Lyme

Your Guide To Immediate Tick Bite Response

Healing Lyme Summit

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18C3speGmaJlQSHLMbfzT6MPPk-eFIP0w/view?usp=drive_link

Once the tick is removed, we want to clean the area. I’d like to use just soap and water. Then I'd put hydrogen peroxide on top because it is the best disinfectant. Then I will typically mix a little bit of bentonite clay powder with an herb called andrographis. Andrographis is directly anti-spirochetal. If you mix it and make a poultice, when the clay dries, it has this drawing action that helps to pull the saliva out of your body. Then I will soak a cotton ball in Andrographis itself, and I will apply that cotton ball to the wound for the next 24 hours, hoping to get some transdermal application of those Andrographis, because again, it is an anti-spirochetal. We can use homeopathic remedies for Apus and Lidums. They are good at systemically helping the body's reaction to an insect bite of any kind. Then it's important to put the tick into a Ziploc bag. You don't need to kill the tick or do anything to it. Just put it in the bag and Ziploc it so it can’t escape. Then you're going to go to tickreport.com. Now there are many different reporting agencies and testing agencies that you can send your tick out to. This just happens to be my favorite. This is the company that I use with my family as well as with my patients. They have amazing customer service. They have a great turnaround time. They have found certain pathogens in ticks when other companies have failed to do so. 

A real quick side note:: I had a patient who was bitten by a tick. She sent it out. The tick came back clean. She was told it did not have any pathogens. She went on to develop an EM rash about three weeks later and was symptomatic of Lyme disease. She ended up contracting Lyme. Very long story short, we ended up getting that tick back and sending it to tick report.com and they did identify the tick as having Borrelia. We'll get into this later on. But if you develop an EM rash, you have Lyme disease. It doesn't matter what any test says. Go to tickreport.com. Place your order. I recommend that you do the full tick pathogen panel. It's about 200 bucks. You're going to write your registration number on the Ziploc bag as well as on the outside of the envelope. I highly recommend that you overnight it via FedEx to tickreport.com so that you can get your results back within the 72-hour window. That is effective in treating and preventing Lyme disease, as well as this when they are guaranteed to get you your results back. The turnaround times are about 48 to 72 hours. 

Then I think it's important to begin herbal treatment protocols. If we don't know what the tick is carrying and we don't know what pathogens you've gotten from the tick. I don't feel it's wise to use prescription antibiotics, especially when I feel there are safer options. There was a study that showed that one dose of doxy at the time of a tick bite prevented Lyme disease. The study is flawed for so many reasons, and I cannot emphasize enough that that is simply not true. One dose of any antibiotic at the time of a bite does not prevent anything. End of story. 

What can we do? We can start an herbal protocol that helps to decrease the spread of the infection and helps to support the immune system while we are waiting to get those tick results back so that we know what pathogens the tick had and therefore what pathogens we could have contracted from that technique. There are various herbs that I'm going to go over that help to inhibit the inflammatory cytokine cascade and support the immune system, as well as offer anti-microbial properties. antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-parasitic properties. and then, once you get your tick back, you and your Lyme-literate physician can decide if it is wise to add a pharmaceutical antibiotic or anti-parasitic into the mix. 

These are two formulas that I use often with tick bites. I combine them. But I want to go over them separately. ASAB stands for As Soon As Bit. It's an herbal formula that intervenes at every step of the infectious process. It helps to inhibit transmission in the acute phase. But it also helps to balance the immune system, inhibit the inflammatory cytokines, and shut down the enzymes that help break down our collagen and extracellular matrix and help the infection move throughout the body. It also helps to protect the endothelial cells, which are the types of cells that both Borrelia and Bartonella like to infect, ASAB does all of that. 

Then, ASAB2 is an antimicrobial herbal formula that is intended to be used as soon as you find the tick bite. It has a broad spectrum of antimicrobials. Whether that tick has a virus, a bacteria, or a parasite, the herbal array that's in there covers all of those various types of microorganisms. The five goals for herbal treatment of tick-borne disease. This happens to be in chronic as well as acute cases, and we want to reduce inflammation. We want to inhibit that inflammatory cytokine cascade. We want to balance the immune system. We want to inhibit the destruction of the extracellular matrix, collagen, and endothelial cells. Because this is how the organisms move throughout the body and feed off of our tissues to live. 

Then, of course, we want to kill the infectious organisms and opportunistic infections that might arise because of the presence of these new pathogens. Then, of course, we want to make sure that we are supporting detoxification and that all routes of elimination are working properly when we are not appropriately detoxing, and eliminating, and our Herxheimer Reactions are much more severe and frequent. 

These next several slides have a lot of information on them. I'm going to hit the highlights for you. I will also make sure that you have a downloadable PDF of these slides because there's a lot of information here. This slide is going to go over the herbal treatment goals for tick-borne diseases. The first is reducing inflammation. Here we have all of the inflammatory cytokines as well as the various herbs that are going to inhibit each one of them. What you will notice here is that all of these inflammatory cytokines are going to be inhibited by using a combination of Chinese Skullcap, Japanese Knotweed, and Cordyceps. There are a lot of other herbs, as I said here, that are going to help as well. But basically, if you put those three together—Chinese skullcap, Japanese Knotweed, and Cordyceps—you will inhibit every single one of these inflammatory cytokines. 

Our second goal is to balance the immune system. Balancing the immune system and restoring proper immune function is crucial for overcoming Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. My hands down, my absolute favorite is Ashwagandha because it counteracts the exact modulation of the immune system that both tick saliva and Borrelia initiate to maintain and keep the infection going. There are a lot of other adaptogenic herbs that I talk about that help modulate the immune response and balance TH1 and TH2 immune pathways. so check those out. 

Our third treatment goal is to inhibit the destruction of the extracellular matrix, collagen, and endothelial cells. We can do this again using a combination of Japanese Knotweed, Ashwagandha, and Chinese Skullcap. I love it when we hear these same herbs over and over again, having these multiple synergistic benefits. Something important to know is that the MMPs are the collagenases. These are the enzymes that break down collagen. We can inhibit those using a combination of Japanese Knotweed and Chinese Skullcap. 

Our fourth treatment goal is to kill the infectious organisms. My favorite herbs for doing this are Japanese Knotweed and Chinese Skullcap. We just talked about these two herbs, and you saw the array of other effects that they had. Well, guess what? They are also anti-microbial. They have some killing effects. I just love it when these herbs have a synergistic effect where we have side benefits instead of side effects. Cryptolepis is another one of my favorite herbs as a killer. It's not only antibacterial but also anti-parasitic, so it's effective against a multitude of organisms, and Cryptolepis has also been studied and shown to be effective against persister cells. We can't say that about any of the antibiotics that are out there. 

Here is a study that was done by Feng. It was an evaluation of natural and botanical medicines for activity against the growing and non-growing forms of Borrelia burgdorferi. This study provides the first convincing evidence that some of the herbs used by patients, such as Cryptolepis, Black Walnut, Sweet Wormwood, Cat's Claw, and Japanese Knotweed, have potent activity against the Lyme disease bacteria, especially the dormant persister forms, which are not killed by current Lyme antibiotics. This is a great study to reference.

Our fifth treatment goal is to support effective detoxification and elimination. We have to ensure proper detoxification not only at the cellular and organ level, but we also have to support its exit out of the body. We have to make sure that elimination is working properly as well. We have several herbal compounds that protect cells from oxidative stress, optimize cellular health, and contribute to tissue detox. But we also need to make sure that we are maintaining the intestinal barrier's integrity so that we can get toxins out of the body and ensure that they're not being recirculated into the systemic circulation. It is helpful to use binders. I love Chlorella, and I love Galectin-3 modulators or G3M. Because not only do they bind these toxins, but they also work in other ways to decrease the severity of a HERCS and eliminate toxins from the body. I'll get into that in a much deeper talk later on in the summit. 

It's so important to watch for symptoms. There are so many symptoms of Lyme, BRCA, Bartonella, and plasma; these organisms are every single cell in the body. They're going to affect the functioning of every cell in the body. The presentation can look different in different people depending on our genetic and structural weaknesses. But I will say that usually, in the beginning, it is typically flu-like symptoms. We can have stiff necks, we can have headaches, and we can have sensitivity to our environment. From light to sound, we can have the typical joint swelling and muscle pain. But we can also see mood changes. 

A lot of times, these can be very abrupt. We can have heart issues such as palpitations or tachycardia, which are racing hearts. We can have neurological symptoms such as numbness, tingling, memory issues, sleep disturbances, and so many other symptoms. Again, they can vary from person to person and where you are in the infectious process. But I would say the biggest thing to look out for is a general flu-like presentation. This can happen several days to several weeks after the initial bite. 

Now, we can see that there is an EM rash or that Erythema migrans rash. But I want to make it very clear that that rash is only there with Borrelia, so only with Lyme, not with any of the co-infections. It is present in less than 20 to 40% of patients who develop Lyme disease. We absolutely cannot rely on this rash for diagnostic criteria. Now, if the rash is there, that is diagnostic of Lyme disease, no matter what any test says. 

Now here is a better look at that rash. This is the classic EM rash, the bull's eye. They do not all look like this. Most of them do not look like this. Again, its presentation varies from 27% to 47%., which means it is there less often than it is there. The rash can appear anywhere from 3 to 30 days after the bite. It is not always symmetrical. It can be misdiagnosed as a multitude of other skin issues. Again, I want to point out that the lack of an EM rash does not mean you do not have Lyme, but the presence of an EM rash means you 100% have Lyme. Despite what any test tells you. 

Get tested. Maybe. Why do I say maybe? Well, because there are three main reasons. Number one, the readily available test, even with a special t-lab, is looking at what is called an indirect test. It's looking at the body's production of antibodies to the organism. We are detecting the organism through the presence of antibodies, not directly, as in, we found the organism. The problem is that it takes three weeks for antibodies, called IGMs, to hit the level at which they're going to be testable. It takes about 4 to 6 weeks for antibodies, called IGGs, to be produced to the level that would get you a positive test. You're going to miss so many cases of Lyme disease when the patient is tested within the first 1 to 2 weeks after being bit, which is when most doctors order their tests. That's number one. 

Number two is that if you go to a conventional laboratory, they are only testing for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. This is going to give you a false negative more than 30% of the time. Why? Because there are 18 other species of Lyme disease or Borrelia that cause Lyme disease that we are not testing for. That's me telling you, reach into this box that has 20 crayons, and they're all different colors, and you pull out a green crayon, and I say, I'm going to test you for a crayon using a test that only picks up a red crayon. I'm going to tell you that you don't have a crayon, and you're going to tell me that I'm crazy because you're holding a crayon, but it's green. My test only picks up a red crayon. You see. It's like they're only looking at one species of Lyme when there are all of these other species of lime that need to be tested as well. 

Now the third reason is a little bit more complicated. But when you are looking at, with a conventional lab, either a Western blot or an Immunoblot, they look at 10 IGGs and three  IGMs, and we should be looking at 14 IGGs and 14 IGMs roughly. Other companies go much deeper into all of the proteins that should be evaluated, not just the 13 that these conventional labs do. 

I hope that this was helpful, and I hope that you now know what to do when you get bit. Take care. I'll see you soon.

<h6>Myriah Hinchey, ND, FMAPS</h6>
Hi, everyone. Dr.Hinchey here, and now I'm going to go over with you. What you should do if you get bit by tick. In summary, it's important to promptly and properly remove and identify the tick. Clean and apply first-aid care to the wound. Send your tick out to be tested, and then begin an herbal treatment protocol to help stop the spread of the infection. Vigilantly watch for symptoms. Get tested, maybe. the importance of using an integrative approach. 

Diving in. Number, one, it is so important to make sure that you remove the tick properly. We want to use flat-tipped tweezers. We want to firmly grasp the tick at the base of its head, as close to your skin as possible. Then we want to gently pull with a steady force until it releases itself. It is super important not to agitate the tick or do anything to get it to regurgitate its contents into the body because that can increase your risk of transmission. We do not want to cover it with Vaseline or nail polish or try burning it or anything like that. We want to just pull directly apart. You'll see a little bit of tenting with the skin and start counting. Usually, the tick will release itself around 90 seconds. You want to make sure that you do not grab the tick by its body. If you do this, you will probably rip it in half. If you leave the mouthparts or the head inside of the body, you will increase your risk not only of getting whatever infectious organisms that the tick contains, like tick-borne diseases, but also the presence of the head or the mouthpieces left in the body can cause infection all by itself.

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Myriah Hinchey, ND, FMAPS, has been at the forefront of Lyme disease treatment for over a decade. As an experienced Lyme Literate Physician, she couples conventional guidelines with unique natural protocols. Her foundation in holistic care integrates a rich educational background. She&#8217;s been a Licensed Massage Therapist since 1998, specializing in CORE myofascial release and Reiki. After obtaining her bachelor&#8217;s in psychology from the University of Connecticut, she earned her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from The University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine. Supplementing her qualifications are certifications in Medical Acupuncture, Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC), and a mentorship focusing on neurodevelopmental disorders.

Your Guide To Immediate Tick Bite Response

Myriah Hinchey, ND, FMAPS

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Myriah Hinchey, ND, FMAPS