can perform in the clinic setting using a special test kit. This test detects the presence of antibodies created by exposure to the organism. A test can be falsely negative if the dog is infected, but has not yet formed antibodies, or if it never forms enough antibodies to cause a positive reaction. It is recommended to test no earlier than 4 weeks after a tick bite. Some dogs that have been infected for long periods of time may no longer have enough antibodies present to be detected by the test. Therefore, a positive test is meaningful, but a negative is not. A follow up test called a QC6 test can be done to assess the numerical antibody level as confirmation.
Other tests including PCR , ELISA , joint fluid analysis, and culture can also be done with varying degrees of sensitivity, but are done less commonly. General blood and urine tests are also often done to assess kidney function and look for loss of protein in the urine. See handout Testing for Lyme Disease in Dogs for further information.
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Natural Toxin Binders Every Lyme Patient Should Know
Besides treating symptoms and the disease itself, most chronic Lyme patients understand the importance of ridding the body of toxins generated from killing bacteria. Other toxins may also be present in the body from heavy metals, mycotoxins , normal metabolism or from the environment itself. The point is, in order to give your body a chance to heal properly, these toxins must be removed in a way that doesnt disrupt your system.
This is where toxin binders can be helpful. A toxin binder is a supplement that can attach itself to a toxic substance and render it harmless while escorting it out of the body through the digestive or urinary tract. Many of these binders are so effective they can actually render various poisonous substances harmless. However, they are not all the same and you should understand the best one to use to help you with your particular health issues. Many binders can also attach themselves to food, vitamins and beneficial minerals so care should be taken to ingest them at least an hour away from these substances and to not take them over an extended period of time.
Genomic Insights From Borreliaceae Lineages
Between 1982 and 2010, the B. burgdorferi species complex, known as B. burgdorferi sensu lato, steadily expanded from 1 to 18 species as isolates from tick vectors, their hosts, and patient samples were characterized . A subset of these species are associated with human disease. B. burgdorferi sensu stricto in the USA, as well as B. afzelii and B. garinii in Eurasia are the most common agents of LD in the Northern hemisphere. Cases of LD in Europe are also caused by Bb and B. bavariensis , but are less common. B. spielmanii , B. bisettiae , and B. lusitaniae have been identified in human specimens but their clinical importance is less clear. B. valaisiana has been identified in human specimens , but others have recently provided compelling reasons why existing evidence does not support it being considered a human pathogen . Additional species have been identified in tick vectors or their hosts, but not in patient samples.
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Garlic Oil Beats Antibiotics At Killing Lyme Bacteria In Lab
You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license.
Oils from garlic and other common herbs and medicinal plants may be useful against Lyme disease symptoms that persist despite standard antibiotic treatment new lab-dish testing shows.
Researchers tested essential oilsoils pressed from plants or their fruits that contain the plants main fragrance, or essence.
Ten of the oils, including those from garlic cloves, myrhh trees, thyme leaves, cinnamon bark, allspice berries, and cumin seeds, showed strong killing activity against dormant and slow-growing persister forms of the Lyme disease bacterium, researchers found.
We found that these essential oils were even better at killing the persister forms of Lyme bacteria than standard Lyme antibiotics, says Ying Zhang, professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins Universitys Bloomberg School of Public Health.
My Long Road To A Lyme Diagnosis
I could write a freakin’ book about my pre-diagnosis Lyme experience. Not to sound dramatic, but it was basically a nightmare playing out in slow motion. For your own sanity, I’ll give you the condensed version.
Personally, I don’t remember a tick bite, and like many Lyme sufferers, I never got the bull’s-eye rash or flu-like symptoms so often touted as “classic” signs of Lyme disease. Instead, my whole ordeal began with a sharp, stinging sensation in my left ankle after a day of walking in New York City, where I’d just begun my first “big girl” job. It hurt, but I didn’t think much of it, and about a week later I was told I had tendinitis that would resolve relatively quickly. But then my other ankle started to hurt, and after a few months, the pain extended to the bottoms of my feet, my knees, and even my arms. Sometimes it would feel like electric currents were running through my toes when I stood up. After a while, I began to question my tendinitis diagnosis, but after about five “second opinions” and countless tests , doctors had no real explanation for what was going on. In the words of one of my least favorite doctors, “There’s nothing else I can do for you.”
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Lyme Disease Treatments Appointments And Physical Therapy
It was only a few years ago when I became so sick I had to quit my teaching job working with children in Special Education. I had earned half my Masters Degree in Special Education in Autism studies through the University Of Missouri.
Needless to say, it was a tough transition. I wanted to help people but was so sick all I could do was lie in bed, do my treatments, go to appointments, and take supplements.
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All the while my body continued wasting away, with my clothes hanging on my frame. My rapid decline from an active, healthy mom to four young children to barely being able to roll over in bed wasnt easily accepted by this strong-willed girl.
Thankfully, with the love and support of my family, the care of my excellent Lyme literate doctors and supportive medical team, appropriate treatments, physical therapy to offset muscle wasting, healthy foods, and many prayers have helped me grow stronger and improve.
Although Im not well yet, one day I hope to be. Its definitely a process.
Its a slow healing process when youre dealing with untreated Lyme disease symptoms. People reach out to me every week and ask what they can do to grow healthier and heal from Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.
In response to that million-dollar question, below are 21 essential strategies you can use.
Strategies To Tackle Lyme Disease
I have Lyme disease, writes this weeks viewer. Is there anything I can do to treat it naturally?
Lyme disease, the most common American tick-borne infectious disease, often goes undiagnosed or becomes misdiagnosed. That becomes a real problem when you consider that in America, up to 300,000 new cases a year of Lyme disease diagnoses have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , an increase of up to 10 times what researchers previously believed.
Lyme disease, or borreliosis, is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which can proliferate to every area in your body. An infected blacklegged deer tick transmits the virus to humans through a bite.
Unfortunately, Borrelia burgdorferi has the ability to proliferate within every area of your body, hiding from and suppressing your natural immune system. Lyme infections literally hijack your immune system like AIDS.
Lyme is one of the most challenging, difficult situations in my practice because it mimics other illnesses such as the flu, manifesting as diverse symptoms like headaches, muscle aches, stomach ulcers, constipation, and joint pain. That makes diagnosing and treating Lyme very difficult.
A weakened immune system paired with suboptimal cellular function and protection, chronic bacterial infections, and exposure to environmental toxins, like molds and parasites, can make things much worse for those who suffer from chronic Lyme.
Wishing you health and happiness,
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My Lyme Disease Interview
Last year I had the opportunity to share my story with a reporter for KY3 and KSPR News in Springfield, MO. Reporter Linda Simmons drove to our home and interviewed me. You can watch the interview here.
You can read more about my experience with Lyme disease in Undiagnosed And Suffering From Lyme Disease: I Felt Like I Was Dying
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Top 10 Best Foods For Lyme Disease
- Raw vegetables such as broccoli, kale, spinach, garlic, onions. If you cannot tolerate raw, then blanch them.
- Low sugar fruits such as berries.
- Apples-the fiber in an apple makes up for the sugar.
- Proteins such as legumes and lentils
- Proteins such as small fish, salmon and filet of sole.
- Any organic grass fed meat is okay.
- Oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, flax oil.
- Avocados
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Rachel Khanna Think Eat Cook Sustainably
Rachel writes In recent years, people have come to realize that food is a critical component of health. The foods we choose can promote health and wellness or, conversely, cause or worsen disease. This is especially the case with Lyme disease, an inflammatory condition that is a response to a bite from a tick that infects its host with Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. In supermarkets, we have choices between a wide selection of foods. The aisles in the supermarket are broken down into whole, real foods and processed, or refined, foods.
Take Organic Whole Leaf Stevia Extract
A recent study showed Stevia leaf extract killed Lyme bacteria better than antibiotics in a test tube. Keep in mind that even though this shows promise, it was in a test tube. As far as I know, there have not been any human trials done.
That said, if youre planning to try treating Lyme with Stevia please take it slow to prevent a potential herx! According to JennasLymeBlog,
The recommended dose of organic whole leaf stevia is 20 drops two times per day.
But, I started with less than half the recommended dose and herxed so please use caution!You should never start out at this dosage. Start very small, with a couple of drops per day. Titrate up very gradually. If you experience any die-off reactions then back down to a lower dosage.
*Since writing this post Ive read that Stevia is not effective for killing Lyme in humans so you may want to do further research on this and decide whether its worth your time.
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How Do I Remove A Tick From My Dog
Check your pet immediately after it has been in a tick-infected area. The deer tick is a small tick and only about pinhead size in juvenile stage, but is a little more obvious in the adult phase and after feeding. If you find a tick moving on your pet, the tick has not fed. Remove the tick promptly and place it in rubbing alcohol or crush it between two solid surfaces. If you find a tick attached to your pet, grasp the tick with fine tweezers or your finger nails near the dog’s skin and firmly pull it straight out. There are also tools available called Tick Twister® or Tick Key® which can be useful. However, take care to use them cautiously as twisting or jerking the tick may cause the mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin. See your veterinarian if you are unsure or unable to remove the tick from your dog.
Make sure you protect your fingers from exposure by using a tissue or a disposable glove.You may need another person to help restrain your dog. Removing the tick quickly is important since the disease does not appear to be transmitted until the tick has fed for approximately 12 hours. If you crush the tick, do not get the tick’s contents, including blood, on your skin.
Note: The bacterium that causes Lyme disease can pass through a wound or cut in your skin.
Phase 2 Stay Clean And Populate With Good Guys:
If youve been dealing with chronic illness for a long time, for phase two, I recommend reading and following Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections.
If youre not very poor health, I recommend spending the following 5-6 months taking the following every day as directed:
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