Lyme DiseaseA Severe Epidemic Condition
The Medical Establishment Refuses to Acknowledge
February 19, 2011 -- by: NaturalNews
It is a condition that afflicts more people every year than AIDS, West Nile Virus, and Avian Flu combined, but that receives little attention from the mainstream medical establishment or media. Lyme Disease, which according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) infects 325,000 new people every year, is a complex, systemic inflammatory condition that often leads to chronic fatigue, joint and muscle pain, autoimmune disorders, neurological problems, and even death -- but many medical professionals continue to dismiss it as a made-up disease, leaving victims with no recourse or treatment options.
The Alliance for Natural Health USA (ANH-USA) explains in a recent report on Lyme Disease that because the condition is complex and displays itself uniquely among different patients, many doctors dismiss sufferers as hypochondriacs, much like they do to those suffering from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and Morgellons disease. But potentially millions of Americans now suffer from the condition and either are unaware of it, or can do nothing about it, because most insurance companies hold the same view as conventional doctors that the disease does not actually exist, and thus does not require treatment.
Lyme Disease, however, is real, and is believed to be caused by an infection bacterial lipoproteins (BLPs) from over 300 different strains worldwide. And it is because there are so many strains that, some experts believe it is able to bypass the immune system and chronically infect patients and diverse ways. And the bacteria literally infects virtually every tissue and organ of the body, which makes it very difficult to pinpoint and diagnose, but also extremely severe and debilitating.
Chronic Lyme Disease (CLD), the official name given to the chronic condition, is believed to cost over $2 billion a year in attempted treatment costs, according to a report in the journalContingencies. The condition is often misdiagnosed and mistreated, however, which accounts for much of these costs. And most insurance companies refuse to reimburse for such treatments unless they are for recognized conditions. In other words, unless it fits into a typical, Western medicine category of diagnosis, then it does not exist and is not worthy of coverage.
But Lyme Disease patients are among the most afflicted as far as chronic conditions go because symptoms often keep patients in a perpetually debilitated condition. And current diagnostic methods used by the the few doctors that even acknowledge the disease are90 percent ineffectiveat both detection and differentiation of the unique infection types involved -- which results in ineffective treatment attempts in many cases.
Fortunately, many alternative doctors have developed customized Lyme Disease therapy protocols to help patients treat and even overcome the disease. These include integrative approaches involving vitamins, nutritional supplements, herbs, antiviral and antibacterial nutraceuticals, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, intravenous vitamin C, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), among others.
Source: Natural News