The Battle Against Lyme Disease - Part One
By Rudy Mueller, DC, IFMCP
Maine the case rate for Lyme disease has reached a record high. In 2013, it was found that in Maine we have 101 cases of confi rmed Lyme per 100,000 people. Interestingly enough the Center for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that an epidemic is defi ned as 25 cases/100,000 persons. All 16 counties in Maine were found to have Lyme disease and of all the counties 42% of confi rmed Lyme was reported in Cumberland and York County. I believe it is safe to say that we do have an epidemic on our hands and that more and more people including physicians both conventional and alterna- tive need to become more Lyme literate. This problem is not going away anytime soon. There are many misconceptions about Lyme on which I will shed some light.
W
Early Lyme The common thought is that Lyme disease induces a “bull’s-
eye” rash at the tick attachment site. Although this may be true it is not always the rule. In fact, most common is a red expanding rash that travels uniformly, meaning it spreads in all directions, from the tick attachment site. The second most common rash is one with an intense central redness. These rashes, called Erythema Migrans (EM), can be warm, raised, itchy, and occasionally located away from the bite site. This rash can develop within 3-30 days after the tick attachment which only 30% or fewer of people actually recall. Flu like symptoms may develop such as fever, night sweats, cough, headaches, fatigue, muscle or joint pain and more. Another symptom that may arise within weeks or months of a tick bite that indicates an active infection of Bb bacteria is a hot, red, tender ear or nipple, called lymphocytoma.
e have all heard of Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that is transmitted to humans or animals through the bite/attachment of an infected deer tick. In the state of
How To Properly Remove If an attached tick is found, careful removal should be consid-
ered. The best, and in my mind, the safest way to properly remove a tick is with fi ne pointed tweezers and a magnifying glass. You should not try to burn it off, smother it with alcohol or pinch it and pull it with your fi ngers. All of these methods can aggravate the tick and create even more potential infectious constituents to enter the body. You should pinch the tick as close to its head as possible be- ing careful not to squeeze the body, which may or may not be en- gorged, and apply constant pulling pressure until the tick is pulled out. Once removed, the tick can then be killed with the tweezers and should be saved in a plastic bag or other container so that it can be properly identifi ed as a deer, dog, or lone star tick. You can order a test online in which you will be asked to send the tick in a plastic bag in an envelope with your identifi cation number. The tick can then be analyzed in order to fi nd out if it is infected with Bb bacteria or another type of co-infection. You can order your report through
www.tickreport.com
What To Do If You Are Bitten By A Tick 1. Proper Removal [fi ne pointed tweezers and magnifying
glass]. 2. Take a picture with a small ruler for size relation of both the
tick and the bite site. 3. Place the tick in a container and order a kit to have it ana-
lyzed. 4. Draw a ring around any rash or the bite site with a marker or
pen and watch for expansion. 5. Take note of where you have been and what you have been
doing.
6. Get to a health care provider who understands Lyme and re- quest an antibiotic regimen that may include doxycycline, azithro- mycin, or amoxicillin.
www.EssentialLivingMaine.com 15
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