Lyme Disease: The Epidemic

Do you know what Lyme Disease is?  Do you know someone with Lyme Disease?  Do you know the signs and symptoms of Lyme Disease?  Do you know how to prevent Lyme Disease from eating away at your entire life?

Chances are you really know very little about Lyme Disease.  I would like to take a little time now to explain Lyme Disease in hopes that I can warn you of the dangers of this insidious disease before it destroys life as you know it in you or in someone you love.


What is Lyme Disease?
Lyme Disease is passed to humans by a tick bite (a small poppy sized bug) and they reside in wooded areas or grassy areas.  These ticks carry a bacteria called Borrelia Burgdorferi.  This bacteria causes Lyme Disease.

What are the Initial Symptoms?
-Tick bite
-Bull's Eye Rash (white in middle, red at edges which can be the size of a dime or cover a person's entire back) (possibly on 50% of people get this rash)
-Flu-like symptoms (fever, aches, etc)
-Profound fatigue
-Arthritis Pain

If you have any of these symptoms, get yourself to a doctor asap for treatment!!!  The sooner Lyme Disease is treated, the better the chance there will be full recovery.

Later Symptoms:
These symptoms may or may not be present.  Each person presents a unique set of symptoms, which makes Lyme Disease very difficult to diagnose.  Lyme Disease is known as the great imitator, and therefore imitates several other diseases.

-facial paralysis
-fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue symptoms
-twitches
-headaches
-stiff neck
-widespread pain
-vision problems
-diarrhea
-constipation
-chest pain
-heart palpitations
-mood swings/depression
-development of neurological diseases such as Parkinson's, MS, Lupus, ALS, etc.
-in children: Autism, ADD

For a comprehensive list, please see this link:
http://lymediseaseassociation.org/images/NewDirectory/Resources/DrB_SymptomList2005Pdf.pdf


How is Lyme Disease Treated?
Lyme Disease is treated fairly easily in its early stages with 1-2 months of antibiotics.  However, the bacteria is growing more and more resistant to antibiotics, and several strains of antibiotics may need to be tried before treatment works. 

In its late stages, Lyme Disease is very difficult to treat.  You need to find a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor.  Go to http://www.canlyme.com/ to find such a doctor.  Typical treatment is long term antibiotics (6months - several years).  There are also a growing number of effective alternative treatments.  I will speak of these in another post. 

Chronic Lyme Disease:
Those who have suffered with Lyme Disease for a long period of time (1yr +) have varying issues.  Some are completely debilitated, unable to take care of themselves.  Some will die.  Some develop 'psychiatric' issues related to what the bacteria is doing in their bodies.  Some develop neurological diseases (MS, Parkinson's, ALS).  Some suffer great amounts of widespread pain and fatigue.  The longer the Lyme bacteria has to fester in the body, the more damage it does and the sicker the Lyme patient gets.  Lyme Disease steals life, whether that be literally (death) or whether is debilitates the patient until they are unable to live life (possibly meaning being bedridden, unable to work, in too much pain to know joy, etc).  It is a very scary disease.

Testing:
Unfortunately, the Lyme Disease test covered by OHIP is approximately 90% INACCURATE!  Blood tests that are more accurate are very expensive ($400+), and even they cannot offer complete accuracy.  These tests give a lot of false negatives (so it will tell you that you don't have Lyme when you actually do have it).  Most Lyme Literate Medical Doctors diagnose by symptoms.

Where are the Ticks?
Ticks are spread by migratory birds, animals, etc.  They are all over North America, and all over the world.  In Canada, the greatest concentrations of ticks are in Southern Ontario and parts of Quebec.

How to Protect Yourself?
Deet Mosquito Spray helps a bit.  It is recommended to wear long sleeves/pants when spending time in/near wooded and grassy areas.  The most important thing is to watch for symptoms.

Scary Possibilities:
-It is possible that other biting insects can carry Lyme Disease (such as mosquitoes, possibly even bedbugs!!!)
-It is likely that Lyme Disease can be passed from mother to baby, and through breastfeeding (there is a high incidence of miscarriage for pregnant women with Lyme)
-It is even possible that Lyme Disease is sexually transmitted (which means it is in our blood banks!)
-Lyme Disease may be the cause or a cause of diseases like Alzheimer's, Chronic Fatigue/Fibromyalgia, Parkinson's

Lyme Disease is in your country, and the number of of people getting it is growing phenomenally. PAY ATTENTION!!!  Don't end up like me, 8 years sick and now so debilitated that it is a rare day I can even leave my house.

For more information:
http://www.canlyme.com/
http://ilads.org/
http://lymediseaseassociation.org/
http://www.lymediseaseresource.com/
http://lymebytes.blogspot.com/

Make sure to watch the documentary Under Our Skin.  It is available at the Toronto Public Library, Richmond Hill Public Library, and at http://www.underourskin.com/.

May God grant you health.