Lyme Disease

Sure, Dorothy had to keep her wits about her in the forest, but at least lions, tigers and bears are beasts you can see. Today’s hikers have their eyes peeled for ticks, the tiny carriers of Lyme disease.

Named for Old Lyme, Connecticut, the disease is caused by bacteria carried by ticks that are found mostly in the New England and mid-Atlantic regions as well as in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Lyme disease is avoided if the tick is discovered and removed within 36 hours; if not, flulike symptoms such as chills, fever, a stiff neck and painful joints appear within a month. Many patients also develop a circular or oblong rash that looks reddish on light skin and resembles a bruise on dark skin.

When treated in its early stages, Lyme disease is about 95 percent curable. If you suspect Lyme disease, see your doctor for a diagnosis. The natural remedies in this chapter—in conjunction with medical care and used with the approval of your doctor—may help relieve the symptoms of Lyme disease, according to some health professionals.

Food Therapy

The one-two punch that may help lessen the severity of Lyme disease is garlic and foods rich in vitamin C, says Julian Whitaker, M.D., founder and president of the Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, California. “Garlic is a generalized antibiotic, which may help you get over Lyme disease more quickly,” explains Dr. Whitaker. And citrus fruits, strawberries, peppers and other foods rich in vitamin C can build immunity for quicker relief of the flulike symptoms of Lyme disease, he says. (For more food sources of vitamin C, see “Getting What You Need” on page 142.)

Hydrotherapy

Water treatments are useful for managing joint pain associated with Lyme disease, says John Abruzzo, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Rheumatology and Osteoporosis Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. The best treatment depends on the type of pain. Hot applications relieve dull, penetrating pain, according to Dr. Abruzzo, while sharper, more intense pain responds better to cold.

You can apply a comfortably warm (not hot) compress directly to the affected area, according to Dr. Abruzzo, but an ice pack should be wrapped in a plastic bag and placed over a towel on the skin. He suggests holding the pack in place for 10 to 20 minutes; any longer, and you risk damaging your skin, he says. Repeat the hot or cold treatment every four hours until the pain subsides, he adds.

Imagery

Envision the Lyme spirochete, a coiled organism that causes the disease, as looking like a deer tick, a tiny, dark brown bug with a round body and eight legs. See it swimming in your bloodstream, says Elizabeth Ann Barrett, R.N., Ph.D., professor and coordinator of the Center for Nursing Research at Hunter College of the City University of New York in New York City. Now see yourself also swimming in your bloodstream, holding a candle. As you approach the Lyme disease spirochete, point the candle at the organism. Watch it shrivel up from the heat and die. Do this until all of the deer tick spirochetes are dead. Feel yourself recovering from the disease. Dr. Barrett suggests that you do this imagery once a day in the morning, taking as long as you need to complete it.

See also Bites and Stings