|
Much Ado about Lyme Disease |
||
 Lyme, Conn.- Lyme disease got its name from a small town in Connecticut in which this controversial disease was first recognized in 1989 ( it was found to be carried by a tick called Black Legged tick or more commonly known as Deer Tick since deer’s are one of the main carriers. This disease is so well known, that it has become popular disease to have whether you actually have it or not since its detection is very difficult and not widely acknowledged by professionals, i.e. many people believe that they have Lyme disease and insist on it but their doctors do not believe they have it. Doctors do not agree amongst themselves as to what constitutes Lyme disease since it mirrors a wide variety of other diseases and problems. Current treatment is long periods of regular doses of antibiotics but this can lead to the population as a whole using more antibiotics (whether they have the disease or not) thereby increasing the diseases resistance to the antibiotics as well as increasing the patients resistance to antibiotics which is not good in the long run because you may need antibiotics in the future for a serious health problem like E bola etc. Later on in this article I will go over some natural ways you can fight this off as well as prevent the tick from attaching to you or your pets. Experts are promoting another even more controversial way of controlling Lyme disease, kill off the deer! In a small main town of Monhegan Island, the townsfolk voted to hire a professional deer slayer to kill off all the local deer herd! This just shows you the Lyme disease panic that is gripping people everywhere. This type of misguided enthusiasm will not work since the black legged tick also hosts other animals such as dogs, cats, rodents, humans,; most animals that have blood (hint), so by killing off deer we will not deter the tick populations (instead it will drive them to look for new hosts). Lyme disease has been recognized as far back as 1950 with even further indications that it has been around for centuries! Certainly the tick will continue to survive for a long time carrying with it the bacterial host so how do we cope with it without killing off all deer and without spraying chemicals or becoming scared of nature? Read on.... Steps to take to minimize getting Lyme disease: 1.. wear proper clothing that protect you when going outside to work or play or hiking or camping. Tick season is usually right after the first spring rains when the earth is warm at night. Tick season can last through the summer and into the fall in most places. Wear log pants, long sleeve shirt, long cotton socks. Tie your pant legs with a string or rubber band to prevent them from climbing in from your pant legs. Do the same with your long sleeve cotton white shirt. Button down the sleeves and collars if possible. Avoid dark clothing to reduce heat build up plus darker colors are less attractive then white to ticks. Wash your clothing with Dr. Bronners Peppermint soap to increase effectiveness as repellent. You can also use DR Bronners to spray around pants, whole body just before going out if you have suspicions of there being a tick infestation in the area you are working or playing in. Dr. Bronners Peppermint soap added to water at 5 tablespoons per quart water and misted on clothing will last quick a few hours at repelling ticks. Citronella Oil when added to water ( 2 drops per quart water) and when sprayed on clothing will also be effective against ticks. You can also use garden grade Diatomaceous Earth by either adding 1 tablespoon per quart water and misting clothing and or area or by simply dusting DE on pants before going out. You can also dust DE in the area you are going to be in. This will kill and repel ticks for a short period of time. Pure pyrethrum powder can also be used as a dust on pants to avoid getting them on you. De and or Pyrethrum can also be dusted on your dog before going outside or on a walk etc. More on DE later. 2.. Use only natural sprayers to control: Dr. Bronners Peppermint soap is an effective tool for this purpose. Start off by bathing with it , this removes all odors which ticks are attracted to. Carbon dioxide given off by humans as well as other body odors only work to attract ticks and other blood sucking creatures. By using the Dr. Bronners they will smell only the peppermint and not you! You also should wash your clothing with Dr. Bronners soap to increase the peppermint odor the clothing will give off. Use it to wash your hair, allowing the foam to sit for a few minutes. Dogs will love this too. Take a bottle of D Bronners Peppermint soap with you (its a concentrate and will last a long time) when ever you go camping, hiking etc. Take along a quart sprayer or even smaller. By adding water and Dr. Bronners you can mist yourself regularly as well as your camping area to increase effectiveness of peppermint as repellent. Planting peppermint around garden, lawns will help repellent ticks. Dr. Bronners soaps are environmental safe ( you can use it in a stream!), use it to brush your teach or as a shampoo. The ticks will not find you! Learn to spray your camp site with either a liquid DE / Dr. Bronners soap mixture. Citra Solve is also an effective repellent of ticks. Use 1 tablespoon per quart water. Spray areas you are working or playing in. Avoid contact with skin and or eyes. for more information: Lyme Disease Foundation http://www.lyme.org/index2.html Description: The Lyme Disease Foundation (LDF) is a nonprofit medical healthcare agency dedicated to finding solutions to tick-borne disorders. Lots Of Links On Lyme Disease http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Oasis/6455/lyme-links.html Description: Over 6,500 categorized links on Lyme disease The Lyme Disease Foundation (LDF), located in Hartford, Connecticut, is recommended by most Lyme disease knowledgeable clinical physicians and patients. The above link for the LDF also is listed on official web pages for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) - see: CDC: Environmental Health; CDC; Lyme Disease http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/programs/ehserv/EHSA/hottopics/LymeDisease.htm NIH/NLM: MEDLINEplus: Lyme Disease http://medlineplus.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/lymedisease.html Additionally, the LDF is extensively quoted in the following Federal Drug Administration article: Fighting Fleas and Ticks http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/696_flea.html Above links thanks to, Art Doherty (Lyme disease patient) Lompoc, CA 93436 doherty@utech.net
|
Garden grade DE can
be added to the Dr. Bronners soap to increase its long term effectiveness.
De and or soap will kill the tick on contact. DE can be dusted lightly
around your pants before going out. The DE will last you all day or you
can re apply. DE can also be dusted around campsite or on trails, dust
your dog before going out. One handful is enough for a dog. Start at top
of neck, behind head and thoroughly dust coat. Allow to stay on dog as it
will not harm him. avoid getting into eyes, wash with water if you do get
on eyes. Use a collar. You can either get an electronic flea collar for
yourself and attach to ankle or get a herbal flea collar instead. Either
will work to keep ticks and fleas off you and your dog. Avoid chemical
flea collars. 3...Be careful what you eat: Eating garlic during camping, hiking, outside work is also an effective way of repellent ticks from attaching themselves to you and your animals. Another way to use garlic is to put a small piece in your shoe before you go outside to work, hike etc. The garlic will be absorbed by your body and given off through your pores effectively repelling ticks fleas, etc. Of course you maybe putting your friends at risk (they will stay away from you) as well as your fellow hiker but you will get used to it. Planting a garlic barrier around your property will also work in the long run as an effective tick repellent. Feeding your animals garlic as well will protect them too. Another way to protect your animals from tick attacks is to use these new flea control methods that you place a drop on the back of their neck which provides 30 days of flea protection. This also works for ticks! Ask your veterinarian. Brewers yeast is another effective food supplement you can use for yourself and for your pets as an effective flea/ tick repellent. 4..Proper tick removal: If you find a tick, proper removal is very important as improper removal often leaves the head imbedded in the flesh which will cause infection and increase possibility of getting Lyme disease. Using the proper tweezers is important. Try Uncle Bills Sliver Gripper or his Tick Removal Kit which comes with tweezers, magnifying lens, alcohol wipes, two plastic bags for keeping the suspected tick for later identification and a tick identification card. Always make sure you have completely removed all of the tick including the head. Application of hot golden seal tea directly on the infected area will help to heal faster. Vita C will also increase your return to health and reduce infection. Echinacea and Golden Seal mixture taken internally will help you fight off any infection or disease. Vita E taken internally and applied to bite will also reduce infections and reduce your chances of getting Lyme disease A few things to remember: 1....Ticks will always be around 2.. Deer will, and should, always be around. 3..Lyme disease is a reflection of a weakening human immunity systems. All living beings are being attacked by chemicals and are breaking down in their ability to fight off diseases, while at the same time the very same disease and pests are becoming immune to the chemicals. Chemicals weaken our society as a whole, weaken our biological systems. 4..Make yourself as healthy as possible 5..Make your animals as healthy as possible 6..Reduce stress in your lives. 7..Drink pure water 8..Breathe pure air 9..Eat pure food Enjoy! yours Organically of course, Andrew Lopez The Invisible Gardener P.S Another excellent tool you can use to repel
deer from your property and plants is to use Deer Off. |
