At a glance:
Now that we have set the stage with all of the essential background information regarding stealth infections, we can move on to how to fix it. Don’t feel hopeless, thousands of people have healed from stealth infections–even the most debilitating ones like Late-Stage Lyme–and moved forward with their lives. And you can too!
While it is important to address the pathogens and control their numbers, it is equally if not more important to place focus on the immune system–strengthening it if it is weak and regulating it if it is overactive–getting required nutrition, and reducing whatever stressors led to your body allowing stealth pathogens to become stealth infections.
To complicate the picture further, stealth infections are commonly found alongside other factors such as heavy metals, mycotoxins, or physical/mental trauma. Some stealth infections are also capable of causing autoimmunity long after the organisms have been treated and presumed to be eradicated. This mixture of factors can make solving stealth infections more complex, but still very possible with trained practitioners who knows how to handle all of the above.
Let’s review the available methods for testing and assessment of stealth pathogens, as well as my favorite supplements, tools, and therapies to overcome these unwelcome organisms.
Conventional and alternative testing methods can help identify stealth pathogens as a cause of health symptoms and loss of athletic performance. While testing is not perfect–a semi-healthy body is required to even produce an antibody response against a pathogen–it can potentially provide the missing link in your health mystery.
The Western Blot test is the only way to formally diagnose Lyme, according to the CDC. This test can be performed on blood, synovial fluid (joints), and cerebrospinal fluid. It is an antibody test that has very strict interpretation requirements in terms of testing positive for Lyme. It is considered, by conventional terms, to be more accurate and specific than other prior testing techniques.
Most Lyme disease and co-infection tests are designed to detect antibodies made by the body in response to infection. Unfortunately, antibodies can take several weeks to months to develop, so patients may test negative if infected only recently. If you recognize you have been bitten by insects, especially ticks, lice, or fleas, this may be a good reason to treat preventatively with holistic means.
Generally, conventional testing does not opt to look for co-infections in addition to Lyme. Antibody blood tests or throat swabs exist for other stealth infections like Strep and Epstein-Barr Virus and may be easier to make a diagnosis from than Lyme testing. Many practitioners in the functional medicine field have realized that relying on testing alone can cause an individual to not receive care that may need.
At Vagus Clinic, we use a number of testing options to identify stealth infections as the root cause of your symptoms. In addition to the conventional tests listed above, other tests to consider include:
Next, it is time to work toward reducing the pathogen load that is placing stress on your body and change any lifestyle factors that allowed these infections to take hold in the first place.
Post-Lyme Disease Syndrome” (PLDS) is a term used to describe the persistence of Lyme disease symptoms despite antibiotic therapies. A person may temporarily feel better, but have relapsing of symptoms. PLDS is autoimmune in nature; the body continues to attack and destroy its own tissues, even long after antibiotic therapy, thinking there are pathogens inside. This autoimmune dysregulation can lead to widespread inflammation, immune hyperreactivity,and mid- to late-stage Lyme disease symptoms over time. [2]
Lyme can be hard to test for, as Borrelia can “shape-shift”, altering its cell membrane characteristics to evade detection by the immune system. The body knows something is not right but often cannot identify the invader. Thus, non-specific tissue damage will occur as immune white blood cells like neutrophils and macrophages infiltrate the tissues looking for pathogens to destroy.
Another consideration is the fact that broad-spectrum antibiotics like doxycycline destroy both good and bad bacteria. The goal is that hopefully, the good bacteria rebound faster than the bad ones and health is restored. Unfortunately, broad-spectrum antibiotics with not kill every single organism of a given species. If the immune system tanks again in the future, these low, asymptomatic levels may reactivate into infections.
Again, this proves the importance of regaining and maintaining balance in the body as opposed to participating in overtraining, poor lifestyle choices, and antibiotic overuse to feel temporarily better.
Interestingly, many people experience resolution of health symptoms with treatment even in cases where testing shows up negative. This is why approaching the situation with holistic methods, like herbs and nutrition, to see if symptoms improve can be safer than haphazardly throwing an atom bomb of antibiotics at your body.
While it is not always possible to prevent transmission of stealth infections–and that is why it’s a good idea to be ready with remedies and a functional medicine practitioner in mind–there are specific steps you can take to limit your exposure to stealth infections:
In general, potent antibitocs like doxycycline or amoxicillin are given orally for 2 to 4 weeks. Some doctors prescribe them preventatively directly after a tick bite, while other prescribe them after a positive lab test confirms diagnosis.
In many cases, these drugs work well to decrease the symptom severity and prevent the progression of the disease. Unfortunately, there is a high level of reactivation and PLDS experienced after antibiotic treatment. This may be due in part to disruption of the healthy gut microbes who are killed by antibiotics.
Giving antibiotics for pathogens like Babesia–a protozoan parasite–and Epstein-Barr–a virus–can be very harmful to the immune system and microbiome, as antibiotics are only effective against bacteria. Different treatments, natural or conventional, are required for different types of organisms. Additionally, using medication is only effective when lifestyle changes happen that prevent the same circumstances that allowed the stealth infection to occur. In severe cases, intravenous drugs may have to be administered to resolve the symptoms. Unfortunately, most doctors only prescribe medication to kill microbes and do not recommend nutrition, antibiotic-resistant probiotics, or immune-supportive supplements to aid in the process.
At the Vagus Clinic, we prefer to start with a targeted, holistic approach to resolving stealth infections whenever possible. The following tools can be extremely helping in regaining your health–as well as preventing stealth infections in the first place.
My personal favourite “tool” is utilizing deep nutrition and digestion support during the season, and targeted detoxification with anti-microbial protocols during the off-season, so you can play at your peak.
My other favorite tools:
Here are some of my favorite supplements for addressing stealth infections and fortifying the body against their return. Check out the links to my e-store, or work with my clinic for an individually tailored plan!
Herbal Anti-microbial Support:
Many of these formulas can also be effective for other stealth pathogens, so working with a skilled practitioner who can figure out the combination you need is essential.
Binders:
Organ Support:
Essential Nutrients:
Bringing down inflammation, regulating the immune system, and preventing the conditions that started the infection in the first place are all key parts of sustainably healing from stealth pathogens.
Inflammation and Immune Supports:
If your primary care physician and physical therapist can’t figure out why their protocols aren’t working, make sure to consider stealth infections. I highly encourage you to find and work with a functional medicine practitioner who is literate with the different stealth infections and how they can present–especially in athletes. A skilled practitioner can help determine the correct approach to treatment, even if standard testing doesn’t reveal anything useful.
At Vagus Clinic, we go the extra mile for you and aim to provide the best, most comprehensive care so you can focus on your fitness or athletic career–while also addressing health and performance-related concerns.
After working on hundreds of patients, including anyone from NHL and NFL players from all across Canada and the United States, to everyday people who care about their health and fitness longevity, I have found a secret in improving performance: address symptoms from all angles, and even if it seems unrelated, always check for stealth infections! Ridding your body of a heavy pathogen load could be the key in taking your performance to the next level.
Addressing underlying toxins and infections is essential. What I find most commonly is Lyme and co-infections–and sometimes other microbes–causing inflammation, immune dysregulation, mental health problems, and damaging muscles, joints, and nervous system, which obviously leads to lowered performance.
It is striking how few pro athletes or practitioners are focused on removing interference and addressing habits that may invite imbalance into the body, in order to enhance performance. If you care about your athletic longevity, find a functional medicine practitioner who keeps this concept in mind.
If there is one thing to take away from this series, remember, even healthy people can have these organisms in their body–lying dormant until the terrain shifts and immune system can no longer keep them in check. The most important factor is keeping your immune system and body healthy, well-nourish, and not overtrained or overstressed for any reason.
I really hope you enjoyed this series on how stealth infections can affect your athletic performance–and how to overcome them! If you are ready to investigate stealth infections and regain peak performance, call or text the Vagus clinic at (416) 649-6489 or schedule your free 20-minute discovery call here!
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