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3 year old with Lyme

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Posted 8/22/2013 4:05 PM (GMT 0)

My 3 year old Daughter has been diagnised with Lyme Disease.

I have read the initial thread on this board as well as numerous websites regarding Lyme.

Most comments suggest that if we started treatment early, she should recover completely.

We think the bite occured within the last 3 weeks (Aug 1 week). 2 weeks ago she had a 101 fever but no other symptoms. That went away but then we started noticing these round red rings all over her body. They were not itchy or elevated at all, but scary to see on your child.

Saw the doc on Tues this week and she thought it was Lyme. Initial blood test confirms that diagnosis.

The Dr. started 4 weeks of amoxicillin. Her first dose was on Tuesday night.

So far she has not show any side effects of the medicine. I nor my wife have ever used amoxicillin, however from what I read the side effects can be pretty bad. We have been giving her yogurt before each application and that seems to be working well.

Everything I read or hear says that "if treated early". My questuion is what is considered early? Based on her symptoms, we beleive she is right in between ther 1st and 2nd stages.

Also, I hear that a toddler has a better chance of full recovery than and adult. Is this true?

What about long-term? What if she is fully recovered after 1 month. Will she always have Lyme? Can she get the symptoms again in the years to come? Is this something we/she will have to deal with the rest of her life?

My wife and I are in good spirits and are just looking for as many opinions as we can. I trust our pediatrition and will do what she says (I try to minimize being the google searching dr/parent) but just want as much info as possible and what to expect.

I appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Posted 8/22/2013 8:08 PM (GMT 0)
That's sad to hear your little girl has it. It's good you caught it early. It's good she got that fever in the beginning. You should get a Lyme literate doctor first since they've been trained to diagnose and treat correctly. Others here will chime in with more to say about that.

Whether or not a child has a better chance depends on how she has been fed for one thing. If she was nursed as an infant, that's in her favor and if she doesn't consume a lot of sugary products, that will help too. Doe she eat many vegetables?

Detoxing is important, but at least at her age, she doesn't have a lot of prior things accumulated like adults do. I'm not sure what would be the best method for her.

Keep reading on this forum to learn more since there are many experienced people on here with a variety of knowledge. I wish her the best and it sounds like both of you are on top of it. I have a daughter with it too, but she went undiagnosed for a long time, so now she has a long battle. It's hard to see your child go through it, no matter how long they've had it.
Posted 8/22/2013 8:34 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for the response Garden Peace.

She was 100% nursed for the first 6 months. Her diet is really good, for a 3 year old. She loves her fruits and veggies. Like any kid she likes sugar but we try to keep that minimal.

She has only had 2 other illnesses in her life. She had the crup for a week when she was 2 and the flu at 2 1/2. Besides that she is a healthy girl.

So you suggest a detox even at this stage? I read that in a few places. Maybe just a epsom salt bath?
Posted 8/22/2013 11:49 PM (GMT 0)
I have no idea how to detox a young child, other than sweating if she's outside playing on a hot day. If bacteria is being killed off, it needs to come out. Others on here would have a better idea since they've been knowingly dealing with Lyme longer than I have. If she'd drink a green smoothie, that could help, but may not be easy to get one down her. It could be strained so it's just juice. I blend up collards and or kale with an apple and water and it's not too bad. I used pink lady apples. You could make her some sweet treats using stevia or xylitol. Keeping gluten down would be a good idea too. Muffins and other baked goods could be made from buckwheat flour. I've done that for years. Some use coconut flour and almond flour too, but I haven't done much with them yet.

It's good she was nursed that long. That always gives kids a head start in life. It sounds like she's a lucky girl.
Posted 8/23/2013 12:34 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Neil, I do hope others offer their thoughts and experiences. It has to be downright scary to have a young child diagnosed with Lyme. I don't know if anyone can positively answer your questions. I am sure if you type in Lyme with young child on this site, you will may get some good information from others who have children with Lyme. 'The New to Lyme' thread at the beginning of the thread has ideas for detoxing. Maybe an epsom salt footbath would be something she could benefit from safely. You could ask her pediatrician. It is good to hear you have a positive outlook. My husband was treated with a laser by a chiropractor. There was a child who has Lyme who originally came into the clinic without being able to use her right leg. After the treatment she gained use of it. I don't know how long it took for her leg to heal, but I think it's amazing what can be done if we are open to researching other possibilities to healing.
Posted 8/23/2013 9:23 PM (GMT 0)

Hi there, there's lots to be found using the Google custom search near the top right side of the page. I just searched Children with Lyme and Kids with Lyme and got a bunch of threads. A while back I started 'Kids with Lyme' so it will have a number of recently involved  parents responding.  They may have very specific info for you. My son, "Tom" got Lyme in Sept. last year. It took many months to get a very limited treatment and his symptoms are re-emerging.

I recommend reading up on symptoms pretty deeply so you can decide if what you see is note worthy. For us the physical symptoms were what finally got some acknowledgement. These included constant spotty rashes, night sweats, muscle aches and pains, stomach and head aches, body temp ranging from 95.4 to 102 even within one day, and the 'eye opener' - he lost his peripheral vision in one eye for 5 weeks.  With a very young child it might be tough to find out something like that!

The symptoms which were very hard to quantify, and which led to a number of psychiatric referals/ diagnoses, or suggestions, involved moodiness, oppositional behavior & brain fog. 

There are multiple studies showing Borrelia Burgdorferi (Bb) persists after antibiotic treatment, but can show negative results in blood testing. Check out Columbia University Lyme Research for more info there.

I have seen many statements saying treatment promptly after getting the rash can give a cure. I for one will stay aware of the possibility of a flare up.

I hope your journey through the Lymescape is brief! Good luck.

Posted 8/25/2013 3:38 PM (GMT 0)
My dd nine has lymes. For detox we use a biomat. Exercise;). Think Epsom bath sold be ok, but check with pediatrician. We also use mustard bath by dr singha. Recommend by lady at health food store. She uses on her three year old.
There is a company called beyond balance that makes a detox made for kids. You have to get these products through a dr, chiro, np.
Posted 9/17/2013 4:10 PM (GMT 0)
So we did 21 days on Amoxacillon. She seems ok. Not indications of Lyme at all.

The only small thing is she is complaining about her stomach hurting. I know one of the symptoms of Lyme is sore joints. But I have not heard anything about stomach issues.

She did start school recently so that may be contributing to the upset stomach. i.e. nerves
Posted 9/17/2013 7:04 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Neil,

Sorry it took me so long to respond - I just saw this thread. 21 days of amoxi is a long time to be on antibiotic for a young child. Most likely her gut flora will need replenishing (probiotics). I know there are a few good ones at the health store specifically for children. I would contact her PCP and ask of a good brand/dosing. I have tummy aches now too and both my drs want me on intensive probiotics 150 billion cfu/day. Then again, I was on abx for 7-9 months on/off and I did take probiotics during that time as well.

I'm really happy to hear your little one is doing well. I would just keep an extra special eye on her and always keep in the back of your mind that she had the exposure. Everything that I've read so far if it is treated appropriately (not in my case) with abx on the offset that everything is okie dokie and there is no reason to worry too much. Good luck!

And if you are a little extra concerned - it certainly wouldn't hurt to reach out to a licensed herbalist to put her on something else for a little while. So far in researching I've read that herbs are extremely safe and you shouldn't really think anything more of it or any different than taking a vitamin everyday.*I should say most herbs, which is why I'd recommend an herbalist turn
~beth

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