Expanded Treatment Focus Markedly Improves Lyme Disease Patient Outcomes
Many people think of Lyme disease as an illness caused by the bite of an infected tick. Though the bite may be a triggering event, this perspective is simplistic and does not take into consideration the numerous issues that both the patient and doctor must evaluate and treat in order to attain the best possible outcome. For those patients that become chronically ill after having been infected with Lyme-related organisms, there is often much more to the puzzle than simply controlling the numerous infections which may have been introduced. In fact, there is a subset of the population that may carry the same infections, having even been bitten by the same tick, and yet not present with a chronic illness.
Once a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease has been made, the highest like-lihood of recovery comes from a treatment program that considers the multi-factorial nature of the disease process. In order to support the patient's road back to wellness, treatment must address each of these many factors as part of a well-planned strategy.
W. Lee Cowden, MD, is an accomplished doctor who has been treating Lyme disease for nearly a decade using a number of alternative and integrative therapies such as detoxification, testing, and treatment protocols. A key com-ponent of Dr.Cowden's approach is the belief that if a patient does not deal with the numerous toxins stored within the body, it will not only take longer to get rid of the disease, but the patient will generally not remain symptom free and is more likely to relapse at a later time. Toxins create an environment that supports the growth of microorganisms. Beyond the fact that toxins create a welcoming home for infection, if one focuses solely on eradication of the Lyme organisms via antibiotic or otherantimicrobial therapies, resistant strains often develop which makes it more difficult to ultimately control. Thus, iti s the body's terrain which becomes the more important aspect of treatment than a sole focus on anti-microbial therapies.
