1. Lyme is caused by a virus.
WRONG! It is caused by bacteria. (More information here.)
2. Lyme should not be treated with antibiotics.
WRONG! Lyme is a bacterial infection which, like other bacterial infections, is susceptible to appropriate antibiotic therapy. (More information here.)
3. If you continue to have Lyme symptoms after contracting Lyme disease and have been treated with the recommended (CDC, IDSA) short course of antibiotics, no additional antibiotics are necessary.
WRONG! Standard IDSA/CDC antibiotic protocols have been found to be extremely unreliable in producing a cure for Lyme disease. Retreatment and longer courses of treatment have been proven to considerably improve the patient's condition.
4. Blood tests the IDSA, CDC and their partners developed (and patented for profit), are very reliable.
WRONG! The tests have been proven to miss up to 75% of people who are infected. (More information here.)
5. There are many false-positive test results.
WRONG! There are an extraordinary amount of false-negative test results.
6. Lyme disease is easy to diagnose and cure.
WRONG! Lyme disease can mimic countless medical conditions and a cure has never been developed.
7. CDC reporting practices are sufficient and give us a good picture of the spread of Lyme disease.
WRONG! The actual numbers of Lyme cases is at least over 10 times what is currently reported.
8. After treatment people do not have Lyme, just the "aches and pains" of daily living.
WRONG! Countless people are suffering and some have become chronically ill, disabled and many have died.
9. There is no evidence chronic Lyme exists.
WRONG! There are over 1,000 scientific studies proving it does exist, and millions of people suffering from multiple symptoms of chronic Lyme disease. (More information- chronic Lyme definition on pdf at the bottom of the page.)
10. The IDSA Lyme Disease Treatment Guidelines represent the best of the science.
WRONG! They were found to be developed by a handful of people with numerous conflicts of interest and are not successful in producing a cure for most people.
11. Lyme disease can not be passed from mother to fetus.
WRONG! A growing amount of peer-reviewed, scientific literature indicates that simple complications to still births and infant death are possible when a woman is pregnant and has Lyme disease.
12. There is no Lyme here in- fill in the blank with your State’s name- so you can't possibly have Lyme disease.
WRONG! Absence of evidence isn’t proof of anything. Lyme disease has been found in all 50 states and in at least 80 countries world wide.
13. IDSA/CDC says they have no conflicts of interest.
WRONG! May 1, 2008- The CT Attorney General’s investigation proved otherwise.
14. A tick must be attached for 48 hours to transmit Lyme disease.
WRONG! Many studies prove otherwise and it has been shown transmission can occur in less than a few hours after a person is bitten.
15. Two pills of Doxycycline taken within 3 days of a tick bite will prevent and cure Lyme disease.
WRONG! Lyme disease can disseminate throughout the body within hours and multiple studies have proven this claim is absolutely false.
16. IDSA & CDC say they care about sick patients and want to work with doctors to help them.
WRONG! You simply need to ask anyone who was denied treatment and developed the late chronic stages of Lyme disease what they think, or read the numerous and continuing hateful and ugly attacks on sick patients and their doctors that are in print and published in journals.
17. The standard protocol of 2-3 weeks of Doxycycline cures most cases of Lyme disease.
WRONG! Thousands of studies, along with thousands of chronically ill patients prove otherwise.
18. You can not have more than one tick borne disease at a time.
WRONG! People can be multiply infected with a number of various organisms.
19. The LymeRix vaccine is safe and effective.
WRONG! It was pulled from the market after reports of injury began rising and law suits were filed by those who were injured.
20. Lyme disease can not be sexually transmitted.
WRONG! Multiple studies found evidence of the spirochete in secretions from both men and women.
21. Only certain ticks in certain areas carry a specific number of diseases.
WRONG! Each year more discoveries are made proving that theory wrong, totally wrong.
22. Steroids are a viable treatment for those with Lyme disease.
WRONG! Steroids are contraindicated in all but the most severe complications for those who have Lyme disease.
23. Exercise, visits to psychiatrists and over-the-counter medications like Advil are all that is needed if symptoms remain or become worse after standard antibiotic treatment.
WRONG! Coinfections and other sources for the symptoms need to be explored.
24. Prevention efforts are working.
WRONG! Federally funded studies and the exploding number of new cases prove otherwise.
25. Blood and organs can be safely be donated by those who were treated for Lyme disease.
WRONG! The Red Cross and others researchers have proven spirochetes can remain active even through harsh blood storage conditions.
26. Doxycycline is the most effective treatment for Lyme disease.
WRONG! Doxycycline is limited in its ability to kill Lyme disease organisms. There are at least 165 different FDA approved medications already on the market proven to be more effective.
27. There is no such thing as CHRONIC Lyme disease because it has never been defined.
WRONG! It is now defined and OFFICIAL!
28. Lyme rashes (erythema migrans) must be larger than 5 cm (or 1.9685 inches) for a "secure diagnosis".
WRONG! Lyme rashes have been documented in the scientific literature as being 1 cm (or 0.394 inches) in diameter.
29. People can't get Bartonella from a tick.
WRONG! Bartonella is found in ticks across the country, in patients as a coinfection with Lyme disease, and in a study with mice and the transmission of Bartonella via tick bite.
30. Using DEET will protect you from tick bites and Lyme disease.
WRONG! Some ticks are less sensitive to DEET.