For people concerned about symptom flare ups after surgery
by Greg Lee / Two Frogs Healing Center
Have you seen scary monster movies? In these films, monsters are often seen as having slime dripping from them. This slime is gooey, sticky, and grosses out the people in the film. Real world creatures use slime to protect themselves.
How does knowing about slimy monsters help you to reduce symptom flare-ups after surgery?
Just like monsters in a movie, harmful bacteria in your body can produce slime
This slime is called a biofilm or plaque when it is in the mouth. On your teeth, it can feel like a film or it produces a weird taste. Lyme disease bacteria also produce and hide under biofilm slime. Unfortunately, people with Lyme disease often experience a flare-up of symptoms after surgery. This can be due to the immune system’s healing response affecting the activity of Lyme bacteria. Symptom flare-ups can also be due to other harmful bacteria being introduced into your body through surgery.
Surgery creates an opening for bacteria to wander deeper into your body
Bacteria like to grow and expand their territory wherever they can. Surgery can allow harmful bugs to get into your bloodstream which enables them to infect different parts of your body. Fortunately, your doctor gives you antibiotics after surgery to stop these germs from spreading. However, antibiotics are not always able to penetrate and kill bad bacteria that are covered by slime.
Are there other methods that can help protect you from these bugs and to heal from surgery?
Alternative medicine provides several methods for stopping slimy bacteria and healing faster from surgery
Many of these natural medicines and treatments enhance your immune system in fighting bad bacteria, cutting through biofilm slime, and speeding up your healing process. Here are some methods for breaking up the slime that can shield dangerous bacteria.
1. Enzymes help you to break down slime
There is an enzyme made from earthworms called “Lumbrokinase” that breaks down slimy biofilms in the body1. It is used by physicians to breakdown biofilms produced by infectious bacteria. It can increase bruising and is safe to use with blood thinners. Once the surgery wound has healed completely, patients can take this to reduce biofilms and scarring.
2. Herbs help you to break down slime and fight infection
One of my favorites is raw garlic. It has several healing properties: anti-bacterial, anti-toxin, and anti-biofilm (slime). I recommend chopping it into very small pieces and swallowing it with water to avoid garlic breath. It has also been recommended for treating drug resistant staph bacteria2. This herb also has an antiviral effect against cytomegalovirus and an antibiotic effect against Candida albicans, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Bacillus dysenteriae, Salmonella typhi, Vibrio cholerae, and Bacillus paratyphosus3.
Clove extract cuts through bacteria slime4 (biofilms). After oral surgery, patients can add a few drops to a ¼ glass of water and rinse their mouth out. This herb has an inhibiting effect against Vibrio cholerae, Bacillus anthracis, Salmonella typhi, Corynebacterium diptheriae, Bacillus dysenteriae, E. coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphlococcus aureus5. It is also used to treat topical fungal infections5. Other treatments and medicines help your body to heal faster with less pain and discomfort.
3. Acupuncture can help you to heal faster from surgery
Some people feel groggy or mentally confused after surgery. This may be due to the effects of anesthesia. Acupuncture has been shown to help detoxify narcotics and other chemicals more quickly out of the body6. In acupuncture studies, several acupuncture points help to stimulate the healing of bones7. These points have English translations like “Bone Binder” and “Shoulder Bone.”
4. Other Chinese Herbs help repair soft tissue
There is a very popular Chinese herbal capsule called “Yunnan Baiyao” that is specifically for healing from surgery and wounds to the body. It has also reduced intra-operative bleeding in studies in China8. It has been used for over a hundred years in Chinese hospitals without serious side effects. There is a small red pill that is to be used for emergency bleeding, like just after surgery. There are also 16 other capsules that are taken several times a day.
Another herbal tincture for healing bones and tissues is called, “Resinall K.” It is actually manufactured in the US by a company called Health Concerns. I have used it effectively for over a decade to help patients to heal broken bones and fractures and reduce pain.
5. Probiotics help to replenish your healthy bacteria when taking antibiotics
Patients are often given antibiotics to kill off harmful bacteria to help them fight infection after surgery. Unfortunately, antibiotics also kill off healthy bacteria that help to digest food. Taking probiotics helps to replenish the supply of healthy bacteria so other harmful organisms like yeast (Candida) or C-diff (colostrum difficile) do not disrupt healthy digestion. I recommend that clients take a daily probiotic with 10 billion of more live organisms a few hours after taking antibiotics.
6. Essential oils kill bacteria where they like to hide from your immune system
A dentist colleague of mine had a heart attack just after dental surgery. He thought the bacteria in his mouth were able to somehow reach and affect his heart. Some bacteria can actually hide within your blood cells and infect other parts of your body. Many antibiotics do not penetrate into blood cells. Fortunately, some essential oils have the ability to kill bacteria that are hiding in blood cells. Some also have the ability to dissolve slimy biofilms. These oils are swallowed in capsules to maximize how much you absorb. Some oils can be toxic when taken internally, so work with a health care provider that is trained in the safe use of essential oils.
7. Homeopathic remedies can help enhance healing
Homeopathic mineral cell salts help cells to heal and function more efficiently. Many people do not get enough of these salts in their diet. This is because many non-organic or highly processed food items do not contain these salts in sufficient quantity.
8. Oil pulling helps to clean out harmful bacteria from the mouth
Oil pulling is the process of swishing sunflower or coconut oil in the mouth. The oil is gently swished through the mouth for about 15 minutes. Then it is spit out. This process rinses the harmful bacteria that have grown in the mouth. Patients report that their head feels much clearer and less toxic afterward. Most people do it in the morning just before brushing their teeth.
9. Light therapy helps wounds to heal twice as fast
Imagine using a space-age infrared light that helps plants grow on the NASA Space Shuttle on your surgery wound. A doctor at the Medical College of Wisconsin has found that this light helps wounds to heal twice as fast9 and also reduces neurotoxicity in rat experiments10. Patients report reduced pain in their wounds and arthritic joints with a 90 second light treatment.
10. Craniosacral technique helps to relieve pain and improve blood flow in the head
Craniosacral technique is a gentle, hands-on pressure that can be applied to release tension around surgical areas and reduce pain. Originally developed by osteopathic physicians, this method is effective in increasing the flow of blood flow and cerebral spinal fluid, which can increase the healing of wounds.
11. Reducing the sugar in your diet helps to starve harmful bacteria
Eating sugar gives bacteria in your body more food. Eating less sugar and carbohydrates after surgery helps to reduce the population of harmful bacteria. Using a combination of these methods can accelerate your healing and reduce unwanted symptoms after surgery.
These medicines and treatments can help to reduce post-surgical pain and risk of infection
Just like getting rid of the scary, slimy monster at the end of a movie, you can use these medicines and treatments after surgery to cut through biofilms and prevent Lyme and other harmful bacteria from wandering around and infecting different parts of your body. These methods can also kill these bacteria and help your body to heal more quickly. Consult with an alternative medicine practitioner that is literate in treating biofilm illnesses like Lyme disease to enhance your healing and reduce symptom flare-ups after surgery.
– Greg
Next step: Come to our evening lecture: Getting Rid of Lyme Disease in Frederick, Maryland on Monday September 12th at 6pm to learn more about healing persistent Lyme disease.
1. Lumbrokinase. https://www.researchednutritionals.com/store/item.cfm?code=CBD202&cat=43
2. Andrew Weil. MRSA: Fending Off the Superbug? https://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400262/mrsa-fending-off-the-superbug
3. Chen, John K., and Tina T. Chen. 2004. Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology. City of Industry CA: Art of Medicine Press, Inc., pp. 1047-1048.
4. Wong RW, Hägg U, Samaranayake L, Yuen MK, Seneviratne CJ, Kao R. Antimicrobial activity of Chinese medicine herbs against common bacteria in oral biofilm. A pilot study. Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2010 Jun;39(6) pp. 599-605.
5. Chen, John K., and Tina T. Chen. 2004. Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology. City of Industry CA: Art of Medicine Press, Inc., pp. 461-462.
6. Han J, Cui C, Wu L. Acupuncture-related techniques for the treatment of opiate addiction: a case of translational medicine. Front Med. 2011 Jun;5(2) pp. 141-50
7. Miwa Nakajima, Motohiro Inoue, Tatsuya Hojo, Nozomu Inoue, Kazuto Tanaka, Ryota Takatori, Megumi Itoi. Effect of electroacupuncture on the healing process of tibia fracture in a rat model: a randomised controlled trial. Acupunct Med 2010;28 pp. 140-143
8. Li NC, Pan BN, Wang HJ, Li HZ, Wei Q, Wang XH, Cai SL, Gan WM, Na YQ. Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi. The effect of Yunnan Baiyao on reduction of intra-operative bleeding of the patients undergoing transurethral resection of prostate. Institute of Urology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China. 2007 Apr 17;87(15) pp. 1017-20.
9. Whelan HT, Smits RL, Buchmann EV, Whelan NT, Turner SG, Margolis DA, Crevenini V, Stinson H, Ignatius R, Martin T, Cwiklinski J, Philippi AF, Graf WR, Hodgson B, Gould L, Kane M, Chen G, Caviness J: Effect of NASA Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) Irradiation on Wound Healing J. Clin. Laser Med. Surg 2001;1 pp. 16-19.
10. Liang HL, Whelan HT, Eells JT, Wong-Riley M: Near-Infrared Light via Light-Emitting Diode Treatment is Therapeutic Against Rotenone- and MPP+- Induced Neurotoxicity. Neuroscience 153(4)963-974, 2008.