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Ticks know no borders Guest column By ROBERT OWRE UPPGAARD
Why is Lyme disease the "Unknown Epidemic?" Few doctors know how to diagnose and treat the disease.
Lyme disease is the fastest growing epidemic in the world. The symptoms are similar to many diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, Alzheimers, chronic fatigue syndrome, ALS and other degenerative diseases. If misdiagnosed and not properly treated, Lymes will become chronic and can be fatal. Most Lyme tests available look for antibodies and are unreliable (resulting in false negatives). However, the Bowen Q-RiBb test developed by researcher Dr. JoAnne Whitaker is a fairly new test, which locates the germ and appears to be 100 percent accurate. The culture method used is the gold standard for making a definitive diagnosis of an infectious disease. When patients are treated, based on the Bowen results, the patients have shown a remarkable improvement in their symptoms. Doxicycline antibiotics twice/day for one month or more are needed for a cure.
Minnesota Lymefighters Advocacy is a group created by Tracie Schissel and her sister, Leslie Wermers, to help those looking for answers regarding Lyme disease. They appear in Andy Abrahams Wilson's 105-minute documentary on Lyme Disease, "Under Our Skin." A five-minute clip can be viewed online at http://www.lymefighters.org. The news media should broadcast the documentary to warn people throughout the world about this horrible disease.
Ticks know no borders and respect no boundaries. A person's county of residence does not accurately reflect his/ her Lyme disease risk because people travel, pets travel, and ticks travel. Mothers can pass the disease (transplacentally) to their unborn children. Chronic Lyme disease can be sexually transmitted. Often entire families are ill. Lyme disease involves a spirochetal bacteria. It can cause severe multi-symptom pain and neurological illness throughout the whole body if it remains undetected, and can disseminate throughout the body rapidly.
Only 50 percent of people ever remember being bitten by a tick. That means 50 percent might not ever get treatment, leading to chronic Lyme disease. Early diagnosis and antibiotics can cost about $20 for one month's treatment. Chronic Lyme disease often cost thousands and takes many years. Prevention is key: Don't feed deer or sleep with pets. When you intend to be in the woods or tall grass, use repellent with DEET on your clothes, tuck your pants legs in your socks, and check for deer ticks when you get home.
DR. ROBERT OWRE UPPGAARD is a dentist who lives in the Pequot Lakes area.
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