One of the greatest factors in the misdiagnosis of Lyme disease is the presence of other tick-borne infections, which mask or aggravate the symptoms, as well as complicate treatment.
by Stephen Harrod Buhner —
Harvard researchers estimate that each year there are nearly 250,000 new Lyme disease infections, but only 10 percent will be diagnosed.
One of the greatest factors in the misdiagnosis of Lyme disease is the presence of other tick-borne infections, which mask or aggravate the symptoms, as well as complicate treatment.
Two of the most common and damaging coinfections are bartonella and mycoplasma.
Nearly 35 million people in the United States are asymptomatically infected with these pathogens, and at least 10 percent will become symptomatic every year — with symptoms ranging from arthritis to severe brain dysfunction.
Distilling hundreds of peer-reviewed journal articles on the latest scientific research on bartonella, mycoplasma and Lyme disease, Buhner examines the complex synergy between these infections and reveals how all three can go undiagnosed or resurface after antibiotic treatment.
He explains how these coinfections create cytokine cascades in the body, which essentially send the immune system into an overblown, uncontrolled response in much the same way that rheumatoid arthritis or cancer can.
Detailing effective, natural, holistic methods centered on herbs and supplements, such as the systemic antibacterial herb Sida acuta, which acts to protect blood cells from invading organisms, he reveals how to treat specific symptoms, interrupt the cytokine cascades and bring the immune system back into balance, as well as complement ongoing Lyme disease treatments.
$19.95 — Healing Arts Press, One Park St., Rochester VT 05767.
Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 32, Number 4, August/September 2013.
December 1, 2015
August/September 2013 Issue, Book review, Lyme disease