Topic: I need your help, concise lyme info for radio
just don
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1129
posted
Today on a local BIG AM radio talk show they ask if you had a magic wand what would you wish for? My wish was to eliminate lyme in the world. I actually called in and they answered the phone.(surprised me for sure)(All I ever got before is busy signals) Was on the air and needless to say I tryed eduacting the 5 state listening audience and this station manager best I could in a couple minutes of babbling. Million things occured to me after, I SHOULD have said. Anyway he was talking about there 'new web site' and how easy it was to e-mail them. This guy never ever heard of it before(lyme). MAYBE we could get a little PR going IF we educated him some and he seemed really interested!! Would anybody have or be able to construct some concise info that wouldnt overwhelm him but enough to wet his interest and maybe do more of a follow up article, segment, on air time. Like a did you know, or basic facts that everybody SHOULD know about '"LYME" and co-infections. AND consent to me passing it along to him!!!??? Hate to pass up an opportunity like this to get some info out to the general public, maybe it could help just one person!! Thanks for any help good folks--just don--
-------------------- just don Posts: 4548 | From Middle of midwest | Registered: May 2001
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Carol in PA
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5338
posted
Don, The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation has an excellant list of symptoms, designed for people who do not know medical terminology. http://www.canlyme.com/patsymptoms.html
Also, there are downloadable folders on both the LDF and LDA websites. Lots of good info.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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Ann-OH
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2020
Lyme disease is prevalent across the United States. Ticks do not know geographic boundaries. A patient's county of residence does not accurately reflect their total Lyme disease risk, since people travel, pets travel, and ticks travel. This creates a dynamic situation with many opportunities for exposure for each individual.
Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis. Spirochetal infection of multiple organ systems causes a wide range of symptoms. Familiarity with its varied presentations is key to recognizing disseminated Lyme disease. Case reports in the medical literature document its protean manifestations.
Fewer than 50% of patients with Lyme disease recall a tick bite. In some studies this number is as low as 15% in culture proven Lyme borrelial infection.
Fewer than 50% of patients with Lyme disease recall any rash. Although the bull's eye presentation is considered classic, it is not the most common dermatologic manifestation of early-localized Lyme infection. Atypical forms of this rash are seen far more commonly. It is important to know that the Erythema Migrans rash is pathognomonic of Lyme disease and requires no further verification prior to starting 6 weeks of antibiotic therapy. Shorter treatment courses have resulted in upwards of a 40% relapse rate, especially if treatment is delayed.
The CDC surveillance criteria were devised to track a narrow band of cases for epidemiologic change and were never set up to be used as diagnostic criteria nor were they meant to define the entire scope of Lyme disease. This is stated in the 3/25/91 NIH report.
The ELISA test is unreliable, and misses 35% of culture proven Lyme (only 65% sensitivity!) and is unacceptable as the first step of a two step screening protocol. (By definition a screening test should have 95% sensitivity.)
Of patients with acute culture proven Lyme disease, 20-30% remain seronegative on serial Western Blot sampling. Antibody titers also appear to decline over time; thus, the IgG Western Blot is even less sensitive in detecting chronic Lyme infection yet the IgM Western Blot may work. For "epidemiological purposes" the CDC eliminated from the Western Blot analysis the reading of bands 31 and 34. These bands are so specific to Borrelia burgdorferi that they have been chosen for vaccine development. However, for patients not vaccinated for Lyme, a positive 31 or 34 band is highly indicative of Borrelia burgdorferi exposure. [end quote]
posted
Good for you Don. Thats quite a project you jumped into. I could never get my brain to function well enough to educate the public on lyme. I cant even do my own finances.
This is indeed a wonderful opportunity to inform and warn the ignorant what is lurking out there.
I wish you mental sharpness and perservance. Go Don!!! will be my mantra for the next few days. We all can only do what we can do and I can manage verbal cheerleading.
EVERYONE TOGETHER GO DON GO!!!!!!!!!!
Posts: 561 | From connecticut | Registered: May 2004
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pmerv
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1504
posted
I've had this same problem and my solution is always to have a basic Lyme brochure in front of me so I can cover all the essential points without getting into too much detail that I lose the audience. That's the trouble with knowing too much. We get into intricacies of the complement in lizard blood that actually kills spirochetes inside the ticks that feed on lizards, or the fact that spirochetes can form cysts and hide from the immune system and whoa! you've left them way back on first base, besides sounding a bit crazy maybe.
You can check out the new CALDA brochure - we made an effort to be basic basic basic. You can view and download it from http://calda.intranets.com It's probably under public education materials. (If anyone is interested in creating such a brochure for their own state, I'll be happy to help.)
Try having it or another basic brochure in front of you the next time you are interviewed or have to write an article on Lyme for the paper.
-------------------- Phyllis Mervine LymeDisease.org Posts: 1808 | From Ukiah, California, USA | Registered: Aug 2001
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Thanks for any help good folks--just don--
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