Healing Lyme Disease Coinfections: Complementary and Holistic Treatments for Bartonella and Mycoplasma, by Stephen Harrod Buhner
Researchers estimate there are nearly 250,000 new Lyme disease infections each year, but only 10 percent are accurately diagnosed, and perhaps as many as 35 million people in the U.S. are infected but have no symptoms—though 10 percent likely will become symptomatic each year. Author Stephen Harrod Buhner has brought together cutting-edge research about this disease and offers a paradigm of healing that is broad and caring.
Lyme disease misdiagnosis most often occurs because of other tick-borne infections that mask or aggravate the symptoms of Lyme. Bartonella and mycoplasma are the two most common Lyme coinfections. Symptoms can range from arthritis to severe brain dysfunction. Buhner has studied hundreds of peer-reviewed journal articles, and examines the complexities between these infections. He does not encourage patients to forgo antibiotics in treating Lyme but to supplement them with the many effective, natural, holistic methods centered on herbs and supplements. For example, the systemic antibacterial herb Sida acuta acts to protect blood cells from invading organisms. If antibiotics have not worked, use of the complementary treatments outlined in this book alone can be effective.
Buhner explains how to treat specific symptoms and bring the immune system back into balance. He has created a substantive resource for health professionals, and it also includes sections that speak directly to the non-professional reader.
This review appeared in “A Look at Books,” Well Being Journal, Vol. 23, No. 6.