World
International
Lyme
Disease
Emergency
Rescue
Network
WILDER Network
Doctors'
Dilemma
Edward
L. McNeil, MB, BS, MD
Punta Rassa, Florida
WILDER Home
The
West Nile Virus is spreading as every day we hear of new cases and people
dying from the disease.
It is not the only infectious disease that is spreading and is killing people although it does not kill quickly nor dramatically enough to be considered newsworthy. The health authorities are justifiably worried about cases of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis) in cattle and other animals, that has plagued some European countries but has now been identified in the US. BSE is the source of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans that destroys the brain. Unlike West Nile Virus, it takes many years before symptoms appear at which time there is no effective treatment for it and the patients die.
Other diseases, far more common, spreading rapidly and expected to infect one-half million people within the next few years, come from being bitten by a tick, a mosquito or a flea. They are commonly known as tick-borne diseases, the one most well known being Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi or its variant strain).
When Lyme disease was first recognized in Connecticut, the majority of the victims were infected by a single germ subsequently called Borrelia Burgdorferi, after Dr. Burgdorfer who identified it.
Unfortunately, most of those who have been bitten by a disease-carrying tick can now be infected with more than one disease from a single bite. One is Ehrlichia,another is Borrelia burgdorferi, and Babesia which is a malarial cousin and gives similar symptoms to malaria. The three mentioned organisms are not the only ones that can infect from the same bite, as these organisms depend on the geographical area from which they came. These diseases are not only prevalent in the USA but are found in every European country, Scandinavia, the Balkans and as far away as Australia.
Ticks are great travelers. They can catch a ride on a plane or a bird. They can be carried from one country or continent to another, attaching themselves to humans or their luggage. The disease they carry can be transmitted by blood transfusions and from mother to fetus, an infected fetus more likely to abort and, if born, to be diseased and die at an early age.
The doctors' dilemma is they have been told early treatment with a short course of an antibiotic, usually Doxycycline, will cure Lyme disease. This may appear to be so but such treatment will not guarantee a recurrence will not occur, months or years later, without a further tick bite. This is especially so if more than one pathogen was in the bite.
That is not the only dilemma faced by the doctors because many of the blood tests to indicate Lyme disease are unreliable. A patient with negative results can be told they do not have Lyme disease when they indeed do. Treatment is then denied and the patients sentenced to an advancement of their disease(s) to a chronic form with increasing disability and death. Sadly, it is not unusual for patients to see 10 to 15 different doctors before a diagnosis is made. This is applicable to both the USA and the UK.
Diagnosis has to be made by taking a complete history of symptoms and physical signs elicited by a thorough examination, especially of the nervous system. For treatment to ameliorate some of the disabling symptoms, a prolonged course of antibiotics is necessary. Such treatments have shown success when prescribed by physicians specializing in the treatment of the tick-borne diseases and who have personally treated more than 5000 cases. Those who consider prolonged courses of antibiotics are harmful do not seem to apply the same judgment to other infectious diseases, such as Tuberculosis or AIDS, or to the use of prolonged courses of antibiotics for young people with acne.
A lot of expensive research is being done regarding what happens at the cellular level in the tick-borne diseases, but until repeatable, accurate tests are available to identify which pathogens are infecting a particular patient, research to show the effectiveness of particular treatments, is futile. Until that time, doctors are justified in diagnosing the tick-borne diseases clinically and empirically, treating with long-term antibiotics, judging the response over months rather than days. Long term exhibition of antibiotics is less likely to cause resistance to the antibiotics than short courses.
After penicillin with the advent of the antibiotic age, many considered we had conquered infectious diseases for good. How wrong they were. Emerging and changing infectious diseases now present an awesome challenge around the planet. In the fight against the harmful germs, we have not begun to win and great losses are to be expected. We may consider humans smart but the microbes have shown themselves to be even smarter in this present age.
It is not the only infectious disease that is spreading and is killing people although it does not kill quickly nor dramatically enough to be considered newsworthy. The health authorities are justifiably worried about cases of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis) in cattle and other animals, that has plagued some European countries but has now been identified in the US. BSE is the source of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans that destroys the brain. Unlike West Nile Virus, it takes many years before symptoms appear at which time there is no effective treatment for it and the patients die.
Other diseases, far more common, spreading rapidly and expected to infect one-half million people within the next few years, come from being bitten by a tick, a mosquito or a flea. They are commonly known as tick-borne diseases, the one most well known being Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi or its variant strain).
When Lyme disease was first recognized in Connecticut, the majority of the victims were infected by a single germ subsequently called Borrelia Burgdorferi, after Dr. Burgdorfer who identified it.
Unfortunately, most of those who have been bitten by a disease-carrying tick can now be infected with more than one disease from a single bite. One is Ehrlichia,another is Borrelia burgdorferi, and Babesia which is a malarial cousin and gives similar symptoms to malaria. The three mentioned organisms are not the only ones that can infect from the same bite, as these organisms depend on the geographical area from which they came. These diseases are not only prevalent in the USA but are found in every European country, Scandinavia, the Balkans and as far away as Australia.
Ticks are great travelers. They can catch a ride on a plane or a bird. They can be carried from one country or continent to another, attaching themselves to humans or their luggage. The disease they carry can be transmitted by blood transfusions and from mother to fetus, an infected fetus more likely to abort and, if born, to be diseased and die at an early age.
The doctors' dilemma is they have been told early treatment with a short course of an antibiotic, usually Doxycycline, will cure Lyme disease. This may appear to be so but such treatment will not guarantee a recurrence will not occur, months or years later, without a further tick bite. This is especially so if more than one pathogen was in the bite.
That is not the only dilemma faced by the doctors because many of the blood tests to indicate Lyme disease are unreliable. A patient with negative results can be told they do not have Lyme disease when they indeed do. Treatment is then denied and the patients sentenced to an advancement of their disease(s) to a chronic form with increasing disability and death. Sadly, it is not unusual for patients to see 10 to 15 different doctors before a diagnosis is made. This is applicable to both the USA and the UK.
Diagnosis has to be made by taking a complete history of symptoms and physical signs elicited by a thorough examination, especially of the nervous system. For treatment to ameliorate some of the disabling symptoms, a prolonged course of antibiotics is necessary. Such treatments have shown success when prescribed by physicians specializing in the treatment of the tick-borne diseases and who have personally treated more than 5000 cases. Those who consider prolonged courses of antibiotics are harmful do not seem to apply the same judgment to other infectious diseases, such as Tuberculosis or AIDS, or to the use of prolonged courses of antibiotics for young people with acne.
A lot of expensive research is being done regarding what happens at the cellular level in the tick-borne diseases, but until repeatable, accurate tests are available to identify which pathogens are infecting a particular patient, research to show the effectiveness of particular treatments, is futile. Until that time, doctors are justified in diagnosing the tick-borne diseases clinically and empirically, treating with long-term antibiotics, judging the response over months rather than days. Long term exhibition of antibiotics is less likely to cause resistance to the antibiotics than short courses.
After penicillin with the advent of the antibiotic age, many considered we had conquered infectious diseases for good. How wrong they were. Emerging and changing infectious diseases now present an awesome challenge around the planet. In the fight against the harmful germs, we have not begun to win and great losses are to be expected. We may consider humans smart but the microbes have shown themselves to be even smarter in this present age.
Ticks carry more than just
Lyme disease! Including:
0 -Ehrlichia;
o -Bartonella;
0 -Babesia;
o -Q- Fever;
0 -Tularemia;
o -Tick-borne Encephalitis;
0 -Mycoplasma;
o -Relapsing Fever;
0 -Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and others.
Never WAIT and SEE about a tick bite, please! Quickly and properly treated infections are less likely to progress to later stage or chronic disease.
Sometimes tick bites are
mistaken for spider bites!
Some diseases may be spread by animal bites or scratches and from mosquitoes, fleas or lice.
There is still so much to learn about Lyme disease and related infections.
Sometimes Lyme disease and related infectious diseases are undiagnosed for years, even decades!
Watch closely for symptoms after tick bites. Some never see a tick or a bulls-eye rash.
Don't ignore tick-borne disease symptoms!
If you feel sick, ask a doctor!
SYMPTOMS may include:
0 -Tick bites;
o -Fever; Flu symptoms;
0 -All kinds of Rashes;
o -Muscle; Joint; Neck Pain;
0 -Body Aches; Weakness
o -Light /Sound Sensitivity;
0 -Bells Palsy; Nerve pain;
o -Insomnia; Poor memory
0 -Headaches; Numbness;
o -Mood disorders; Confusion;
0 -Extreme Fatigue; Exhaustion
Never let tick-borne diseases progress!
Lyme and associated diseases are often MISTAKEN FOR OTHER ILLNESSES, Including:
0 -Chronic Fatigue;
o -Fibromyalgia;
0 -Hypochondria;
o -Multiple Sclerosis;
0 -Lupus;
o -Rheumatoid Arthritis;
0 -Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS);
o -Alzheimer's and
0 -Parkinson's disease
******************
Don't be fooled about ticks and their diseases.
******************
Directly affecting humankind, worldwide:
W H A T H A P P E N E D
when the U.S. Senate addressed the Centers for Disease Control regarding Lyme disease?
Consult a good doctor!
Visit ILADS, LDF, LymeNet or LDA to find a specialist in your location.
Protect your children and your family.
Learn about ticks and their many diseases.
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Dr. Edward McNeil,
talented doctor, writer &
artist, donates proceeds
of all book sales to help
Lyme disease patients
-worldwide. More...
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Pediatric Lyme Disease
Fund helps children and
teens with Lyme and
associated diseases get
treatment -worldwide.
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ILADS: Treatment
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Dr. Raphael Stricker
discusses the possibility
of human transmission
of Lyme disease. More....
Lyme Out info here...
TICK
BYTES:
Tick-borne diseases are spreading rapidly
in many countries across the world including,
UK, Scandinavia, Hungary, Scotland, USA,
France, Germany, China, and Australia.
There is NO 100% accurate Lyme disease
TEST available to detect infection or cure.
Ticks can be found in and around
leaf litter; grass; logs; animal fur;
bird feeders; and deer, mice, squirrel,
and other small animal habitats.
Tick-borne diseases are spreading rapidly
in many countries across the world including,
UK, Scandinavia, Hungary, Scotland, USA,
France, Germany, China, and Australia.
There is NO 100% accurate Lyme disease
TEST available to detect infection or cure.
Ticks can be found in and around
leaf litter; grass; logs; animal fur;
bird feeders; and deer, mice, squirrel,
and other small animal habitats.
How
to Properly Remove A Tick
Never let tick-borne
infections progress !
Tick-borne diseases can
affect any body part,
organ, and any system
of the body.
Lyme disease and Syphilis are both caused by a type of bacteria called a spirochete.
Tick-borne diseases can KILL!
Ticks travel on mice!
ALWAYS Get Ticks Tested!
Never let tick-borne
infections progress !
Tick-borne diseases can
affect any body part,
organ, and any system
of the body.
Lyme disease and Syphilis are both caused by a type of bacteria called a spirochete.
Tick-borne diseases can KILL!
Ticks travel on mice!
ALWAYS Get Ticks Tested!
Lyme Disease Foundation
Lyme
rashes have been
mistaken for ring worm!
mistaken for ring worm!
Ticks
travel on birds!
Basic
Life Support:
Lifesaving CPR alternative.
North
Carolina Lyme
Disease Foundation
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Doctors explain Lyme
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Dr. Edward L McNeil
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Dr. Edward L McNeil
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