Many doctors use both antibiotics and alternative therapies to treat Lyme.
Lyme Detox
Since spirochetal bacteria release toxins when they die (unlike other bacterial infections), dead Lyme can cause as much trouble leaving the body as when they’re alive. Detoxification can overtax the organs responsible for clean up – the liver, intestinal tract, and kidneys, especially if it happens too fast.
Many people call the uncomfortable but normal side effects of Lyme detox a “healing crisis,” “flare up,” or “die-off.” The more technical name is Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction.
This reaction (also called Herxheimer or Herx for short) is named for two European dermatologists working independently at the turn of the 20th century on the treatment of syphilis (also a spirochete). Adolf Jarisch, an Austrian, first reported this treatment reaction to in 1895. Karl Herxheimer a German, followed in 1902.
A Herxheimer reaction can include headache, swollen glands, skin lesions, joint or muscle pain, chills, cold hands and feet, excessive perspiration, low-grade fever, a rise or drop in blood pressure, nausea, constipation or diarrhea, itching, hives and rash. Other symptoms have also been reported.
If the Herxheimer lasts more than a few hours, it may be necessary to decrease or temporarily stop treatment until it goes away. Sometimes hives and rash are mistaken for an allergic reaction to the drugs being used. Close follow-up by a qualified medical professional is therefore a must to help manage the erratic course that Lyme treatment typically takes.
For Late Stage Lyme, see our post on Chronic Lyme for more information on what happens if Lyme isn’t treated or isn’t treated adequately and symptoms persist beyond 6 months.
How quickly a person heals from chronic Lyme Disease depends on many factors, including:
- how long they’ve had it
- how serious their symptoms are
- how their body reacts to treatment
- their financial resources
- the state of their mind and emotions
- the quality of support they get from others
In a nutshell, healing Lyme can be a frustrating, depressing, and lonely road. Lyme is like no other infectious disease we’ve known before. Those who have it and those closest to them should take Lyme very seriously.
