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Natural Treatments for Lyme Coinfections: Anaplasma, Babesia, and Ehrlichia
A guide to the natural treatment of three coinfections of Lyme disease
• Reviews the latest scientific research on Babesia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma
• Reveals how these three conditions often go undiagnosed, complicate the treatment of Lyme disease, and cause symptoms from headache to seizures
• Outlines effective natural treatments with herbs and supplements for specific symptoms and to combat overreactions of the immune system and the inflammation response
Harvard researchers estimate there are nearly 250,000 new Lyme disease infections each year--only 10 percent of which will be accurately diagnosed. One of the largest factors in misdiagnosis of Lyme is the presence of other tick-borne infections, which mask or aggravate the symptoms of Lyme disease as well as complicate treatment. Three newly emergent Lyme coinfections are Babesia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma. Tens of thousands of people are known to be asymptomatically infected and at least ten percent will become symptomatic this year--with symptoms ranging from chronic headache and arthritis to seizures.
Distilling the latest scientific research on Babesia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, and Lyme disease, Stephen Buhner examines the complex synergy between these infections and reveals how they can go undiagnosed or resurface after antibiotic treatment. He explains how these organisms create cytokine cascades in the body--essentially sending the immune system into an overblown, uncontrolled inflammatory response in much the same way rheumatoid arthritis or cancer can.
Providing an in-depth guide for those suffering from Babesia, Ehrlichia, or Anaplasma infection as well as for clinicians who work with those infected by these organisms, Buhner details effective natural holistic methods centered on herbs and supplements, such as Ashwaganda and Chinese Skullcap, and reveals how to treat specific symptoms, interrupt the cytokine cascades, reduce inflammation, and bring the immune system back into balance. He explains how these natural methods not only complement conventional Lyme disease treatments involving antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals but also provide relief when other forms of treatment have failed.
• Reviews the latest scientific research on Babesia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma
• Reveals how these three conditions often go undiagnosed, complicate the treatment of Lyme disease, and cause symptoms from headache to seizures
• Outlines effective natural treatments with herbs and supplements for specific symptoms and to combat overreactions of the immune system and the inflammation response
Harvard researchers estimate there are nearly 250,000 new Lyme disease infections each year--only 10 percent of which will be accurately diagnosed. One of the largest factors in misdiagnosis of Lyme is the presence of other tick-borne infections, which mask or aggravate the symptoms of Lyme disease as well as complicate treatment. Three newly emergent Lyme coinfections are Babesia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma. Tens of thousands of people are known to be asymptomatically infected and at least ten percent will become symptomatic this year--with symptoms ranging from chronic headache and arthritis to seizures.
Distilling the latest scientific research on Babesia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, and Lyme disease, Stephen Buhner examines the complex synergy between these infections and reveals how they can go undiagnosed or resurface after antibiotic treatment. He explains how these organisms create cytokine cascades in the body--essentially sending the immune system into an overblown, uncontrolled inflammatory response in much the same way rheumatoid arthritis or cancer can.
Providing an in-depth guide for those suffering from Babesia, Ehrlichia, or Anaplasma infection as well as for clinicians who work with those infected by these organisms, Buhner details effective natural holistic methods centered on herbs and supplements, such as Ashwaganda and Chinese Skullcap, and reveals how to treat specific symptoms, interrupt the cytokine cascades, reduce inflammation, and bring the immune system back into balance. He explains how these natural methods not only complement conventional Lyme disease treatments involving antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals but also provide relief when other forms of treatment have failed.
- GenresHealthNonfiction
454 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 22, 2015
About the author
Stephen Harrod Buhner
36 books402 followersStephen Harrod Buhner is an Earth poet and the award-winning author of ten books on nature, indigenous cultures, the environment, and herbal medicine. He comes from a long line of healers including Leroy Burney, Surgeon General of the United States under Eisenhower and Kennedy, and Elizabeth Lusterheide, a midwife and herbalist who worked in rural Indiana in the early nineteenth century. The greatest influence on his work, however, has been his great-grandfather C.G. Harrod who primarily used botanical medicines, also in rural Indiana, when he began his work as a physician in 1911.
Stephen's work has appeared or been profiled in publications throughout North America and Europe including Common Boundary, Apotheosis, Shaman's Drum, The New York Times, CNN, and Good Morning America. Stephen lectures yearly throughout the United States on herbal medicine, the sacredness of plants, the intelligence of Nature, and the states of mind necessary for successful habitation of Earth.
Stephen has served as president of the Colorado Association for Healing Practitioners and as a lobbyist on herbal and holistic medicines and education in the Colorado legislature. He lives in New Mexico.
from
http://www.gaianstudies.org/Stephen.html
and
http://www.storey.com/author.php?ID=5...
Stephen's work has appeared or been profiled in publications throughout North America and Europe including Common Boundary, Apotheosis, Shaman's Drum, The New York Times, CNN, and Good Morning America. Stephen lectures yearly throughout the United States on herbal medicine, the sacredness of plants, the intelligence of Nature, and the states of mind necessary for successful habitation of Earth.
Stephen has served as president of the Colorado Association for Healing Practitioners and as a lobbyist on herbal and holistic medicines and education in the Colorado legislature. He lives in New Mexico.
from
http://www.gaianstudies.org/Stephen.html
and
http://www.storey.com/author.php?ID=5...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 31, 2020
Review – Natural Treatments for Lyme Coinfections: Anaplasma, Babesia, and Ehrlichia by Stephen Harrod Buhner, Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 2015.
I came to this book because of my personal journey with deer ticks and repeated doxycycline treatments. With Buhner’s exceptional understanding of the physiological processes of these coinfections he still supports the conventional medical protocol but strongly points out that there is no one-size-fits-all treatment for Lyme or any of its coinfections. The dosages need to be adjusted for each person’s individual ecology, and each individual needs to take charge of his or her own treatment, ending treatments that seem to be of no help while instituting other treatments/herbs that seem appropriate. The herbs, protocols and dosages suggested are just guidelines.
Buhner mentions that portions of this book are quite technical and can be skipped by the general reader. In writing this review I have attempted to understand and explain these technical sections that offer causes, processes, and treatments of these infections. Gaining this understanding took some studying, but I learned a lot. The details of the causes, processes and treatments are understood by the researcher but not likely the practicing physician. Though there has been great hope in the use of antibiotics, the bacteria need to evolve for their own survival, and they survive by developing resistance to each antibiotic, resistance that is a great concern to practicing physicians.
The increased problem of Lyme disease is due (1) to the loss of habitat for the tick’s mammalian host, so for the bacteria to survive humans have become their new host; (2) to the increased resistance of the Lyme disease coinfective pathogens to antibiotics, and their evolving ability to become resistant; and (3) to their ability to work together to reduce the effectiveness of the immune system.
To resolve this increasing complex problem of bacterial resistance a four pronged approach is most elegant and potent. (1) A treatment design that is specific in counteracting the pathogen. (2) A protocol that addresses the bacterial cytokine cascade. (3) A protocol that addresses the health or non-health of the immune system. (4) Treatment of the specific symptoms that reduce a person’s quality of life.
The single one-size-fits-all treatment approach needs to be abandoned. Certain herbs can work together synergistically for effective treatment without negative side-effects. At the same time the coinfective pathogens or parasites work together synergistically to increase the virulence of the diseases. The cytokine cascade is important for understanding the disease process and for determining the appropriate treatment. A cytokine is a chemical messenger that coordinates an attack on an infection by triggering the response of the immune system. The cells produced when the immune system responds need to communicate with each other, and to do this they release more the cytokine messengers. The cytokines tell the immune cells what to do and also tell they body to produce more cytokines that are needed to help deliver a knockout punch to the infection. But this release of cytokines can grow out of control, especially when some pathogens themselves produce more cytokines that can interfere with the immune response. The release of cytokines by these “stealth” pathogens facilitates the infection and stimulates the breakdown of specific tissues to gain nutrients. Such cascades or storms of cytokines can cause many unpleasant symptoms, damage to the body’s organs, and can even cause death. Cytokine cascades triggered by a very small number of pathogens make the Lyme diseases difficult to diagnose with many false negatives diagnoses. The cytokine cascade is a reoccurring issue throughout this book.
The Babesia pathogen is a protozoa, not a bacteria, and it is closely related to the malaria parasite. Protozoa are generally larger than bacteria and sometimes feed on bacteria, but the Babesia protozoa is more like a bacteria and can be targeted by bacterial antibiotics used to treat human babesiosis. Residing within another organism, including ticks, the Babesia infects red blood cells to fill their nutritional needs. The twelve Babesia species that infect humans multiply with offspring possessing slightly different physical forms thus they are considered stealth pathogens because of the immune system’s inability to recognize the new form of pathogen.
Infected humans are commonly asymptomatic with the protozoa residing in the joints. Others have short term flu like symptoms with a low grade fever, fatigue, and general aches and pains but followed by frequent relapses of these symptoms. Most at risk are the elderly and those without a spleen because of the spleen’s ability to destroy the pathogen. To diagnosis babesiosis a red blood cell smear analysis is primarily used, but because of the low density of the pathogen and the wide variation in its physical forms, diagnosis is quite unreliable. The most effective pharmaceutical treatment used is atovaquone together with azithromycin and sometimes clindamycin and quinine. Of those hospitalized there is a 5% mortality rate. Sometimes a complete blood transfusion is successful as a treatment.
The pathogen has become quite resistant to antibiotics because of the resistance that has developed with their use with farm animals. Of the two types of ticks, hard ticks and soft ticks, Babesia prefers the hard tick which attaches longer to the host, even up to two of weeks. When a capillary is damaged by a tick bite the tick immediately encounters the physiological response of platelet aggregation, and vasoconstriction that begins a coagulation cascade to repair the wound, but this cascade is stopped by substances in the tick’s saliva, thus keeping the wound from healing. The protozoa also create an anti-freeze like substance that protects the tick in freezing weather.
The life-cycle of the Babesia is described in detail. Briefly, the tick’s ingested Babesia go directly to the midgut where they undergoes sexual development and multiply, spreading to the ovaries and the saliva gland. When the tick feeds on the blood of the host the protozoa spreads by attaching to and entering the red blood cells of the host where it continues to multiply with genetic variants that are not recognized by the host’s immune system. Thus the protozoa infect the blood and the body’s organs, including the spleen. The spleen filters the blood, removes damaged cells and produces antibodies for any unrecognized substances detected in the blood, but the Babesia has a way of surviving and multiplying within the spleen. A number of herbs including Artemisia, Salvia, Ginkgo and Magnolia can inhibit a substance that supports Babesia survival. Over time the spleen and the immune system begin to catch up with the disease and become effective against the protozoa with antibodies circulating in the blood that keep the protozoa count low or even eliminate it. One caution is pharmaceuticals that repress the immune response, thus aggravating the infection.
Four areas of interventions in treating Babesia are important for treatment: (1) antibabesial herbs, (2) organ support and protection, (3) immune modulation, and (4) specific symptom treatment. Among the twenty-five antibabesial herbs five are considered most effective, but only a couple are local to our area of New York include Bidens pilosa or Spanish needle and Artemisia. I hold the belief that what is needed medicinally grows locally and Artemisia has become quite invasive with our infestation of ticks. Other herbs suggested as secondary include Ginger and Magnolia, jasmine, lavender, tea tree, and lemon grass. The herbs used for organ support and protection include milk thistle seed, and Sida acuta along with Salvia or danshen, a Chinese herb specific for spleen and liver inflammation. To modulate immune functioning a number of the same herbs are suggested including Artemisia, Magnolia, Ginkgo biloba, and Salvia. Also suggested are Angelica, ginseng, papaya, milk thistle, boneset, passionflower, and stinging nettle. Many of these herbs are used for specific symptom treatment: e.g. Angelica, and Spanish needle for anemia; Ginkgo for intravascular coagulation; boneset for drenching sweats; milk thistle for liver inflammation; and peppermint for nausea. This list of symptoms and the used herbs is extensive and an impressive resource.
The Ehrlichia and the Anaplasma genera are closely related bacteria, found worldwide. They are Gram-negative, i.e. they do not take a Gram stain because of their double cell wall which makes them less susceptible to antibacterial and environmental damage. These genera have split, producing a number of different species. These bacteria primarily infect the human white blood cells. The infections are generally treated with Doxycycline. Their transmission is by hard ticks, transfusion and organ transplants. 11% of donors in New York test positive for Ehrlichia. Both though may be transmitted by fleas and are widespread in cats, dogs and foxes.
Anaplasma infections, like Ehrlichia, are generally asymptomatic or have minor flu-like symptoms. They are transmitted worldwide by different species of ticks with specific tick species congregating in certain geographic location. Most human infections of Ehrlichia chaffeensis are in the south and known as human monocytic ehrlichiosis or HME while the Anaplasma phagocytophilum or HGA occurs in the north and here in the northeast. HME is more serious than HGA with 46% hospitalized, 17% with life-threatening complications and 3% fatalities. The serious neurological symptoms of HME include meningitis, seizures and coma. With HGA 36% are hospitalized with 1% deaths. They each infect different types of white blood cells, with men more likely infected than women at a 2:1 ratio. Elevated liver enzymes beyond the flu-like symptoms are indicative of both infections. The symptoms that lead to hospitalization include immune impairment, severe pain, confusion, abnormal spinal fluid, shock and organ failure. The low density of bacteria in the blood causes frequent false negative diagnoses with blood smears, but the PCR Assay is 60 to 85% effective. The infections resist most antibiotics but do respond to 30 days of Doxycycline.
The infection processes and treatment of Babesiosis and the infections of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia are similar. Because of the involvement of a variety of different pathogen and tick species, of the great variety of cytokines, and of the wide variety of white and red blood cells, and T-cells that can be infected but are also called upon in the body’s process of healing, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia infections are treated with the wide variety of effective medicinal herbs, treatment that is quite complex. Stephen Buhner clarifies this complexity with his exceptional understanding of the infection process and treatment.
With regard to the medicinal herbs to be used, he examines five important areas of treatment: (1) antibacterial herbs, (2) organ support and protection, (3) immune modulation, (4) cytokine disruptors, and (5) treatment for specific symptom. Of the large number of antibacterial herbs, a few are local and specific to the five pathogens species including Magnolia, ginseng, red sage, skullcap, Artemisia, motherwort, cinnamon, crowberry and clove, to name a few. His list uses the Latin names of the herbs so there may be others that are local that I did not recognize.
The herbs for organ support and protection are similar to those for Babesosis. The herbs for modulating the immune system are also similar including ginseng, boneset, passion flower, Artemisia, black haw, and nettles. Regarding the Cytokines cascades, fifteen different Cytokines are involved and each has different herbs as inhibitors, including boneset, licorice, ginseng, kudzu, elder, ginger, and cat’s claw among them. For most herbalist who do not have the ability to identify the specific Cytokine involved, a number of herbs repeatedly appear in these lists. Again the lengthy list of symptoms and the herbs to treat each symptom is extensive and very similar to that of Babesosis. These sections of the book are a very valuable resource in considering which herbs to use in treatment of these three coinfections.
On the occasion that the infection becomes acute and goes into sepsis, deaths reach 60% with septic shock. Two types of T-cells are primarily involved in dealing with these infections. With mild to moderate infections the Th2 T-Cell is called upon, but when the infection becomes more severe the more effective Th1 cell takes over, but in taking over it can overreact in a septic out-of-control inflammation feedback loop or spiral, another case of a cytokine storm. This hyper-immune response can occur even when the density of the pathogen is very low or even when the pathogen has been eliminated by antibiotics, thus sometimes causing sudden death. Sepsis and septic shock are more likely to occur in those individuals who are without a spleen, on immunosuppressive drugs, with a disease affecting the immune function, or those over the age of 50. Buhner offers a lengthy list of the triggers for the out of control cytokine cascade of sepsis and for each a lengthy list of herbs that can inhibit these triggers. For most herbalist who do not have the ability to identify the trigger, a number of herbs repeatedly appear in these lists including Angelica, Astragalus, Cordyceps, Forsythia, and Salvia. Tinctures made from these herbs are part of the suggested protocol. Other herbs that grow in our area include Ginkgo biloba, thyme, anise, primrose, ginseng, black cohosh, and burdock.
The next 118 pages provide detailed descriptions of 23 herbs, their uses and actions, preparations, dosages, their interactions with other herbs and drugs, side effects, and where to find them. Again this section is a great resource. One thing to note is that we would consider many of these plants invasive, but if we pay attention the solution to our problems is often right in front of us. Buhner’s list of useful herbs includes Artemisia, and in our area of New York with its infestation of ticks, Artemisia is very invasive. This book Natural Treatment for Lyme Coinfections by Stephen Harrod Buhner is a very valuable resource for treating the coinfections of Lyme disease.
I came to this book because of my personal journey with deer ticks and repeated doxycycline treatments. With Buhner’s exceptional understanding of the physiological processes of these coinfections he still supports the conventional medical protocol but strongly points out that there is no one-size-fits-all treatment for Lyme or any of its coinfections. The dosages need to be adjusted for each person’s individual ecology, and each individual needs to take charge of his or her own treatment, ending treatments that seem to be of no help while instituting other treatments/herbs that seem appropriate. The herbs, protocols and dosages suggested are just guidelines.
Buhner mentions that portions of this book are quite technical and can be skipped by the general reader. In writing this review I have attempted to understand and explain these technical sections that offer causes, processes, and treatments of these infections. Gaining this understanding took some studying, but I learned a lot. The details of the causes, processes and treatments are understood by the researcher but not likely the practicing physician. Though there has been great hope in the use of antibiotics, the bacteria need to evolve for their own survival, and they survive by developing resistance to each antibiotic, resistance that is a great concern to practicing physicians.
The increased problem of Lyme disease is due (1) to the loss of habitat for the tick’s mammalian host, so for the bacteria to survive humans have become their new host; (2) to the increased resistance of the Lyme disease coinfective pathogens to antibiotics, and their evolving ability to become resistant; and (3) to their ability to work together to reduce the effectiveness of the immune system.
To resolve this increasing complex problem of bacterial resistance a four pronged approach is most elegant and potent. (1) A treatment design that is specific in counteracting the pathogen. (2) A protocol that addresses the bacterial cytokine cascade. (3) A protocol that addresses the health or non-health of the immune system. (4) Treatment of the specific symptoms that reduce a person’s quality of life.
The single one-size-fits-all treatment approach needs to be abandoned. Certain herbs can work together synergistically for effective treatment without negative side-effects. At the same time the coinfective pathogens or parasites work together synergistically to increase the virulence of the diseases. The cytokine cascade is important for understanding the disease process and for determining the appropriate treatment. A cytokine is a chemical messenger that coordinates an attack on an infection by triggering the response of the immune system. The cells produced when the immune system responds need to communicate with each other, and to do this they release more the cytokine messengers. The cytokines tell the immune cells what to do and also tell they body to produce more cytokines that are needed to help deliver a knockout punch to the infection. But this release of cytokines can grow out of control, especially when some pathogens themselves produce more cytokines that can interfere with the immune response. The release of cytokines by these “stealth” pathogens facilitates the infection and stimulates the breakdown of specific tissues to gain nutrients. Such cascades or storms of cytokines can cause many unpleasant symptoms, damage to the body’s organs, and can even cause death. Cytokine cascades triggered by a very small number of pathogens make the Lyme diseases difficult to diagnose with many false negatives diagnoses. The cytokine cascade is a reoccurring issue throughout this book.
The Babesia pathogen is a protozoa, not a bacteria, and it is closely related to the malaria parasite. Protozoa are generally larger than bacteria and sometimes feed on bacteria, but the Babesia protozoa is more like a bacteria and can be targeted by bacterial antibiotics used to treat human babesiosis. Residing within another organism, including ticks, the Babesia infects red blood cells to fill their nutritional needs. The twelve Babesia species that infect humans multiply with offspring possessing slightly different physical forms thus they are considered stealth pathogens because of the immune system’s inability to recognize the new form of pathogen.
Infected humans are commonly asymptomatic with the protozoa residing in the joints. Others have short term flu like symptoms with a low grade fever, fatigue, and general aches and pains but followed by frequent relapses of these symptoms. Most at risk are the elderly and those without a spleen because of the spleen’s ability to destroy the pathogen. To diagnosis babesiosis a red blood cell smear analysis is primarily used, but because of the low density of the pathogen and the wide variation in its physical forms, diagnosis is quite unreliable. The most effective pharmaceutical treatment used is atovaquone together with azithromycin and sometimes clindamycin and quinine. Of those hospitalized there is a 5% mortality rate. Sometimes a complete blood transfusion is successful as a treatment.
The pathogen has become quite resistant to antibiotics because of the resistance that has developed with their use with farm animals. Of the two types of ticks, hard ticks and soft ticks, Babesia prefers the hard tick which attaches longer to the host, even up to two of weeks. When a capillary is damaged by a tick bite the tick immediately encounters the physiological response of platelet aggregation, and vasoconstriction that begins a coagulation cascade to repair the wound, but this cascade is stopped by substances in the tick’s saliva, thus keeping the wound from healing. The protozoa also create an anti-freeze like substance that protects the tick in freezing weather.
The life-cycle of the Babesia is described in detail. Briefly, the tick’s ingested Babesia go directly to the midgut where they undergoes sexual development and multiply, spreading to the ovaries and the saliva gland. When the tick feeds on the blood of the host the protozoa spreads by attaching to and entering the red blood cells of the host where it continues to multiply with genetic variants that are not recognized by the host’s immune system. Thus the protozoa infect the blood and the body’s organs, including the spleen. The spleen filters the blood, removes damaged cells and produces antibodies for any unrecognized substances detected in the blood, but the Babesia has a way of surviving and multiplying within the spleen. A number of herbs including Artemisia, Salvia, Ginkgo and Magnolia can inhibit a substance that supports Babesia survival. Over time the spleen and the immune system begin to catch up with the disease and become effective against the protozoa with antibodies circulating in the blood that keep the protozoa count low or even eliminate it. One caution is pharmaceuticals that repress the immune response, thus aggravating the infection.
Four areas of interventions in treating Babesia are important for treatment: (1) antibabesial herbs, (2) organ support and protection, (3) immune modulation, and (4) specific symptom treatment. Among the twenty-five antibabesial herbs five are considered most effective, but only a couple are local to our area of New York include Bidens pilosa or Spanish needle and Artemisia. I hold the belief that what is needed medicinally grows locally and Artemisia has become quite invasive with our infestation of ticks. Other herbs suggested as secondary include Ginger and Magnolia, jasmine, lavender, tea tree, and lemon grass. The herbs used for organ support and protection include milk thistle seed, and Sida acuta along with Salvia or danshen, a Chinese herb specific for spleen and liver inflammation. To modulate immune functioning a number of the same herbs are suggested including Artemisia, Magnolia, Ginkgo biloba, and Salvia. Also suggested are Angelica, ginseng, papaya, milk thistle, boneset, passionflower, and stinging nettle. Many of these herbs are used for specific symptom treatment: e.g. Angelica, and Spanish needle for anemia; Ginkgo for intravascular coagulation; boneset for drenching sweats; milk thistle for liver inflammation; and peppermint for nausea. This list of symptoms and the used herbs is extensive and an impressive resource.
The Ehrlichia and the Anaplasma genera are closely related bacteria, found worldwide. They are Gram-negative, i.e. they do not take a Gram stain because of their double cell wall which makes them less susceptible to antibacterial and environmental damage. These genera have split, producing a number of different species. These bacteria primarily infect the human white blood cells. The infections are generally treated with Doxycycline. Their transmission is by hard ticks, transfusion and organ transplants. 11% of donors in New York test positive for Ehrlichia. Both though may be transmitted by fleas and are widespread in cats, dogs and foxes.
Anaplasma infections, like Ehrlichia, are generally asymptomatic or have minor flu-like symptoms. They are transmitted worldwide by different species of ticks with specific tick species congregating in certain geographic location. Most human infections of Ehrlichia chaffeensis are in the south and known as human monocytic ehrlichiosis or HME while the Anaplasma phagocytophilum or HGA occurs in the north and here in the northeast. HME is more serious than HGA with 46% hospitalized, 17% with life-threatening complications and 3% fatalities. The serious neurological symptoms of HME include meningitis, seizures and coma. With HGA 36% are hospitalized with 1% deaths. They each infect different types of white blood cells, with men more likely infected than women at a 2:1 ratio. Elevated liver enzymes beyond the flu-like symptoms are indicative of both infections. The symptoms that lead to hospitalization include immune impairment, severe pain, confusion, abnormal spinal fluid, shock and organ failure. The low density of bacteria in the blood causes frequent false negative diagnoses with blood smears, but the PCR Assay is 60 to 85% effective. The infections resist most antibiotics but do respond to 30 days of Doxycycline.
The infection processes and treatment of Babesiosis and the infections of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia are similar. Because of the involvement of a variety of different pathogen and tick species, of the great variety of cytokines, and of the wide variety of white and red blood cells, and T-cells that can be infected but are also called upon in the body’s process of healing, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia infections are treated with the wide variety of effective medicinal herbs, treatment that is quite complex. Stephen Buhner clarifies this complexity with his exceptional understanding of the infection process and treatment.
With regard to the medicinal herbs to be used, he examines five important areas of treatment: (1) antibacterial herbs, (2) organ support and protection, (3) immune modulation, (4) cytokine disruptors, and (5) treatment for specific symptom. Of the large number of antibacterial herbs, a few are local and specific to the five pathogens species including Magnolia, ginseng, red sage, skullcap, Artemisia, motherwort, cinnamon, crowberry and clove, to name a few. His list uses the Latin names of the herbs so there may be others that are local that I did not recognize.
The herbs for organ support and protection are similar to those for Babesosis. The herbs for modulating the immune system are also similar including ginseng, boneset, passion flower, Artemisia, black haw, and nettles. Regarding the Cytokines cascades, fifteen different Cytokines are involved and each has different herbs as inhibitors, including boneset, licorice, ginseng, kudzu, elder, ginger, and cat’s claw among them. For most herbalist who do not have the ability to identify the specific Cytokine involved, a number of herbs repeatedly appear in these lists. Again the lengthy list of symptoms and the herbs to treat each symptom is extensive and very similar to that of Babesosis. These sections of the book are a very valuable resource in considering which herbs to use in treatment of these three coinfections.
On the occasion that the infection becomes acute and goes into sepsis, deaths reach 60% with septic shock. Two types of T-cells are primarily involved in dealing with these infections. With mild to moderate infections the Th2 T-Cell is called upon, but when the infection becomes more severe the more effective Th1 cell takes over, but in taking over it can overreact in a septic out-of-control inflammation feedback loop or spiral, another case of a cytokine storm. This hyper-immune response can occur even when the density of the pathogen is very low or even when the pathogen has been eliminated by antibiotics, thus sometimes causing sudden death. Sepsis and septic shock are more likely to occur in those individuals who are without a spleen, on immunosuppressive drugs, with a disease affecting the immune function, or those over the age of 50. Buhner offers a lengthy list of the triggers for the out of control cytokine cascade of sepsis and for each a lengthy list of herbs that can inhibit these triggers. For most herbalist who do not have the ability to identify the trigger, a number of herbs repeatedly appear in these lists including Angelica, Astragalus, Cordyceps, Forsythia, and Salvia. Tinctures made from these herbs are part of the suggested protocol. Other herbs that grow in our area include Ginkgo biloba, thyme, anise, primrose, ginseng, black cohosh, and burdock.
The next 118 pages provide detailed descriptions of 23 herbs, their uses and actions, preparations, dosages, their interactions with other herbs and drugs, side effects, and where to find them. Again this section is a great resource. One thing to note is that we would consider many of these plants invasive, but if we pay attention the solution to our problems is often right in front of us. Buhner’s list of useful herbs includes Artemisia, and in our area of New York with its infestation of ticks, Artemisia is very invasive. This book Natural Treatment for Lyme Coinfections by Stephen Harrod Buhner is a very valuable resource for treating the coinfections of Lyme disease.
November 21, 2016
I confess I only read selected parts of this very thorough book. Partly because I had already immersed myself so much in other dedicated Lyme Disease books and had come away with exactly what he describes also. As Joe Pesci's character said: "It's a mystery, it's a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma!"
So rather than use specific natural remedies which I am in fervent favor of but without a "clinical" diagnosis because that is the only way it can be made, I took away generalities . And the truth is that even with a diagnosis, it could be wrong as it takes so many forms and is adept at changing and even lying dormant for 15 years!
His book has the advantage of recent new studies, testing, and identifying coinfections that makes Lyme so hard to nail down in every sense of its presentation. Pray that you don't get it. And it IS a worldwide, underdiagnosed epidemic.
Watch the video Under Our Skin to shake you to the core. You are basically on your own because insurance companies and even the CDC does not recognize it or the extent of it, and those doctors who DO and attempt to cure it are taken to court and striped of their license. It is politically and lucratively guarded, just like cancer which we know the cure and prevention for WITHOUT pharmaceuticals. People are being drugged to death for profit. No exaggeration unfortunately.
A very definite reference publication should I need it in the future.
P.S. If you will notice, ALL of his books have an OVER 4.0 goodreads rating.
If you don't do anything else, read this account of Kris Kristofferson.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a...
So rather than use specific natural remedies which I am in fervent favor of but without a "clinical" diagnosis because that is the only way it can be made, I took away generalities . And the truth is that even with a diagnosis, it could be wrong as it takes so many forms and is adept at changing and even lying dormant for 15 years!
His book has the advantage of recent new studies, testing, and identifying coinfections that makes Lyme so hard to nail down in every sense of its presentation. Pray that you don't get it. And it IS a worldwide, underdiagnosed epidemic.
Watch the video Under Our Skin to shake you to the core. You are basically on your own because insurance companies and even the CDC does not recognize it or the extent of it, and those doctors who DO and attempt to cure it are taken to court and striped of their license. It is politically and lucratively guarded, just like cancer which we know the cure and prevention for WITHOUT pharmaceuticals. People are being drugged to death for profit. No exaggeration unfortunately.
A very definite reference publication should I need it in the future.
P.S. If you will notice, ALL of his books have an OVER 4.0 goodreads rating.
If you don't do anything else, read this account of Kris Kristofferson.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a...
March 6, 2026
Along with Buhner's "Healing Lyme," this is an absolute essential for people with any of these 3 diseases. I have personally been diagnosed with all 3 of these, and I feel so confident in my treatment going forward with the tools and knowledge from this book.
If you enjoy going deeper, read the entire book. The scientific portions are punctuated with outstanding humor that actually made me laugh out loud a few times, and it makes it much more rewarding to read. If you are only interested in tools/protocols, skip to the natural healing of "your disease here" chapters.
The materia medica in the second half of the book is extremely helpful and detailed. I am only about two months into treatment, but I truly think I'm heading in the right direction and this book helps me to be confident that I'm taking the steps I need to. I wish you the best of luck on your journey to health!
If you enjoy going deeper, read the entire book. The scientific portions are punctuated with outstanding humor that actually made me laugh out loud a few times, and it makes it much more rewarding to read. If you are only interested in tools/protocols, skip to the natural healing of "your disease here" chapters.
The materia medica in the second half of the book is extremely helpful and detailed. I am only about two months into treatment, but I truly think I'm heading in the right direction and this book helps me to be confident that I'm taking the steps I need to. I wish you the best of luck on your journey to health!
June 11, 2020
although i only followed the babesia protocol for a little over a month now and will continue with it at least for another and the infection hasnt cleared completely yet, i am so thankful because this has given me an enormous bit of quality of life back and also the book goes into so much detail that one can really understand what to do and what for in regards to treatment. Thank you Stephen Buhner, for making this knowledge available and trusting people to be intelligent enough to understand tick-borne co-infections.
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