Hi Scroggins and welcome!
I have been healed for over 13 years and used alternative medicine. I never once herxed probably because I followed a detox regimen and even after I healed I still continue to detox.
Everyone is different when it comes to herxes (should not be common) and in my opinion it is best if a person does not experience any herxes because a toxin overload can be dangerous.
The true definition of a Jarisch-Herxheimer (Herx) reaction means a worsening of the patient's symptoms in response to the increased release of bacterial die-off toxins. Those toxins go into the bloodstream and are circulated throughout the body until they can be eliminated or become lodged in tissues.
Most are neurotoxins and those lodged toxins are part of the reason that symptoms can persist even after the lyme infection is gone.
Herxing is a sign that one's body is not detoxing as it should. The problem with most chronic lyme sufferers is that their body is toxic to begin with.
Thus most herxes can be avoided if a person is on a detox regimen such as:
1. Using an Infra-red Sauna
2. Dry skin brushing (remember that your skin is your largest living organ):
This involves taking a dry, stiff-bristled brush and brushing your skin in long, upward strokes toward the direction of your heart to stimulate the flow of stagnant lymph throughout your body. This is important because lymph carries nutrients to the cells, shuttles waste from the cells to the eliminatory organs for excretion by the body and enables treatments to more easily reach the cells. Dry skin brushing should be done daily for optimal benefit.
Below is taken from Dr. Jernigan's free book online:
http://lymebook.com/david-jernigan-treatment-of-lyme-disease3. Epsom Salt Baths:
• 4–6 cups Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate)
• 32–64 fluid ounces of hydrogen peroxide (3%, as found in grocery stores)
• 2–4 Tbsp. of ginger (preferably fresh-grated and wrapped in a thin piece of cloth or a tea ball. An old piece of nylon hose also works well).
This and all bath therapies work best if you first dry brush the skin on your entire body. This removes any dead skin that may otherwise block the absorption of energy and nutrients. It also stimulates the blood and lymph fluids to rise to the skin to accept the healing effects of the bath.
Instructions for the bath are as follows:
• Fill your tub with warm water. Add the ingredients.
• Soak for at least 20 minutes. The beneficial effects of this bath are cumulative and increase in effectiveness the more that you use them.
• Do for at least seven consecutive days or as recommended by your doctor. Continue to use daily, or as needed.
• Do not use if you are pregnant.
What the bath ingredients do:
First, hydrogen peroxide is a simple, nontoxic molecule of H2O2 that is beneficial in oxidizing (breaking down) toxins as well as killing anaerobic microbes. It also detoxifies pesticides and petroleum-based toxins, and oxidizes metals. It is naturally produced by macrophages in the body to kill harmful bacteria. Most harmful bacteria are anaerobic and cannot survive in the presence of oxygen or hydrogen peroxide. Cancer cells are also often very sensitive to oxygen and cannot survive in oxygen-rich environments.
Secondly, Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) help to stabilize hydrogen peroxide so that its ultimate breakdown into water and free oxygen is more gradual and beneficial to the body. Recent research has shown that when you soak in a bath of magnesium sulfate, both magnesium and sulfate increase measurably in your blood and urine. The Epsom Salt Council reports the following about
the benefits of magnesium in Epsom salt baths:
“Magnesium, a major component of Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate), is the second-most abundant element in human cells and the fourth-most important positively charged ion in the body. Magnesium also helps to regulate the activity of more than 325 enzymes and performs a vital role in orchestrating many bodily functions, from muscle control and electrical impulses to energy production and the elimination of harmful toxins.”
In addition, raising magnesium levels may do all of the following:
• Improve heart and circulatory health, which in turn reduces irregular heartbeats and blood clots, prevents hardening of the arteries and lowers blood pressure
• Improve the body’s ability to use insulin, thereby reducing the incidence or severity of diabetes
• Flush toxins and heavy metals from the cells, easing muscle pain and helping the body to eliminate harmful substances
• Improve nerve function by regulating electrolytes. Also, calcium is the main conductor for electrical current in the body, and magnesium is necessary to maintain proper calcium levels in the blood.
• Relieve stress. Excess adrenaline and stress are believed to drain magnesium, a natural stress reliever, from the body. Magnesium is necessary for the body to bind adequate amounts of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of wellbeing and relaxation.
The “sulfate” part of Epsom salt confers its own unique benefits to the body. The form of sulfate used in Epsom salts must not be confused with “sulfa” drugs, to which some people are allergic. People who are allergic to sulfa drugs will not react to the sulfate in Epsom salt. The benefits of sulfate are summarized by Dr. Rosemary Waring of the School of Biosciences in Birmingham, England:
• Oral sulfate supplements cannot be easily absorbed across the gut walls; therefore, by soaking in this bath, sulfate can be more efficiently supplemented.
• Sulfate is essential for many biological processes, including the formation of proteins in joints. Decreased sulfate levels are common in the plasma and joint synovial fluids in cases of arthritis. Sulfate is also low in people with irritable bowel syndrome.
• Sulfate is necessary for sulfation, which is a major pathway in the body used for detoxifying drugs and endogenous toxins from within the body or exogenous (environmental) toxins.
• Sulfate is necessary for the repair and formation of brain tissue. Reduced levels of sulfate can lead to faulty neurological connections and subsequent dysfunction.
• Sulfate is needed for the proper digestion and utilization of digestive enzymes.
• Sulfate is essential for the production of mucin, a protein that lines the intestines. Mucin stops food and drugs from sticking to the lining of the intestines. It also blocks the transport of toxins from the gut into the bloodstream.
Finally, ginger
opens up the pores of the skin and increases blood flow at the surface of the skin so that the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide can do its work of detoxifying poisons, and killing bacteria and fungi. The pores
open wider so that the magnesium sulfate can be more readily absorbed. Ginger is invigorating and can stimulate perspiration for the elimination of toxins.
Once again, there is no reason a person should experience herxes if their detoxification pathways are
open and they follow a strict detox protocol.
Hope this helps,
Denise