Hi KennyLyme!
Welcome to our community! I'm very glad that you have chosen to be an 'official' member of our community!!
In case you haven't yet, please do be sure to read through our "New to Lyme?" thread as it's packed with a ton of helpful and important information.
Yes, these infection can stay dormant for years. It's usually some sort of stress that brings them to the forefront.
And yes, as you said, ticks hitch a ride on birds, people and other things to get around. That's part of the reason why we have European strains in the US and US strains in Europe - so it would be even easier for them to get across just one country.
LOL! Sorry, but that comment about
your nationality was just funny! Usually those with very dark skin won't see a rash even if it's present, as it often can present as a bruise on those people. I'm about
as pale skinned as they come, although I do have freckles, and I can state that I have not seen any bull's eye rashes at all pretty easily.
I would encourage you to not start more than one thing at a time - often we find that it's best not to start more than one medicine or detox routine at the same time as well. That way we can judge our response to the change and know how it's helping - or not.
Many do start out with a parasite cleanse, but it's not necessary. It's something that can be done later if you feel you need it.
Here are my detoxing routines I use:
I have not had any of the gene mutation testing done, although I do seem to have the same kind of issues as those that do - so I figured it was best for me to assume that I did and work to get my body to detox much better.
It took a lot of diet changes as things with my body changed,
I use a foot soak,
dry skin brushing,
making sure my bowels moved at least once a day (sorry if it's TMI!)
pushing myself to drink at least 64 ounces of lemon water each and every day,
liver/gall bladder flushes (all natural), as needed,
oil pulling with tea tree oil,
taking activated charcoal, as needed,
Alpha lipoic acid,
Quercetin,
turmeric,
Methyl B-12 and methyl folate,
Dandelion tincture,
red root tincture,
Yogi brand detox tea (original flavor)
Have recently added cytokine remodulators - Chinese Skullcap and Red clover extracts
and keeping the amount of stress in my life at a bare minimum.
I have used apple cider vinegar to help with detoxing as well - it's really good, but started making my stomach issues worse, so I stopped using it daily and only use it occasionally when I know I need a boost in my detoxing for just a day or two.
You can find some really good detoxing suggestions in the "New to Lyme?" thread that sits at the top of the forum. And this is another really good resource for detoxing ideas for Lyme patients:
www.tiredoflyme.com/detox-methods.html But, there is such a thing as over detoxing. This happens when we move more toxins than our body is capable of processing out effectively. Many toxins are stored in our tissues, and by detoxing, we move them to the bloodstream where we can process them out of our bodies through the lymph system, then on to the liver and kidneys as so on. We have to be sure to add in more detoxing routines slowly and carefully, or we will end up herxing just like we had never been detoxing. This article helps to explain that some:
www.tiredoflyme.com/4-reasons-why-you-still-feel-bad-despite-detoxing.html