When I see people striding over the Dorset hills and fields around us with bare legs (and arms), my husband has to nearly physically restrain me from shouting at them: ‘Don’t you know about Lyme disease, you wotnots!’

Over the last couple of decades I’ve known people be so severely affected that they’ve lost brain and body health, jobs and marriages. I had lunch recently with two couples where both husbands had contracted Lyme very seriously; one had spent weeks in hospital. It can take years to recover – and full recovery is not a given. It’s a beast.

While conventional medicine is limited in what it can offer – mostly antibiotics, which is more likely to be effective if it’s diagnosed within 28 days – herbal medicine has a positive armoury. A new book called Lost in Lyme: The Therapeutic Use of Medicinal Plants in Supporting People with Lyme Disease offers a comprehensive resource for health professionals and much useful information for patients. The book is written by medical herbalist Julia Behrens, who has specialised in treating patients suffering from Lyme disease, with nutritionist and chef Daphne Lambert.

What is Lyme disease: A.k.a. Borreliosis, Lyme is a bacterial infection spread to humans by infected ticks, which feed on blood and can affect the immune system. The name comes from the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, the main disease-causing species. The condition gained its name when it was first recognised in the 1970s in Lyme, Connecticut.

How many people are affected? There’s a growing incidence of Lyme disease, due to travel and the bug’s changing habits. The British government estimates there are 3 to 4,000 new cases each year. Ticks are mainly found in grassy and wooded areas, including urban parks and gardens.

Contracting Lyme disease can happen year round but is more common during spring and summer when the ticks are active and hungry. (And people are out and about wearing shorts and sleeveless tops.)

Can you test for Lyme disease? The blood test is called ELISA but reliability is erratic and NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recommends doctors rely on assessing the symptoms and the patient’s history eg have they been in areas where ticks are prevalent.

NICE recommends that anyone with a red ‘bulls eye’ rash is diagnosed and treated immediately without laboratory testing. However, the rash occurs in only a minority of patients. You can read the NICE guidelines here.

Symptoms: The Horowitz/MSIDS (Multiple Systemic Infectious Disease Syndrome) questionnaire is a 38-point assessment, which you can find here.

Symptoms may include the following, which can occur weeks or months after the tick bite.

• Disturbed sleep

• Disorientation

• Vertigo

• Floaters in the eyes

• Blurred vision

• Tinnitus

• Facial paralysis (Bell’s palsy)

• Shortness of breath

• Swollen glands

• Cough

• Neck pain

• Fever, sweats, chills

• Awareness of the heart

• Palpitations

• Sore ribs

• Shooting pains, or stabling sensation

• Upset stomach

• Skin sensitivity

• Bladder problems

• Joint pain

However, it’s important to say that such symptoms could be due to other underlying conditions so, for anyone suffering such symptoms, it’s vital to get checked out by your health professional as soon as possible. And please don’t get fobbed off – that’s happened to several people I know and it’s resulted in them missing timely treatment with antibiotics and being ill for much longer.

Prevention:

To avoid the possibility of meeting me and being squawked at, take these simple precautions:

• Cover up: wear long trousers/leggings tucked into socks and long-sleeved shirts tucked into a waistband; light-coloured clothing makes it easier to see ticks

• Don’t wear open-toed sandals or shoes in long grass anywhere – country or town

• Use strong insect repellent; talk to your pharmacist about the best product

• Stay on clear paths as much as possible in grassy/wooded areas

• Shower as soon as possible when you get back to wash off any loose ticks; check all over closely, using a mirror. Don't forget underarms, hair/hairline, ears, waist, behind your knees and inside your belly button (sorree!)

• To kill off any lurking ticks, put outdoor clothes in the dryer on hot for at least 10 minutes then wash

• Check pets daily if they spend time outdoors but never remove ticks on animals with bare fingers (I used to squeeze them out of my horses until I learnt about Lyme; now I wear gloves and remove them with a nifty gadget or tweezers)

Finally: if you choose to go to a medical herbalist or other practitioner, check that they are appropriately qualified and experienced. Usually, it’s best to find them through the relevant professional organisation.

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