Lyme Disease Treatment Options

In modern medicine, there are two main schools of thought concerning the treatment of Lyme disease. The first began in 1996 when the CDC implemented a two step testing process, starting with an ELISA or IFA screening and proceeding to a Western Blot test (Harris, 2008). It was suggested that a two week treatment of antibiotics would cure patients of Lyme , and that if symptoms persist, the dose is usually upped to one month. However, there has never been a study demonstrating that even a month of antibiotics can cure chronic Lyme Disease (ILADS, 2009).

The second school of thought is that longer treatments of antibiotics are needed to cure Lyme disease, especially chronic cases (ILADS, 2009). The International Lyme and Associated Disease Society holds to this treatment, and while I believe that ILADS is doing great work and is key to people's education about Lyme disease, prolonged antibiotic treatment is where my agreement with them ends.

Prolonged antibiotic treatments can be extremely dangerous to the body. Dr. Lawrence Wilson divided the adverse effects of antibiotics into nine categories:

1. Antibiotics contribute to cancer as shown by a 2008 study of 3,000,000 people. Those who took took multiple antibiotics over eight years showed up to a 37% increase in cancer to those who took no antibiotics. Another study showed that the incidents of breast cancer doubled in women who had taken 25 prescription of antibiotics or had been on antibiotics for over 500 days in a 17 year period.
2. Allergic reactions can occur due to sensitivity to the drug or the chemical colors and other additives. While this is rare, people have died from antibiotic allergies.
3. There are over 300 kinds of bacteria in the human intestines which support healthy digestion and provide vitamins to the body. Wide-spectrum antibiotics derange the normal ecology of the intestine.  This can cause parasitic infection, vitamin deficiencies, loss of minerals through diarrhea, inflammation of the gut, malabsorption syndromes and development of food allergies due to defects in intestinal function. 
4. Antibiotics kill those bacteria which are susceptible to them, but lead stronger bacteria to mutate into resistant strains such as MRSA. 
5. Antibiotics impair the immune system. People treated with antibiotics later develop more infections due to a retarded immune system.
6. Overgrowth of Candida Albicans, a natural yeast in the body, can occur when beneficial bacteria is killed by antibiotics. Overgrowth of Candida Albicans can lead to yeast infections, diarrhea, more serious intestinal infections from other organisms, and death.
7. One of the major risk factors of Chronic Fatigue is repeated antibiotic use.
8. Nutrient loss and deficiency are caused by the beneficial bacteria loss in the gut and diarrhea which is common with antibiotic use. 
9. Antibiotics treat effects, not causes. Healthy people are not susceptible to infection and disease. It is only when imbalance strikes the body that infection finds a home. Treatment with antibiotics do not search for or treat the imbalance leading to the infection (Wilson, 2009).

It is because of these dangers of antibiotics that I have refused to take any for several years now. I have found that when the body is supported, it is capable to destroying only the harmful bacteria while keeping the balance of everything else. I turned to Alternative Medicine and will never turn away. 

There are many types of Alternative medicine including Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Aromatherapy, Homeopathy, Hoshindo, Yoga and Reflexology. The most powerful help for Lyme disease that I have found is Aromatherapy's use of Essential Oils. 

Essential Oils are basically the concentrated essence of particular medicinal plants. The oil of plants are up to 70 times more potent than the herbs which come from those same plants. Dry herbs can loose 90% of their medicinal properties while Essential Oils, when distilled properly, keep all of their constituents and properties. 

Because of a lack of standards for Essential Oil production, improper distillation often occurs, damaging the constituents which make them helpful to the human body. The best standard is the EOBBD (Essential Oils Biotanically and Biochemically Defined) from France. Be Young Essential Oils is the best company I have found and strictly adheres to the EOBBD standard.

I've been using Essential Oils for years now, and Be Young Essential Oils since 2009. Be Young is by far the best I've ever come across and is now the only EO company I'll use. The medicinal benefits of Essential Oils have given me the best turn in my health that I have ever known. 

Read the next article to learn more about what Essential Oils are, how they work, what they the body do, and how to use them to support your own body's fight against Lyme Disease.

References:

Harris, Steven Dr, Williams, Lynda Dr. Lyme Disease 101 Interview with Dr. Steven Harris and Dr. Lynda Williams.Radio interview KVMR 89.5 FM. 2008.

ILADS. Basic Information About Lyme Disease. International Lyme and Associated Disease Society. www.ilads.org. 2009.

Wilson, Lawrence MD. Beyond Antibiotics.The Center for Development. www.drwilson.com Dec. 2009.