LymeSci Blog

Lonnie Marcum

is a Physical Therapist, with a dual degree in health administration and physical therapy. She has a passion for helping people heal from illness and injury by treating the whole body. She became active in the Lyme community after her daughter was diagnosed with tick-borne diseases in 2013. She now devotes much time to learning about Lyme and related conditions, and sharing that knowledge via social media. Her blog, LymeSci, seeks to help patients understand the science of tick-borne diseases and new developments in research.

LYME SCI: Help! I’ve gotten a tick bite. Now what?

NOV

2019

Tick season is in full-swing. How do I know that? I wake up practically every day to another text or email from a friend or relative telling me they had a tick bite. Last week, I got a desperate call from a relative whose son had found a tick embedded in his skin after a camping... Read More »

LYME SCI: On the road to better ways of testing for Lyme disease

OCT

2019

There are several existing tests for Lyme available to physicians. Some are better than others at detecting disease. But while these tests may help your doctor diagnose you, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will only count Lyme cases that test positive by an... Read More »

LYME SCI: Want to solve the Lyme wars? How about an accurate test?

OCT

2019

Much of the controversy surrounding Lyme disease could be settled with an accurate test. One that could detect 100% of infection—and determine when the infection has been cleared. We don’t have that now. Fortunately, many researchers are working on the problem. A step in the... Read More »

LYME SCI: Finding encouragement at Stanford’s Lyme conference

SEP

2019

It had been six years and two months since I’d driven down the lane leading into Stanford. Not gonna lie. Driving past the hospital triggered a little PTSD. In 2014, my daughter was acutely ill. Referred by her pediatrician, we went from an inpatient stay at Stanford’s pediatric... Read More »

LYME SCI: Early diagnosis necessitates Lyme-savvy doctors

AUG

2019

The following are my written comments to the ninth meeting of the Tick-borne Disease Working Group (TBDWG) on June 4, 2019. Dear Members of the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group: My name is Lonnie Marcum. I am a physical therapist in California. Seven years ago, I had to quit work... Read More »

LYME SCI: Ticks are worldwide. We all need to learn more about them.

JUL

2019

A 17-year-old dies of Lyme carditis, a toddler falls into a coma after a tick bite, another mother recalls “He loved to dance,” after losing her one-year-old to Lyme disease. Clearly, ticks and their diseases are things we all need to learn more about, to protect ourselves and... Read More »

LYME SCI: Found a tick on your dog? What you need to know.

JUN

2019

how to protect your dog from tick diseases

As much as we love our furry friends, we all have to face one fact—owning a pet increases our exposure to tick bites. Mostly because our pets roam outside, then allow ticks to hitchhike back inside where we live. One recent study demonstrated that when compared to households... Read More »

LYME SCI: Seeking better treatments for persistent Lyme disease

APR

2019

A new study in mice sheds more light on the question of Lyme disease symptoms that persist after a “standard” course of antibiotic treatment. These findings from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) may lead to more effective treatment for human patients with persistent Lyme disease... Read More »

LYME SCI: Nerve damage shown in patients with chronic Lyme symptoms

MAR

2019

Many Lyme disease patients report severe chronic pain, numbness and tingling, even after they have supposedly “completed” treatment for Lyme disease. But up until recently, there hasn’t been an objective way to measure those symptoms. You had to report them to the... Read More »