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What Antibiotics Are Used To Treat Lyme Disease

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Research suggests that antibiotic therapy fails in the treatment of Lyme disease in 10-50% of cases, while patient surveying has reported antibiotic failure from over 90% of respondents. Another study with primates showed Lyme bacteria survived a 28-day course of antibiotics that was given four months after infection, which is when humans are most often treated.

Theres little consensus in the medical community about how or why Lyme disease persists after treatment. Because of this, many medical doctors simply dont know what to do with the continuation or onset of Lyme disease symptoms after treatment. They might tell you theres nothing more they can do and terminate your care or even suggest a psychological cause for your symptoms.

If you find yourself in this position, it might be helpful to know why antibiotics work for some people but not you. When we logically understand what seems puzzling or even unfair, the question turns from Why me? to What now? To that question, we always answeralternative, natural, and non-toxic therapies. For more information, learn how Lyme disease is treated at Brio Medical.

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.

What Oxygen Therapies Are Used To Treat Lyme Disease

Oxygen therapy for the treatment of Lyme disease works by increasing the amount of oxygen your blood carries to damaged tissues. Borrelia is an anaerobic bacteria, meaning it cant exist in an oxygenated environment, so treatment with oxygen can be quite effective. Our patients report increased mobility with less joint pain, better cognitive function, increased energy, and more restful sleep. Oxygen therapy is primarily available through hyperbaric oxygen therapy and ozone therapy.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is exposure to 100% oxygen using a pressurized chamber that hyper-oxygenates your blood. By breathing air thats two to three times more pressurized than normal air, oxygen moves through your lungs and into your body, increasing blood oxygen and returning blood gases to normal levels. This helps fight the Borrelia bacteria and stimulates the release of stem cells and growth factors that encourage healing. Typical hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions are 45 minutes to two hours long and vary based on your condition, response, and tolerance. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used to support your personalized treatment plan and is administered along with other therapies for maximum benefit.

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Treating Children With Antibiotics

A typical treatment for children less than 8 years old would include oral amoxicillin three times a day. If the child is allergic to that antibiotic, cefuroxime axetil would take its place, but only twice a day. Children over 8 years old would take doxycycline twice daily for the same duration of time, and anyone allergic to it would receive amoxicillin or cefuroxime axetil instead.

Treatments usually last 2-4 weeks.

What Did It Find

Weekly Dose: doxycycline treats a host of human plagues ...
  • 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.

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Transmission Of Bb Via Ixodes Spp Vectors

The black-legged ticks, Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus on the West Coast, are the primary vectors of Bb in the USA. In endemic areas, the proportion of Ixodes spp. ticks infected with Bb can be remarkably high. One recent survey of the pathogen burden of 197 Ixodes scapularis ticks collected from New York and Connecticut where LD is endemic, revealed 111 ticks were infected with Bb and 37 were co-infected with more than one human pathogen . The high pathogen burden is consistent with previous tick surveys in the same region . In contrast, the percent of infected ticks in other regions of the USA is much lower. In recently published surveys across California, for example, fewer than 5% of Ixodes spp. ticks were infected . Ixodes ticks sometimes carry multiple strains of Bb that may impact the course of disease in people that are co-infected. One tick survey showed that 39% of Ixodes ticks in North America are infected with multiple genotypes of Bb .

How Is Glutathione Used To Treat Lyme Disease

Glutathione is probably the most important antioxidant your body needs to stay healthy. It plays a role in neutralizing free radicals, removing oxidation agents, eliminating toxins, transporting heavy metals out of the body, boosting other antioxidants, repairing cellular damage, and more. While your body produces glutathione naturally, its rarely sufficient during an infection. Because its pivotal to peak metabolic function, glutathione therapy is a staple in almost most every Lyme disease treatment plan and is especially helpful to offset the Herxheimer reaction caused when Lyme bacteria is killed.

Glutathione is administered orally, intravenously, or with a nebulizer. Oral glutathione is often mixed with fats called phospholipids in a solution called liposomal glutathione. This mixture increases absorption by preventing the gut from destroying glutathione during digestion and also makes glutathione more palatable.

Intravenous and nebulizer glutathione therapies are significantly more effective because they send glutathione directly into the bloodstream, either with a needle in the vein or through a nebulizer that produces a mist thats inhaled into the lungs.

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Lyme Disease Antibiotic Combination Examples

In my experience, I find the prescription antibiotic combinations below work 85 to 90 percent of the time. The herbal combination options help 85 to 90 percent of the time. I find all these combinations more successful than the Andrographis/Japanese knotweed/cats claw combinations that some like herbalist Stephen Harrod Buhner and Bill Rawls, MD, recommend. The Buhner/Rawls combination helps about 60 to 65 percent of the time in my clinical observations. To reach the success rates I describe here, it is essential to follow the first ten steps of The Ross Lyme Support Protocol to support the immune system.

Key Points: Each combination

  • Combines antibiotics to treat all forms of the germ.
  • Combines antibiotics to treat Lyme living outside and inside of cells.
  • Combines antibiotics that work in different ways to attack the germ from different angles.
  • Treats all growth phases of Lyme at the same time – this means treatments include antimicrobials that address persisters in addition to the growth phase of the term.

Chronic Lyme Disease Or Postlyme Disease Syndrome

Antibiotics to Treat Lyme Disease with Anna-Marie Wellins, DNP

Following an episode of Lyme disease that is treated appropriately, some persons have a variety of subjective complaints . Some of these patients have been classified as having chronic Lyme disease or postLyme disease syndrome, which are poorly defined entities. These patients appear to be a heterogeneous group. Although European patients rarely have been reported to have residual infection with B. burgdorferi , this has yet to be substantiated either in a large series of appropriately treated European patients or in a study of North American patients. Residual subjective symptoms that last weeks or months also may persist after other medical diseases . It has also been recognized that the prevalence of fatigue and/or arthralgias in the general population is > 10% .

In areas of endemicity, coinfection with B. microti or the Ehrlichia species that causes HGE may explain persistent symptoms for a small number of these patients . Randomized controlled studies of treatment of patients who remain unwell after standard courses of antibiotic therapy for Lyme disease are in progress. To date, there are no convincing published data showing that repeated or prolonged courses of oral or iv antimicrobial therapy are effective for such patients. The consensus of the IDSA expert-panel members is that there is insufficient evidence to regard chronic Lyme disease as a separate diagnostic entity.

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Stage : Late Disseminated Lyme Disease

Late disseminated Lyme disease occurs when the infection hasnt been treated in stages 1 and 2. Stage 3 can occur months or years after the tick bite.

This stage is characterized by:

  • arthritis of one or more large joints
  • brain disorders, such as encephalopathy, which can cause short-term memory loss, difficulty concentrating, mental fogginess, problems with following conversations and sleep disturbance
  • numbness in the arms, legs, hands, or feet

What Should I Do If I Am Bitten By A Tick

If you experience a tick bite, the best way to remove it is by taking the following steps:

  • Tug gently but firmly with blunt tweezers near the “head” of the tick at the level of your skin until it releases its hold on the skin.
  • Avoid crushing the tick’s body or handling the tick with bare fingers as you could exposure yourself to the bacteria in the tick.
  • Wash the bite area thoroughly with soap and water.
  • DO NOT use kerosene, petroleum jelly , or hot cigarette butts to remove the tick.
  • DO NOT squeeze the tick’s body with your fingers or tweezers.

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Do Antibiotics Cure Lyme Disease

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.

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Antibiotics for Lyme Disease

One of the most unfortunate controversies surrounding the growing Lyme disease epidemic is the insistence by the mainstream medical establishment that antibiotics are the only course of effective treatment. Yes, in the early stages of Lyme disease, you can fully recover when treated with antibiotics alone. But for as many as 20% of people, antibiotics dont work, and the infection becomes chronic.

This is where Brio Medicals Lyme treatment team stands ready to take your hand, restore your hope that healing is possible, and help you get well. Most people who turn to Brio Medical for natural, non-toxic treatment have failed to respond to one or more courses of antibiotic therapy. If this is you, we welcome you to a natural, non-toxic path to healing.

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Oral Antibiotics For Lyme Disease

Lyme treatment using combination of oral antibiotics:

If you have decided to treat your Lyme disease with antibiotics, you should be aware that no matter what form of treatment, you will most likely go through a series of Jarisch Herxheimer reactions, an increase in the symptoms of a spirochetal disease also called a herx.

This will occur in all forms of treatment, but will noticeably occur when introducing a new antibiotic to your body, be it by IV or oral. When on antibiotics, it is strongly advised to make sure you take probiotics to try and maintain healthy gut flora and digestive bacteria. Not taking probiotics can lead to infection. Diet is also very important.

Doctors can recommend a combination of 2 to many oral antibiotics at a time to combat Lyme & other infections. More success has been seen with “pulsing” antibiotics which means taking them at intermittent cycles such as twice a day every other day or only on certain weeks.

You can incorporate some supplements, but always ask your doctor or a pharmacist if there are contraindications when using certain vitamins while taking specific antibiotics.

Take supplements 2 hours away from any antibiotics.

Pros:

This is one of the more common forms of treatment and most readily available through a Lyme Literate doctor.

Insurance might cover the cost of the antibiotics.

Cons:

Antibiotics are not effective for everyone.

Can Lyme Disease Be Prevented

Most people with Lyme disease become infected during the late spring, summer, and early fall when immature ticks are out feeding. Except in warm climates, few tick bites take place during winter months.

Deer ticks are most often found in wooded areas and nearby grasslands. They are especially common where the two areas merge, including neighborhood yards where deer occasionally roam. Ticks do not survive long on sunny lawns they dry out quickly and die. Although only about 1% of all deer ticks are infected, there are areas in which over 50% of the ticks carry the bacterium. The diseased ticks are often found in the U.S. Northeast and upper Midwest areas.

The following tips can help you avoid tick bites:

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Diagnosis And Management Of 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.

Treatment For Other Forms Of Lyme Disease

Treating Lyme Disease with Antibiotics and Herbs

People with other forms of disseminated Lyme disease may require longer courses of antibiotics or intravenous treatment with antibiotics such as ceftriaxone. For more information about treating other forms of Lyme disease, see:

The National Institutes of Health has funded several studies on the treatment of Lyme disease that show most people recover within a few weeks of completing a course of oral antibiotics when treated soon after symptom onset. In a small percentage of cases, symptoms such as fatigue and myalgia can last for more than 6 months. This condition is known as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome , although it is also sometimes called chronic Lyme disease. For details on research into chronic Lyme disease and long-term treatment trials sponsored by NIH, visit the visit the National Institutes of Health Lyme Disease web siteexternal icon.

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Medicines To Treat Lyme Disease

The first option for treating Lyme disease will always be the use of antibiotics. The form of administration of the same can vary depending on the stage of the disease, being oral in the initial stages and intravenous when the disease has advanced.

At the same time, the use of other drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may also be necessary. Theyre used to treat the symptoms of certain complications of the disease, such as Lyme arthritis.

In this sense, within the main prescriptions used for the treatment of Lyme disease, the following stand out:

Antibiotics And The Gut

Herbal and prescription antibiotics can decrease healthy bacteria in the gut. This can lead to yeast overgrowth and leaky gut syndrome. But these issues are both preventable and treatable using probiotics, limiting sugar and when needed using herbal or prescription anti-yeast medications. For more information about this see Prevent Yeast and Leaky Gut Syndrome. Take These Steps.

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Several Antibiotics Appear Effective Against Early

Most cases of Lyme disease, which is an infection carried by ticks, can be easily managed if treated early using antibiotics, with choice of antibiotic agent having little bearing on success.

This network meta-analysis suggests that when symptoms of the disease are confined to a localised skin infection, treatment failures are relatively infrequent, only 2% at 12 months. Effective antibiotics include penicillin V, doxycycline, azithromycin, cefuroxime, amoxicillin and ceftriaxone plus doxycycline.

The research has significant limitations, but choice, dose and duration of antibiotics appear to have little impact on outcomes. This research does not suggest that guidelines need to be reviewed.

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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

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