A Naturopathic Approach to Chronic Disease (Lyme, Mold, Viral Infections, Infectious Disease, Ozone) 

In the latter part of the nineteenth century, the practice of naturopathy took hold in the United States, thanks to a German known as Benedict Lust.

Naturopathy is a branch of medicine that is heavily influenced by Ayurvedic medicine. It involves the use of natural cures to render a holistic resolution of an individual’s health issues.

Principally, naturopathy is premised on six main guidelines.

The first is ‘do no harm.’ This principle advocates for recognizing and respecting a patient’s healing process. It means helping the patient by using the least amount of force and aiding the body heal itself instead.

The second principle is ‘use nature’s healing power,’ meaning all the treatments are natural therapies. 

Thirdly, there is the principle that naturopathy aims to treat causes rather than symptoms. This principle is closely related to the fourth one, requiring that naturopaths strive to treat the whole person.

The treatment is a holistic approach to wellness and looks beyond the symptoms that a patient presents.

In line with this are the last two principles that ‘the doctor is a teacher’ and ‘naturopathy is preventive.’ They mean that naturopaths must not only treat their patients but also educate them on the best way to live a disease-free life.

With this sum up in mind, let us look at how naturopathy interacts with some chronic and infectious diseases.

Naturopathic Medicine and Lyme disease

In its most prevalent form, Lyme disease is caused by a type of bacteria known as Borrelia Burgdorferi sensu lato complex that is common in ticks.

According to experts, signs of Lyme disease include fever, stiff neck, chills, a rash, Headache, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, dizziness, body aches, brain fog, and migrating joint pain.

In chronic cases, patients also suffer from palpitations and short breath, neuropathic symptoms such as tingling sensations, and insomnia.

The first symptom of Lyme disease is a painless rash and fatigue. Tropically, patients exhibit small red bumps on the skin where the tick bite occurred.

Naturopathy is employed in the treatment of Lyme disease through several types of therapy. 

One of the critical modes of treatment is Ozone therapy, where Ozone (O3) is infused into the patient’s body. The purpose of the Ozone is to promote oxidation and eradication of pathogens by the body.

Ozone therapy may be used alongside the administration of high doses of vitamin C and Glutathione. These are rich in antioxidants. 

Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant found in plants and aids in the prevention of cellular damage. 

Naturopathy’s Ozone Treatment

As mentioned before, Ozone therapy involves the introduction of Ozone gas (O3) into the body to fight disease.

Ozone therapy is categorized into 10-pass Ozone therapy and Ozone insufflation therapy. 

The 10-pass Ozone treatment is an intensive method of treating Lyme disease. Its intensity is since it penetrates deeper into the body compared to the reach of other intravenous therapies.

It involves drawing a patient’s blood, mixing it with Ozone gas then transfusing the blood back into the patient.

The introduction of Ozone results in higher Oxygen concentration in the patient’s body and a resulting increase its oxidative effects towards any antigen or pathogen potentially in the body. The oxidative effects will induce a “die off reaction” resulting potentially a HERTZ reaction – typically symptoms include: fatigue, night sweats, mood swings, and joint pain. 

On the other hand, Ozone insufflation therapy involves introducing the O3 gas into the patient’s body. Typically uses of ozone insufflation include: rectal, vaginal, auricular and nasal. 

Ozone insufflation may be done through rectal insufflation processes, which is helpful for both its antibacterial, antiviral and antiinflammatory properties.

Naturopathic Medicine and Mold Toxicity

By itself, most mold is non-toxic. However, molds produce substances known as mycotoxins which are disease-causing pathogens.

Ingestion of these toxic metabolites may happen in several ways. For starters, a patient may have eaten grains containing mycotoxins due to fungi on the said grains.

Also, moldy walls and surfaces may result in the inhalation of mycotoxins by the inhabitants of such premises.

So, what are the symptoms of mycotoxin affliction? The most common symptoms include chronic fatigue, rashes, ADHD, depression, and COPD. 

Mycotoxins may trigger secondary afflictions such as Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or even cancer in severe cases.  

Naturopathic doctors use restorative measures in treating mold infections—these center around providing immune boosters for the patient.

These help the body fight the current infection and provide a more robust inbuilt defense mechanism against future exposure to mycotoxins.

These measures include introducing vitamin C, ALA (alpha lipoic acid), Selenium, and Zinc to fortify the body’s defenses. 

Understanding diagnostic laboratory data is important to see what the immune system is doing (lymphocyte subset panel, comprehensive blood work, viral panel to check for co-infections, and urine heavy metals to see if the person has internalized heavy metals into the soft tissues) 

Ozone therapy may also be used in conjunction with these measures to aid the body in eradicating pathogens and mycotoxins from the blood. Ozone insufflation may be beneficial (sinuses) as mold species can replicate in the sinus passages & exacerbate neurological symptoms. 

Based on an evaluation of the patient’s lifestyle, the doctors advised on the likely culprit areas where mold exposure is expected to occur and the best way to avoid it in the future.

Naturopathic Medicine and Viral Infections

The fatigue brought on by constant viral infections can dampen anyone’s day. It can rob you of precious moments that you could otherwise have spent productively. 

Viral infections such as EBV, CMV, HHV-6/7, Herpes viruses and Coronavirus are just a few of the ailments that have made headlines recently. A more common disorder that has existed from time immemorial is the common cold or flu.

Viral infections are quite common but the chronic viral illnesses are troublesome such as chronic EBV. As EBV causes very vague symptoms – joint pain, fatigue, night sweats, and insomnia. A person quite just write off these symptoms but they may be worsening the disease state over a period of time.

Eradicating these chronic viruses is important to decrease inflammation out of the body and prevent a weakened immune system which leads the body more susceptible to other diseases and conditions.

A few treatments used at LIVV are ozone therapy, alpha lipoic acid IVs, high dose vitamin C, glutathione, detoxing herbal supplements, infrared sauna, and diet/lifestyle changes within naturopathic medicine. 

The naturopathic doctors at Livv natural employ Immune IV as one of the ways to combat viral infections. 

Immune IV works by scaling up a patient’s immune capabilities. It may be administered orally or via a drip and guarantees a 100% absorption of critical nutrients in as little as 15 minutes.

Based on the doctor’s appreciation and understanding of the particular patient’s lifestyle, they render advice on the best ways in which you can enhance your immunity.

These include forms of exercise, sleep, and diet that the patient needs to undertake.

Naturopathy and Infectious Diseases

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the cardinal principles of naturopathy- ‘first, ‘do no harm’ comes to the fore.

When dealing with infectious diseases, naturopaths will always advocate for containment of the illness even as they seek to treat the afflicted person.

They will advocate for measures that isolate the infected person and restrict the pathogen’s further spread to healthy individuals.

Aside from isolation, prevention of further spread includes sneezing into one’s elbow, wearing face masks, good hygiene, and social distancing measures. 

All these are non-invasive naturopathic remedies that seek to forestall further spread.

Additional steps include taking foods rich in vitamin C, fruits, vegetables, and a healthy dose of daily exercise.

Some most common symptoms of contagious diseases include Diarrhea, coughing, muscle aches, fatigue, and fever.

Infectious diseases may be bacterial or viral and may be spread by a host of vectors, including animals and insects.