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Summer is Upon Us: Learn what you can do to avoid Lyme Disease



About Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is caused by a particular kind of bacterium, a spirochete. Spirochetes are some of the most ancient bacteria on Earth, being around billions of years longer than humans. The Spirochetes that cause Lyme disease belong to the genus Borrelia and the borrelial organism most associated with Lyme disease is called Borrelia burgdorferi. Lyme disease began to get noticed as an epidemic of oligoarthritis in the mid-1970s mainly in children in several rural communities clustered about the town of Lyme in southeastern Connecticut, USA (Buhner, 2015).


Surprisingly, the borrelial organisms are transmitted by many organisms other than just ticks. Lyme bacteria are found in mites, fleas, mosquitoes, and biting flies their feces. Most people know that Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks in all 3 stages of their development: as larvae, nymphs and adults. It is often reported that the ticks need to be attached for 24 - 48 hours for transmission to occur. However this is not true, transmission can occur in less time between 10 minutes - 72 hours. Transmission in less than 16 hours is very common. Tick saliva shuts down important parts of our immune response that allows the Lyme bacteria to take advantage and initiate further immune suppression to keep themselves hidden from immune cells.


Factors involved in transmission:

  • Type of hard tick

  • Location of spirochetes in the tick

  • Partially fed ticks

  • Ticks coinfected with other transmissible bacteria - coinfections are common3

  • Species, subspecies, and strain

  • Soft ticks, biting flies, mosquitoes, and so on have very fast transmission times

  • The health or weakness of the individual’s immune system. The stronger and more resilient the immune system the slower the transmission time. The weaker, the faster. Keeping your immune system strong through summer and during outdoor activities is the single most important thing we can do to minimize infection.



How Can Herbal Medicine Help

When treating Lyme’s Herbal medicine works very well. We typically want to address 7 issues related to the disease to support a patient with recovery. They are the following:


  1. Protect endothelial cells:

    1. Endothelial cells form a single cell layer that lines all blood vessels and regulates exchanges between the bloodstream and the surrounding tissues. Signals from endothelial cells organize the growth and development of connective tissue cells that form the surrounding layers of the blood vessel wall.

    2. Why Are Endothelial Cells so important

    3. Functions of the endothelial cells

  2. Reduce Cytokines and inflammation

    1. What is an inflammatory cytokine?

    2. Inflammatory cytokines and pain

    3. The Role of Cytokines in the body

  3. Restore the body’s ability to make collagen

  4. Modulate the immune system so it doesn’t over or underperform on our behalf

    1. How nutrition modulates the Immune system

    2. What is Immune modulation?

  5. Restore and protect physiological structures: (Protect and regenerate neural structures of the brain)

    1. Neural regeneration

  6. Support patients in feeling joyful and happy using herbs that uplift

    1. Herbs that offer uplifting support

    2. Herbs that help with depression and anxiety

  7. Reduce the number of spirochetes in the body and increase healing.


Herbs that address the above issues:

(Note this is not an exhaustive list - these are specific herbs that have been successfully used in supporting people with Lyme Disease):

  1. Protect Endothelial Cells

    1. Japanese Knotweed

  2. Reduce Cytokines and Inflammation

    1. Baicalin Skullcap

    2. Dan Shen (Chinese Sage)

    3. Cordyceps

  3. Restore Collagen

    1. Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) - need to add milk thistle or dandelion or liver tonic herb to this as kudzu is contraindicated for those with liver conditions.

    2. There are other ways to restore collagen that your Dietitian can assist you with: Book a consultation today

  4. Modulate the Immune System

    1. Astragalus

    2. Cordyceps

    3. Eleuthero

    4. Rhodiola

    5. Chinese Skullcap

    6. Cat’s Claw - uncaria tomentosa

    7. Withania Somnifera

  5. Restore and protect physiological structures: (Protect and regenerate neural structures of the brain)

    1. Chinese cat’s claw

    2. Lion’s mane - Hericum erinaceus

  6. Support Joy Cultivation

    1. St. John’s wort

  7. Anti-spirochete (reduces the number of spirochetes in the body and increases healing)

    1. Andrographis

Expanded Protocols

Expanded protocols can be added to these herbal remedies to support issues that tend to accompany the infection such as anxiety, brain inflammation, severe brain central nervous system and brain involvement, Bell’s palsy, neurotoxins, low brain energy, feelings of brain pressure, de-myelination of the neurons, tremors, memory / cognitive dysfunction, brain fog, hypoperfusion of the brain, neural pain, sensations of buzzing, seizures, temporal strokes, subarachnoid hemorrhage, unrestrained feelings of rage, behavioral outrage in children, OCD, limbs feeling heavy, swallowing difficulty, insomnia, depression, relapsing fever, low libido, fever, eye involvement, pain, Lyme arthritis, numbness in extremities, Lyme carditis, Headaches, fatigue, muscle weakness, swollen lymph nodes, digestive problems, liver pain just under the rib cage, candida overgrowth, breaking up biofilms





The following essential oil blend is a natural tick repellent:


Tick Repellent Recipe:


Directions:

  • Add ½ a teaspoon each essential oil = 2.5 ml of each

  • Once mixed you will have 20 ml total = 4 tsp total

  • Add the 4 tsp of the total mix to 8 oz of pure grain alcohol or as close to that as you can get

  • Blend well and keep in a tightly capped brown bottle out of the sun

  • The oil range in effectiveness form 50 - 95% in repelling ticks and fairly well on black flies

  • Use 1 oz of the brown bottle herb with a spritzer / spray attachement. Apply liberally and often during tick season especially before going outdoors.


Ingredients:

We have provided links to help you source these ingredients. Book a consultation if you would like us to make you a blend.

1. Rhododendron Tomentosum formerly Labrador tea

2. Tagetes minuta - Mexican Marigold

3. Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (Cypress)

4. artimisia absinthium

5. Myrica gale (bog myrtle) -

6. Juniperus virginia. Red Cedar

7. Eucalyptus citriodora (lemon eucalyptus)

8. origanum marjoranana (marjoram)






Source These Essential Oils

The Following are some Essential Oil Companies where you can source some of these oils:


Bulk Apothecary


The Plant Guru


Plant Therapy


Essential Oils Wholesale


Rainshadows Labs Whole Sale


HomeoCan







Other Considerations for Preventing Infection: What to Do If Bitten By a Tick

  • In endemic areas take 1000 mg Astragalus daily throughout the year

  • For the duration of tick season take 3000 mg of Astragalus daily

  • Liberally use the essential oils tick repellant before going outdoors

  • If bitten do the following:

    • At the site of the tick bite:

      • remove the tick, liberally apply Andrographis tincture to the bite site, cover with a moistened glob of bentonite clay, cover with thin cotton and leave on for 12 - 24 hours (from reports, this seems to prevent active infection nearly every time)

      • Homeopathic Ledum 1 M 3 times daily for 3 days. (from reports, this also seems to work for some people)

    • At Appearance of rash -

      • Homeopathic Apis 30C 3 times daily for three days, and begin core herbal protocol and

      • Make an appointment with your physician for ongoing support and follow-up. Couple herbal and allopathic therapy for synergistic results



Sign Up to the BNH Wellness Dispensary to get both Astragalus and Andrographis at 25% off all the time.





If you need help creating an Lyme Disease Plan or creating some of these herbal products book a consultation today to learn how we can assist you in your health and wellness journey.






 

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1 Comment

Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
May 27, 2022

What a wealth of information!!! I see that I need to start taking my milk thistle as one of the herbal tinctures to keep my immune system strong. Summer can be a time to be conscious of exposure to the pesky possible carriers of Lyme disease. Thank you!!!

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