A Review Of Alternative Lyme Therapies

By Gregory Powell


Lyme disease is a fairly common disease. It is caused by ticks and may be spread from one person to another by mosquito bites or through blood transfusions. This is why once one member of a household has been diagnosed, other members in the household should also be treated. The main treatment is antibiotics but a number of other treatments also exist. In this article, we explore some of the alternative Lyme therapies that one may consider.

The conventional oral antibiotics that may be used include axetil, amoxicillin, doxycycline and cefuroxime among others. The main intravenous drugs given are penicillin and ceftriaxone. Side effects associated with these treatments include diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain and rash among others. Chronic use of the antibiotics may result in autoimmune conditions which make treating the condition quite difficult.

Homeopathy is one of the therapies that has been tried widely. In this form of treatment, diagnosis is made on the basis of the disease meeting a certain set of symptoms. The treatment focusses on whole body wellness. This is done by giving an intensive phase therapeutic course until most of the symptoms abate and then instituting a chronic phase later on. Typically, the long term therapy is given once annually.

Proper diet is a necessity. Ensure that you drink lots of water to help with the detoxification of the kidney. Target a minimum of eight glasses of water per day. Include 2 to three servings of legumes per day in your meals. Legumes have fiber that helps in the removal of harmful toxins from the intestines and its subsequent removal from the bowels. Avoid tobacco, alcohol and gluten as much as possible.

Probiotics are important in yeast prevention and treatment. For prevention, 10 billion live cultures should be taken about an hour before the intake of antibiotics. During treatment of an active infection, this is increased to 20 billion cultures. The yeast infection can also be treated using natural (herbal) medicine. Herbal medicines commonly used include rosemary oil, garlic, caprilic oil and thyme 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.

Regular exercise ensure that oxygen supply to body tissues. Oxygen helps in the destruction of bacterial organisms. Exercise should be undertaken shortly before or after treatment. The benefits of exercise can be optimized if there is adequate sleep. There should be a minimum of 8 hours of sleep per day to enhance the therapies being undertaken.

There are a number co-infections that are usually encountered alongside Lyme disease. In some cases they are even more aggressive than the Lyme. Treatment should also be directed towards the elimination of these conditions. Babesia, for example, is found in up to two thirds of those with the disease. It is mainly manifested through neurological signs and symptoms. A number of herbs have been shown to be effective against such co-infections.




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