Chronic Lyme: Infection and Your Health
A modern understanding of Chronic Lyme disease: The pathobiome, the whole body ecosystem and what we can learn from COVID-19.
Once upon a time, around the mid-19th century, science figured out that bacteria not only exist, but can cause many of the human diseases that led to ~%50 of all human deaths at the time. This “one infection = one disease” theory has since dominated medical understanding and practice.
In the early 21st century however, our understanding is evolving. We are beginning to understand:
How microbes affect our health is about more than just one bacteria or one virus. Instead, it is the result of the sum total of all microbes our body hosts (the “pathobiome”) and how they are (or aren’t) able to live in balance with our immune system.
The ability of our immune system and pathobiome to stay in balance is greatly affected by the sum total of many other environmental factors, including diet, nutrients, stress, hormones and toxins.
Genetics plays a role in this. But epigenetics (the study of how our genes are turned on or off in response to our environment) may play an even bigger role.
This pathobiome plays a significant role in a ton more health conditions than we previously realized, from autoimmune disease to diabetes, from mental health to Alzheimer’s and dementia.
The “Pathobiome”
When we first discovered that microbes could cause human disease, we were able to identify that a single microbial infection caused a distinct disease (eg: malaria, tuberculosis, syphilis).
We also later figured out that a certain amount of a type of antibiotic, given for a certain number of days seemed to be able to get rid of that infection for good.
This dogma of “one infection = one disease” and that a course of antibiotics will get rid of it has been central to current medical practice ever since. This understanding of Lyme disease infections and other tick-borne infections (TBD’) has harmed many of those suffering from it’s “chronic” form. (It’s curious that dermatologists believe that one needs to stay on doxycycline for many months or years to treat bacterial-related acne, but that the Lyme disease causing infection Borrelia burgdorferi could not outlive a single 2-4 week course of doxycycline.)
In the 21st, science is now realizing “that many diseases thought to be caused by one primary agent are actually the result of interactions between multiple [organisms] and the [human] host. Even where a primary agent can be identified, its effect is often moderated by other [microbes].”
Furthermore, it’s not the microbes alone that determine if/how sick a person gets, instead:
”...diseases are increasingly recognised to result from interactions between host-associated [microbes], their host, and the environment.”
COVID-19 is a stark demonstration of this. The same viral infection can have quite varied effects in each of us. This is due to the differences between each “host” that are the result of the sum total of their environmental influences up until that point in their life. All these environmental influences (+ some genetics and epigenetics) decide how well that person’s immune system will be able to conquer and resolve the infection.
COVID-19 strongly shows us that the ‘body ecosystem’ into which the infection lands has a significant effect on how, or even if, we get sick. The exact same viral infection is completely without effect in one person, but causes long term health problems or even death in another.
The exact same is true for TBD’s. (And many, if not most, other health conditions). It has long been postulated that far more people are infected with TBD’s than are sick from them. And, if you know or are someone living with a TBD, you know that your illness is often not the same as another’s. The treatments that are game-changing for one person don’t work for another.
Why does this matter? Because it points to the very important fact that to truly heal from a TBD (or any disease or health condition), we have to take into account the totality of your unique pathobiome and environmental influences. A disease by the same name, is not necessarily created by the exact same conditions. And requires personalized treatments to heal from it.
To fully understand and heal from chronic Lyme, we need to:
Understand the body’s pathobiome as a whole, including the gut microbiome where ~75% of the entire human immune system exists, as well as other possible infectious organism influences.
Investigate and address other sources of inflammation and metabolic disruption, including nutrient insufficiencies, oxidative stress and mental and emotional stress (which has very real molecular and systemic effects on the body’s immune, endocrine and nervous system.)
Healing from Lyme and many other conditions requires a personalized medicine approach. One that analyses and considers the sum total of variables that led to that person’s health state.
At InHealthRVA we consider all of these variables. From the Lyme and other infections to the gut microbiome, cellular energy metabolism, nutrients, early life and epigenetic influences, toxicants and detox and mental and emotional stress, we consider the range of variables that have led you to your unique health issues. We use testing and detailed analysis to create personalized treatment plans, and then tailor these plans to your needs, budget and ability to execute them. There is always somewhere to start the healing process.
Interested in learning more about how we can help you heal? Call or email us to book an appointment or set up a free 15 minute consult with Tressa Breindel to see how we can help.