Did you know that the dreaded Japanese Knotweed is used to kill the bug which causes the equally dreaded Lyme disease? In the summer-time, the English countryside must be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Towering Oaks, rivers of swaying grasses with drifts of buttercups and puffs of cow parsley in fields of cows, lambs and deer make for that classic rural idyll.
However, within those long grasses can often lurk ticks, some of which host Borrelia, the bacteria which causes Lyme Disease. Borrelia is a spiral shaped bacteria which screws itself very quickly into your tissues and from there triggers really horrible long-term symptoms such as brain fog, nerve damage, tremendous fatigue, headaches, fever and joint pain. If conditions become unfavourable for the spirochete, it simply morphs into its cystic, making it completely immune to all antibiotics; and then reconverts when conditions become favourable again. This is why you want to kill it as soon as possible, before it is able to travel to the far reaches of your body and take up residence, with the potential to make you very unwell, even years after the tick bite.
If you are bitten by a tick, please treat this as an emergency. Early signs are fever, a circular rash, headache, muscle and joint pain, and fatigue, suggesting that the tick has transmitted the spirochete into your body; and if that has happened, we must kill it as soon as possible.
Treating Lyme is not easy. There are herbs which are very helpful, one of which is the Japanese Knotweed, but one needs to be very careful in using these as they are extremely strong. If you think that you have been bitten by a tick it is important to contact your GP as soon as possible. If, however, you cannot access your GP, call me, and I will send some herbs until you get tested. Lyme is not an illness anyone wants to get.
For ordinary bites, rashes and stings, Itchy Bite Soothing Gel is wonderful, and will give immediate relief. “Best gel ever!” said a lovely lady yesterday who had a horrible itchy rash all over her arms.
The NHS website has a step by step guide on how to remove ticks.