Ticks

15.05.2020

Spring's warm sunshine invites us outdoors, where ticks roam and approach us because of the smell we emit. Ticks are most often found in forest undergrowth, grass and shrubs. They can be found in areas up to 600 m above sea level, but their numbers decrease above this altitude. Because their senses are so well developed, they can detect our smell, moisture, movement and heat. A tick bites a person by pushing its mouthparts into the skin at a suitable place. Its saliva numbs the skin, so we don't feel the bite at all. If the tick is infected, it transmits pathogens to humans while sucking blood. The most common pathogens are Lyme disease and tick-borne meningoencephalitis.

Slovenia is one of the most at-risk areas in Europe for tick-borne meningoencephalitis. Of course, not every tick is infected, and only a fraction of infected people gets sick, but it is still a good idea to protect yourself from ticks. 

Lyme disease

The causative agent of Lyme disease is the spiral bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted by ticks or other parasites. It has been shown that it can also be transmitted by mosquitoes, bed bugs, fleas, mites. It is thought that as many as half of ticks are infected, so the chance of human infection is very high. The disease usually occurs in three stages.

In the first stage phase (3-32 days after the bite of an infected tick), characteristic changes appear on the skin. A painless reddening develops, which spreads slowly over the skin, fades at the core and takes the form of a ring. The skin lesion may be a single lesion or several on different parts of the body. Skin lesions are not always present.

In the second and third stages of the disease, signs of involvement of many organs or organ systems may appear (months or years after infection): skin, nerves, joints, muscles, eyes and heart.

Boreliosis is currently treated with antibiotics. Early recognition of the disease is important because treatment at an early stage of the disease is very successful. 

Tick-borne meningoencephalitis (BSE)

This is a viral disease of the brain and meninges. The incidence of KME varies in different countries. After an incubation period of 7-14 days, the first phase of the disease occurs, lasting 2-4 days. The predominant symptoms are severe headache, fatigue, pain throughout the body and fever. This is followed by a symptom-free period lasting from a few days to three weeks.

Then comes the second phase, which is characterised by signs of central nervous system involvement, such as high fever with severe headache, nausea with vomiting, and even unconsciousness. In children and adolescents, the course is usually milder than in adults. However, several cases of severe illness have been described in younger populations. Adults over 60 years of age are more likely to have a severe course of the disease leading to paralysis and often leaving permanent sequelae such as impaired memory, balance, speech, headache, hearing impairment and nerve paresis.

Treatment takes the form of supportive therapy in hospital.

BSE is most effectively prevented by vaccination. If you are an autoimmune patient, please note that vaccines affect the immune system and can cause a new onset of autoimmune disease.

How to protect yourself against ticks:

• When going for a walk in nature, choose paths and avoid walking through undergrowth.
• Always dress appropriately for trips and nature walks, which means keeping as much skin covered as possible (long trousers, long-sleeved shirts). Tuck trousers into shoes.
• It is better if clothes are smooth so that ticks cannot stick to them and light-coloured so that ticks are spotted as soon as possible.
• Before outdoor activities, make sure you and your children are coated with suitable repellents (tick repellents). These can be found in pharmacies or drugstores or made one yourself using essential oils of citrus, lemon balm or lavender, which repel ticks.
• When you get home, hang your clothes outside in strong sunlight, which will quickly drive the ticks away, or wash them.
• We take a shower and carefully examine every corner of the skin. We need to pay special attention to the skin folds, groin, ears, armpits, because this is where ticks like to hide.
• We can also protect ourselves against ticks by getting vaccinated, but the vaccine is only available against tick-borne meningoencephalitis. Vaccination is compulsory for everyone who has a job that exposes them to infection. The vaccine does not protect us against Lyme disease, which is more common than tick-borne meningoencephalitis!
• If you find a tick on your body, remove it immediately, carefully and completely. Removing the tick immediately or as soon as possible significantly reduces the chance of infection.

Treatment of Lyme disease with bioresonance

As mentioned earlier, antibiotic treatment of Lyme disease is effective in the initial phase. Overlooked erythema and obsolete forms of borreliosis lead the body to a chronic state where antibiotic therapies are no longer essential.

During this period, BICOM bioresonance may also be a choice for therapies. Frequency stimulation of the Burgdorferi bacterium itself triggers the desired reactions in the body, such as "training" and preparing the immune system to respond on its own to the already latent bacterium. It is known that these can hide inside cells at a late stage. This makes it more difficult for the immune system to recognise them.

The doctors at our centre know all the key steps in bioresonance, which helps to prepare the body initially for the actual anti-Borreliosis therapies. And then, with the help of bioresonance therapies, they help the body to eliminate or reduce chronic problems.

In severe chronic or neurological forms, however, regular periodic therapies are needed.

What do our patients say?

"I am a singer. Lyme disease affected my facial nerves so badly that I couldn't even open my jaw and my skin was numb. With the help of bioresonance, I have managed to recover to the point where I can sing again."
J.B., Kamnik

"As an entrepreneur, I have a very stressful job and my fatigue was not unusual, but when the headaches started, I sought help from Dr. Rome. I am grateful because my energy was restored as well as the headaches calmed down."
A.K., Škofja Loka

Written by Aleksandra Barbarić Kovačić, dr.med.