Lyme Disease and the Documentary Under the Eightball

When I finished reading the movie review "Under the Eightball," which is a documentary about Lyme disease, I became very interested. The more I read about this documentary, the more I wanted to know about this disease Since I'm interested in topics about health, I immediately looked it up in the American Medical Association and Encyclopedia of Medicine.

I couldn't believe what I read about this disease when it stated that Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium which is transmitted by the bite of a tick that usually lives on deer and dogs.

The reason I was in shock after I read this information is because I live up on the hills where the deer come up to eat our ivy. Two of the symptoms of Lyme disease is a headache and flu like symptoms, which I suffered for several days. Do I have Lyme disease? I immediately contacted the doctor, and I was assured that I didn't have Lyme disease. My headache and flu like symptoms disappeared, so now I can continue to enjoy watching peacefully, the group of deer when they feast on our shrubs.

Other symptoms of Lyme disease are skin changes and joint inflammation. Also, at the site of the tick bite, there could be a reddened area. Other symptoms may be fever, lethargy and muscle pain. The symptoms can vary in severity and can last for a week or more.

Unless this disease is properly diagnosed and treated, the symptoms may continue for several years. Sometimes, there can be permanent damage to the joints.

Complications affecting the heart or nervous system, such as meningitis may occur in some cases.

Since ticks can live on dogs as well as deer, if you have any of the above symptoms, you should contact your physician. The diagnosis of Lyme disease can be confirmed by blood tests. Antibiotics will then be prescribed which will then cure this disease. If this disease has become more advanced where inflammation of the joints has occurred, non-steroidal and anti-inflammatory drugs are given. The cure can take a little longer in this case.

According to the review on "Under the Eightball," Timothy Grey, who is one of the documentary's filmmakers, begin this film by making it a mystery as to why his sister starts experiencing difficulty walking, and soon ends up in a wheelchair. This is a true story. She was not properly diagnosed with Lyme disease, which was caused by the polluted water in Traverse City, Michigan.

The purpose of this document is to reveal Michigan's history of industrial pollution, which was the cause of Timothy Grey's sister's Lyme disease. The filmmakers' real intent is to show how much power pharmaceutical companies have over government because they are more concerned with big profits from prescribed drug treatments than with actual cures.

Source: Encyclopedia of Medicine and a movie review in the Los Angeles Times