We live in a beautiful world that has all kinds of toxic / microbial presences. Just as it was a hundred years ago with toxic waste in the industrial revolution now there are other toxic / microbial issues just different – and history repeats itself with different players. There are microbials that naturally exist to balance the eco-system and then there are the man made toxins that are scattered across our planet that end up in our bodies like microscopic plastic, heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides, and wireless non-ionizing radiation. Ticks also carry Lyme - Borrelia Burgdorferi in their salivary gland that gets regurgitated into our blood stream after they have feasted on our blood. Pick your Toxin. Today we have to detoxify daily from all the hundreds of chemicals we are constantly ingesting, breathing, coming in contact with. Its totally possible to still live a strong healthy life- just need to keep our eyeballs out of the sand.
We are the society of widgets of wireless gadgets and cell phones for pleasure and work. This is now the norm. Commercials and movies stream wireless everything as convenient, efficient, easy and fun. Its addictive. Funny isn’t this what happened with cigarettes a while back.
So what are we to do about it this time around?
Remove ticks carefully without pinching behind the head. There are tweezers available that are set to not allow you to pinch off the head at the neck while pulling the body.
Lyme disease
The Lyme spirochete: lives in marine sediments, deep within soil, found in black legged ticks, brown dog ticks, lone star ticks (not predominate in our area), arthropods such as termites, biting flies, mosquitoes, fleas and in vertebrates (such as deer) as obligate parasites. In the north east the largest reservoir is the white footed mouse.
They have been around for 100 million years. Reducing deer numbers, or mouse numbers won’t kill them. Pesticides will only shunt them for couple years and then they will return in bigger numbers.
In the spring with the heavy rains and cold climate there seemed to be a prevalence of ticks. Now the summer dry hot weather the ticks are harder to find.
Song birds are used as a vector to move ticks from one part of the country or continent to another- they hop on and off like a global travellers.
So what’s so bad about these ticks? Well they might actually be a big benefit to us. Lyme= Borrelia burgdorferi and other bacteria are required to be in the digestive systems of termites to help digest the wood in the forest that otherwise would not be broken down, termites would starve and we would be up to our eyeballs in fallen wood.
But its no joke if you become ill with the bacteria and perhaps coinfections that accompany them.
Recently I had the opportunity to listen to Dr Armin Schwarzbach MD PhD and his expertise on Lyme. The problem of Lyme disease exists worldwide. So why is it more predominant in our area last few years? Global warming? Possibly the electromagnetic waves are disrupting the natural rhythms of the planet or the many chemicals in and around us. At any rate we need to keep checking for ticks on us after being outside and on our pets that may bring them into our living area.
Lyme adapts to the environment and has the ability to change in the host. It’s the great imitator. The symptoms often imitate other diseases- such as arthritis or neuritis, or other pain syndromes.
It is interesting that researchers are using the Wolbachia bacteria in the mosquito to crowd out the dengue and borrelia bacteria but unfortunately some researchers are finding the west Nile virus increasing- and so caution will need to be used before using the Wolbachia as part of a vector -borne disease control program. There is no easy fix – we are changing the environment quickly and we are getting in the way of nature taking care of the earth. We need to rethink and not change it by another scientific experiment.
Lyme Disease and Pregnancy/Gestational Lyme.
A nurse practitioner Sue Faber RN BScN Co Founder of Lyme Hope is trying to bring more awareness to Vertical/Transplacental Transmission of Borrelia Burgdorferi – Lyme disease. As of January 25, 2017 it is not recognized that transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi is a possibility. There is literature to support this but this is not recognized in Ontario.
Lymes treatment from a Naturopathic doctors perspective
Lymes and coinfections (other opportunistic bacteria) can be devastating. The patients ability to remain well depends on many factors within and around themselves. The bacteria such as the Lyme -Borrelia burgdorferi reside in the cells and can turn on your predisposing genetics or epigenetics that lead to chronic illness. Co-morbidities such as diabetes and heart disease, poor habits such as smoking and fast food diet, dental issues, traumas or accidents, allergies/intolerances all contribute to poor outcomes for patients with Lyme. Your environment also plays into the prognosis of the disease such as geopathic stress, exposure to pesticides, occupational hazards, contaminated water, EMF (electro magnetic frequencies), environmental toxins and heavy metals.
Although some of these are prevalent and beyond our control we can choose to make changes that are in our control and take back the health of our immune system. Detoxify to improve immune function is really the key. If we do not choose to do this then we move toward chronic disease which when paired with the Lyme infection will make us feel “Really unwell.”
Detoxify by sweating it out and/or using herbs and nutrients to support the dumping of these through the digestive tract. There are many versions of these for supporting liver, digestion, kidney and lymph and is best talked about with your Naturopathic doctor who reviews the systems and helps to decide the best way to improve your immune function. The last thing you want to do is move the toxins from one area of the body to another.
Lyme and coinfections can take several weeks to several months to eradicate in the body….and although some improve with antibiotic treatment this can be hard on the digestive system where most of the immune system is. Herbs such as Andrographis is easier on the body and can be taken long term safely to eradicate Lyme 60% of the time. This is one herb of many that we use to help the immune system. Layering herbs would provide a greater result for clearing these bacteria. The Naturopathic approach is one that uses these antibacterial herbs along with diet and supporting the organs and detoxification that allows the body to get on top of the infection.
So if you do get Lyme or any of the co-infections it is most important to visit a Naturopathic doctor to get a handle on your health.
Dr Horowitz MD has a questionnaire that identifies signs and symptoms of Lyme and coinfections. If score high then a visit to the doctor would be a good idea.