Lyme Disease – It Bites

 People often ignore insect bites thinking that the itching and the swelling will just go away on its own.  But who would have through that something as little as a tick can bring so much trouble aside from the usual insect bite marks.

Lyme disease

Lyme disease, also called borreliosis,  is a bacterial infection acquired from tick bites.  This are not regular ticks.  These are wood ticks found in deers. Ticks may settle itself anywhere on a human body, preferably  on warm, moist, and dark places like armpits and groins.  Lyme disease is caused by bacteria from ticks of the genus Borrelia.  However, in rare cases, it is also carried by ticks of the genus Ixodes.  It has been reported that Borrelia burgdorferi caused Lyme disease in the United States and Borrelia afzelli and garinii in Europe.  

Symptoms

Infection may manifest differently.  In its initial stage, patients see the presence of a reddish “bulls-eye,” often accompanied by fever, malaise, and fatigue.  About eighty percent of patients in the early stage of Lyme disease experienced this symptom.  This appears anywhere from a day to a month upon being bitten by an infected tick.  This red bulls-eye rash does not signal an allergic reaction, but rather a skin infection to the Lyme bacteria.  Muscular-skeletal pain may also be present during the early onset of this condition.

There have been rare cases where the infection appears asymptomatic.  And some less common reported cases of having cardiac and neurologic symptoms.  Cardiac symptoms include heart block and palpitations, neurologic symptoms include affectation of the central nervous system wherein the senses are impaired.  

Medical complications

Untreated or persistent cases of Lyme disease may lead to a number of chronic disease with medical complications such as meningo-encephalitis, cardiac inflammation (myocarditis), and frank arthritis.

Meningo-encephalitis has symptoms that resemble meningitis and encephalitis.  It manifests inflammation of the brain and its meninges.  Myocarditis is the inflammation of the muscular part of the heart.  With Lyme arthitis, often only one joint is affected at a time.  The most commonly affected joints are those of the knees, followed by the shoulder, elbow, foot, and hip.  This symptoms may die down after being treated for one to four weeks and may return in later months or even years.

Treatment

Antibiotics are the primary treatment administered for Lyme disease.  Dosage depends on the amount of time the tick has stayed in the person's body.  People who immediately removed the tick from their body are advised to be placed on close monitoring for any tick-borne diseases.  For people who have been bitten by ticks that have been in their person for at least twelve hours are advised to take a three-day dose of antibiotics.  The duration of dosing will depend on the doctors instructions and should always be followed religiously.

Prevention

The best way to avoid getting Lyme disease is to avoid tick-infested areas, or anywhere there are lots of animals where ticks may breed on.  If it is unavoidable to go to tick-filled places, wear protective clothing that covers the entire body.  Also, using insect repellents when going into wooden areas may help.

Knowing what to avoid will help prevent you from getting infected by Lyme disease, or any other diseases for that matter.  Ensuring personal hygiene protects you from breeding ticks or body lice that may infect you.  Being sensitive to your body and keeping track of even the slightest changes in your body will help you become more aware of any form of infection of insect infestation on your body.  

Just because something is small and barely visible, doesn't mean it can't harm you.  These tiny wood ticks may be little, but they can kill you.  Just like how the little boy David was able to bring down the giant Goliath.

Migraine Headaches - Is Relief Without Drugs Possible?

 Natural treatment methods for migraine headaches are usually harmless and also cheaper than traditional pain medications. Sure, it's possible you could experience a negative reaction or even increase your headache pain because of a natural treatment, but the odds are far less than with pain-relieving medications. 

People are different from each other. A natural treatment that might relieve one person's migraine headaches may not relieve someone else's.  But on the same measure, just because one migraine headache treatment does not work for one person does not mean it won't work for you. There are many effective alternatives to taking medication when it comes to relieving migraine headaches. One of these alternative methods may be just what you have been looking for.

Chiropractic adjustments, or chiropractic manipulations, are a very popular natural treatment method for headache relief. Patients with migraine headaches have been visiting chiropractors for over 100 years, and with very good results. Studies have shown that over 80% of headache patients find relief with chiropractic care. Plus, chiropractic treatment has been shown to be extremely safe. Spinal problems do cause headaches and by correcting these spinal problems many headache sufferers find welcome relief. 

Biofeedback is another form of treatment that is safe and can be effective in eliminating pain. Biofeedback is a training program designed to help a person develop the ability to control their autonomic (involuntary) nervous system. Functions that are normally automatic can be controlled voluntarily. This technique makes it possible for a person to control their own heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, and of course, the relaxation of their tense muscles.

Stress can cause tension, which can lead to muscle tightness (muscle tension) and cause headaches. By relaxing these tense muscles, especially in the neck, it is possible to relieve the tension causing the migraine headaches. With biofeedback, once the technique is learned there is no longer any need for the biofeedback equipment. The patient with migraine headaches can now produce the desired effect at any. They can control certain bodily functions, such as muscle relaxation, which can help reduce and relieve their migraine headaches.

Most people are unaware that too much salt can cause headaches. And by simply lessening the salt intake headaches can sometimes be prevented.

Food allergies or sensitivities can also cause migraine headaches. Certain foods such as cheese, alcohol, monosodium glutamate (a food additive), nuts, beans, caffeine, chocolate and onions can cause migraines. Foods that cause headaches are called “triggers.” People who experience migraine headaches because of food sensitivities can eliminate their pain by simply eliminating the foods causing the pain. 

However, it’s not always easy to discover which foods are the culprits. One way is to keep a food diary. Get a small notebook, with each page representing one day. On each daily page make three columns. The first column will contain the hours in the day. The second column will be a list of the foods eaten that day. And the third column will list the symptoms that you experience.

As an example, if you had eggs and toast for breakfast at 8 AM you would write “eggs and toast” in the food column that corresponds with 8 AM. Make a note of everything that is eaten on this list and at what time they were eaten. 

When you eventually experience a migraine headache you write “migraine headache” or “headache” down in the symptoms column at the time it began. For example, if one of your headaches begins at 2 PM you will write “headache” in the symptoms column for 2 PM.

It may take a few weeks or even a few months, but after experiencing a few migraine headaches, with the help of the food diary, you will be able to tell which foods cause headaches. Over time, by figuring out which ingredients in these foods are causing your pain, you will be able to eliminate these ingredients and relieve some pain.

Another very common cause of tension headaches and migraine headaches is just plain stress. People who experience tension can get headaches from their increased tension.

Relieving tension can often relieve migraine headaches. Tension can be relieved in many ways such as with biofeedback training (as explained above), taking a warm bath or shower, lying down and resting in a quiet dark room, putting something cold on the back of the neck (at the base of the skull) or having someone massage your neck muscles and possibly your temporal region to help relieve your tension and muscle spasms. Regular exercise can also, over time, reduce tension. 

These are just a few of the many natural treatment methods that are available to migraine headache patients. They are all considered safe and are effective for many people. If you have headaches it may be beneficial to try some of these treatments or search out others on your own. But as always it is a good idea to talk with your doctor before attempting to treat yourself for a health problem.