THE CONTROVERSY
Tick-Borne disease is often ignored or misunderstood by the majority of health care professionals. If you are fortunate to find a doctor who acknowledges you have a Tick-Borne disease you may still find it difficult to get proper treatment because doctors disagree on treatment protocols and the severity of Tick -Borne disease. There are two main groups of medical professionals treating Tick-Borne diseases.
Infectious Disease Doctors
The first group is doctors who follow treatment guidelines published by the Infectious Disease Society Of America (IDSA). These doctors specialize in treating all kinds of infections, including those caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. They follow IDSA treatment guidelines which recommend treating Lyme patients with one course of antibiotics for no longer than 10-28 days. The IDSA organization does not recommend long-term use of antibiotic therapy nor do they acknowledge Lyme Disease as a "chronic" condition requiring long-term treatment. In fact, these doctors use the term "Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome" to describe Lyme symptoms that exist after treatment (See the IDSA ARTICLE>> for additional information).
Unfortunately, the IDSA guidelines:
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Do not address treatment of chronic Lyme disease and co-infections
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Limits the use of antibiotics when treating Tick-Borne disease
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Are followed by the CDC and insurance carriers as the standard treatment protocol for Tick-Borne disease
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Are published in the National Guidelines Clearinghouse as a clinical practice reference for treating Tick-Borne diseases
Given the number of patients suffering "chronic" symptoms, one must question the science behind treating Tick-Borne disease with a few weeks of antibiotics. Evidence for a longer treatment protocol can be found in an article (Ginger Savely, RN, FNP) published in the "European ClinicalAdvisor" regarding the life cycle of Lyme bacteria. "...Borrelia burgdorferi has an in vitro replication cycle of about seven days, one of the longest of any known bacteria. Antibiotics are most effective during bacterial replication, so the more cycles during a treatment, the better. Since the life cycle of Streptococcus pyogenes (the bacterium that causes strep throat) is about eight hours, antibiotic treatment for a standard 10 days would cover 30 life cycles. To treat Lyme disease for a comparable number of life cycles, treatment would need to last 30 weeks....s" Follow the link ARTICLE>> to view the full article.
Lyme Literate Medical Doctors
The other group of doctors follows guidelines established by the non-profit International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS). This organization is an international group of medical professionals dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme and its associated diseases. ILADS promotes understanding of Tick-Borne disease through research and education and strongly supports physicians and other health care professionals dedicated to advancing the standard of care for patients with Tick-Borne disease. These medical professionals can be internists, primary care doctors, nurse practitioners and on rare occasions infectious disease doctors who follow ILADS guidelines and treatment protocols (follow the link to the ILADS GUIDELINES>>).
