Lyme Disease Prevention
The best approach to Lyme disease is to prevent the disease in the first place
If you’ve been following along with this series of blogs, you might be feeling weary about this particular bacterial infection and your potential risk. We do not want to scare you with this information, but knowledge is power. As with all chronic illnesses, the best approach is to prevent them in the first place. Our hope is that greater awareness around Lyme disease can lead to increased prevention as well as increased early identification, which can save you or your children from long-term health complications.
Tick Bite Prevention
The National Institute of Health (NIH) recommends the following for tick bite prevention:
- Use a chemical repellant with DEET, permethrin, or picaridin
- Wear light-colored protective clothing
- Tuck pant legs into socks
- Avoid tick-infested areas.
- Check yourself, your children, and your pets daily for ticks and carefully remove any ticks
Essential oil tick repellant:
- Lavender, peppermint, citronella, lemongrass, cedar, rose geranium, and citrus
- Add to a carrier oil like sweet almond oil or olive oil; 12 drops EO per ounce.
- Spray or rub into skin
References
Lantos PM. Chronic Lyme disease. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2015;29(2):325-340.
Rahlenbeck S, Fingerle V, Doggett S. Prevention of tick-borne diseases: an overview. Br J Gen Pract. 2016;66(650):492-494.
Shor S, Green C, Szantyr B, et al. Chronic Lyme disease: an evidence-based definition by the ILADS working group. Antibiotics (Basel). 2019;8(4).
Van Hout MC. The controversies, challenges, and complexities of Lyme disease: a narrative review. J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2018;21(1):429-436.
Dr. Marian is Holistique Medical Center’s associate naturopathic physician. She is passionate about identifying and treating the root cause of complex chronic illnesses. She believes everyone deserves to live each day as the most vibrant and authentic version of themselves, and only by addressing the root cause of illness can true symptom relief be obtained. Dr. Marian received her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington. In addition to the core naturopathic curriculum, she completed advanced training in pediatrics, gynecology, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, detoxification, genomic medicine, IV therapy, and neural therapy. Prior to her doctoral studies at Bastyr University, Dr. Marian received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering as well as a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington. Maria also has five years of experience in biomedical and engineering research. She enjoys attending conferences and seminars regularly to stay absolutely current in her areas of specialty. As a research technician at Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, a non-profit international leader in immune system and autoimmune disease research, Dr. Marian contributed to important research in characterizing the underlying pathology of a rare condition of accelerated aging in children. Dr. Marian’s passion for understanding the human body fuels her clinical work, and in turn, her clinical work inspires her dedication to lifelong learning.