Lyme Disease is one of the world’s most common and fastest-growing infectious diseases . It is the leading tick borne disease in the United States. This disease came to the forefront in the late ’70’s with an outbreak of puzzling proportions in the wooded areas in and around Lyme, Connecticut, a sleepy town on the coast of Long Island Sound. It’s carried to both animals and people by small deer ticks and/or wood ticks. Either tick can infect people, but it’s usually the wood tick that clings to, bites and transmits the infection to dogs. If undetected and untreated Lyme can cause devastating damage to a dog’s immune system, joints and organs. It’s now considered a major public health threat in large measure because domestic animals, particularly dogs and cats, are frequently the carriers of ticks to humans.

Today, there are very few areas in the country that are still considered to be free of the ticks. It’s believed that they’ve been dispersed throughout the country by clinging to birds making their seasonal commutes. Throughout the nations more temperate zones the risk remains high throughout the year. In the northern sections of the country it’s contracted most often in late spring and through summer;. The threat diminishes in fall when temperatures drop below freezing for several consecutive days.

The microorganism that causes Lyme disease is Borrelia burgdorferi. This is a spirochete or spiral shaped bacterium. Spirochete bacteria also cause diseases like leptospirosis, leprosy and syphilis. These spirochetes can hide in the tendons, muscle tissue, lymph nodes, brain, joint fluid, heart and nervous tissue in the body, laying dormant for years. This is the reason that this disease can be so difficult to clear from the body. Scientific research is finding the organism that causes Lyme disease to be a devastating stealth pathogen. A stealth pathogen is one which can go undetected by the immune system as it invades into deeper and deeper systems.

The antibiotics that are used to treat Lyme Disease are bacteriostatic. Bacteriostatic antibiotics halt or slow the reproduction of bacteria.The pathogen is not killed off, rather it is slowed down until the bodies own immune system can handle it better. The Borrelia commonly hides in tissues and remains dormant for years. The immune system begins to search for these invaders and they can move from organ to organ, changing the domain in which they live. As the immune system continues to search out the organism, it can begin to destroy the very tissues in which it hides. The tail of the Lyme organism has a similar make up to the glomeruli (tubules) in the kidney and autoimmune kidney problems can result from Lyme disease infections in dogs. Certain breeds are more predisposed to autoimmune phenomena.

Symptoms

Lyme Disease is a difficult disease to pinpoint because the initial symptoms present in a variety of combinations and are often read as symptoms for a number of different conditions. The acute form of this disease can sometimes look like arthritis, a back or disc problem and can even present with paralysis. People infected with Lyme experience, on the average, five visits to a doctor before obtaining a correct diagnosis. I routinely see dogs that have been vaccinated for the disease and still contract the disease post-vaccination.

• Lethargy and stiffness
• Temperature
• Diminished appetite
• Paralysis
• Sudden onset of symptoms

General Guidelines on Treatment

Antibiotics

I prefer Doxycycline as it is the antibiotic of choice for tick borne diseases. Your veterinarian will adjust the dose for your dog. I recommend it for at least a month.

Tip: Give your dog ¼ to ½ of a baked yam with his pill to prevent any stomach upset from the antibiotic.

Homeopathic Remedy to Detoxify from Antibiotic

Nux vomica 30x is administered morning and evening for the last two weeks of the antibiotics and for one week after you stop the antibiotic. This will be given for a total of 3 weeks. It helps to detoxify your dog’s body from the antibiotic.

Vitamins and Minerals

The most important mineral to give is Magnesium for this helps to flush the organism out so that the antibiotic can work to destroy it. A good Calcium/ Magnesium and Vitamin D3 supplement will have all the necessary support for Magnesium absorption. Vitamin A, Vitamin E and Vitamin are also helpful.

More Homeopathic Remedies

Ledum 200c or 1m- administer 2x a day for 5 days in the very beginning.

I highly recommend that you schedule a phone consult with me if you dog has had Lyme or does have active Lyme Disease.

Dr. Deva Khalsa, VMD