Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium "Borrelia burgdorferi". It is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks.
Lyme disease is the most common tickborne illness in Europe and the United States. It was first recognized in Conneticut, USA, in 1975. There are about 300,000 Lyme infections in the U.S. each year. People living in New England, the mid-Atlantic states and the upper Midwest are at the biggest risk. A tick has to be present on the skin for 36 hours or more to transmit the infection. First symptom is a flat, circular rash that looks like a red oval on the leg or at the back. But most people with Lyme disease have no memory of a tick bite. Especially if the bite is hidden in the scalp.
The three stages of Lyme disease
Lyme disease is commonly divided into three stages — early localized, early disseminated, and late disseminated — but symptoms can overlap. Some people will suffer from symptoms in a later stage of disease without having symptoms of earlier disease.
Risk factors
The most common risk factors for Lyme disease include spending time in wooded or grassy areas, working outdoors and having exposed skin.
Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of Lyme disease vary. Patients can suffer from flu-like symptoms, fever, fatigue, sleep disturbances, joint pain and swelling, muscle aches, nerve pain, difficulty in concentrating. Untreated Lyme disease can cause chronic joint inflammation (Lyme arthritis), neurological symptoms, neuropathy, cognitive defects, such as impaired memory and heart rhythm irregularities
Lyme disease treatment
Lyme disease is best treated in the early stages. Oral antibiotics are able to eliminate the infection. Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics - but only if Lyme disease is discovered at a very early stage. Many people don't notice early signs of Lyme disease. And also many patients with Lyme disease experience a medical odyssey of trying to find answers to their symptoms. Sometimes for years.
Treatment with whole body hyperthermia
At the Hyperthermia Centre Hannover we have successfully used whole body hyperthermia to treat patients who suffer with Lyme disease – even chronic.
Lyme spyrochetes do die if exposed to temperatures over 40,6º Celsius. These are optimal requirements for using whole body hyperthermia. The germs can be killed because of the heat and in competition with antibiotics they can be reached deep within the body.
During whole body hyperthermia the patient will be treated for a period of 2-3 hours using temperature between 40,5 and 41,0º Celsius. Certainly, the patients will be monitored and accompanied intensively by our doctors and therapists during this therapy. These high temperatures activate “killer-cells”, who eliminate the bacteria immediately. This treatment will be repeated, when necessary. Because of the hyperthermia all metabolism and detoxification methods will be activated intensively. The emerging sweats do activate the excretion of toxic substances. Fever is a natural defense reaction of the body and in this way hyperthermia uses this and more healthy reactions of the body therapeutically.
Contact
Hyperthermia Centre Hannover
Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 511 66 30 28