1. Lyme can be transmitted by ticks, spiders, mosquitos, sexually, and transversally mother to child during pregnancy.
Contrary to popular belief, a bite from a deer tick is not the only way to be infected with Lyme. There are numerous studies that show research showing transmission of Lyme disease in other ways besides a tick bite. In fact, there is a study dating all the way back to 1937 showing transversal transmission from a mother to a child during pregnancy.
2. 70% of people with Lyme never get a bullseye rash.
Majority of people never get the bullseye rash that is considered a “tell-tale sign” of having Lyme disease and used by many medical providers to determine whether they will send their patients for lab testing. It can take 3-30 days or more for a bullseye rash to appear. It takes a at least a couple of weeks for your immune system to even recognize the invader and create antibodies. Most people do not remember being bit by a tick and since 70% of people with Lyme never get a rash, it can be years before they develop symptoms. Since it can be so far away from the tick bite and there is no rash, people will not qualify to get tested and/or have insurance cover it. Some people develop a rash, but it does not appear as the traditional bullseye and therefore they do not seek help.
3. More than 1/2 of people with Lyme (approximately 54%) have negative test results.
There are many reasons why test results are negative even though the person is infected with Lyme. In fact, here is a link to 22 Reasons Why Lyme Testing is not accurate. The CDC requires 5 out of 10 bands to be diagnosed as having a positive Lyme test. These bands on the blot must be in the right places and have the right number of bands. There are over 300 Lyme strains worldwide and over 100 strains in the USA. Labs do not test for all of these strains. At this point in time, the highest number of strains able to be tested in a lab is 17.
4. Borrelia, the bacteria that causes Lyme, usually brings with it co-infections.
Common “friends” or co-infections invited to the party include Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, and Rocky Mounted Spotted Fever. The opportunistic infections those that take advantage of the welcoming environment or as we say, the wedding crashers, include mycoplasm, Epstein-Barr virus, Herpes 6, and Candida.
5. The bacteria causing Lyme as well as co-infections and opportunistic infections consisting of other bacteria, viruses, fungus, mold, and parasites most times go undiagnosed as they burrow and hide in collagen, tissues, organs, and within debris of dead pathogens.
6. The bacteria causing Lyme has multiple ways to evade the immune system and antibiotics.
These guys are smart. They want to survive and go unnoticed in the body. They have ways of communicating with each other. They protect themselves with an armor known as a biofilm. They also change the proteins found on their outer surfaces like wearing a disguise. When they detect antibiotics in the body, they will bury themselves in collagen, organs, and tissues to hide from the antibiotics. So when someone takes an antibiotic for Lyme their symptoms tend to subside and they believe they are healed. However, this is just the invader hiding. Once the coast is clear, the Lyme pathogen comes back out of hiding stronger than before. However, this time it is even harder for the body to fight. The antibiotic creates inflammation in the gut (kills good and bad guys). A lot of your immune system resides in the gut. So now when your body needs to fight again, it struggles as it has been weakened by the use of the antibiotic.
7. Lyme often goes undiagnosed as it cannot be diagnosed without a positive lab test, and it is known as the disease of 100 diseases.
Many go undiagnosed for many reasons. One is that they never get tested because their medical provider does not find them to be a candidate. This could be because the person does not remember being bit by a tick or they have never had a bullseye rash. Without a positive lab test, most medical providers will not diagnose a person with Lyme disease and therefore never treat them for Lyme disease. Medical providers can actually face punishment (and many have faced punishment) such as fines and even losing their license to practice because they treated patients presenting with Lyme even though that patient had a negative test result.
Bonus Secret: You don’t have to live like this forever. There is hope!
©Remarkable You Wellness, LLC 2024
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