My Unique Approach to Lyme Disease (part 1)

Protect Your Family Against the Scourge of the Countryside

Without Using Chemicals

Winter’s deep freeze never happened in the northeast, allowing ticks to abound. They are already active and hungry for your blood! Ticks are prevalent in warmer parts of the country year round. Participating in outdoor activities requires knowing how to protect against hosting them without chemicals as well as knowing what to do about them if one hitch hikes a ride on the body of someone in your family (person or animal).

If a human or dog is bitten by a Lyme-infected tick, identifying what pathogens may have piggybacked the spirochete and passed into the tick is the start of the successful method I use for addressing Lyme Disease. Natural remedies targeting the co-infections (often viral in the case of chronic Lyme) eliminates them from the body including the joints and central nervous system. We will address the issue of co-infections in Lyme Disease: Part III.

Dogs are often the carriers of Lyme infected ticks. To fully protect one’s self and family from being bitten, the family pet must also be protected. A successful, chemical-free program for preventing any tick from attaching itself to a pet includes:

Building health and immune function because the healthier pet will be more resistant to ticks (as well as fleas). A good health promoter is garlic powder and Brewer’s yeast sprinkled liberally on their food every day (found in a convenient powdered combination in health food stores).
The essential oil of eucalyptus. Derived from the leaf of the tree, eucalyptus contains naturally occurring chemicals repellent to ticks and fleas. This is a non-toxic alternative to chemical repellents which are hazardous to the lungs and absorbed into the bloodstream. Keep in mind that pets are exposed to the same dangers when exposed to chemical repellents.
A most effective way of using eucalyptus is to dip a thin rope into the pure essential oil, wrap it in a bandana (so it won’t irritate the skin) and tie it around the pet’s neck (fashionable, as well). The rope can be refreshed twice a week or more often, if necessary.
Mix 1 half ounce oil of eucalyptus + 1 half ounce cedar oil into 16oz water in a spray bottle. This is a quick and easy way to apply eucalyptus to the pet’s coat every time they go outside (give an extra spray to the bandana as well). Pay particular attention to spraying the underside of your pet’s body, especially in smaller dogs lower to the ground. Taller dogs tend to pick up ticks more around their ears because they are closer to low hanging shrubs.

But why save all the good protection for your pets?

Before gardening or hiking, scent with “eau de eucalyptus.” The eucalyptus/cedar oil/water combination can be sprayed on skin and clothing before a brief outdoor excursion, gardening, or romp in the grass.
Eucalyptus and cedar oils diluted in a carrier oil (like almond, grape seed, or sunflower seed oil) can be safely applied to the skin for longer lasting effect, when fishing in reedy areas, for example, or when hiking. Combine 1 part oils of eucalyptus/cedar to 7 parts carrier oil in a small vial and carry with you so you can reapply as the scent wanes. Apply to exposed skin as if you are applying a perfume. Then rub your hands together and run through your hair.

If a tick has been found on the body it can be smothered with alcohol and removed with tweezers or, for parts difficult to reach with tweezers, covered for about half a minute with a cotton ball soaked in liquid soap and then removed.

After removing the tick, the next step is to do a banana poultice. Banana? Poultice? A poultice is simply a moist mass of herb with healing properties. A very ripe banana is high in enzymes which has a drawing action. It will help to draw toxin from the area of the bite as well as draw out any part of the tick which may have been left behind. For 3 consecutive nights apply a piece of banana peel which has a brown spot on it (indicating elevated enzymes) and apply to the site of the tick bite with the pulp side against the skin. Cover with surgical tape. Remove in the morning and cleanse with alcohol.

Choosing the pleasures of country life over city life means we must learn to harmoniously co-exist with Nature’s gifts. The fewer chemicals we use internally and externally will benefit our fragile environment with safer groundwater, cleaner air, and healthier bodies, while instilling a reverence for life around us.