Professor Jon J. Kabara Discoverer of Monolaurin
Dr. Jon Kabara was a professor at Michigan State University (20 years)
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Dr. Jon Kabara was a professor at Michigan State University (20 years)
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Author Jon Kabara begins by revealing the surprisingly varied roles played by fats and cholesterol in the body
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What is Lyme disease?
Why is it called “Lyme disease”?
What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?
What is Erythema Migrans?
How widespread is Lyme disease?
How is Lyme disease diagnosed?
Are there any laboratory tests that can diagnose Lyme disease?
What are common misdiagnoses of Lyme disease?
How is Lyme disease treated?
What is a "Herxheimer" or "die-off" reaction?
How can you avoid tick bites?
How should you remove a tick?
How long does the Lyme disease infection last?
Can Lyme disease affect pregnancy?
Can children become infected with Lyme disease?
Can pets become infected with Lyme disease?
Can Lyme disease cause deaths?
What are the tick borne co-infections?
Why is it called “Lyme disease”?
What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?
What is Erythema Migrans?
How widespread is Lyme disease?
How is Lyme disease diagnosed?
Are there any laboratory tests that can diagnose Lyme disease?
What are common misdiagnoses of Lyme disease?
How is Lyme disease treated?
What is a "Herxheimer" or "die-off" reaction?
How can you avoid tick bites?
How should you remove a tick?
How long does the Lyme disease infection last?
Can Lyme disease affect pregnancy?
Can children become infected with Lyme disease?
Can pets become infected with Lyme disease?
Can Lyme disease cause deaths?
What are the tick borne co-infections?
Lyme Disease (commonly misspelled as Lime Disease) is a bacterial infection caused by a spirochete called Borrelia burgdorferi. There are roughly 300 different strains of the bacterium found worldwide. The spirochetes are found in animals in nature. Various types of ticks bite the spirochete-infected animals and ingest the spirochete. When that same tick later feeds it will then transmit the bacteria through feeding.
Lyme disease is named after a town in Connecticut called Lyme. In the town of Lyme a researcher passed on findings to Yale researchers who named the disease “Lyme arthritis” because arthritis is one of the symptoms. Later when more symptoms were found they renamed it “Lyme disease”.
The main symptom of Lyme disease is the appearance of a rash called Erythema Migrans.
Erythema Migrans is a rash that forms a ring or multiple rings that look like a “bulls-eye”. The rash commonly appears with a diameter of four inches. If the rash diameter is less than two inches it generally doesn’t turn out to be Lyme.
Lyme disease is found throughout the world and the United States. It is most prevalent in the northeastern United States.
There are no Lyme disease tests that can first diagnose a patient with the Lyme disease bacterium and then show that the patient is now free of the bacterium. Therefore Lyme disease is a “clinical diagnosis” that is based on signs and symptoms, along with travel conditions to help form a diagnosis.
Not at this time but there are laboratory antibody tests that can aid in a clinical diagnosis.
Common misdiagnoses of Lyme disease include, but are not limited to:
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease
- Attention Deficit Disorder
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Guillain-Barre Syndrome
- Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Lupus
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Dementia
- Manic depression
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Panick Attacks
- Paranoia
- Schizophrenia
- Syphilis
- Tourette's Syndrome
Lyme disease can also imitate many psychiatric and neurologic disorders including:
The treatment for Lyme disease varies and depends on how soon or late the diagnosis is made and the organ systems that are involved with the infection. There are no definitive treatment regimens at this time and failures have occurred with all protocols. Oral antibiotics can be sufficient in the early stages of the infection. For disseminated or long-standing Lyme disease oral or intravenous antibiotics have been found to respond best.
What is a "Herxheimer" or "die-off" reaction?
By killing off microorganisms, there is a release of toxic by-products. This release causes flu-like symptoms. This can include fever, irritability, body ache and pain.
- Tuck your pant legs into your socks. Tuck your shirt into your pants. Ticks grab onto feet and legs and then climb up. This precaution will keep them on the outside of your clothes, where they can be spotted and picked off.
- Wear light colored clothing. Dark ticks can most easily be spotted against a light background.
- Inspect your clothes for ticks often while in tick habitat. Have a companion inspect your back.
- Wear repellents, applied according to label instructions. Application to shoes, socks, cuffs and pant legs are most effective against ticks.
- Inspect your head and body thoroughly when you get in from the field. Have a companion check your back, or use a mirror.
- When working in tick habitat on a regular basis, do not wear work clothing home. This will reduce the chances of bringing ticks home and exposing family members.
Ticks should be gently removed using tweezers. Do not squeeze, rip, burn, or drown the tick with Vaseline.
Lyme disease will last until it is treated.
Lyme disease has been reported to have caused the death of a baby from a maternal-child transmission.
Yes! Children can be infected with Lyme disease.
Tick-borne co-infections may be transmitted at the same time with a Lyme disease tick bite, and may include: Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis
There are two types of human ehrlichiosis: human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, and human monocytic ehrlichiosis.
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