Lyme Disease - Treatment

Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium, so it can be treated with antibiotics. In general, the earlier treatment begins, the greater the chance of success. The deciding factor is often the appearance of the characteristic rash. The usual treatment is an oral antibiotic, such as doxycycline (pronounced dok-si-SIE-kleen) or amoxicillin (pronounced uh-MOK-sih-SIL-in), given for twenty-one days.

Some doctors are cautious about the use of antibiotics with Lyme disease. In many instances, doctor prescribe antibiotics for ailments when they are really not needed. The problem with this practice is that bacteria may become resistant to antibiotics and are no longer killed by drugs that were once effective. Some doctors therefore wait until they are certain that a patient has Lyme disease before prescribing an antibiotic.

Alternative Treatment

A common goal of alternative treatments for Lyme disease is to strengthen overall body health. Practitioners may recommend vitamin and nutritional supplements for this purpose. In addition, some herbs are thought to be effective in treating bacterial diseases like Lyme disease. A popular choice for this purpose is the western herb spilanthes.