detecting herx reactions

[Guest guest]

>

> Also, just adding two things. After Herx reactions, I also noticed that my

urine smelt very differently.

I noticed the same during initial severe herxes (the first started some days

before my first ABX, probably a result of meningitis caused by the Lyme - so the

smell is not from ABX breakdown products). Others in the hospital noted the same

peculiar smell in their urine when they started to use rocephin. The smell is a

bit selenium-like, very typical of certain types of bacteria (difficult to

explain the exact scent, but I still remember it from my days in the biochemics

lab long ago).

I'm wondering what it is, if we can smell it, one should be able to detect it

(could be some opportunistic infection other than Lyme of course).

> I also remember something. On a forum, in France, one spoke about a test in a

US hospital to detect herx reactions just after antibiotics (something on the

skin, I remember). Is anyone aware of that? I asked for detecting herx reactions

in a French hospital, since I was very bad under antibiotics, I was just said

that it could be detected by looking at particular cytokines, but it is

routinely done.

I'm not aware of a skin test, but the LTT Lyme test measures cytokines that

indicate recent exposure to Borrelia (and some similar organisms, it is NOT

specific for Bb). Unlike antigens from the adaptive immune system, the LTT

should test negative within a few weeks after the Borrelia have disappeared. If

it is still positive about a month after ABX course, the infection is not gone.

Like any test, LTT is not perfect. In my country it is hardly used, probably

because it is more complicated and expensive than the normal blood tests.

I guess one could monitor herx reaction by checking some general cytokines, but

I'm not aware of any standard test for that purpose.

[Guest guest]

> >

> > Also, just adding two things. After Herx reactions, I also noticed that my

urine smelt very differently.

>

> I noticed the same during initial severe herxes (the first started some days

before my first ABX, probably a result of meningitis caused by the Lyme - so the

smell is not from ABX breakdown products). Others in the hospital noted the same

peculiar smell in their urine when they started to use rocephin. The smell is a

bit selenium-like, very typical of certain types of bacteria (difficult to

explain the exact scent, but I still remember it from my days in the biochemics

lab long ago).

>

> I'm wondering what it is, if we can smell it, one should be able to detect it

(could be some opportunistic infection other than Lyme of course).

>

>

> > I also remember something. On a forum, in France, one spoke about a test in

a US hospital to detect herx reactions just after antibiotics (something on the

skin, I remember). Is anyone aware of that? I asked for detecting herx reactions

in a French hospital, since I was very bad under antibiotics, I was just said

that it could be detected by looking at particular cytokines, but it is

routinely done.

>

> I'm not aware of a skin test, but the LTT Lyme test measures cytokines that

indicate recent exposure to Borrelia (and some similar organisms, it is NOT

specific for Bb). Unlike antigens from the adaptive immune system, the LTT

should test negative within a few weeks after the Borrelia have disappeared. If

it is still positive about a month after ABX course, the infection is not gone.

>

> Like any test, LTT is not perfect. In my country it is hardly used, probably

because it is more complicated and expensive than the normal blood tests.

>

> I guess one could monitor herx reaction by checking some general cytokines,

but I'm not aware of any standard test for that purpose.

>