What Doctors Treat Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that transmitted to human beings through ticks. Usually, getting this disease means that you will be sick for a very long time. Some people spend their entire lives living with the disease. The good news is that you can treat the disease within two years.
Lyme disease is unlike other common diseases, and getting a good doctor to handle your condition can be a problem. It is actually the reason why so many people end up spending a huge portion of their lives suffering from this disease. Doctors who treat Lyme disease are referred to as Lyme literate medical doctors (LLMD). So how exactly can you find a doctor who is capable of successfully treating Lyme disease?
How to Locate a Lyme Disease Doctor
Of course, all qualified doctors should be able to guide you through the treatment procedure of the disease. However, many will be unable to do so.
The first step in finding a good doctor for your condition is to have a list of doctors whom you think you can trust the most. Then find out each doctor’s past experience with the disease. How many Lyme disease patients has he treated? How many have been successfully treated? How many failed to get well? These are the most important information to find out since they will make you aware on whether the doctor can deliver results or not.
However, it can be a problem for those who live in areas where the disease is very rare. You might be the first patient for all the doctors you contact.
If this situation happens, you should find out whether or not the doctor follows the guidelines presented by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). These guidelines are accepted in almost all parts of the world, and by almost all top doctors and health organizations. Just to list a few, it is approved by the European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA), the American Academy of Neurology, the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology, and the Pan-Canadian Public Health Network (PHN). If a doctor follows the guidelines presented by the IDSA, then he or she is likely to handle your condition well and will deliver proper results.
The early stage Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics such as doxycycline, amoxicillin, and cefuroxime axetil. Most of the time, the medicines are given orally but if the patients suffer from other complications, then ceftriaxone and penicillin are given intravenously. Most patients, even to those who have a chronic Lyme disease, recover with antibiotic treatment. It is rare for the symptoms to last for six or more months.
The selection of antibiotics depends on the route of administration, expected duration of the therapy chosen, clinical manifestations, stage of the disease, as well as allergies and the current medical condition of the patients. An aggressive approach increases the chance of therapeutic treatment to be successful.
Side Effects
Arthritis may persist for a few weeks after the therapy because of a low autoimmunity and prolonged treatment.
Whom to visit?
A good way to spot a doctor, who will only empty your pockets is to watch out for certain claims to be able to cure Lyme disease. Generally, if you get Lyme disease, you will have to live with it for life. The only thing that can be done is to successfully treat the symptoms in order to make the condition less severe. Using antibiotics, the symptoms can be get rid of. Some of the symptoms, if left to develop, may not be treated through antibiotics for longer periods of time. Instead, they fade away on their own if given some time.
At some point, you might consider treating the disease on your own. This might be better than having a doctor with no knowledge of the disease, but is ultimately dangerous and only appears to be a cheaper option. In reality, self-treating your Lyme disease is very expensive. The best option is to invest in finding a good and experienced doctor, even if that means extra costs in transport. If you start treating the disease correctly when it has already developed to its later stages, you will have to deal with other extra consequences. First, in the long run, you might suffer a nervous system and joint damage. However, you will still be able to respond to the correct antibiotics.
Lyme disease is a complicated disease. Although the disease is caused by a bite of an insect, the symptoms are caused by an infectious inflammation and low immunity of the person to fight the bacteria. Every person who has been bitten by infected ticks reacts differently. Hence, the best way to prevent the disease is to make your overall immune system strong.
Ways to Prevent Lyme Disease
- If there is a need for you to stay in an area that has a possible tick infestation, use an insect repellent or a natural bug spray.
- While outdoors, keep the ticks off your skin by wearing long pants, full sleeves, and long boots.
- If you spot a tick crawling on your body, remove it immediately.
Home Remedies
- Eat healthy and improve your immune system - the natural ways to deal with Lyme disease is to boost your immune system, lower the inflammation, and manage the root cause in order to stop the triggering agent.
- High antioxidant foods - like green leafy vegetables or berries can help control the inflammation and provide the necessary nutrients to your body. Anti-inflammatory foods such as bone broth, nuts, seeds, and raw dairy products can help deal with your body's inflammation and gut syndrome. Taking probiotic-rich foods can reduce a person's susceptibility to infections. Other supplements such as vitamin D, vitamin B complex, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), and Omega-3 fatty acids are important to destroy the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Have a diet that is low on sugar and high on healthy fats. Herbs such as the black walnut, oregano, garlic, wormwood, and grapefruit seeds are effective in killing parasites.
- Reduce exposure to parasites - environmental triggers play major roles in the course of the disease. However, such triggers can be avoided by taking activated charcoal and bentonite clay. Have both the supplements on empty stomach. Both can provide the necessary minerals to the body.
