Tag Archives: video

TickTracker App

Prevention Tips, Uncategorized, Video May 6, 2022 Leave a comment

What a great idea. Identify and record the location of ticks you find, see what kinds have been found around you, and learn how to safely remove them. Check it out, and learn more at the foundation she started, by clicking here: LivLyme

Video: “Facts to Save Your Life” by Gabbi Hicks

Lyme Basics, Symptoms: How Do You Feel?, Tips for Family and Friends, Video April 29, 2015 Leave a comment

Look at this young woman. She looks pretty fine, doesn’t she?

Now listen to her words. Really listen. (Well, it’s kinda hard not to, she’s so compelling).  Continue reading →

Video: “What Makes Ticks Stick”

Co-infections, Lyme Basics, Ticks: Where It all Starts, Video April 24, 2014 Comments: 5

If you’re like me, you’ll appreciate this,  a close-up view of how a tick attaches to people. These images may just stick in your mind and spur you to check for ticks daily.

Do ticks live through winter? Research says yes! You can’t protect yourself 100%, but we need to do all we can to lower the odds of getting Lyme—or getting reinfected.

Video: “The Biology of Lyme: An Expert’s Perspective”

Lyme and the Brain, Lyme Basics, Testing, Video August 13, 2013 1 Comment

Meet Dr. Alan MacDonald. Okay, so he’s a little wonky when he goes into the scientific details—he’s a pathologist. But remember, those details speak to his credibility. And in this July 2013 YouTube video, he serves up some excellent big-picture explanations that we can all understand.

You might be surprised by some of the details he offers in a variety of areas, including these (keep your cursor on the bottom of the screen to keep minutes visible and zoom to these highlights):

  • what we can learn from syphilis as it relates to its “cousin” Lyme (4:00)
  • how Lyme infects just about any part of the human body (6:15)
  • what MacDonald found when studying the brains of people who had dementia (8:19)
  • how the current U.S. Lyme test is based on only one strain, although there are at least 100 known here—and more in Europe (8:28)

The ongoing work of dedicated researchers like Dr. MacDonald is critical to filling the holes in current knowledge about Lyme disease.

Continue reading →

Video: Landmark Lyme Testing Law in Virginia

Testing, Video February 20, 2013 1 Comment

March 4, 2013, was a great day for getting the word out about testing for Lyme, the sixth-fastest-growing infectious disease in the country: Virginia became the first state in the nation requiring doctors to tell patients that their Lyme test results may not be accurate.

With the signature of Governor Robert F. McDonnell, who convened a task force on Lyme in 2011, Virginians will gain a better chance of early diagnosis and treatment.

That’s great news for Virginians, and great news for others across the globe seeking similar legislation.

Continue reading →

Video: Controversy Over Lyme in Australia

Co-infections, Lyme and the Brain, Lyme Basics, Video February 1, 2013 Leave a comment

It’s not just places in the U.S. where people are told, “No lyme here.”

In this video posted on YouTube from Australia’s “Today Tonight” (aired 13 February 2012), a government health official says people with lyme in Australia most likely got infected elsewhere.

Patients interviewed say otherwise.

Note: For those not familiar with lyme at its worst, I must warn you that the interviews are graphic examples of the suffering inflicted by persistent lyme disease.

See another “Today Tonight” lyme report about a 3-year-old infected with lyme here.

And here’s research on coinfections in Australia. 

For more information on lyme down under, visit the Lyme Disease Association of Australia. 

 

Video: “Under Our Skin”

Lyme Basics, Prevention Tips, Video January 27, 2013 Comments: 2

If you haven’t seen the compelling and award-winning lyme documentary “Under our Skin” by Open Eye Pictures, check out the trailer above from YouTube.  It doesn’t seem to be streaming for free any more but see below for info on how to buy it or arrange a screening in your area.

Through interviews with people living the nightmare of chronic lyme as well as the doctors and researchers deeply committed to helping them recover, you’ll learn about this hidden epidemic.

It’s all here, from the shameful treatment of many patients by some in the medical establishment who deny the very existence of persistent lyme to the inaccuracies of testing and the impacts of this insidious illness on individuals and families.

You’ll also hear success stories from people who found health again thanks to lyme literate doctors. If enough people see this film, maybe we can attain the long overdue public awareness and action this health crisis deserves.

To buy the DVD, find out about screenings in your community, or to sign up to host a screening, visit www.underourskin.com.

UPDATE: The sequel, an Academy Award runner up, is now available! PLEASE SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND EMAIL. We need this information to reach beyond those already impacted.

Video: Making a Difference

Staying Positive, Video December 21, 2012 1 Comment

On a day like today when pain and other symptoms ratchet up and I am totally lymed-out, I can’t get outside to restore my spirits with a healing dose of Nature.

I’ve found, however,  that online natural history videos can be a decent substitute.  I’ve really been missing my work in ocean conservation, so this one called “Saving Valentina” by the Great Whale Conservancy caught my attention.

I share it here not only because it is one of the most amazing wildlife videos I have ever seen, but also because it says so much about life. Sure, it conveys the stunning beauty of whales.

But this story also celebrates the individual action that can make a big difference: Action by a few people in a tiny boat with one small knife saving the life of one of the largest creatures on Earth.

It makes me think of the lyme literate doctors who act with knowledge, courage, and perseverence to help those whose lives are compromised and endangered by lyme disease at a time when the medical community is divided by controversy over this illness. 

Valentina’s boundless joy in the last three minutes of the video says it all. See for yourself.

Video: Did You Know Ticks Can Transmit Lots of Infections—Like Babesiosis?

Co-infections, Ticks: Where It all Starts, Video December 10, 2012 Comments: 2

I’m very lucky to have wonderful neighbors. One of them, Marilyn, called me the other day to say she’d seen this segment of “Monsters Inside Me” on Discovery’s Animal Planet. It explores the case of a Lyme patient who was not recovering, and her doctor’s discovery that she had babesia caused by the parasite Babesia microti. Marilyn knows I’m being treated for Lyme and wanted to make sure I knew about this co-infection. She got the message: Lyme patients with babesia need treatment for that along with Lyme in order to recover. I’m also lucky to have a Lyme literate doctor who checked me for co-infections at the start because I had soaking night sweats, a key symptom; my treatment is going well. Babesia can also cause the spleen to rupture; read one patient’s story here. The good news is, babesia can be treated. But first it has to be diagnosed. Please, share this video to help get the word out. And if you want lots more information on babesia symptoms and treatment, see this video by Dr. Robert Horowitz of the Hudson Valley Healing Arts Center in New York. 

Video: Negative Thinking Got You Down? “Stop It.”

Humor, Mental Health, Staying Positive, Video December 5, 2012 1 Comment

I tend to call it “going around the mulberry bush.” My therapist calls it circular thinking. But the best analogy, the one that truly tells you how irritating repetitive negative thinking can be, is “like a broken record.”

To those of you too young to have heard a record skip, trust me. The grating sound sets you on edge just like this destructive thought process.

Negative thoughts start zooming around in your brain, one begets another, and pretty soon they are following each other in a maddening loop that keeps playing over and over. The loop invades your days, and it wakes you from slumber at 3 a.m.

“What if I never get better. What if I can’t get my life back. What if I can’t keep my job. What if I lose my house and savings because of out-of-pocket medical costs. What if my spouse/partner/friends abandon me? What if…”

I have two words for you from the great comedian and t.v. therapist Bob Newhart: Stop it. (Sure, this video is tongue-in-cheek and there’s certainly a time for professional therapy. But sometimes you can change the perambulations of your mind all by yourself. And humor definitely helps.)

Cultivate the mental discipline to cut those thoughts off with one swipe of a magic scythe. Because you don’t have room in your life for stress right now.

To recover fully, you need more than medication to kill the bacteria; you need a strong immune system. Do all you can to avoid stress. Start by watching this video. Hopefully you’ll enjoy a laugh.

Then, listen for Bob Newhart’s voice whenever you catch yourself pointlessly repeating worries.  And just stop it.