When Catherine first began feeling unwell, she didn’t suspect a tick bite. There was no telltale rash, no visible tick, just sudden overwhelming exhaustion and emotional breakdowns that didn’t make sense. “I was crying without reason, feeling completely drained,” she recalls. “I knew something was wrong but I couldn’t explain it.”
Catherine, 43, from Brussels, Belgium, has been passionate about movement, dance and people since she was a child. Classical, West African and contemporary dance have accompanied her studies in anthropology and person-centred therapy methods, alongside her work at the Jette Cultural Centre. Used to juggling multiple tasks, she suddenly felt like a stranger in her own body. She went to see her general practitioner, who ran a blood test but dismissed her symptoms, assuring her everything was normal. “He said I was physically fine and prescribed antidepressants,” Catherine says, still incredulous. “I had no history of depression. It just didn’t sit right with me.”
Catherine sought out a psychologist, who confirmed her suspicions: “She told me, ‘You have things to work through, sure, like most of us, but I see no signs of clinical depression.’ That gave me the courage to dig deeper and seek a second medical opinion,” she says.
It so happened that one of her dancer friends was battling severe Lyme borreliosis and had been bedridden for months. She recommended Catherine see a doctor based in Brussels who specialized in Lyme disease.
The second doctor finally uncovered the truth. It turned out that the original blood test had shown a positive result for Borrelia – the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. “Somehow the first doctor had completely missed this,” Catherine says. “Maybe because I didn’t have the normal telltale red ring of skin irritation, he didn’t consider a tick bite as a possible cause, who knows?” Although she had spent time in a Belgian region known for having ticks, she hadn’t noticed any sign of a tick bite either.
When Catherine received her Lyme disease diagnosis, it was classified as early-stage but would have got progressively worse if not treated. “The diagnosis came as a strange kind of relief. Finally, there was a reason. I knew I wasn’t myself. I have always been healthy and physically active – I have always danced – and been energetic and in good shape. It didn’t make sense to be a shadow of my old self.”
However, even with a correct diagnosis, the road to recovery was long and uneven.
The fightback
The doctor prescribed what he called a “war strategy”, a strong metaphor for a treatment using 5 targeted antibiotics to combat the infection from all angles. He said it was like using glue to trap the bacteria, then sending in different platoons to destroy them.”
However, the treatment left her hypersensitive to sunlight and suffering from skin problems, and the intensity of it all completely overwhelmed her. “At first, I didn’t see the connection, but after a while I realized that I was experiencing a rare side effect from one of the prescribed drugs that was affecting my mental health. I found myself in this deep, dark hole and it was terrible,” she says.
“In the beginning, I purposefully chose not to do a lot of research on the web. I had taken a quick look, read about all the horrible things that Lyme could do and decided not to go down that rabbit hole, instead just focusing on myself, my own healing and following my doctor’s advice”, she says. “But after my bad reaction to one of the drugs, I was desperate for solutions, so I went online.”
In her search, she came across details of a lecture that talked about treating illnesses through combining conventional medicine with nutrition and alternative therapy methods. Intrigued, Catherine went along and was so inspired that she booked an appointment with the doctor that delivered it.
A holistic approach
Catherine had completed 2 months of treatment with antibiotics and under this new doctor’s guidance she began a hydration and nutrition regimen that involved paying attention to healthy food choices and gradually increasing exercise.
“Within a few weeks, I started feeling more like myself again. The difference was quite remarkable. Blood tests showed no sign of the disease and it prompted me to invite a few friends round for a small get-together to tell them, ‘Look at me – I’m back!’”
To cap it all, the very next day, she discovered she was pregnant!
“Something shifted in me,” she says, smiling. “It felt like this horrendous chapter had closed. I might not have been fully healed, but I had bounced back. The pregnancy brought life back to my body in every sense.”
Since then, Catherine hasn’t dwelt too much on the experience though recognizes how deeply it has reshaped her life. “Lyme was a wake-up call. It forced me to invest in my own well-being – physically, emotionally and spiritually. Still today, I’m not sure if I’ve fully recovered. I need to be really strict in maintaining healthy lifestyle habits, otherwise I become completely wiped out. This means avoiding stress, not drinking alcohol or sugary drinks and following a much healthier diet than I’d sometimes want to!”
“However, looking back, I’m so glad I listened to myself and my body, sought a second and third opinion, and then found a treatment that worked for me. Being pregnant with my daughter was the best closure to this chapter I could have ever imagined.”
WHO’s response to tick-borne diseases in Europe
Tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, along with other vector-borne diseases, are a growing public health concern in the WHO European Region due to climate change, which is expanding both the distribution and numbers of ticks as a result of warmer temperatures.
WHO supports countries in strengthening surveillance, diagnosis and prevention of these diseases, in line with its Global vector control response 2017–2030 strategy. This includes improving health-care provider training, raising public awareness through targeted public health advice and empowering individuals and communities to protect themselves.
Protecting yourself from ticks and tick-borne disease
Ticks are at their most active between April and October, a time when many of us are spending more time outside. They can live in a variety of habitats, including woods, grassland and even parks and gardens. So, when outdoors, be #TickAlert:
- wear clothes that cover most of your body, such as long sleeves and trousers;
- tuck trouser legs into socks;
- wear light-coloured clothes to help you easily spot and remove ticks;
- use approved insect repellents on the skin following instructions (adults should apply repellent to children);
- closely inspect clothes and skin for ticks after any outdoor activity in green areas;
- closely inspect the fur and skin of any pets that have been outside to prevent them bringing ticks into the house;
- to safely remove any ticks you find, use tweezers clasped as close to the skin as possible – do not crush, twist, jerk or attempt to smother the tick with petroleum jelly or grease; and
- if bitten, wash the bite area with soap and water and apply an antiseptic to the bite.
Many tick-borne diseases have symptoms that include fever, headache, fatigue, muscle pain and rash. Symptoms will depend on the disease.
- Keep a record of any symptoms and when the symptoms began.
- Seek medical advice from your health-care provider if you begin to feel unwell.