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Red Oak Farm
3040 Big Buck Road
Trezevant, TN 38258
owners@redoakfarm.com
Copyright © 1998 -2008
All Rights Reserved
Red Oak Farm
Revised: almost weekly
When Ralph Bottoms returned from his two-week trip in Texas, the last thing he expected his wife of 25 years to say when he started to undress was "Oh, My God!" Paula was looking at the middle of Ralph’s back, between the shoulder blades. He had picked up a tick. According to Paula, the skin around the point of the tick's "beak" was discolored and rotten looking, the tick was swollen and fat. "It was just sitting there in the middle of this red circle." She removed the tick and flushed it. The wound was treated with peroxide. She was concerned because the skin "looked so rotten" she was afraid gangrene would set in. "There is no telling how long that thing was on him!" Ralph didn't want to go to the doctor because it didn't hurt. Within a few days she noticed several red "bull's eye" looking bites on his back and called the doctor. By this time Ralph had a fever and his body ached. He thought he was coming down with the flu. The rash on his back was not painful and caused no discomfort. "The doc took one look at his back and said ‘You have Lyme Disease.’" relates Paula. Although early tests did not confirm Lyme Disease he was started on antibiotics. Later tests confirmed the doctor’s diagnosis. Despite treatment, he began to suffer from joint pain, particularly in his knees, almost constantly.
A friend suggested he try emu oil since it was reputed to have naturally occurring anti-inflammatories and painkillers. Ralph began applying the oil on knees and elbows each night and morning, but continued to take the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs recommended by his doctor. Using the emu oil twice a day helped, but he was still experiencing some pain. The NASAID’s were also beginning to take their toll on his stomach. Once again his friend suggested emu oil, this time in gel cap form, to help heal his stomach. Ralph started taking emu oil gel caps in February 1998; the results were not what he expected. "I started out taking 3 gel caps a day and after, oh I guess it was a month, I just suddenly noticed I wasn’t aching as much." Wondering if more would be better, he increased his dosage to 6 gel caps a day and found his pain almost non-existent immediately. "I’ve fiddled around with it, six a day seems to be my dose." Ralph states that the longer he has taken the gel caps, the quicker he has found relief when he misses a dose. He has experienced no diarrhea or adverse effect from taking the supplement. Oh, his stomach is fine now too.
According to the American Lyme Disease Foundation (http://www.aldf.com/templates/Lyme.cfm):
Lyme disease (LD) is an infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a type of bacterium called a spirochete (pronounced spy-ro-keet) that is carried by deer ticks. An infected tick can transmit the spirochete to the humans and animals it bites. Untreated, the bacterium travels through the bloodstream, establishes itself in various body tissues, and can cause a number of symptoms, some of which are severe.
LD manifests itself as a
multisystem inflammatory disease that affects the skin in its early, localized
stage, and spreads to the joints, nervous system and, to a lesser extent, other
organ systems in its later, disseminated stages. If diagnosed and treated early
with antibiotics, LD is almost always readily cured. Generally, LD in its later
stages can also be treated effectively, but because the rate of disease
progression and individual response to treatment varies from one patient to the
next, some patients may have symptoms that linger for months or even years
following treatment. In rare instances, LD causes permanent damage.
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Disclaimer: This information is provided purely for educational value. If you have a medical condition, we urge you to consult a physician for treatment.