Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

elemental.medium.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 238 posts

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#191

Post by lymeeducator »

Assossa wrote: post #43
robolange wrote: post #31

My father nearly died of [what we believe to be] Lyme disease. A few years ago he started getting awful bouts of pain all over his body. He couldn't eat, was losing weight, was losing muscle mass fast. It got the the point where he was using a walker (he was less than 60 years old at the time) and could barely lift a 5 pound weight. He went to a bunch of different doctors, had all kinds of scans run, and only kept ge…

I would greatly appreciate it if you could find the name of that medication. My sister has Lyme Disease and is still suffering health effects from it despite various treatments.

Treatment should be customized for each individual. It's quite possible she has more than Lyme. Bartonella, Babesia, and Erlichia are quite common. Mold and metals can also play a role in immune suppression, depending on the HLA genetic SNPs. Treatment approaches include detoxing, strengthening the immunne system and killing bacteria/parasite infestations. Herbal treatments, from Buhner or Cowden (ddg or google those two), or Traditional Chinese Medicine can be very helpful and mostly used in conjunction with western pharmaceuticals.

Some tests to get on a regular basis include: C4a, C3a, TGF-B1, MMP-9. Igenex is the best test lab for Lyme.

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#192

Post by TheBlerch »

gregcrv wrote: post #137
nouveaux wrote: post #4

I've recently gotten into backpacking and learned that the most effective way of dealing with mosquitoes and ticks in nature is Permetherin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin . It is intended for clothing and not the skin. The best way to apply it is to soak your clothes and let it dry. Spray on applicators are also available. Once it is dry, it is very stable and safe. It does breakdown with UV and washes, so…

I thought Picaridin (or Icaridin) was the leading alternative to DEET? Anybody knows how it compares to Permetherin? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icaridin

Use permethrin for clothing and shoes and picaridin for exposed skin. Both should be used always.

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#193

Post by sizzle »

opwieurposiu wrote: post #131
nouveaux wrote: post #4

I've recently gotten into backpacking and learned that the most effective way of dealing with mosquitoes and ticks in nature is Permetherin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin . It is intended for clothing and not the skin. The best way to apply it is to soak your clothes and let it dry. Spray on applicators are also available. Once it is dry, it is very stable and safe. It does breakdown with UV and washes, so…

Note that Permethrin is extremely toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates. Do not wash anything treated with permethrin in a stream or lake. A big problem in Africa is people using Permethrin treated mosquito nets as fishing nets. This kills off a lot of fish.

What about humans? Is it carcinogenic?

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#194

Post by pleasehello »

Galaxity wrote: post #105
lkrubner wrote: post #89

I was bit by a tick and I got sick. No doctor could figure out what was wrong. I tested negative for Lyme. I took antibiotics (Biaxin) and 3 months later I was fine. I stopped taking antibiotics. Within 2 months I was sick again. I took Biaxin for 6 months. I felt great. I stopped antibiotics. Within 2 months I was sick again. I took Biaxin for a year. I felt great. I stopped taking antibiotics. Within 2 months I was…

Now I'm no medical expert but antibiotics resolve an infection after a certain amount of time. Even for Lyme and leprosy. There may be health after-effects but those would not be resolved by antibiotics since the infection is gone. What could possibly outlast 20 years of continuous antibiotics that isn't either completely killed or mutates and renders the antibiotics ineffective? And then be resolved with a fast?

With Leprosy, a major difficulty is the large % of junk DNA and rapid mutation. Immune system relies on creating specialized T-cells to identify protein markers of harmful agents, but M Leprae can change those protein markers in each generation

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29367657

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#195

Post by beenBoutIT »

Foley's wrong about California's tick problems getting worse as the climate gets hotter and drier. California's western fence lizard has a protein in its blood that kills the bacterium responsible for Lyme and shares the exact same climate requirements as the ticks. California doesn't get the tick unless the lizard is there and the combination keeps Lyme disease in check.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2013-aug-20-la-ol-lym...

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#196

Post by hnzix »

erentz wrote: post #71

Unfortunately there’s no way to know that one currently has Lyme disease unless the symptoms are close in time to a tick bite. Treatment is with antibiotics, usually doctors will use a combination of two types of antibiotics (eg doxycycline and cefdinir) for which there is some research suggesting better results. In rare cases IV antibiotics may be required, especially if evidence of cardiac or neurological involveme…

Any advice on POTS treatment avenues? There seems to be poor GP knowledge around the condition, apart from giving fluids via a port to reduce symptoms.

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#197

Post by sbenitoj »

Assossa wrote: post #43
robolange wrote: post #31

My father nearly died of [what we believe to be] Lyme disease. A few years ago he started getting awful bouts of pain all over his body. He couldn't eat, was losing weight, was losing muscle mass fast. It got the the point where he was using a walker (he was less than 60 years old at the time) and could barely lift a 5 pound weight. He went to a bunch of different doctors, had all kinds of scans run, and only kept ge…

I would greatly appreciate it if you could find the name of that medication. My sister has Lyme Disease and is still suffering health effects from it despite various treatments.

Get this book — Toxic: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness

I didn’t have Lyme but I had mold toxicity, and pretty much every doctor and test came back saying, “everything’s fine” when I clearly knew it was not. If his treatment recommendations for Lyme are half as good as his recommendations for mold, this book is worth 1,000x the price.

Toxic: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness https://www.amazon.com/dp/1628603119/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Sv...

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#198

Post by _sword »

chris72205 wrote: post #64

Even if there's only one mention of it in the article, I'm glad they included it: alpha-gal syndrome. Not a ton of people seem to know about it and yet I continue to meet more and more people that are affected by it. For those unaware, it causes a person to develop an allergy to red meat and there's currently no treatment for it other than to wait. Granted, it's not as serious as Lyme Disease, I hope it gets to be we…

My friend's brother was bitten by a lone star tick on Long Island and since has developed that syndrome. It's been pretty funny trying to figure out what we can cook for him at our BBQ's since apparently the meats he's able to eat now are essentially chicken, fish, duck, and human.

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#199

Post by klyrs »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #134
magduf wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not trying to be snarky or insensitive, but is it really that hard for a woman to find a casual sex partner who will use a condom when asked? Surely you could browse the profiles on OKC (where you can see much longer profiles and get a much better idea of someone's personality before meeting them) and find someone suitable. A lot of guys might not say right on their profile that they're available for "short term…

A. I did say "in part." (Among other things) I also eventually concluded that celibacy was the best policy for my own health. Semen isn't the only way germs get traded. B. This is an overwhelmingly male forum. While I'm quite comfortable blathering on about all kinds of personal things that give other people the heebie-jeebies, it's my general policy to not discuss my sex life here in a way that actively encourages s…

You're my hero, Doreen. Thanks for talking about this stuff

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#200

Post by jagannathtech »

dheera wrote: post #120
stupidboy wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We can't get reimbursed by health insurance because we aren't a medical facility, but rather a DNA lab. I'm sure in some regard, it's a downside. However, it does force us to compete intensely on price, value & service. And I'm happy with that because consumers win.

When the cost of prevention is higher than the cost of treatment, you know the system is truly messed up. IMO health insurance should be paying for everything preventative. It's in their financial interest to stop fretting about what kind of lab you are, encourage early diagnosis and reduce long-term medical costs.

'reduce long-term medical costs'

the pharma companies won't be happy with that

Post reply on HN