Tips about Ticks:
A 6-Part Overview of Lyme Disease, Co-infections, Diagnosis, Conventional and Alternative Treatments, Complications and Prevention Strategies
By Dr. Deanna Walker and Dr. Rahima Hirji
Part 4: Conventional Treatment of Lyme Disease
The treatment of Lyme Disease is tricky and often delayed due to the difficulty of getting an accurate diagnosis. Once Lyme is diagnosed, the treatment is usually antibiotics. A combination of amoxicillin, cefuroxime axetil and doxycycline is usually used for 2-4 weeks. Antibiotics work best if diagnosis is made quickly. If diagnosis is delayed, antibiotics will likely not be curative.
The International Lyme and Associated Disease Society (ILADS) recommends 100-200mg of doxycycline for 20 days when there has been a known Ixodes tick bite. In the case of an EM rash, 20 or fewer days of treatment with phenoxymethyl-penicillin, amoxicillin, cefuroxime or doxycycline and 10 or fewer days of azithromycin are not recommended as the risk of the disease becoming chronic is too great. The choice of antibiotic is based on a number of factors including clinical symptoms and co-infections that may be present.
In some cases, if resolution of disease is not evident after 20 days of treatment, antibiotic treatments may be extended for longer periods of time. In recurrent infections, antibiotics can be re-prescribed for periods of 4-6 weeks.
The problem with using antibiotics, especially repeatedly and for prolonged periods, is the side effects. Using antibiotics for a prolonged period of time has a significant deleterious effect on the microbiome leaving the body susceptible to yeast and fungal infections, as well as the proliferation of other unhealthy microbes. C. difficile is also a potential deadly side effect of the prolonged use of antibiotics.
Though there is no easy answer to the ideal treatment of Lyme Disease, naturopathic therapies including herbals, supplements, IV therapy and therapeutic diets can play a significant role in long-term outcomes. Lyme disease, whether treated with antibiotics or not, can benefit from alternative therapies.
Stay tuned for our next blog post outlining the Naturopathic Therapies that can be used to support and help treat Lyme Disease.