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A Review Of Alternative Lyme Therapies

By Gregory Powell


Lyme disease is caused by spirochetes that are harbored by tick vectors. It may also be transmitted during blood transfusions. Due to its contagious nature, all members of a household should be screened and possibly treated whenever one of them has been diagnosed. The conventional therapy is antibiotics but a number of alternatives have been tried with varying success rates. In this article we explore some of the alternative Lyme therapies that exist.

Antibiotics are given over some weeks or months. Cefuroxime, amoxicillin and doxycycline are the commonest oral antibiotics administered. In the event that these prove ineffective, intravenous regimens such as ceftriaxone and penicillin can be given. Some of the side effects associated with the administration of antibiotics include rash, diarrhea, abdominal pain and nausea. Autoimmune conditions have been reported in some cases of chronic use.

Homeopathy s one of the alternative treatment options that one may benefit from. Practitioners who offer this form of treatment make their diagnosis by considering the symptomatic pattern of the illness. The therapy is focused on achieving the wellness of the whole body. An intensive therapy phase is provided to eliminate as much as 75% of the symptoms. This is then followed by a chronic phase (usually once a year) to take care of flare ups.

Proper diet is key to recovery. Persons diagnosed with the disease should drink as much water as possible (minimum of eight glasses per day). Water helps greatly with the process of detoxification and expedites healing. Legumes should be increased to two or three servings every day. They have the benefit of removing toxins from the intestines and their expulsion from the digestive tract.

Probiotics are effective in the prevention and treatment of yeast infections. 10 billion live cultures taken an hour before antibiotics helps is the usual prevention dosage. In case of an active infection, the dosage should be increased to 20 billion cultures. Herbal medicine may also be used for the same. The common types of herbal medicine include garlic, thyme oil, caprilic oil and rosemary oil among others.

Antioxidants help to reduce oxidative stress and to enhance antibiotic activity. Green tea and curcumin have particularly high levels of antioxidants. 500mg of curcumin is available as pill that is taken three times a day. In addition to its antioxidant properties, curcumin also helps to lower the concentration of cytokines whole concentration is greatly raised in the disease. Lowering this cytokines helps to reduce the risk of autoimmune conditions.

Engage in regular physical exercise and get adequate sleep. Physical exercise breaks down bacterial organisms and enhances the activity of antibiotics. The exercise should ideally be undertaken just before or after the treatment. Adequate sleep is key to recovery as it augments the effect of other therapies.

Antioxidants help in the reduction of oxidative stress and augment antibiotic activity. Green tea compounds and curcumin are some of the products that have this property. A pill of curcumin (500mg) should be taken three times a day until symptoms resolve. Curcumin has an additional benefit of lowering the concentration of cytokines that are markedly increased in Lyme disease. Although cytokines are important to the function of the immune system, they may hinder the same system when if produced in excessive amounts.




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