From 2010 to 2020; many people have died from the complications of Lyme disease; others are ill in pain or debilitated by Lyme and coinfections. More people recognize the destructive nature – the threat of tick-borne infections. It is 2020, help for Lyme must improve. As a Lyme survivor, I am asking for more research and government support to prevent new infections and treat the ill. Help for Lyme patients is sparsely available, and work to improve attention to, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease is far from optimal.
Problems in diagnosis and treatment are still hurting people. The rate of newly diagnosed infections is not under control. Early detection (days to weeks) and immediate, most effective treatment doesn’t happen enough. Patients fall through the cracks and get sicker. Our health care system continues to miss or dismiss symptoms as desperate patients go from doctor to doctor for months to years to finally get help.
All of this is discouraging. Every time I talk to someone newly diagnosed who has gone through months or years of disintegrating health before treatment, it slays me. I think what a waste that this person had to suffer so much before getting help. I try to find acceptance in that spirit crafts our journey for our growth and learning. Lyme is an incredible teacher. It helps that diagnosis and treatment options are better for Lyme patients than ever before.
2010-2020 Help For Lyme Progress
New laws passed over the past decade protect the rights of Lyme patients to get treatment and doctors to give it and insurance to cover it. Denial of treatment has hurt many Lyme patient’s recoveries. As the number of patients and the diagnosis of Lyme disease has spread across the country, state legislatures have begun to react – legislate help for Lyme.
Up until recently, outside of New England, a Lyme diagnosis was often dismissed for years then finally attributed to travel-related infection. But there a growing number of cases of Lyme in people from outside New England, who have never traveled outside their local area. By many Lyme is considered endemic in regions of the United States, and on the rise elsewhere. Lyme is now a multiple continent global issue. Europe has hundreds of thousands of confirmed cases.
What Will Help Now
First, we need to prevent new infections through education, active personal protection, landscape management. Prevention is a critical, cost-effective way to help. Increase knowledge about tick-borne illness now. Run television and internet educational spots. Add signs to tick active outdoor areas urging care, regular inspection, and prompt tick removal. Make access to protective clothing and tools easy and less expensive. Teach parents to inspect themselves and their kids at schools, libraries, and health care centers. Stock tick removal kits at parks, playgrounds, anywhere they are needed. Train people to use them. Educate everyone – patients and medical professionals alike not to dismiss early symptoms.
Cease the cycle of misinformation now. Get government support for prevention diagnosis and treatment research. Tell your representatives on a state and federal level that legal assistance for Lyme prevention and treatment is vital to you as a voter in their district.
Into The Next Decade
Second, sponsor research on the life cycle, vector animals, transmission, detection, treatment, and recovery. We need help from pesticide companies, testing companies, and the government to bring new, nontoxic ways to reduce the infected tick population. Fund university work to model rates of transmission to vector animals like mice deer, birds, and people and models on the impact of climate change, deforestation, and other global trends on ticks and tick-borne illnesses. Drug companies need to get on board to develop a human vaccine for those who wish to take the shot.
Much of this research is underway or proposed and funded and I hope that results will be providing functional solutions before the end of this decade. In 2020, I am focused on staying well, living a full life, and helping others on their recovery journey. Happy 2020!
The purpose of this article is to share and educate on Lyme disease recovery strategies. The information provided on this website is not a substitute for professional medical care, treatment, or advice. All the material here is for information purposes only. Always share strategy and work with your health care team.