Chinese Herbs For Lyme Disease

Acupuncture Proven To Be Powerful Against Lyme Disease

On a warm summer day, there is nothing quite as nice as lacing up your shoes and soaking up the sun on a nature hike. The sun, the fresh air, and the physical activity all do wonders for both your physical and mental health.

We are strong advocators of getting outside and enjoying the weather here at Earley Wellness Group. However, were also aware that Lyme disease is highly prevalent in the Washington D.C. area. With lots of wooded areas flooded with ticks, the chances of contacting Lyme disease are unpleasantly high.

If you are unaware, Lyme disease is a tick-transmitted inflammatory disorder that is found in all of the continental U.S.

Dr. Thomas Mather, The director of the University of Rhode Islands tick-borne disease center warns that the U.S. is moving into the prime season for the disease-carrying insects, which are commonly found in grassy areas and on wild animals. The Eastern United States has the highest number of disease carrying ticks in the US.

Traditional Chinese Medicine for Lyme Disease

Fortunately, like with many health concerns, acupuncture in combination with Chinese herbs can help with Lyme disease.

Lyme disease patients are actually very common at Earley Wellness Group and it is very scary disease to face. It can have a wide range of symptoms including extreme fatigue, fever, rash, facial paralysis, and arthritis. You can read more about signs and symptoms of Lyme disease here.

• Eucalyptus

Traditional And Modern Views Of Leptospirosis And Its Treatment

The Leptospira infection causes fever and chills, headache, and muscle ache . These symptoms match the Shang Han disease described in the ancient text Shang Han Lun. In fact, the initial course of leptospirosis follows a pattern, over a period of several days, that is somewhat like that described in the ancient text. In the advanced stage, leptospirosis can cause liver disease or a severe form of meningitis the symptoms of some cases of advanced Shang Han disease are similar. According to proponents of the general application of the Shang Han Lun as a guide to treatment of disease, the formulas recommended in that text could be used for modern diseases with similar symptom presentation. Accordingly, early stage of spirochetal infection, such as Lyme disease and Fort Bragg fever, might be treated by the same formulas used in the Shang Han Lun .

The book Modern Study and Application of Materia Medica provides information about herbs reputed to inhibit Leptospira based on laboratory testing and, in some cases, clinical evaluation . The following list of leptospira-inhibiting herbs was culled from the Chinese medical literature:

• Exogenous pathogen invading the qi phase : Yin Qiao San .
• Summer heat and damp heat misting the three burners : Sanshi San .
• Acute jaundice : Ermiao San .
• Summer heat injuring the lung: Xin Jia Xiangru Yin .
• Heat invading the pericardium with liver wind moving internally : Zhengan Xifeng Tang plus Angong Niuhuang Wan .

Gu Treatment Principle #: All Of Your Gu Patients Are Threatened With And May Be Experiencing Deficiencies On All Levels Of Their Being

This means that every successful approach to the treatment of Lyme disease needs to have multiple building blocks that can be combined in flexible ways to address both the excess disease-toxin burden and the deficiency aspects of the disease.

All patients with chronic multi-systems have some level of malevolent toxin accumulation and pathogen load that does need to be properly addressed at some point in the treatment process.

Meanwhile, mineral, nutrient, collagen, hormonal and hydration deficiencies all need to be restored in order for organ, immune system, and body tissue repair to occur. With commitment to both detoxification and restoration, the bodys terrain will become a health-generating ecosystem again, and the pathogen load will be reduced in a lasting manner.

As you can see, Chinese medicine as practiced through the Uprooting Lyme approach has real solutions for chronically infected, inflamed, auto-immune patients.

Our work is to reset the conditions within the body to create a clean, flowing, light-filled body and mind that is no longer a desirable place for dark decay-seeking stealth pathogens to live.

Read Also: How Do You Know If You Have Lyme Disease

Some Of The Best Herbs For Lyme Disease

Natural Remedies For Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. It is spread through the bite of infected ticks.

Ticks are very small, and their biteswhich can occur anywhere on the bodyare usually painless, so you may not immediately be aware that you have been bitten. In most cases, the tick must be attached to the body for 24 hours before Lyme disease is transmitted.

The signs and symptoms of Lyme disease usually start within three to 30 days after youve been bitten by an infected tick. Many people experience flu-like symptoms after being bitten, while more serious symptoms show up weeks after the bite. Early signs and symptoms of Lyme disease include:

• Chills
• Rash
• Swollen lymph nodes

If left untreated, symptoms can worsen to include Bells palsy , severe headaches, muscle, joint, and tendon pain, cardiac problems, and neurological disorders.

Most cases of Lyme disease can be managed and treated with two to three weeks of antibiotics. Depending on the severity of your symptoms and how long after the bite you were diagnosed, you may need a longer course of antibiotics to clear up the infection. Many people turn to natural remedies to help treat Lyme disease.

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How To Ensure The Best Herbs For Lyme Disease Do Their Job

Half of a successful natural Lyme disease treatment is to effectively prevent immune reactions. In order to keep the immune system from firing in an excess manner with cytokine reactions, mast cell activation syndrome reactions and histamine reactions, we need to get the immune system to quiet down and keep it quiet.

In order to prevent immune reactions, we need to prevent pathogenic excitement. One important aspect of a natural Lyme disease treatment that prevents immune reactions , is to adhere to the Lyme disease diet. Lyme disease pathogens are like a fire in the body. When we spritz a campfire with the slightest spritz of alcohol, the fire flares. The same thing goes for infections. When we eat the slightest amount of the wrong thing, the infections get excited. When the bugs get excited, the immune system senses this and then turns on in a hyperactive manner. When the immune system becomes hyperactive, symptoms occur. When symptoms occur, treatment results are limited at best. That said, we want to prevent pathogenic excitement. Adhering to the Lyme disease diet helps prevent and lessen symptoms and better assures the effectiveness of the Lyme disease treatment.

Gu Treatment Principle #: Gu Disease May Be Difficult To Treat Because It Becomes Very Enmeshed Within The Body Like Oil Seeping Into Flour Difficult To Draw Back Out

Acknowledging this is key for several reasons:

• First, it highlights the fact that proper treatment at the acute phase is essential. There is a window of opportunity following an infectious tick bite or acute febrile illness to clear it from the body before it becomes entrenched.

If there is known infection, we recommend both antibiotics + herbals and other natural methods to resolve the infection fully. We also recommend that patients remain on the herbals for a full 3 months to ensure there is no recurrence.

• This treatment principle also explains why treatment for more chronic cases may take time to heal, and necessitate releasing many different types of infections, toxins and disease problems that otherwise serve to keep the Lyme disease entrenched inside the body. If we understand this from the get-go as the practitioner who is guiding the way, we can help our patients to have realistic expectations about the length and sometimes circuitous nature of the healing journey.

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Sharing My Own Healing With Others

At last, after such a long period of professional inactivity, I began seeing patients again. As I encountered those who had the same problems that I had, I used the Cowden Protocol with them. Were still amazed at how well it works! Im glad that I was able to find a way to help my patients without having to use antibiotics.

Typically, patients dont have many positive test results at first. These usually appear after a short period of initial treatment. When you give patients herbs, their immune system starts fighting against the infection. Some patients are so sick when they first come to my office that their immune system is totally shut down and cant fight anything. In that situation, all results will be negative.

If their doctor doesnt know this and understand the underlying mechanisms, they will just look at the negative lab results and declare the patient healthy, when in fact these are the sickest cases needing the most help and support. That is why the diagnosis needs to be based on clinical picture and symptoms, not just lab results.

Of the symptoms, pain and fatigue are typically the worst part of being ill. We ask them to rate both between 0 and 10, with 10 being the worst imaginable. We do this at the beginning of treatment, and we then follow their self-assessments.

You Dont Tell Me What Is Wrong With You I Tell You Said The Doctor Smiling And In A Sweet Voice

Dr. H. has a little shop in Manhattan filled with Chinese herbs he picks in China himself. He does not trust shipping.

My landlord recommended him. He said how he once could not walk because his right leg was acting up, and after 3 visits with Dr. H he was healed. I was sold. Wanted to meet him. So about a week ago we ventured into Dr. H. office. My first visit to NYC in ages.

The Visit

We started with the date of birth which he looked in an ancient book and told me, among other things, that my element is earth. I knew there had to be something behind the Blog being EarthYogi dot blogspot.

He took my pulse in the way the do it in Thailand or India, or China . He did not count anything but rather felt the serpent of my pulse with three fingers. I read in a yoga book that it can indicate imbalances depending on which of the three fingers registers a higher or lower variation and on the quality of it.

He touched my hand and feet and pressed points. Every point hurt. Badly.

He said things I did not know like my pee was too yellow , that my energy was low and my body out of balance. My kidneys and heart were giving me trouble. YES!

What about Lyme? We asked.

And that is when he said something very wise that will definitely NOT go well with American doctors:

There is bacteria everywhere, people walk around with cancer cells every day, all the time, yet not everyone gets cancer. A balanced body, a strong support system, does not allow bacteria to do anything.

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How Herbal Supplements Can Help

The best way to gain the level of phytochemical protection you need to help your immune system win the internal battle against invasive microbes is to take herbal supplements specifically, standardized botanical extracts.

Standardized botanical extracts take herbal supplements to the next level. Theyre made with wild plants or plants that have been cultivated to enhance their phytochemical content and are grown in an environment that doesnt introduce unwanted chemical toxins. The extraction process also yields the greatest concentration and the widest spectrum of phytochemicals in the plant. And the final product is standardized to a concentration of one or several key phytochemicals in the plant, so you know what youre getting.

Below are a few of my favorite herbs for mitigating the systemic chronic inflammation associated with chronic Lyme disease. Though all of the herbs have value in suppressing microbes and reducing inflammation, three of the herbs mentioned below Japanese knotweed, cats claw, and Chinese skullcap were found in a 2020 study from Johns Hopkins University to have greater activity against Borrelia burgdorferi than the antibiotics, doxycycline and azithromycin.

Seven Herbal Medicines Can Kill Lyme Disease Bacteria In Test Tube

Researchers have determined that seven herbal medicines are highly active in test tubes against B. burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, compared to the control antibiotics, doxycycline and cefuroxime.

Published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, the laboratory study was funded by the Bay Area Lyme Foundation and supported in part by The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and colleagues at the California Center for Functional Medicine and FOCUS Health Group, Naturopathic collaborated on the study.

Since traditional antibiotic approaches fail to resolve symptoms in up to 25% of patients treated for Lyme disease and many suffer disabling effects of the disease, there is a need for novel treatment proven effective against B. burgdorferi, said the papers co-author Sunjya K. Schweig, MD, CEO and co-director, California Center for Functional Medicine and Scientific Advisory Board Member, Bay Area Lyme Foundation.

Also Check: What Is Lyme Disease And What Are The Symptoms

Essential Oils For Lyme Disease

It is believed that many essential oils have antimicrobial activities, and some people with persistent Lyme disease symptoms have turned to essential oils to help reduce symptoms of the disease.

Researchers tested 34 essential oils against B. burgdorferi in the lab and found cinnamon bark, clove bud, citronella, wintergreen, and oregano show strong activity against the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, even more effectively than daptomycin, the gold standard antibiotic many people with Lyme disease are prescribed.

These results indicate that essential oils show promise as treatments for persistent Lyme disease, but clinical trials are needed in order to show their effectiveness in humans.

When used properly, most essential oils are safe and free of adverse side effects. However, it is important to use them carefully. They can irritate the skin if not properly diluted, and some should not be taken internally.

Purchase high-quality essential oils that go through testing to ensure the product is safe to use. Follow the usage and dilution instructions on the label carefully. Talk with your healthcare professional before using essential oils to avoid drug interactions with any medications you are taking.

Patients Turning To Herbal Remedies

Because patients are currently turning to herbal remedies to fill the treatment gaps left by antibiotics, this research is a critical step in helping clinicians, as well as patients, understand which ones may offer the most potential benefit.

According to this study, carried out by Prof. Ying Zhangs group at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the seven herbal medicines that have the ability to kill B. burgdorferi in test tubes are:

• Cryptolepis sanguinolenta
• Uncaria tomentosa
• Cistus incanus
• Scutellaria baicalensis

It is important to note that each of these products have the potential to produce significant side effects in patients, and should be taken only under advisement of a clinician knowledgeable of their capabilities and toxicities.

Of these products, the Cryptolepis sanguinolenta extract caused complete eradication, while doxycycline and cefuroxime and other active herbs did not. This extract has been used for the treatment of malaria as well as the tick-borne infection Babesia, a malaria-like parasite.

This study is believed to be the first time this extract has been documented to have a potential impact on B. burgdorferi, and additional laboratory and clincial studies should be conducted to investigate the potential role Cryptolepis sanguinolenta could play in the treatment of Lyme disease.

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Tcm Analysis Of Lyme Disease

The traditional Chinese medicine analysis of a new disease, such as Lyme disease, depends on the disease manifestations and the analysis of other diseases that have some characteristics in common with it. The salient features are these:

It is estimated that 25-50% of those infected do not get the rash or flu-like symptoms, and that about half of those who experience the rash go on to experience arthralgia. The disease may be interpreted in TCM terms most simply as a heat pathogen entering the blood, which can reside as a “hidden toxin” in some individuals, manifesting disease symptoms later, after some factor activates it.