Archive for the ‘Inflammation’ Category

Viruses & Immunity – Dr. Waters “Fix Your Soil and the Seeds Can’t Grow”

Watch his video here:

https://www.watersbiomed.com/latest-news.html
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From Dr. Waters…

VIRUSES AND IMMUNITY

The human immune system is designed to recognize and protect us against numerous pathogens and other foreign substances. However to be effective, like any other body system, it must have the necessary raw materials to orchestrate that process. The current virus infection dominates the news and the advice we are receiving to protect ourselves from the virus. We have been told to wash our hands, stay at least 6 feet away from other people and only go out for essential purposes – to get food, medicine or to perform jobs that the government has deemed necessary or essential. Very little has been offered beyond those measures.

Louis Pasteur has been credited for bringing attention to microorganisms as the cause of disease. His contemporary, Antoine Beauchamp, had a different position in this regard. The difference between their views of human illness can be summarized as resulting from “The Seed” (Pasteur) vs. “The Soil” (Beachamp). Pasteur supposedly, while on his deathbed from pneumonia, conceded that Beauchamp was correct – he was dying not from the germ that causes pneumonia but rather the condition of his body, his soil. We can think of the soil as the general health of the body and its immune system. A germ can only grow in a body whose soil was fertile for the germs growth – a body whose immune system was impaired. This is obvious to anyone who gives it some thought. If this were not true, EVERYBODY would get a cold or the flu when such viral diseases appear in a community.

Beyond isolation and handwashing as the only answers for addressing the present virus problem, there have been other voices recommending both prevention and treatment for viral and other infections. Dr. Thomas Frieden, the chief of the Center for Disease under President Obama, wrote an editorial describing the importance and recommending the use of vitamin D to both prevent and improve the outcome of people infected. He even explained how vitamin D can dampen the cytokine storm that is the real cause of death in infected patients.

Second, the Shanghai Medical Society released a protocol recommending the use of high dose intravenous ascorbic acid, vitamin C, for the treatment of this virus. This treatment has been effective for a variety of infectious diseases since it was applied in the late 1940’s here in the United States. It has proven antimicrobial effects as well as cell-protective effects during viral and bacterial infections. I have been utilizing intravenous ascorbic acid treatment successfully for 35 years, for viral infections such as upper respiratory infections, mononucleosis, shingles and influenza. IV vitamin C is being used in China and even in some emergency rooms in New York City to treat the current virus. To reiterate, the actual reason why a person with the the current virus gets so ill that they may need a respirator or even dies, is that their body gets so inflamed in the process of attempting to control the virus that their cells and tissues get irreversibly damaged.

You might have learned that the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine has been used to treat patients. This had originally been rejected by the mainstream media. Why? There is a well-known explanation for why this agent is effective – it reduces the hyper inflammation generated by the cytokine storm that Dr. Frieden talked about in reference to the ability of vitamin D to help the body deal with the infection. In fact, hydroxychloroquine also alters the pH in compartments of certain white cells called macrophages. Many viruses invade our body and multiply in small chambers in the macrophages known as lysosomes. Viruses require the lysosomes to have an acidic pH in order to multiply. Hydroxychloroquine blocks acid production in these lysosomes and thus the viruses cannot multiply.

We may ALL get exposed to the current virus, the question is how our bodies will be able to deal with it without becoming gravely ill or dead. This brings us back to the argument between Pasteur and Beauchamp. Is it the seed or the soil? You can control the soil and use your own intelligence to avoid the seed, especially if you are immune compromised. If your soil is deficient in its ability to handle the fight with the seed, the virus itself, you are more likely to become gravely ill rather than just experience a form of the common cold. But the truth is you CAN improve your soil, your immune system and its ability to protect you against the virus.

The actions to accomplish this include:

  • Eating a wholesome diet. Unprocessed and organic. Animal products, vegetables, fruits and nuts. Avoid all processed food and especially sugar.
  • Get some sunshine and physical activity every day.
  • Replace nutrients that are known to be deficient in most people based on the federal government surveys. This means, along with Dr. Frieden’s recommendations, the following:
    • Vitamin D 5000 units daily
    • Vitamin C 2000 mg daily
    • Zinc 25 to 50 mg daily
    • Fish oil derived vitamin A 5000 units daily

Most people are also deficient in magnesium and the longchain omega-3 fatty acids. These should be added if you’re not already on them and, as Dr. Frieden said in his editorial, take a good multiple vitamin and mineral. I would also suggest you take one without iron as many of us are overloaded with this metal.

If the person still becomes very ill, find an MD who can prescribe hydroxychloroquine along with azithromycin. Studies overseas in France and elsewhere have shown that this combination can ameliorate or stop the infection. These are inexpensive, readily available drugs. The FDA has already released hydroxychloroquine for use in the treatment of the current virus. Azithromycin is already widely available and used to treat many infections.

In my opinion soil is of the utmost importance. The seed cannot grow if your immune system is resilient. If you believe you are compromised and may be unable to fight off the virus, stay home and do the things that I have indicated. Ask people to bring you good food and the supplements I have listed. If you get ill ask a doctor to prescribe hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin and if it all possible intravenous vitamin C.

Even if you contract the virus, you can mitigate its effects on your body. Hopefully you can change the outcome from the need for a respirator to a condition similar to a common cold. Fix your soil and the seeds can’t grow.

 

Stay well!

For Dr. Waters’ presentation to the support group which goes far deeper into the topic:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2015/04/18/dr-waters-presentation/

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/04/07/covid-19-integrative-support-in-prevention-early-interventions/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/27/the-truth-about-hydroxychloroquine-plaquenil-in-the-treatment-of-covid-19/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/12/convalescent-plasma-therapy-tested-on-critically-ill-covid-19-patients/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/02/13/washington-doctors-successfully-treat-coronavirus/ using the anti-viral remdesivir.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/04/10/new-york-hospitals-treating-coronavirus-patients-with-vitamin-c/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/04/11/world-first-trial-to-test-benefit-of-intravenous-zinc-in-covid-19-fight/

 

Category:

diet and nutrition, Gut Health, Inflammation, Supplements, Treatment, Viruses

‘Rare’ Case of Optic Neuropathy Caused by Lyme Disease

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32190461

2020 Feb 7;12(2):e6906. doi: 10.7759/cureus.6906.

A Rare Cause of Optic Neuropathy.

Cruz IO1, Alves Pereira S2, Vieira B3, Chora I4, Coelho P5.

Abstract

Lyme disease is a multisystem infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi that mainly affects the joints, the heart, and the nervous system. Neurological complications usually manifest in untreated patients and present as meningitis, cranial neuropathies, and radiculoneuritis. The authors present the case of a 48-year-old male who developed loss of vision in the right eye over a period of two months. On physical examination a relative afferent pupillary defect of the right eye was noted. Visual evoked potential test revealed delayed P100 latency bilaterally, confirming a bilateral optic neuropathy. The analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) showed a lymphocytic meningitis. After an extensive work-up, a diagnosis of Lyme neuroborreliosis with meningitis and optic neuritis was made. The patient was treated with antibiotics and showed gradual improvement. The follow-up brain MRI revealed a mild T2 hyperintensity on the right optic nerve with gliosis, sequelae of the inflammatory process.

Lyme disease should always be considered in patients from endemic areas with nonspecific symptoms. The diagnosis of neuroborreliosis is challenging, but prompt identification and treatment can prevent the development of complications and sequelae.

________________

**Comment**

Again, just because there isn’t thousands of cases in the literature – doesn’t mean this is rare.  It’s only rare because so many go undiagnosed and testing misses over half of all patients.  If you type in eye or optic in the search bar on this website, you will quickly determine eye issues with Lyme is not rare at all.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/02/01/erratic-eye-jerks-in-child-with-lyme/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/08/17/case-of-optic-neuritis-secondary-to-lyme-disease/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/21/growing-list-of-eye-problems-in-lyme-disease/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/30/tick-inside-eye/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/06/29/atypical-papillitis-an-isolated-manifestation-of-lyme-disease-which-isnt-isolated/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/29/lyme-patients-check-your-vision/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/01/13/infectious-keratitis-caused-by-rare-and-emerging-micro-organisms/

Lyme isn’t the only offender:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/08/case-series-bartonella-ocular-manifestations/  Bartonella commonly causes eye issues.

Category:

Eye Issues, Inflammation, Lyme, research

A Focus on Lyme Disease & The Cascade of Inflammation Podcast

https://livingwithlyme.us/episode-100-a-focus-on-lyme-disease-and-the-cascade-of-inflammation/

Cindy Kennedy, FNP, is joined by Dr. Jaquel Patterson, who discusses why treating Lyme Disease, a multi-layered illness, requires a multi-system approach to treatment. Dr. Patterson has 11 years of clinical experience treating Lyme and other tick-borne infections.Dr. Patterson is a nationally recognized naturopathic physician and Medical Director of Fairfield Family Health in Fairfield, Conn. She has over 11 years of clinical experience with a focus on Lyme disease, autoimmune conditions, allergies, anxiety and depression and childhood developmental disorders.

She is an active member of ILADS, AAEM, MAPS and CNPA. She has served in many taskforces throughout the state on areas such as Person-Centered Medical Home and Integrative Medicine. She is the current President for the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and serves on the board of the Connecticut Association of Naturopathic Physicians.

Dr. Patterson has presented at large conferences like Annual World Congress Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) Venetian, and has appeared multiple times on television, publications and radio. She has been published in Real Simple magazine, Under Armour, Fitness Pal, Natural Practitioner, Naturopathic Doctor News and Review, and the Spa Dr., amongst others, and was asked to appear on the Dr. Oz show.

Dr. Patterson is also the Medical Advisor for Zycal Bioceuticals Healthcare. In addition to her naturopathic medical degree, she has her MBA in Healthcare Management from Quinnipiac University and has her undergraduate degree from Cornell University.

Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/Livingwithlyme.us

Check out Pursue Wellness: https://pursuewellness.us/

SHOW NOTES

How do you approach a patient with possible TBI?
Is there a need to improve immunity before going after the infections?
What are some go to therapies?
What are the best ways to reduce the cascade of inflammation?
Lyme can make an opportunistic environment for old viruses to rear their ugly heads.
How does Lyme and co-infections trick the body and become a continuous fight?
How can an infected person help turn their illness around?
How is it that people are misdiagnosed with ALS and MS?
What are the contributing factors for Lyme to be spreading around the world?
Along with awareness are there any other preventable options you suggest?
How to get more healthcare professionals on board with a Lyme diagnosis?

Category:

Inflammation, Lyme, Uncategorized

Latest Look at Lyme – Dr. Waters

latest look at Lyme july 2018Paper Here

Written by Dr. Robert Waters, https://www.watersbiomed.com

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Waters’ 8 pronged approach to treating Lyme/MSIDS:  https://www.watersbiomed.com/integrative-approach-to-lyme-disease.html  All of which are discussed in the paper above.

He also discusses typical deficiencies patients have and the importance of supplementation to boost the body’s ability to fight for itself.

For Doctor Waters’ presentation:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2015/04/18/dr-waters-presentation/

You can also watch videos, read published papers, and read newsletter on various topics.

Category:

diet and nutrition, Gut Health, Herbs, Inflammation, Lyme, research, Treatment

Infectious Keratitis Caused by Rare and Emerging Micro-Organisms

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31870176

2019 Dec 23. doi: 10.1080/02713683.2019.1708407. [Epub ahead of print]

Infectious Keratitis Caused by Rare and Emerging Micro-Organisms.

Sahay P1, Goel S1, Nagpal R1, Maharana PK1, Sinha R1, Agarwal T1, Sharma N1, Titiyal JS1.

Abstract

Purpose:  To provide a comprehensive review on rare and emerging micro-organisms causing infectious keratitis.

Material and Methods:  A literature search was performed using PubMed Medline, Cochrane Library Database, EMBASE and Scopus (1960 onwards), using the terms: keratitis caused by rare pathogens; mycotic keratitis; fungal keratitis; bacterial keratitis; infectious keratitis; infective keratitis; atypical fungal keratitis; fungal keratitis caused by rare organisms; fungal keratitis caused by rare ocular pathogen; atypical bacterial keratitis; bacterial keratitis caused by rare organisms; bacterial keratitis caused by rare ocular pathogen. All relevant articles were included in this review.

Results:  A total of 1232 articles matched our search strategy of which 124 articles were included in this mini-review. The rare and emerging bacteria causing keratitis include atypical mycobacteria, Nocardia spp., Chrysebacterium spp., Delftia acidovorans, Kocuria spp., Enterococcus spp., Bartonella henslae, Achromobacter spp. and others. The rare and emerging fungi causing keratitis include Pythium spp., Alternaria spp., Acremonium spp., Cladosporium spp., Curvularia spp., Bipolaris spp., Microsporidia spp., Pseudallescheria spp., Colletotrichum spp., and others. The clinical presentation of these cases is variable. While a few organisms produce characteristic clinical features, rest present similar to bacterial or fungal keratitis with variable response to routine treatment. A strong degree of suspicion is therefore essential for its diagnosis. Special investigations like polymerase chain reaction, gene sequencing, mass spectroscopy and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay are required for accurate identification of these organisms. Culture-sensitivity is extremely useful as drug resistance to routinely used anti-microbial drugs is common. Prognosis is usually poor for keratitis with Pythium spp., Pseudallescheria spp., Arthrographis spp., Purpureocillium spp., Kociria spp. and Achromobacter spp.

Conclusion:  Keratitis caused by rare and emerging micro-organisms must be suspected in cases where the infection runs an unusual course or shows poor response to standard anti-microbial drugs. Early diagnosis and timely treatment hold the key for good outcome.

________________

**Comment**

Keratitis is inflammation in the cornea.  The following symptoms were found here:  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/keratitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20374110

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of keratitis include:

  • Eye redness
  • Eye pain
  • Excess tears or other discharge from your eye
  • Difficulty opening your eyelid because of pain or irritation
  • Blurred vision
  • Decreased vision
  • Sensitivity to light (photophobia)
  • A feeling that something is in your eye

Great read on Lyme disease also causing keratitis:  https://lymediseaseguide.net/is-lyme-disease-affecting-your-sight-ophthalmological-symptoms-of-lyme-disease-part-one

And here we see Bartonella affecting cats with keratitis as well as conjunctivitis, uveitis, blepharitis, and chorioretinitis:  https://www.northwestanimaleye.com/bartonella-infection.pml

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/05/20/bartonella-endocarditis-opportunistic-infection-in-cancer-patients-and-eye-inflammation/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/04/06/ocular-bartonellosis/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/11/27/development-spontaneous-resolution-of-a-full-thickness-macular-hole-in-bartonella-neuroretinitis/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/09/07/keep-an-eye-out-for-bartonella/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/08/case-series-bartonella-ocular-manifestations/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/21/bartonella-and-neuroretinitis/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/07/28/treatment-strategies-for-neuroretinitis-due-to-bartonella-current-options-emerging-therapies/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/08/10/multimodal-imaging-of-two-unconventional-cases-of-bartonella-neuroretinitis/

 

 

Category:

Bartonella, Eye Issues, Inflammation, research