Homeopathy Papers

Lyme Disease and Natural Treatment

x Lyme Disease
Written by Lauren Trimble

Homeopath Lauren Trimble discusses natural treatments for Lyme disease.

Abstract

How can you prevent Lyme disease? What happens if you get Lyme disease? And what options are available for long-standing chronic Lyme disease? There are natural and homeopathic treatments that can naturally stimulate the body’s immune and adaptive responses. Read on for suggestions on prevention, safe tick removal and first aid acute treatment. Learn more about the usual medical treatment with antibiotics and why it may not work and what risks it may have. The homeopathic approach for treatment is explained as well as some natural dietary and post treatment recovery suggestions. The body knows how to heal itself with a little help.

Lyme Disease and Natural Treatment

How can you prevent Lyme disease? What happens if you get Lyme disease? What options are available for long-standing chronic Lyme disease, since it is difficult to prove that chronic Lyme exists and your doctor may not provide you with treatment. The standard medical treatment for Lyme is antibiotics, usually an oral dose of doxycycline. However, this may not work for everyone. Read on for ideas on prevention, acute treatment and natural treatments. The body knows how to heal itself with a little help.

Natural Prevention
A natural way to immunize against Lyme would be to take the homeopathic Lyme disease remedy. The protocol is to take 2-3 doses of the Lyme remedy, also known as the Borrelia remedy, in a 200c potency. It is good to do this in the spring, spreading the doses out over a couple of weeks or more.

Lemongrass essential oil is suggested to deter ticks. You can make a spray with water and use a bit of the oil to put on socks, shoes, pants and sleeves. It is safe to put directly on the skin since the oil is diluted.

Tick removal
If you find a tick that is attached, pull the tick out safely. DO NOT use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish, or other products to force the tick out of the skin. This can make things worse and the chances of leaving the head of the tick in the skin are much higher. It also stresses the tick, which may mean greater discharge of toxic materials into the skin. Remove attached ticks with tweezers gently to avoid crushing the tick’s body. Grasp the tick firmly and as close as possible to the person or animal’s skin. With a steady motion, pull the tick’s body away from the skin. Do not be alarmed if the tick’s mouthparts remain in the skin. (Watch this demo Video [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27McsguL2Og ] by tick expert Kateryn Rochon)

Homeopathically it is good to give a dose of Ledum palustre 200c while removing the tick. I will discuss the use of Ledum in homeopathic protocols later on. Cleanse the area with an antiseptic or lavender essential oil. You can put a drop of lavender oil at the site right away. It is antibacterial and antiseptic yet will not suppress any symptoms. You can also mix the lavender with coconut oil or other carrier oil to dilute the essential oil so it will not affect sensitive skin.

Calendula helps the skin to repair and heal without scarring. There are some herbal calendula wax-based or cream formulas available that would be good to apply after the lavender oil has set in. Another option is to use a Bentonite clay poultice to draw out anything left in the wound. You can add some lavender oil to the Bentonite poultice.

Typical symptoms of Lyme

If you have Lyme, or suspect that you do, the following symptoms may seem familiar:

  • Severe headaches and neck stiffness
  • Arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling
  • Fever, chills, fatigue and swollen lymph nodes

Some possible long-term symptoms:

  • Maddening pains
  • Sensory hyperacuity
  • Panic attacks or nausea from bright or flickering lights 
  • Hypersensitivity to sounds 
  • Abnormally heightened acuity to vibration
  • Smells seem overly intense and unpleasant
  • Foods may taste abnormally sour or bitter 
  • Joint pain and symptoms of arthritis
  • major sleep disturbances, terrible fatigue
  • Major cognitive dysfunction, especially short-range memory
  • Being labeled as crazy by family and/or medical practitioners
  • Feelings of despair and depression
  • Feeling as if one’s hopes and dreams are taken away by force

Recovery with Western Medicine
Going to the doctor will result in tests and antibiotics. There are cases where there is no response or an incomplete response to antibiotics. In these cases either oral or intravenous antibiotics are continued for months at a time. Some patients ultimately respond well to this aggressive treatment, others do not, or they may suffer extensive side effects from prolonged antibiotic use.

For many with a strong immune system and vitality, the recovery is quick and effective. However, in cases in which the symptoms return after months of an apparent cure, or never completely go away with standard or aggressive treatment, there can be serious health deterioration. Patients in this category are said to suffer from chronic Lyme, or post-treatment Lyme disease. This is not recognized by all medical systems and treatment is therefore often unavailable.

There are also problems that can arise with only using antibiotics as a treatment. All bacteria create biofilms in the body. Similar to a house or roof, they build a stable place to exist. When under assault by the immune system or antibiotics, they form spherical shapes and can thus hibernate in a comatose state like a seed. They then constantly monitor the environment waiting for the opportunity to ‘wake up.’ They are more difficult to remove from the body when in this state. It is also well known that it is not advisable to take antibiotics over a long term. This can disrupt the delicate balance of the body’s microbiome and lead to problems with basic body functions such as digestion and assimilation. It is possible therefore that using only allopathic treatments can suppress symptoms that come back later, and residual effects can be carried for years.

If you do not recover from antibiotic treatment, or have relapses requiring stronger antibiotics, this suggests there is an issue with your immune system response. Although antibiotics can help the body to remove bacteria, without the body’s own adaptive response and immune system response doing that work there is little chance of a full recovery. There are natural and homeopathic treatments that can naturally stimulate the body’s immune and adaptive responses. They can help wake up the awareness of the bacteria causing the imbalance, and then the body can remove it gently and completely in most cases.

The Herx reaction

A Herxheimer reaction refers to the release of endotoxins where bacteria die off during antibiotic treatment faster than the body can remove the toxins. Symptoms can include fever, muscle pain, and overall increased Lyme symptoms. This reaction can produce symptoms more severe than the disease itself, and so care must be taken to help the body clear the toxins or to reduce the intensity of the antibiotic reaction. If the issue is blocked lymph nodes for example, then to do an intensive antibiotic course before addressing the lymph drainage would perhaps do more harm than good.

Using Homeopathy to support Lyme recovery
It is always better to treat the current and complete symptom picture of each individual, although there are many homeopathic protocols that may help for Lyme infections. Keep in mind that it is possible to combine natural approaches along with antibiotic use, depending on what you feel most comfortable doing. However, it would be good to have the advice of a professional homeopath since antibiotics can complicate the body’s response to the natural treatments.

After the tick bite

If it is the first or second day of the bite, use Belladonna 30c or 200k to wake up the vital force and help rally the immune system to act. Indications are if there is any fever, redness, pain or red swelling. Also take Ledum palustre 200c or 200k. Use only the Ledum if the bite has been there for a while, since the Belladonna is no longer useful once the acute phase has passed. The Ledum is excellent for insect bites and reduces inflammation and itching, redness with swelling, and throbbing pain.

If the person is upset and worried they might die after the tick bite, you can easily calm them down with Aconite 30c or 200k. Give them one does right away, and another dose shortly after if they still need it.

Next steps

The best course of action with homeopathics is to individualize the treatment if at all possible. With the help of a homeopath it is good to use the person’s core or global remedy to help the body heal completely and fully. This addresses the previous issues that lowered their immune system response and increased their susceptibility to contracting the Lyme disease. This is best done with a professional homeopath, who will determine the complete set of symptoms and then match that to a remedy picture. A homeopath will explore much more than just the physical symptoms and this unusual approach is only one principle that sets them apart from a general practitioner’s methods.

After finding a core remedy or specific protocol, a homeopath can suggest the dosage, potency and duration of the chosen remedy. They can also suggest when to switch remedies. This makes healing a collaborative process between you and your homeopath, allowing for the best possible outcome.

Other remedies
After the initial protocol or core remedy, it is possible to use other remedies for particular symptoms as they appear during the healing process.  When someone is irrationally afraid of Lyme disease, consider Syphilinum. Their fear will often lead to a profound aversion to dirt or to touching dirty things. Lyme is similar to the Syphilis bacteria. There is an acute phase, dormant phase, and a progressive chronic phase where it gets worse with time. As mentioned above, an acute state of panic and fear of death can also be helped with Aconite. Homeopathy can definitely help with the feelings of despair, depression or even suicidal thoughts that may result from chronic Lyme disease.

Pharmaceutical clean up
In the case where antibiotics or other medications have been used, it can be good to do a drug detox for the system. Sometimes this is required before using natural protocols so the remedies can act fully to initiate the body’s response. This is mostly indicated in sensitive or very fatigued persons, although it can still be helpful for most people. There are various protocols that can help the body detox.

Food and Diet
Whole food supplements can also boost the immune system and help with fatigue. They can be used along with the homeopathic protocols and/or antibiotic treatment.  Spirulina contains essential amino acids, iron, protein, B vitamins, and vitamins C, D and E and supports the body, boosts the immune system and helps with recovery from fatigue. Bee pollen is also a potent whole food supplement. It contains beta-carotene, lycopene, zeaxanthin, the complete B and E complexes, vitamins C and D as well as protein and trace minerals including iodine, magnesium, and selenium. It is known as the most complete single food on earth.

Organic alfalfa is one of the most mineral-rich foods with optimal levels of magnesium, calcium, potassium, and trace minerals such as selenium, copper, sulfur, and zinc. These minerals are in balance naturally and promote proper absorption. I prefer suggesting these natural whole food supplements to taking specific or multi vitamins that can be synthetic, unbalanced or difficult for the body to absorb and use.

Post-Treatment Recovery
It is important to rebuild the physical structures that were affected such as the collagen tissues, where the bacteria get most of their nutrients to survive. To rebuild the affected structures you can use homeopathic supports, nutritional whole food supplements and herbs, as well as a strong whole food diet. The areas mainly affected will show up in the symptoms that are expressed in each individual. It might be in the brain as neurological diseases, the joints as arthritis, or the heart as heart disease. There will most certainly be a nutrient deficiency.

Quinton’s Plasma is a good tonic to restore nutrients in the more serious cases that have lead to long-term fatigue. Mycoplasmas scavenge B vitamins, so taking whole food supplements can be helpful along with eating different whole foods that contain the range of B vitamins. If they have disrupted the GI tract, this can cause bowel permeability. Taking Aloe Vera gel for a short time can help repair the mucosa. It may also help to change your diet temporarily, reducing foods that cause any inflammation or irritation. Homeopathic intestinal flora remedies can also help with recovery in this department.

After using antibiotics, it is important to repopulate the digestive tract with healthy bacteria again. You can consume raw or unpasteurized fermented foods that still have living beneficial bacteria. There are many probiotic foods as well such as plain yogurt and kefir. Also important are foods that offer prebiotics such as onions and under-ripe bananas. These contain the food that the healthy bacteria need to survive and grow once they are inside the digestive tract again. For a more intensive recovery, the Genestra HMF probiotics are human-sourced proprietary strains that adhere better to the gut lining and more efficiently colonize the intestinal tract. Most probiotics just pass through the intestines and so continued use is required. Many of the Genestra strains will actually repopulate the internal flora for the longer term.

HomeopathicTissue Salts can be very useful in a wide variety of functional disorders and physical symptoms. They are based on the 12 essential minerals the body needs to repair and maintain itself, and they help to regulate and restore these minerals and their functions. There are other homeopathic supports that can be used as well and if often depends on the homeopath’s familiarity with each system.

Other methods to consider alongside conventional medication include following the GAPS diet, osteopathy, cranial-sacral therapy and Traditional Chinese tuina massage and bone setting. It is not recommended to have acupuncture during homeopathic treatment as both methods are energetically based and may counter act each other.

About the author

Lauren Trimble

Lauren is an MICH Intern. She has previously trained at the Montreal Gongfu Research Centre where Traditional Chinese Medicine is combined with martial art practices and has taught Meridian Qi gong and Nei Gong classes. In 2010 she co-founded the Montreal Healing Arts Community, a local non-profit organization offering networking, outreach and education to the healing community. To learn more about Lauren, read her profile in our student intern directory.

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