Ten Myths About Lyme Disease
by Ronald Whitmont, M.D.

1. Antibiotics are the only effective treatment for Lyme Disease.
There are many other modalities besides antibiotics that are effective in treating Lyme disease, including homeopathy, acupuncture and hyperthermia. Data on the use of antibiotics does indicate that usefulness is limited to short term courses of treatment. There has been some suggestion that overuse of antibiotics sometimes suppresses the illness, and prevents the formation of natural immunity.

2. Antibiotics are only effective in Lyme Disease if they are continued for one month or longer.
In fact, groups like the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America have recommended even shorter courses of antibiotics for the treatment of Lyme disease based upon clinical trials. Their current recommendation is for a course of treatment between 10 and 21 days for uncomplicated Lyme Disease. There are no clinical trials that demonstrate any benefit from longer courses of therapy with antibiotics. The use of antibiotics beyond this time period has been shown to be no more effective than a placebo.

3. The longer one continues to use antibiotics, the better the chances are for a more successful cure.
There is no data in the literature that support this "more is better" or "longer is better" philosophy. But there is excellent data from all other branches of infectious disease that suggests that longer courses of antibiotics are associated with greater risk of adverse reactions and a much higher risk of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is a huge problem in the world today, mainly a direct result of the overuse of antibiotics. Any inappropriate use of antibiotics for Lyme Disease or other illness threatens to heighten this dilemma and may eventually render these drugs ineffective. A safer method of fighting illnesses like Lyme Disease is to strengthen the immune system and to use homeopathic medicines, which are capable of directing the immune response, either alone or in conjunction with the judicious and selective use of antibiotics.

4. The best approach to the environmental influx of ticks in our environment is to flood our ecosystem with more pesticides and chemical repellants.
We already live in an environment filled with pollutants and toxins from the manufacturing and the pharmaceutical industries. Raising the level of these highly toxic chemicals by spreading insecticides and chemical repellants on our bodies, lawns and throughout our woodlands threatens the entire ecosystem and, ultimately, our own health. We have vast evidence that suggests that the use of these chemicals in the environment to target individual organisms is not only misguided, but shortsighted. This approach has proven to be ineffective time after time, as organisms find means to evade them or resist their activity. By furthering this short term approach to the environment we ultimately worsen the situation in the long run. Environmentally balanced solutions need to be pursued.

5. The overabundance of deer in our environment is responsible for the ballooning of deer ticks and the subsequent boom in the number of Lyme Disease cases.
The abundance of deer in our environment is another a sign of the deeper environmental disaster that we have perpetrated with our environmental recklessness. The deer are as much the victims of this lack of foresight as we are. The solution to reestablishing environmental sanity is a complicated matter that needs thorough evaluation by specialists and involves more than just short-term solutions. Emerging diseases like Lyme Disease are probably a direct result of our lack of sound environmental foresight or strategy.

6. There is no such thing as natural resistance to Lyme Disease.
There is actually evidence that many individuals do not succumb to Lyme Disease. The reason for this resistance is not known and has not been investigated. Many individuals who are treated in a conventional manner with antibiotics do seem to acquire Lyme Disease repeatedly. There is evidence that the use of antibiotics to fight Lyme Disease actually makes one more susceptible to recurrences of Lyme Disease in the future. The reason for this is not clear, but these drugs are known to suppress the immune system directly and indirectly. In addition, since the immune system may be bypassed by the use of these drugs, natural immunity may be impaired or delayed as a result. We have excellent data that indicates this scenario does in fact occur in other infectious illnesses including strep throat and otitis media. Lasting immunity is only imparted by engaging the immune system in the active process of interacting with the disease process. The use of immune-system supportive therapies, lifestyle, diet and exercise is also a benefit in supporting natural resistance.

7. Every time you are bitten by a tick you should take an antibiotic.
Whew. This is going to take a lot of antibiotics! We know that only about 1% of all tick bites from Lyme infected ticks actually lead to Lyme Disease. It has also been estimated that a tick needs to be attached to the body for at least 24 hours before transmission of Lyme Disease can occur. Immediate treatment within 72 hours following tick bites with a single dose of antibiotics lowers the risk of aquiring Lyme disease by only about 20% (according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2001.) Only tick bites that show evidence of attachment for more than 24 hours should even be considered for prophylactic antibiotic treatment. Other approaches to this scenario include the use of homeopathic medicines and immune system supports like echinacea and raw garlic. Multivitamins should probably be discontinued during this period since they may actually support bacterial infection.

8. Lyme Disease is a deadly disease.
There are no recorded or confirmed cases of fatalities from Lyme Disease, but Lyme has been associated with a number of "late" manifestations including refractory arthritis, neurologic conditions, heart block and Post-Lyme Disease Syndromes. Conditions which interfere with the normal conduction system of the heart can be potentially quite serious, and usually require definitive cardiologic evaluation.

9. Cases of "Chronic Lyme Disease," Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia are the result of not treating with antibiotics.
There is no data that documents any relationship between the failure to treat Lyme Disease with anti-biotics and the acquisition of these syndromes. Chronic Lyme Disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia may be the result of poorly managed infection with Lyme Disease, but there is no evidence that the administration of antibiotics actually prevents any of these sequellae. Furthermore, these syndromes do not respond curatively to extended courses of antibiotics over months or years, and relapses do appear to be the rule rather than the exception to the rule. There are suggestions, however, that these conditions may actually emerge as a result of the suppression of the immune system through antibiotic agents and the resulting establishment of an auto-immune phenomenon. Clearly, more research is warranted.

10. Lyme Disease can be prevented by administering the Lyme Vaccine.
The manufacturer of the Lyme Disease vaccine recently pulled it off the market for the general public because of the problems it presented. The vaccine had to be administered annually and was, at best, only partially effective. In addition, some individuals who received the vaccine were found to be at a greater risk of developing a form of auto-immune arthritis with chronic and severe joint and muscle complaints.

Ronald D. Whitmont, M.D. is a Board Certified Internist, a Founding Diplomate of the American Board of Holistic Medicine and a practitioner of Classical Homeopathy. He has lectured locally and abroad and has appeared on many radio station talk shows. He practices in Rhinebeck, Millerton and Manhattan. For more information contact him at 845-876-6323 or on the world wide web at www.homeopathicmd.com.