ficulty concentrating and problems with memory can lead to poor school perfor- mance and difficulty learning new mate- rial. Children may also develop periph- eral neuropathy (damage to the peripheral nerves) that can lead to numbness, tingling or burning sensation. Children may also present with meningitis or Bell’s palsy (in- ability to control facial muscles on one or both sides of the face). Speech, language and reading delays are common. Difficulty with reading may be due to inability to fo- cus on words on a page due to eye muscle weakness despite the child having normal vision. Difficulty in processing auditory input often appears as a lack of focus lead- ing a child to be misdiagnosed with atten- tion deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Some children with Lyme disease develop problems with sensory integration and have a difficult time focusing when they are exposed to multiple stimuli at once. This leads to confusion and, in turn, often leads to poor behavior. Psychiatric symptoms are often as-
sociated with Lyme disease. Some previ- ously outgoing and gregarious children become withdrawn or reluctant to play. Happy children may become irritable and sad. Children may have an abrupt change in their mood to the point they are de- pressed, psychotic, and even suicidal. If this is the case, it is important to consider Lyme disease as well as co-infection with Bartonella henselae. One common co-infection is Babesia
microti. Babesia symptoms include sweats (day or night and often drenching), unre- lenting headaches, a burning sensation in the feet and muscle pain. Ehrlichia and
anaplasma are infections that can come on quickly and cause very high fevers, chills and intense fatigue, although they can also present as moderate headache and fatigue.
Making the Diagnosis
of Lyme Disease
The diagnosis of Lyme is often made
using the criteria set forth in the CDC sur- veillance case definition of Lyme disease, including a two step laboratory testing strategy: an antibody screen followed by a confirmatory Western blot. These tests are known to miss 20-50% of patients who have Lyme disease. On its website, the CDC states, “This surveillance case defini- tion was developed for national reporting of Lyme disease; it is not intended to be used in clinical diagnosis.” Currently there are no blood tests that
can tell your doctor that you do or do not have Lyme, they can only tell if you have been exposed to Borrelia. Your clinical condition, supported by blood tests, is the only accurate measure of active Lyme dis- ease. A negative blood test does not mean you do not have active Lyme disease, it means your immune system is not produc- ing antibodies to Borrelia, it is up to your physician to determine if you have active infection. Lyme disease is a clinical diag- nosis supported by blood tests. In Connecticut, if your doctor is con-
sidering the diagnosis of Lyme disease, it very well may be the correct diagnosis. Studies have shown that in the Northeast, as many as 70% of ticks may be infected with Lyme and 50% of ticks may carry oth-
er tick-borne illnesses. In 2009, tick drags conducted by researchers at the University of New Haven found that a startling 90% of ticks carried Lyme disease and 30% car- ried Babesia microti.
Treatment of Lyme Disease
First line treatment for Lyme disease
is with antibiotics. Many practitioners rec- ommend treatment for 3-4 weeks only. If the symptoms resolve with treatment then return following discontinuation of anti- biotics, patients are often inaccurately di- agnosed with a post-Lyme syndrome. The Borrelia spirochete reproduces once every 3-4 weeks. This is very slow in comparison to other bacteria such as those that cause strep throat, which reproduce 30-40,000 times in 3 days. Researchers have found that Borrelia is able to evade your im- mune system by hiding inside the immune system cells that are coming to attack it. When threatened, it can roll up into a cyst (similar to an armadillo) and go dormant. Research has shown that after a period of dormancy, active Borrelia spirochetes can re-emerge from the cyst. Understanding this organism’s complex physiology has led other practitioners to suggest longer courses of treatment. They recommend treatment based upon a patient’s symp- toms rather than an arbitrary length of treatment. With treatment, many patients ini-
tially experience worsening of their symp- toms due to release of a toxin from within the dying Borrelia spirochete called a Herxheimer reaction. This reaction can be uncomfortable and frustrating. Thankfully there are many nutritional and herbal ap-
www.naturalnutmeg.com
June 2010
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