Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Antibiotics Used For Lyme Disease

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What Causes Lyme Disease

Antibiotics for Lyme Disease

People get Lyme disease when they are bitten by an infected tick. Ticks live in areas with a lot of plant life, such as wooded areas or fields. They sit near the top of grassy plants and low bushes. They wait there for people or animals to brush up against them. Ticks can crawl on your clothes or body for up to several hours or more before attaching to the skin.

Ticks can attach to any part of your body. They are usually found in hard-to-see areas, including the armpits, groin, or scalp. An infected tick needs to be attached to your skin for 36 to 48 hours before it passes the bacteria on to you.

People who spend time in outdoor areas where ticks are common are at higher risk of getting tick-borne diseases.

History And Physical Examination

The clinical diagnosis of Lyme disease can be straightforward in patients with a history of tick exposure and the characteristic finding of an erythema migrans rash.12 The CDC has defined erythema migrans rash as an expanding red macule or papule that must reach at least 5 cm in size .11 According to the Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines, erythema migrans rash is the only clinical manifestation sufficient to make the diagnosis of Lyme disease in the absence of laboratory confirmation.20 Although one study concluded that primary care physicians in a Lyme diseaseendemic area of France correctly identified erythema migrans in 72 percent of patients,22 the study was limited by lack of complete clinical information for the participants.

A number of conditions resemble erythema migrans however, the rapid and prolonged expansion of an erythematous lesion is unique to erythema migrans.11 Lesions most often occur at anatomic sites that are unusual for cellulitis and other conditions that mimic erythema migrans therefore, a complete skin examination should be performed before excluding erythema migrans.20

How Is Lyme Disease Diagnosed

Most tests for Lyme disease look for antibodies the body makes in response to infection. Since it takes time for the immune system to produce these antibodies, an early test may come back negative, but your child could still have Lyme disease. Also, if your child has had Lyme disease in the past, the test may remain positive.

While currently available tests work in most cases, a clinical evaluation should take into account exposure to ticks, as well as the timing and nature of symptoms in making a diagnosis of Lyme disease.

Research is underway to develop and improve methods for diagnosing Lyme disease. Learn more.

Read Also: Tick And Lyme Disease Facts

What Do I Do If I Find A Tick On My Skin

Dont panic. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skins surface as possible. Pull up with steady, even pressure. Be careful not to squeeze or twist the tick body. Sometimes parts of the tick remain in the skin. You can leave them alone or carefully remove them the same way you would a splinter. Do not use heat , petroleum jelly, or other methods to try to make the tick back out on its own. These methods are not effective.

Wash the area where the tick was attached thoroughly with soap and water. Keep an eye on the area for a few weeks and note any changes. Call your doctor if you develop a rash around the area where the tick was attached. Be sure to tell your doctor that you were bitten by a tick and when it happened.

Do Antibiotics Cure Lyme Disease

Summer Is Lyme Disease Season. The Price of the Drug to ...

As of 2018, there is no cure for Lyme disease and no definitive test to see if you are cured. Although some strains respond positively to antibiotics in early stages, one size does not fit all.

The pathogen can also reappear even after this type of treatment because Lyme disease is difficult to categorize, due to its multifaceted nature and treatment specialization in most doctors.

Even if a physician has working knowledge of Lyme disease, antibiotics arent always 100 percent effective. However, there are alternative treatment options besides antibiotics, often geared toward management and improving quality of life overall.

Recommended Reading: How Long Does It Take To Get Lyme Disease

Protocols For Iv Therapy

You must work with a doctor who specializes in treating Lyme disease with IV antibiotic therapies. They are the doctors with the proper equipment and alternative treatments available in their office.

Lyme literate doctors will create a protocol of therapy individualized to ease your specific symptoms. The protocols will include both antibiotic and alternative regimens.

The antibiotic treatment will include antimicrobial substances that fight against infections, viruses, parasites, yeast, and fungi. They can go anywhere in the body to fight, even cells and cell membranes.

Therapy Silver given intravenously compliment IV antibiotic treatments. Silver has been used for centuries in treating ailments. Lyme disease has been shown to prevent bacteria from replicating. It can also bind to hard to flush out viruses. Once it locks on, the virus is easily eliminated.

Vitamins given through IV are a therapy finding great popularity with people with Lyme disease and anyone else who feels depleted or who is struggling with some ailment. Vitamin C Mega Dose is one example that helps your own bodys immune system gets boosted so that it can participate in the elimination of Lyme.

Oral Antibiotic Process And Effects

Anything taken orally must travel into your mouth, down the esophagus, and into the stomach where it is broken down before being distributed into your bloodstream. Often, as stomach acids break down the oral antibiotic, they lose some of their potency.

This means less of the antibiotic will reach your bloodstream. Less antibiotic is available to fight infection.

Your gut is a vital part of healthy living. Specifically, the good bacteria that are living in your intestines that help fight off harmful bacteria. When you take an oral antibiotic, you remove both good and bad bacteria. Your gut is defenseless.

On top of that, oral antibiotics have caused unpleasant side effects like digestive issues like diarrhea, nausea, bloating, and abdominal pain.

As mentioned, oral antibiotics are best when used early. If Lyme has progressed, intravenous antibiotic treatments are a must.

Recommended Reading: Lyme Disease Ever Go Away

Type Of Clinician Overseeing Care

We asked patients to tell us the type of clinician overseeing their care. Choices included: family physicians, internists, rheumatologists, infectious disease specialists, and clinicians whose practice focused on tick-borne diseases . Very few patients selected an infectious disease specialist. Seventy-five percent of high responders and well patients report having their care overseen by an LLMD.

Physicians who treat Lyme disease as their primary focus might be expected to have better results than physicians who dont simply because volume of cases handled means a greater experience level. It is commonly recognized in medicine that volume of cases is associated with better treatment outcomes . Just as patients with cancer commonly seek out physicians who specialize in that area, perhaps patients with chronic Lyme disease should also.

Diagnosis And Management Of Lyme Disease

Research Questions Effectiveness Of Antibiotics For Treating Lyme Disease

WILLIAM F. WRIGHT, DO, MPH DAVID J. RIEDEL, MD ROHIT TALWANI, MD and BRUCE L. GILLIAM, MD, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland

Am Fam Physician. 2012 Jun 1 85:1086-1093.

Patient information: See related handout on Lyme disease, written by the authors of this article.

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in the United States. It is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, and is transmitted primarily by the deer tick . Following its discovery in children and adults in Lyme, Conn., in 1977,1 its incidence has increased steadily in the United States.2

SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Erythema migrans rash following a tick bite is the only clinical manifestation sufficient to make the diagnosis of Lyme disease in the absence of laboratory confirmation.

A = consistent, good-quality patient-oriented evidence B = inconsistent or limited-quality patient-oriented evidence C = consensus, disease-oriented evidence, usual practice, expert opinion, or case series. For information about the SORT evidence rating system, go to .

SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Erythema migrans rash following a tick bite is the only clinical manifestation sufficient to make the diagnosis of Lyme disease in the absence of laboratory confirmation.

Lyme Has Two Growth States

Research published in 2015 shows that Lyme has two different growth states. There is a growing phase of the germs and there is a persister phase. Think of the persisters as germs that are in hibernation. These persisters – hibernating phase germs – ignore regular standard antibiotics we traditionally use to treat Lyme.

What Does Current Guidance Say On This Issue

NICE guidance on Lyme disease states that those without focal symptoms should receive 100mg oral doxycycline twice a day or 200mg once per day for 21 days. The first alternative to this is oral amoxicillin, 1g three times per day for 21 days and the second alternative is oral azithromycin, 500mg daily for 17 days.

Antimicrobial Herbs That Kill Growing Phase Spirochetes & Cysts

Intracellular and Extracellular

Based on my observations, these herbal combination options have as good of a chance as the prescription options. They appear to kill intracellular and extracellular Lyme too based on the clinical benefit I see in my medical practice.

  • Cats Claw and Otoba Bark Tinctures 30 drops of each 2 times a day. Start at 5 drops 2 times a day and add 1 drop per dose per day until you reach 30 drops 2 times a day. If you get a Herxheimer reaction, stop increasing the dose until it has passed.
  • Cats Claw and Japanese Knotweed 30 drops of Cats Claw 2 times a day and ½ tsp of Japanese Knotweed 3 times a day. Work up to these doses over 30 days. Start Cats Claw at 5 drops 2 times a day and add 1 drop per dose per day until you reach 30 drops 2 times a day. Start the Japanese Knotweed at ¼ tsp 3 times a day and in two weeks increase to ½ tsp 3 times a day.

Different Types Of Medication For Lyme Disease

What Is The Best Antibiotic For Lyme Disease?

Doctors prescribe different medications for children and adults and for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. You’ll take antibiotics for 10 to 21 days, depending on your doctor’s advice.Medication treatment is more intense if the bacteria show signs of progressing into your central nervous system. This is what happens with time when Lyme disease is left untreated. Instead of taking pills, you’ll be given an antibiotic through a needle. This is called intravenous treatment. The medicine will work faster by going straight into your bloodstream. People are given IV treatment for two to three weeks.

Macrolide Plus Azole Plus Liposomal Essential Oils

  • clarithromycin 500 mg 1 pill 2 times a day
  • tinidazole 500 mg 1 pill 2 or 3 times a day.
  • liposomal cinnamon, clove & oregano oil 1 capsule 2 times a day

Key Points

  • Tinidazole treats cysts and can remove biofilms that block the immune system and antibiotics.
  • Liposomal cinnamon, clove & oregano oil can treat persister and growing forms of Lyme. Of the various herbal options to treat persiters – this is my go to persister herbal anti-microbial based on benefits I see in my practice.

For Memory Concentration And Focus

Improving memory is a challenge. In Lyme disease, short-term memory problems and word-retrieval problems are common. These often improve substantially with appropriate antibiotic therapy. Over time, most patients regain their cognitive function.

When memory is a problem, consider that this could due to a primary problem with attention or with mood. An individual who can’t focus won’t be able to remember because he/she didn’t “attend” to the item in the first place. This happens to all of us when we hear someone’s name at a party if we don’t focus on the name and perhaps make a mental association to the name to enhance memory storage, we will forget that name within minutes. Patients with depression often experience problems with memory and verbal fluency when the depression is resolved, the memory and verbal fluency typically resolve as well.

  • Medications: Attention can be improved with certain medications, such as bupropion , atomoxetine , modafinil , or stimulants . Medications that temporarily slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease or memantine ) have not been studied in Lyme disease.
  • There is some evidence that online brain training programs can enhance concentration or processing speed.
  • Neurofeedback may be helpful in improving attention, as well as in improving sleep and reducing pain. This has been studied for migraines, fibromyalgia, and ADHD.

What Did It Find

  • Compared to doxycycline, there was no difference between the following antibiotics for treatment response by 12 months: penicillin V , azithromycin , cefuroxime axetil , amoxicillin or ceftriaxone plus doxycycline .
  • More than 80% of patients showed a treatment response, 84% at two or fewer months after starting treatment and 80% at 12 or more months following treatment initiation. There was no available data on outcomes for around 15%.
  • There were few treatment failures in those people who were followed up 4% by two months and 2% by 12 months.
  • Treatment-related adverse effects occurred in around 31% of people and included vomiting and diarrhoea as well as a Herxheimer-like reaction . Only 1% experienced haematologic adverse events, such as low platelet counts.

Antimicrobials That Kill Growing Phase Spirochetes

Treating Lyme Disease with Antibiotics and Herbs

Extracellular

Penicillins

  • Amoxicillin 500 mg 1 to 2 pills 3 times a day. Alternatively as an alternative to IV antibiotics take 3 to 4 pills 3 times a day.
  • Amoxicillin/Clavulanic Acid 875 mg/125 mg 1 pill 2 times a day
  • Bicillin LA 2.4 million units IM 3 times a week with one day between each injection

Cephalosporins

  • Ceftriaxone 2 gm IV 2 times a day for 4 days in a row then off for 3 days of each 7 days
  • Cefotaxime 2 gm IV every 8 hours
  • Cefuroxime 500 mg 1 pill 2 times a day
  • Cefdinir 300 mg 1 pill 2 times a day

Additional IV Antibiotics

Vancomycin, imipenem, and ertapenem are possible alternatives if someone is allergic to Ceftriaxone or Cefotaxime.

Intracellular and Extracellular

  • Clarithromycin 500 mg 2 pills 2 times a day
  • Azithromycin 500 mg 1 time a day or 500 mg IV 1 time a day

Tetracyclines

  • Doxycycline 100 mg 1 or 2 pills 2 times a day or 200 to 400 mg mg IV 1 time a day
  • Minocycline 100 mg 1 pill 2 times a day

How Can Lyme Disease Be Prevented

Unfortunately, there is currently no vaccine for Lyme disease. But you can avoid Lyme disease by avoiding tick bites, checking for ticks, and removing ticks promptly, before they become lodged in the skin. Some tips:

Avoid tick playgrounds: Ticks like low-level shrubs and grasses, particularly at the edges of wooded areas. If youre hiking, try to stay in the center of the trail and avoid bushwhacking. Walk on cleared paths or pavement through wooded areas and fields when possible.

Dress appropriately: Long pants with legs tucked into socks and closed-toed shoes will help keep ticks away from skin. Light-colored clothing helps make ticks visible.

Insect repellant: Products that contain DEET repel ticks but do not kill them and are not 100 percent effective. Use a brand of insect repellent that is designated as child-safe if your child is 1 year or older. For infants, check with your pediatrician about what brands are safe to use. You can also treat clothing with a product that contains permethrin, which is known to kill ticks on contact.

Shower after outdoor activities are done for the day. It may take four to six hours for ticks to attach firmly to skin. Showering will help remove unattached ticks.

  • all parts of the body that bend: behind the knees, between fingers and toes, underarms and groin
  • other areas where ticks are commonly found: belly button, in and behind the ears, neck, hairline, and top of the head
  • anywhere clothing presses on the skin

What Is Post Treatment Lyme Disease

Post Treatment Lyme Disease represents a research subset of patients who remain significantly ill 6 months or more following standard antibiotic therapy for Lyme disease. PTLD is characterized by a constellation of symptoms that includes severe fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, sleep disturbance, depression, and cognitive problems such as difficulty with short-term memory, speed of thinking, or multi-tasking. In the absence of a direct diagnostic biomarker blood test, PTLD has been difficult to define by physicians, and its existence has been controversial. However, our clinical research shows that meticulous patient evaluation when used alongside appropriate diagnostic testing can reliably identify patients with a history of previously treated Lyme disease who display the typical symptom patterns of PTLD.

Can Lyme Disease Be Prevented Or Avoided

The best way to prevent Lyme disease is to avoid being bitten by ticks. When you are outdoors, follow these guidelines:

  • Avoid areas that are wooded, brushy, or have tall grass.
  • Walk in the center of trails.
  • Use an insect repellent with at least 20% DEET. It can be put on clothing or sparingly on the skin. Dont apply it to the face or hands of children.
  • Treat clothing, tents, or other gear with repellents containing 0.5% permethrin.
  • Wear light-colored clothing. This makes it easier to see and remove ticks from your clothes.
  • Wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants. Tuck your pant legs into your socks or boots for added protection.

After you get home, check everything and everyone for ticks.

  • Bathe or shower as soon as you can to wash off any ticks that have not attached to you.
  • Check your entire body for ticks. Use a mirror for places you cant see. Check your children and your pets. Common tick locations include the back of the knees, groin area, underarms, ears, scalp, and the back of the neck.
  • Check any gear you used, including coats, backpacks, or tents.

Tumble dry clothes or blankets on high heat in the dryer for 10 to 15 minutes. This should kill any ticks. If clothes are dirty, wash them in hot water and dry on high heat for 60 minutes.

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