Book Review: The Homeopathic Treatment of Lyme Disease by Peter Alex

by Richard Pitt

This book is a fascinating and informative exploration into Lyme Disease and the homeopathic treatment of this disease. The author comes from Germany where Lyme Disease has had a big impact.  It has been estimated that there are up to 1 million cases of Lyme in the country, with up to ¼ million new infections each year.  However, as with any disease, the number who actually produce serious acute or chronic symptoms is less than that.  However, outside of North America, where the disease has taken root very seriously, especially in the North East of the country, Germany shows more signs of the disease than any other country in Europe, according to the author. The reasons for this may be complex but in a fascinating exploration of understanding disease susceptibility and it’s connection to a larger gestalt to the environment and culture in which it manifests he make the case that there is a collective susceptibility to Lyme Disease in Germany based on the clinical fact that the remedy Aurum arsenicosum has been found to be a very useful remedy for this condition, especially in more advanced cases.  Part of the book involves a proving of this remedy, which is then substantiated by cases presented by Alex and other homeopaths at the end of the book.

The first part of the book involves an exploration of the bacterial origins of the disease, the causative bacteria being a spirochete named Borrelia burgdorferi. Frans Vermeulen wrote some of this first part of the book which is an important introduction into an understanding of this disease. A very good description of the origin and development of the disease is made, with references made to the American strain of the disease, which is a slightly different strain of the Borrelia bacteria. An important factor in the evolution of the disease in America was the outbreak of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis cases in the early 1970’s in a town called Old Lyme, Connecticut. This was subsequently traced to bites from ticks, which was subsequently defined as the causative agent in these outbreaks.  Since then, Lyme Disease has spread throughout the New England, New York state region, and for years became a big political and medical dispute, with many cases of arthritic, neurological and other auto immune type of diseases being debated as to its connection to Lyme Disease. While this larger issue is not discussed in this book, it is an extremely important part of the story in its evolution in North America. While ticks have been vectors of diseases contagion for perhaps centuries, the rapid and serious development of tick induced disease seemed to explode in the 1970’s and today Lyme disease and its chronic sequalae are found throughout the United States. One book called Lab 257 by Michael Christopher Carroll researches the idea that modern Lyme Disease originated in a biological laboratory on Plum Island off Long Island, New York, which was run by the Department of Agriculture, working alongside the American military establishment of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Research into using ticks as carriers of certain diseases led to ticks escaping the laboratory and then managed to make their way to Connecticut, leading to the first outbreaks of arthritic Lyme disease cases. Whether this is true or not, the case is that in the USA and it seems in Germany, Lyme Disease is one of the most virulent and common disease in the country. There are most likely many more cases of Lyme disease today than that of HIV/AIDS, and the problem has morphed from the original acute rheumatic condition into a wide variety of chronic conditions, which can mimic diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, Epstein Barre, Mononucleosis, depression, vertigo and a whole variety of other conditions.  

This development of the disease into a wide ranging chronic condition and not only an acute rheumatic condition has led to much dispute within the medical profession regarding diagnosis and treatment of the condition. Many chronic cases of Lyme Disease often test negative to the bacteria, and the conventional treatment mainly involves antibiotic treatment, some doctors recommending treatment for years. Other doctors don’t even believe in the chronic expression of Lyme disease, which leads many people very frustrated in seeking an understanding of why they feel so sick. This very problem of defining, diagnosing and treating this condition is a situation homeopaths should be aware of as many patients may come for treatment not knowing what is happening and finding little answer from their regular physicians. Alex’s book does this very well and gives the homeopath a great overview of the disease and its possibilities with homeopathy. His book then gives a clinical overview of the disease condition which he classifies the symptomatology from clinical Lyme cases into homeopathic schema. This is an important study into the broader picture of Lyme Disease and the symptoms that may help homeopaths identify the disease when seeing cases. An interesting book that discusses the complexity of Lyme Disease is called “Healing Lyme” by herbalist Stephen Harrod Buhner. In this book, he explores the disease and its possible natural treatments.  One of the most fascinating aspects of Lyme disease that he reveals is the possibilities of the disease being spread by other means, including through sexual intercourse, which brings to question the evolution of the disease into a broader chronic condition. This possible evolution in the spread of Lyme disease could reveal the evolution of many diseases in which the bacteria, virus or fungi are simply carriers of disease potential, implanting and transmitting themselves by “any means necessary” and that this is merely the next step in the evolution of the disease.  

The relevance of knowing whether a case may be attributable to Lyme infection is discussed in detail by Alex and his conclusions are important in the broader homeopathic discussion of the relevance in having a diagnosis, or knowing the bacterial origin of a disease and the chronic susceptibilities that may lead to chronic complications of an infection. Alex has thought about this deeply and his analysis is an excellent exploration of the dynamics of epidemics, collective susceptibilities, constitutional and miasmatic influences. This is relevant not only in understanding Lyme disease but also in an understanding of many other acute and chronic diseases which as homeopaths, we have to treat.  

He also makes clear the limitations of conventional treatment of Lyme disease, including the conventional antibiotic protocol. This is important for homeopaths to know as it can be daunting when treating Lyme cases to have confidence that homeopathy is enough to address this condition.  He gives clear advice as to how to treat the initial stages of tick infection, and the usefulness of the remedy Ledum in initial stages before any symptoms have developed. The use of remedies as prophylactic is an old subject in homeopathy and Alex discusses it with an interesting historical and clinical perspective in regard to Lyme disease. He also discusses the use of the Lyme nosode, Borrelia, which he concludes as not showing extensive clinical effectiveness, either prophylactically or clinically.  However, in some of the clinical cases presented, the nosode is used along with other remedies, but only one case showing clear clinical reaction on a deep level.

One of the most important contributions of the book is an exploration of the remedy Aurum arsenicosum as one of the most “specific” remedies for chronic Lyme cases. His discussion of the relevance of Aurum arsenicosum as a remedy for Lyme Disease has specific relevance in Germany and he makes an interesting case as to it’s relevance for the “gestalt” of the modern psychological state in Germany. In this context he explores the broader concept of susceptibility and why it may be the case that Lyme cases in Germany seem far greater than in other countries. His conclusion is that the collective vital force of a nation may predispose it to certain diseases and that the more chronic affliction of Lyme disease in Germany may be due to this underlying susceptibility. It is a fascinating analysis and one that lends itself to further study, both in Lyme disease and other diseases. Also, the identification of certain diseases with the “consciousness” of certain countries or broader dynamics is consistent with the holistic view of disease that homeopathy has always embraced but that needs further exploration. Alex uses the term “morphogenetic fields”, the term used by Rupert Sheldrake in his books, including “A New Science of Life”, in which he explores the idea of fields of energy within certain species/groups/cultures, which is consistent with much of homeopathic thinking. Each disease has its own morphogenetic field, its unique pattern, and Alex explains this clearly in the book.