LYME DISEASE
DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU
Please share this info with everyone you know
Infected ticks are on the march and Lyme disease is spreading fast.
The advice in this article and in the links below
could save someone from serious illness
Infected ticks are on the march and Lyme disease is spreading fast.
The advice in this article and in the links below
could save someone from serious illness
Updated July 2019
Sorry not to have been in touch for so long. There is a really good reason for that and I’m so sorry to have been unable to keep you up to date. Unfortunately, I was bitten by a tick (known in Spanish as a garrapata), which made me very ill and I am still recovering. Here is my story. I hope it helps other people to avoid this disease.
Updated July 2019
Sorry not to have been in touch for so long. There is a really good reason for that and I’m so sorry to have been unable to keep you up to date. Unfortunately, I was bitten by a tick (known in Spanish as a garrapata), which made me very ill and I am still recovering. Here is my story. I hope it helps other people to avoid this disease.
A tick is a tiny invertebrate that looks like an insect but is, in fact, an arachnid (same ‘family’ as spiders and scorpions, having eight legs, not six). There are many hundreds of different types but most of those found in the UK and Europe are the tiny black legged tick or deer tick (Ixodes scapularis or Ixodes pacificus) which is the one that carries a potentially devastating illness called Lyme disease. It has nothing to do with the citrus fruit called lime. The name comes from the town of Lyme in Connecticut on the east coast of the United States, where it was first reported back in 1975.
The size of a tick bears no relation to the damage it can do. Not all ticks carry disease but infected ticks can cause irreparable harm to animals and humans. And they are on the march, having spread from cooler coastal and mountainous areas to warmer climes. Ticks feed on the blood of their host -- humans, dogs, cats. birds, reptiles, and animals in the wild. Ticks are referred to as terrestrial, meaning they cannot fly or jump. So they travel on anything that moves and then get brushed off onto grasses and other plants, or onto the ground before jumping or dropping onto another passer-by. And that's what happened to me.
The size of a tick bears no relation to the damage it can do. Not all ticks carry disease but infected ticks can cause irreparable harm to animals and humans. And they are on the march, having spread from cooler coastal and mountainous areas to warmer climes. Ticks feed on the blood of their host -- humans, dogs, cats. birds, reptiles, and animals in the wild. Ticks are referred to as terrestrial, meaning they cannot fly or jump. So they travel on anything that moves and then get brushed off onto grasses and other plants, or onto the ground before jumping or dropping onto another passer-by. And that's what happened to me.
They then wander over and through animal fur or human clothing until they locate skin, usually favouring an area where the host (in this instance, me or you) can't see them. A tick will then literally cut into the skin surface, stab with its feeding tube and suck blood. They can hang on for several days. Unfortunately, if that tick is infected with the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, it will pass the infection on throughout its full life cycle. It has become a very serious problem. One of the reasons tick bites go unnoticed is because the tick secretes tiny quantities of anaesthetic to numb the skin.
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Many of us are familiar with ticks on animals. The troublemakers tend not to be noticed until they have gorged themselves with blood and hang off the animal’s coat like some kind of distended balloon. Gross! If the animal has been treated regularly with anti-tick medications, then once the tick is removed, there is usually no problem. The situation with humans is much more serious as we have no protection. Not only is it all too easy to collect ticks as we walk through bushes, close to undergrowth or under trees, we can also pick them up as they walk, yes walk, from our pet’s coat onto our skin! Not every tick carries the disease. If you are bitten and find a red spot or bump at the site of the bite, this does not mean you have Lyme disease. However it is important to seek medical advice so you can be checked. DO NOT IGNORE A TICK BITE! Some doctors say that patients should wait until they have symptoms before seeking help. PLEASE DON’T WAIT. The earlier the treatment for infected tick bites, the more likely a full recovery.
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In my case, the little blighter dropped down from a branch onto my clothes while I was gardening. Ticks love to hide on the body and will crawl anywhere that makes them harder to detect such as the underarms, groin, behind or inside the ears, on the scalp, back of the neck or backs of the knees. In my case, it stuck to my shoulder blade. It was my husband that spotted it. |
I thought it was a leaf that had fallen down the back of my blouse and paid no attention until I woke up during the night in terrible pain and covered head to foot in a red rash. The tell-tale sign of a tick bite is a bright red rash called erythema migrans. The rash forms concentric circles around the bite, often creating several large red rings which can spread to larger patches and sometimes over the whole body, as was the case with me. If this happens to you, get medical help immediately. And I mean right away without delay. If you can't get an appointment with your general practitioner or regular medical adviser, then go to the Emergency Room at your nearest hospital. Fast treatment with the right type of antibiotics is absolutely essential. The first doctor I consulted insisted I had an allergy and did not even recognise the red rings around the bite. The second doctor diagnosed Lyme disease but gave me the wrong antibiotics. Thankfully, the third doctor knew exactly what she was doing and the error was quickly corrected.
Please share this info with everyone you know
Infected ticks are on the march and Lyme disease is spreading fast. The advice in this article and in the links below could save someone from serious illness SYMPTOMS OF LYME DISEASE
The red rash occurs in around 75% of infected patients, beginning at the point of the bite and then spreading. Some doctors say it can reach up to 30cm (12 inches) across but this is misleading as some patients will get an all over rash that covers their whole body. My rash spread right through my scalp and to the soles of my feet, even though the bite was on my back. My skin was burning hot and the skin incredibly sore and itchy.
Even with fast treatment using the right antibiotics, a person can still suffer debilitating symptoms such as sudden exhaustion, complete lack of energy, joint and muscle pain, skin sensitivity, heart palpitations, extreme perspiration, and repeated headaches for several years after the bite happened. Because regular (non-specialist) blood tests for Borrelia burgdorferi (the tick bacterium) are generally unreliable and can give false results, it is often impossible to know if and when treatment has been successful. A more accurate blood test, one which is not widely available, can cost several thousand pounds, euros or dollars just for a single test and so is out of reach of most patients.
THE GOOD NEWSI was SO lucky that I found a very switched-on doctor who knew a lot about Lyme disease, knew which antibiotics to prescribe (doxycycline) at the correct dose, and understood the need for immediate treatment. But even after all these months I still have to deal with multiple symptoms and have no way of knowing what the future holds. That tick bite left me with ultra sensitive skin, sensitivity to light, severe joint and muscle pain, increased pain if I am tired or cold, migrainous headaches, periods of sudden exhaustion and the need to sleep at odd times; and it was all caused by something the size of a poppy seed.
I'm not bemoaning my fate; I was one of the lucky ones. But I make no apologies for boring the pants of anyone who will listen in case it might save someone else from getting bitten and suffering the same potentially life-altering symptoms. I met someone recently who contracted symptoms many years after she was bitten because she did not realise a tick bite was serious and so did not seek help at the time. Her symptoms are way more devastating than mine. |
DON'T DELAY TREATMENTUntreated, a bite from an infected tick can cause multiple symptoms including serious damage to the nervous system but may not show up until several years after the bite, by which time it is often too late for treatment. Late-stage symptoms can include neck stiffness, painful joints, repeated headaches, irregular or slowed heartbeat, insomnia and, more seriously, inflammation of the spinal cord and/or brain, and facial palsy where the facial muscles droop downwards.
The red rash is a tell-tale sign of Lyme disease, usually starting off at the point of the bite and then spreading gradually over a few days. The immediate area around the bite will be red, hot and sore and then the rash may spread to the whole body. Not everyone gets the bull’s-eye rash but may get a mass of red spots or an all over body rash instead. Some people don’t get a rash at all. My doctor told me I was lucky to get the rash and the target rings around the bite as this meant a definite diagnosis (first consulted doctor who missed this, please note) whereas people who don’t get a rash may be harder to diagnose.
LOOK OUT FOR:
Safely removing a tickNever try to remove a tick with your bare fingers. Either use a tick remover stick, available from pet shops and from your local vet, or a pair of tweezers. And don’t pull. Simply twist it to remove. Put the tick into a sealed container and take it with you to show the doctor or veterinary surgeon. Whatever happens, it is imperative to seek urgent medical advice for yourself or veterinary treatment for your pet.
I'm staying positive that my symptoms eventually disappear and that I don't have to face any serious neurological damage down the years. In the meantime, I look after myself as best I can, emotionally and physically, making sure I rest and that I eat as healthily as possible. But that doesn't stop me wanting to do whatever I can to pass the message along so that as many people as possible learn about this potentially devastating disease and thereby reduce the risk of contracting it. |
POSITIVE PREVENTION
- If you have pets, check them daily for ticks.
- If you cuddle your pets, always check yourself and your furniture after that cuddle. Ticks are very fond of walking unseen from pet fur to human clothing and then burrowing through fabric to the skin.
- Apply insect repellent if you are out walking or working in a tick-borne area.
- Wear trousers tucked into socks if you're out walking or working in a tick-borne area.
- Always check yourself and your dog if you have been walking in the countryside or if you have been out in the garden. Remember that ticks love to hide where you can't see them.
- Remove ticks promptly. Invest in a tick remover stick, available from the vet or pet store. It works just as easily on humans as it does on animals.
- Apply essential oil of tea tree or strong skin antiseptic to the area of any bite. Tea tree oil is also useful if the tick is very tiny and resists being removed. Keep applying and it will usually drop off quickly.
- Never leave a tick in situ. If it won't come away, go to your local hospital emergency department or your nearest doctor.
- Don't delay. If left untreated the Borrelia infection can spread to the joints, the heart and the nervous system. This may not happen quickly. More serious problems may take years to manifest which is another reason why diagnosis can be so difficult - especially if the patient has no recollection of ever being bitten. The good news is that, if treated early enough, most cases of Lyme disease can be eradicated with antibiotic treatment.
- If you are unlucky enough to get bitten, and to get antibiotic treatment quickly, there are still some other things you can do that may help your recovery. They certainly helped me, I'm absolutely sure of that:
- My GP is an expert in the treatment of Lyme and she says that a ‘clean’ diet and supplements that help to detox the blood are essential. I followed her instructions including having a series of infusions (via drip) of detoxifying nutrients. These are not generally available through a regular GP surgery but more likely via a doctor who understands nutritional therapy. If infusions are not available, then taking detox and probiotic supplements by mouth (see below) can still help. It is also important to take probiotic supplements during and after a course of antibiotics.
- Diet-wise, avoid as much as possible any food that the body finds hard to digest (wheat, sugar, fatty foods, processed foods, take-aways, polyunsaturated oils and spreading fats, red meat, soft drinks such as cola, and any foods that contain fillers, emulsifiers, hydrogenated fats or oils, artificial flavours, sweeteners, or preservatives). Avoid packaged 'prepared' foods especially those with E numbers. Manufactured chemical additives just add to the toxic load. Read the labels. If there seems to be a long ingredients list that sounds like a chemical mystery tour then it's probably best avoided. While you're recovering, be kind to your body and try to eat only foods that are prepared from scratch where you know all the ingredients. Eat lots of fresh vegetables especially green ones, yogurt, kefir, fresh vegetable juices, game meats (less fat and more natural than farmed meat), avocado, and fresh fish or veggie proteins. Use extra virgin olive oil or cold pressed coconut oil, not sunflower oil. Fruit is good but go easy if you already have problems with gas or bloating, have had a positive test for candida albicans in the stools, or have a definite diagnosis of candidiasis, irritable bowel or other gut disorder. Fruit contains a natural sugar called fructose which can aggravate these conditions.
- When you have fruit or fruit juice, a great habit to get into is to take the fruit on an empty stomach, rather than with or after a meal. It is better digested that way.
- There are many detox supplements on the market. Good ones for detox post-Lyme diagnosis will include some or all of these ingredients: Glutathione (considered a master antioxidant), Alpha-lipoic acid also called ALA (essential), N-Acetyl cysteine, and Superoxide dismutase, and Vitamin C. I was also recommend Biocidin (available from Biocare in Birmingham, UK) and found it very helpful. But the patient should discuss with a medical expert first and take into consideration any existing medications.
- Get a blood test done and check for Vitamin B12 (cobalamin). All vegans and vegetarians should ask for this anyway since it can be very difficult to get enough B12 from a non-meat diet. Normal levels are considered to be between 200 pg and 900 pg (picograms) but in the case of Lyme, B12 is often recommended if levels are below 600 - 800 pg. This is because Vitamin B12 is the key nutrient for the nervous system which is the body system most damaged by Borrelia bacteria. Injections of B12 via the NHS are cheap and should be readily available but bear in mind that doctors generally don’t/won’t test for this vital nutrient and are often reluctant to prescribe it (no-one knows why as it is incredibly safe and very helpful - and very often deficient) so if a test is not offered then the patient should ask. If not forthcoming or if the patient is refused it point blank, I would honestly get a second opinion from a medical specialist who understands Lyme and its consequences. If your doctor is reluctant to help, try referring him or her to a fantastic book called Could It Be B12, An Epidemic of Misdiagnosis.
Early Signs and Symptoms (from 1 to 30 days after a tick bite)
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Later Signs and Symptoms (usually months or years after a tick bite)
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IMPORTANT: Antibiotics need to be taken for several weeks. This is because the bacteria carried by infected ticks are not only hard to detect (a blood test may show normal results even if bacteria are still present in the system), it’s even harder to eradicate. If your doctor does not seem familiar with Lyme disease or recommends antibiotics for only one week, then query this advice. If he or she is insistent that one week's treatment is enough, then I would urge you to obtain a second opinion.
NATURAL MEDICINE HELP:
I am currently following a course of herbal tinctures
probiotics and other nutritional supplements
and will keep readers up to date
on progress and improvements.
So watch this space!
I am currently following a course of herbal tinctures
probiotics and other nutritional supplements
and will keep readers up to date
on progress and improvements.
So watch this space!
MORE HELP
The following websites may be helpful:
https://familydoctor.org/condition/lyme-disease/
https://www.webmd.com/arthritis/ss/slideshow-lyme-disease
Highly recommended: http://danielcameronmd.com/
https://familydoctor.org/condition/lyme-disease/
https://www.webmd.com/arthritis/ss/slideshow-lyme-disease
Highly recommended: http://danielcameronmd.com/