This cycle requires a host with an immune system. The immune system guarantees that there will be a cycle of tissue destruction and repair. These parasitic pathogens survive by causing that inflammatory cycle. They start the inflammatory cycle by first destroying tissue. Once the tissue is injured it activates the immune system to come in to repair the damage. When the immune system (white blood cells) come in for repair the injured tissue the Borrellia bacteria can then enter the white blood cells, hijack the immune system, and control the inflammatory response directly. The Lyme bacteria can now control the immune system.
They Lyme bacteria took over the immune system very diplomatically too- we just give it up and weren’t even aware. Here’s a review of what just happened. The bacteria cause damage to our body (say the joints). The immune system comes in to repair the damage caused by the bacteria. Repairing the damage requires nutrients. In repairing the tissue our bodies bring the exact nutrients that the bacteria need to survive. They get to eat. We get cellular damage. Now there really isn’t anything to stop these bacteria cells from spreading the disease. (Except ozone)
This is the cycle of Lyme Disease. They continue to survive, they eat on us, they cause tissue death, and we deal with the damage caused to our bodies. They don’t want us dead they just want to destroy us from the inside.
Most people are totally unaware that there are infectious processes going on inside of us all at all times. We are all aware of some of the painful destruction that can occur because of it. Some people see this damage and call it “getting old”. Although some mental and physical decline are a natural part of aging there is also another side of aging. I’ll call it “accelerated aging or aging prematurely”. These chronic infections cause accelerated aging. They degenerative conditions are laughed about like a normal thing. However, people inherently know that there’s a difference between normal aging and premature aging. If you think about it you know what I mean. They have poor mental and physical health. They seem to fight their condition on a daily basis. You can now imagine friends who seem prematurely aged and some people even feel prematurely aged.
I am not okay with looking or feeling prematurely aged. If you are not okay with looking or feeling prematurely aged then keep reading.
It really doesn’t have to be like this. We don’t have to be “getting old” so prematurely. People shouldn’t have chronic pain, multiple joint replacements, and constantly have to be in physical therapy. It’s really a vicious cycle. Some people really know what I mean.
What has the research actually shown regarding Lyme Disease and Biofilms?
We have known about biofilms for a long time. It is estimated that 80% of all human infections have biofilm involvement. There are bad biofilms and there are actually beneficial biofilms. We don’t know a lot about biofilms but they have been blamed as one of the main underlying causes that make OTHER chronic bacterial infections so hard to kill off (such as cystic fibrosis, pneumonia, bladder infections, chronic wounds, endocarditis, etc.) . They are co-infections. Biofilms work in conjunction with other bacteria to help the other bacteria to also survive (and get stronger) – get it? The biofilm protects the Lyme spirochete from antibiotics. Any therapy not containing a method to address biofilm infection will be lacking.
Current studies are being done looking for pathologic biofilms in other animals. They’re still researching it in humans too but we already know it’s there. These studies are important because it will give us a better understanding of how diseases evade the immune system. Biofilms are so prevalent and present with other pathogens and we barely even understand them.
What can be done about Biofilm?
Bacteria that are encased in biofilm are hard to detect. They are not moving around- they are locked down, trying to evade being recognized, and staying put. This is especially true when looking for bacteria in blood. They are trying to evade detection – it’s hard sometimes to find these bacteria and biofilm.
The only way to combat biofilm is to pop a hole in it and kill everything beneath it. This is similar to tenderizing meat by poking holes in it with a form. If you don’t poke holes in the meat with a fork then the marinade won’t get down into the deepest parts of the meat. Well, you have to poke a hole in the biofilm to let the medicine get down deep underneath it. Ozone will burn a hole through biofilm by oxidation and then the infection can be killed. Also certain enzymes like Lumbrokinase, Serrapeptase, Monolaurin, and Cat’s Claw have been known to dissolve through biofilms so the underlying infections can treated.
Biofilms are prevalent and increasingly implicated in more and more diseases. While much remains to be learned about them, a more relevant question for patients might be: What can we do about them?
