What Should I Do If I Find A Tick On My Child
Don’t panic. First Lyme disease is spread by the black-legged tick, not by the larger and more-common dog tick. The risk of developing Lyme disease after a black-legged tick bite is low, especially if the tick has been attached for a short time.
If you find a tick on your child, remove it using a fine-tipped pair of tweezers. Grasp the body of the tick and pull in an upward motion until the tick comes out. Do not squeeze or twist the ticks body. Take note of the ticks size and color, and how long you think it has been attached to your child.
If your child has been bitten by a black-legged tick that has been attached for more than 24 hours and you are in a Lyme disease endemic area, consult with your pediatrician. In some cases, your child may be prescribed antibiotics to prevent Lyme disease from developing.
Protocol For Lyme Disease At Dvc Stem
DVC Stem uses cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells ethically sourced from AATB certified, US-donated, full-term human umbilical cords. We administer over 300 million cells that are all thoroughly tested for viability before treatment. These cells are NOT a blood product therefore, it is extremely safe and does not require HLA or phenotypic matching.
All patients undergo therapy in our VIP treatment room located within our advanced clinic. Patients are under constant supervision from both our medical director and the supporting medical team.
We typically recommend patients stay a minimum of 4 days in Grand Cayman for treatment.â
References:
1) Department of Health. âProper Precautions Can Help Prevent Lyme Disease and the Spread of Tick-Borne Illnesses.â DOH, DEC and State Parks Remind New Yorkers to Protect Against Ticks, Department of Health, Apr. 2019, www.health.ny.gov/press/releases/2019/2019-05-24_lyme_and_ticks.htm.
2) Meyerhoff, John D, and Herbert S Diamond. âLyme Disease Treatment & Management: Approach Considerations, Treatment of Early Lyme Disease, Lyme Arthritis.â Lyme Disease Treatment & Management: Approach Considerations, Treatment of Early Lyme Disease, Lyme Arthritis, 12 Nov. 2019, emedicine.medscape.com/article/330178-treatment#d7.
3) Melia, Michael T., and A. Berende. âTime for a Different Approach to Lyme Disease and Long-Term Symptoms: NEJM.â New England Journal of Medicine, 31 Mar. 2016, www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMe1502350.
Herbal And Rx Antimicrobials That Treat Persisters
This is a newer area in Lyme treatment. To help justify these various antimicrobial options, I describe the experimental basis behind my recommendations. These options are ones I am using with various degrees of success in my Seattle practice. They all have either laboratory experiments supporting their use or published human experiments.
Laboratory-Based Experiment Options
Here is a list of prescription and herbal medicine options shown in lab experiments to kill persisters that I am incorporating into my treatments of Lyme and/or Bartonella.
- Disulfiram – work slowly up to 4 to 5 mg/kg body weight 1 time a day.
- Methylene Blue 50 mg 2 times a day.
- Liposomal Oregano, Cinnamon, and Clove Oils 1 capsule 2 times a day.
- Cryptolepis 5 ml 3 times a day.
- Japanese Knotweed½ tsp 3 times a day – start at ¼ tsp 1 time a day and then increase after two weeks to ½ tsp 3 times a day.
- Cats Claw 30 drops 2 times a day.
Human-Based Experiment Options
Here is a list of prescription medications shown in human experiments to help with persister Lyme.
- Disulfiram – work slowly up to 4 to 5 mg/kg body weight 1 time a day.
- Dapsone – work up to 100 mg or 200 mg 1 time a day.
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Lyme Disease Antibiotics Overview
The following are four general rules I use to develop a Lyme disease antibiotic regimen.
- Rule 1. Combine antibiotics to treat all forms of the germ.
- Rule 2. Combine antibiotics to treat Lyme living outside and inside of cells.
- Rule 3. Combine antibiotics that work in different ways to attack the germ from different angles.
- Rule 4. Treat all growth phases of Lyme at the same time – this means treatments should include antimicrobials that address persisters in addition to the growth phase of the term.
How Can I Prevent Lyme Disease
The most effective prevention method is avoiding areas where deer ticks that transmit Lyme disease thrive. You can also reduce your risk by:
- Covering up when walking in wooded areas
- Using insect repellant
- Checking your clothes, yourself, your kids, and your pets for ticks after youve been outdoors
- Removing any visible ticks carefully with tweezers
- Showering and using a washcloth after youve been outdoors
- Sticking to trails while on walks
- Keeping your dog on a leash
- Tick-proofing your yard
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Lyme Disease Antibiotic Treatment Research
For early Lyme disease, a short course of oral antibiotics, such as doxycycline or amoxicillin, cures the majority of cases. In more complicated cases, Lyme disease can usually be successfully treated with three to four weeks of antibiotic therapy.
After being treated for Lyme disease, a minority of patients may still report non-specific symptoms, including persistent pain, joint and muscle aches, fatigue, impaired cognitive function, or unexplained numbness. These patients often show no evidence of active infection and may be diagnosed with post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome .
Multiple clinical trials, funded by NIH and others, have shown no benefit to additional IV antibiotic treatment in patients with Lyme disease, although the interpretation of those results have been challenged by some.
Macrolide Plus Quinine Derivative Plus Azole Plus Methylene Blue
- azithromycin 500 mg 1 pill 1 time a day
- hydroxychloroquine 200 mg 1 pill 2 times a day
- metronidazole 500 mg 1 pill 2 or 3 times a day
- methylene blue 50 mg 2 times a day
Key Points:
- Since azithromycin is not as effective as other macrolides like clarithromycin, hydroxychloroquine is used to increase the effectiveness.
- Tinidazole could be substituted for the metronidazole because it may remove biofilms more effectively.
- Methylene Blue can treat persister Lyme.
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What Are Some Common Side Effects Of Lyme Disease Medication
As with any medication, there are always potential side effects. Contact your doctor or pharmacist if your side effects persist or worsen.
Antibiotics are commonly used to treat Lyme disease and may cause allergic reactions that result in hives, difficulty breathing, or dry eyes, throat, and mouth. Some people may experience diarrhea, headaches, or chest pain as well. You should seek immediate medical care if you believe you are experiencing an allergic reaction.
This list of side effects is not comprehensive. Ask a healthcare professional for more details regarding the possible side effects of a particular medication.
Macrolide Plus Grapefruit Seed Extract Plus Cryptolepis
- clarithromycin 500 mg 1 pill 2 times a day
- grapefruit seed extract 250 mg 1 pill 2 times a day.
- cryptolepis 5 ml 3 times a day
Key Points:
- Grapefruit seed extract is better tolerated than both tinidazole and metronidazole and supports killing of Lyme cysts.
- Cryptolepis can treat persister and growing Lyme. If a person also has Babesia, cryptolepis can treat this too.
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Iv Antibiotic Regimen: Cephalosporin Plus Azole Plus Liposomal Cinnamon Clove And Oregano
- ceftriaxone 2 gm IV 2 times a day for 4 days on and 3 days off
- tinidazole 500 mg taken orally 1 pill 2-3 times a day for 4 days on and 3 days off in 7-day cycles
- liposomal cinnamon, clove, and oregano capsules 1 pill 2 times a day
Key Points:
- Various antibiotics can be used as IV. I use this one most commonly because it is the easiest to administer and one of the lowest cost IV regimens. The ceftriaxone is given in a syringe and injected over 10 minutes. This is also a pulse dose regimen . Ceftriaxone could be given daily instead as 2 gm IV 1 time a day.
- I have found various pulse dose regimens of tinidazole to work. These include 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off or in the regimen seen here.
Is Doxycycline Oramoxicillin Better For Treating Lyme Disease
Lyme disease can only bediagnosed after a series of blood tests, but sometimes its hard to get aproper diagnosis because the disease itself can mimic other illnesses. Thatswhy Lyme often goes untreated and can progress into a chronic case. In cases ofboth acute and chronic Lyme disease, antibiotics are the first and foremosttreatment, because the bacteria cannot be fought off without it. There are twoantibiotics that can be used in the treatment of Lyme: doxycycline andamoxicillin.
Doxycycline is anespecially popular choice in the treatment of Lyme disease because of itsefficacy as well as its safety in terms of usage for a variety of patients. Italso has the benefit of being effective when treating human granulocyticehrlichiosis , which can often occur in people with early Lyme disease.So, how long should you take doxycycline for Lyme disease? Doxycycline shouldbe taken twice a day for two to three weeks in 100 mg increments during thetreatment of Lyme disease.
Image by Myriams Fotos on Pixabay: Lyme disease presents with flu-like symptoms shortly after the initial infection and can only be treated with antibiotics.
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Scientists Find Promising New Treatment For Lyme Disease
A new study gives hope that an effective treatment for Lyme disease may be available in the future. The new treatment involves the drugs cefotaxime and azlocillin.
The new paper appears in the Nature journal Scientific Reports .
Lyme disease affects nearly 300,000 people a year in the United States and around 230,000 people a year in Europe, according to an article in the Journal of Public Health .
Bacteria belonging to the group Borrelia burgdorferi cause Lyme disease. Most people develop it after being bitten by a tick that carries the bacteria.
Approximately 6080% of people with Lyme disease develop a circular red skin rash called erythema migrans around the infected tick bite, and some also develop flu-like symptoms.
Most people develop the rash within 4 weeks of being bitten, but it can appear up to 3 months afterward.
of people with the disease later develop symptoms of fatigue, pain in their muscles, joints or nerves, and cognitive impairment.
These symptoms can continue for months or even years after their initial infection.
Researchers have suggested that this may because of drug-tolerant persisters, a group of bacterial cells that survive the initial dose of antibiotics.
Others believe its an immune disorder caused by bacteria during the first exposure, which causes a perpetual inflammation condition. Whatever the cause, the pain for patients is still very real.
How Do Patients Respond To Treatment
We looked at patients with chronic Lyme diseasethose who remained ill for six or more months following treatment with antibiotics for Lyme disease . The first thing we did was identify different patients as well, high responders, low responders, or non-responders. Well patients responded positively to a survey question asking if they were well or remained ill. Those who remained ill were asked whether their condition had changed as a result of treatment. Those who said they were unchanged or worse were categorized as non-responders. Patients who said that they were better or worse following treatment, were asked how much better or worse. Those who had improved substantially were deemed high responders.
59% of patients had improved with treatment and 42% were either well or high responders. The focus of our study was on this latter group. You might wonder whether 42% response is considered good compared to other drugs. Heres what the prior head of GlaxoSmithKline said about treatment effectiveness rates of drugs in general .
The vast majority of drugs more than 90 per cent only work in 30 or 50 per cent of the people. Drugs out there on the market work, but they dont work in everybody. Dr. Allen Roses, GlaxoSmithKline
So you can see that a 42% rate of substantial improvement is within the range of most drugs on the market.
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Antimicrobials That Kill Growing Phase Spirochetes
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
Eradication Of Lyme Disease
I hope that it will continue moving forward in development and will become the first therapeutic to treat Lyme disease, Lewis says. It will be very important to see whether treating with hygromycin A will diminish the probability of developing chronic Lyme.
But the plans go even further: Lewis team has also shown that feeding hygromycin-laced bait to mice can eliminate Borrelia burgdorferi infections. Theoretically at least, putting out such bait could eradicate Lyme disease from entire areas or even entire countries.
This idea is not entirely new: A field trial with doxycycline baits was successful. But widespread use of this drug for that purpose is undesirable because it could lead to many microbes developing antibiotic resistance. In the case of hygromycin, however, Lewis studies indicate that it is extremely difficult for Borrelia burgdorferi to develop a resistance.
The first field trial against Borrelia burgdorferi is scheduled to start next summer. And Lewis team is also investigating whether hygromycin A can treat other diseases caused by spirochetes, such as syphilis, which is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum.
This article was translated from German.
Ticks a plague for humans and animals alike
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Is There A Vaccine For Lyme Disease
A vaccine for Lyme disease was once available in the United States, but it is no longer available. The vaccines manufacturer discontinued its production in 2002, citing low sales.
According to a 2011 analysis, there were likely a number of factors leading to the decision to suspend the vaccine. These factors included:
- Class-action lawsuits
- Low public support due to efforts by anti-vaccine groups
- Concerns that the vaccine could cause arthritis
- A difficult vaccination schedule.
The CDC also notes that the vaccine loses effectiveness over time, meaning that youre probably no longer protected against Lyme disease today if you received the vaccine when it was available.
In July 2017, the FDA granted Fast Track designation for another Lyme disease vaccine candidate, VLA15. The FDA designation is intended to facilitate development and expedite review of drugs that treat serious conditions in order to get them to patients faster.
Additional reporting by George Vernadakis.
Lyme Disease Malpractice: Antibiotic Treatment
If you have been recently bitten or exposed to a deer tick, you dont need to be tested at once. That is because of the delay I mentioned above. Instead you should consider antibiotics. Prompt treatment with two or three weeks of antibiotics typically clears up the infection. If you have been exposed to a deer tick and have other symptoms of Lyme disease then likewise you should be tested. These other symptoms include such things as fever and severe muscle aches. In addition joint pain with inflammation and headache. Also symptoms may be paralysis on one side of the face, redness, warmth and swelling of a joint, usually the knee. In addition a decreased heart rate may be seen. Call, or contact us for a free consult.
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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.
Herbal And Prescription Antimicrobials By Function
Be aware the doses I provide below are for adults. These same prescriptions can be used with children but have lower doses. For pediatric dosing, talk with your family physician or pediatrician. Tetracyclines can be used in children under eight, but there is a risk of tooth staining. This staining seems not to be an issue if they are used for a month or less.
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What Vitamins Help Lyme Disease
Vitamins that boost your immune system and with anti-inflammatory properties are the best in fighting Lyme disease. Vitamins B, C, D, and Zinc can improve your immune system and are highly recommended for people diagnosed with Lyme disease. Lyme disease clinical trials are always on the lookout for the latest treatment plan, and you can help with the next breakthrough. Find a clinical trial that has requirements that you can meet by going to Power. Its the easiest way to find a clinical trial that is tailored to your overall condition. Anonymous Online Contributor