Is it always best to take an antibiotic when bit by a tick?

Some say if you get bit by a tick, run, do not walk, to the doctor and convince them with all your might that you need antibiotics. Gut microbiome specialists, like Dr. Natasha McBride, say differently. The problem with antibiotics is we are antibiotic saturated in our environment today. Antibiotics wipe out beneficial flora in the microbiome. Repetitive use of antibiotics can cause devastating damage to beneficial flora, which is the opposite goal for a health seeking person. 

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Rebuilding health using the focus of properly supporting the beneficial flora in the intestinal tract is a specific task. 

When asked, “Do  we always use antibiotics for Lyme when we get bit by a tick?” This question is important for those who participate in outdoor activities, where getting bit by ticks is a common experience. 

Dr. Natasha answered, “Not necessarily. It doesn’t work in many cases. Antibiotics, (shaking her head to the negative) not necessary. If you have a bulls-eye, a rash, perhaps that’s a good idea but in many cases it’s not necessary and we don’t know exactly how many cases because our main stream medicine doesn’t follow up with that. You have to understand that testing for Lyme disease is not proof. It can be positive for viruses, it can be positive during pregnancy, it can be positive in different situations.” (Campbell-McBride, Natasha. (November, 2018). Interview Q & A. Weston A. Price Annual Conference. Baltimore, Maryland).

Although not all tick bites delivering Lyme leave a bulls-eye, the real point of the issue is supporting and building the microbiome so that the tick bite bacteria isn’t needed to create balance in the intestinal terrain. Using the GAPS Protocol to rebuild the terrain is how this author walked away from chronic debilitating Lyme Disease. 

Some people attract a tick bite, while others do not. There is a reason.

McBride says, “Lyme Disease is caused by a whole community of microbes which produce the structure for them to live. There is no such thing as one microbe, one disease. We can’t win by killing things, we can only win by establishing diversity. (March, 2017. CGP Training. Vancouver, Washington).

McBride says the heavy metal load has a direct correlation on those who contract Lyme disease. “With Lyme we have a community of microbes. The body is infested with viruses, there’s a number of viruses there. There are a number of protozoa, there’s mycoplasma , all kinds of scary things in there. They’re all together in that body. It’s a contaminated body. There is chemical contamination. The body wants all these creatures to handle all the toxicity on its own. Every creature likes to eat a particular chemical and can handle it in the best possible way.” (November, 2018). Interview Q & A. Weston A. Price Annual Conference. Baltimore, Maryland).

They all have a job in the terrain. “Recent research shows human body has all of these creatures there in the first place, in the shape and form that is neutral and even beneficial. Through pleomorphism, a phenomenon in microbiology that is absolutely hair raising, where your own blood cell can turn into a bacteria, where you own cells in lining of blood cells can turn into viruses, into protozoa. It’s unbelievable,” McBride goes on to say.

“So we’ve got all these creatures inside us from day one, they just pleomorph. The body just tells them, we’ve got this situation, you turn into this now and you handle it. I think Glyphosate is definitely involved with Lyme disease. The more we are researching, the more we are finding just how insidious that chemical is, how it fits in into the body and changes it, makes it change because it has a similarity to amino acid glycine. Our collagen, our connective tissue in our bodies, is very rich in glycine and Glyphosate has an ability to replace glycine. That is a major trigger for autoimmune disease,” she says.

“The cells in our blood, the cells in our lymph, the cells that line the blood system, the Endophylum, the cells that line the surfaces in the joints can pleomorph into microbes, that’s what’s happening. This Borrelia may not come from outside, and Babesia and all the others, they might be there from day one. Everything in nature works in cooperation. All organisms are a community of cells which join together at some point to do I’ll rub your back, you scratch mine. You don’t have to be infected from the outside, not necessarily. Yes, there are infections which come from outside,” McBride said.

“Human bodies are polluted and we’re getting more and more polluted,” she says. The objective is to build, not kill. A person can not be kill their way to a healthy body. Rebuilding the balance in the terrain is the objective. 

McBride says, “Antibiotics are life savers. there are many situations where we need them. Do your best. You can recover the damage.” (November, 2015). GAPS. Weston A. Price Annual Conference. Anaheim, California).

Along with the GAPS Protocol, there are several herbal and homeopathic supports for Lyme. Stay tuned for the next post on these protocol supports when bit by a tick.

*Nourishing Plot is written by Becky Plotner, ND, traditional naturopath, CGP, D.PSc. who sees clients in Rossville, Georgia. She is a Board Certified Naturopathic Doctor, through The American Naturopathic Medical Association and works as a Certified GAPS Practitioner who sees clients in her office, Skype and phone. She has been published in Wise Traditions, spoken at two Weston A. Price Conferences, Certified GAPS Practitioner Trainings, has been on many radio shows, television shows and writes for Nourishing Plot. She serves on the GAPS Board of Directors and has recently been named “The GAPS Expert” by Dr. Natasha and will serve teaching other Certified GAPS Practitioners proper use of the GAPS protocol. Since her son was delivered from the effects of autism (Asperger’s syndrome), ADHD, bipolar disorder/manic depression, hypoglycemia and dyslexia, through food, she continued her education specializing in Leaky Gut and parasitology through Duke University, finishing with distinction. She is a Chapter Leader for The Weston A. Price Foundation. becky.nourishingplot@hotmail.com

“GAPS™ and Gut and Psychology Syndrome™ are the trademark and copyright of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. The right of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Patent and Designs Act 1988.