Lyme in the Future: Opportunities for Careers

Let's face it, folks. Lyme Disease and co-infections are on the rise and yet our country is more concerned with the much fewer cases of the Zika virus. Last year, the focus was on Ebola. Most doctors neither acknowledge Lyme nor know how to treat it. Add to that the fact that scientists in our country are financially invested in keeping Lyme on the low-down. In fact, I just spoke with someone the other day who consulted with a "top" NY Lyme doctor (IDSA) who diagnosed her with the flu instead of Lyme (big mistake) and later gave a friend only 2 pills of doxycycline when a tick was found because he claimed they had to wait for a positive Lyme test before administering antibiotics. 

So, with only a handful of knowledgeable Lyme literate doctors amidst a majority of doctors who stick with the outdated CDC guidelines (that are no longer congruent with those of the National Clearinghouse), a patient with chronic Lyme disease has little success in getting treatment today. Compound that with the difficulty of getting a diagnosis in the first place. Lyme mimics so many other diseases--Fibromylagia, Rheumatoid arthritis, Crohns, Lupus, depression, etc.--and it can take visits to 20 different doctors and sometimes 20 years before the idea of Lyme is even whispered.

Multiply this by 329,000 people a year. That's a conservative estimate, since some researchers (and even the CDC) suspect there could be over one million new cases of Lyme Disease annually in the USA alone. Lyme is now in every continent except Antarctica. So, multiply that again. And again.

Thought you needed a tick bite to get Lyme and TBDs (tickborne diseases)? Think again! Here's a dirty little secret: preliminary studies suggest that Lyme can be transmitted sexually. Lyme is a STD. Oh boy. It is already established that Lyme can be transmitted congenitally and through breast milk. 

But, no worries. Not everyone reacts to Lyme the same way. Some people have strong immune systems and can withstand the bacteria for years, even decades. Then again, some can not. The bottom line: infected moms are passing along Lyme to their babies. And here's another tasty tidbit: the blood supply is not yet screened for Babesiosis or other bacterial infections. You do the math.

If this continues, what do you think is going to happen in ten, twenty, forty years?

Job opportunities! Yay! 

With an surplus of Lyme Disease-ridden bodies, we will have a great need for certain jobs. Folks--this is where it's at. If you're considering a career change or guiding someone into a job, plan accordingly.

1) Doctor, nurses, homeopaths, medical practitioners. It goes without saying that Lyme Literate medical practitioners will be in high demand. Since antibiotics by themselves can't seem to eradicate Lyme, some people are turning to homeopathy and Chinese medicine. Nurse practitioners, visiting nurses, nurses of all types, however underpaid they are, will be needed.

2) Nutritionists:  When the immune system is under attack, the body can no longer handle certain foods that might otherwise be tolerated. That leads to all sorts of jobs in the food industry, as those with Lyme cannot handle gluten, dairy products, sometimes meat products, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Creating nutritional foods from very little will be the wave of the future.

3) Indoor gardeners: Yes, let's bring those plants inside. Plants are good for the air and plants grown indoors don't have TICKS. Add to that a few happy lights to cure the SAD of the winter, and someone with Lyme never needs to step outside again.

4) Wheelchair ramp installers. For those who roll with the punches.

3) Dental specialists. Because Lyme attacks the gums. This is a wide-open field, folks, as few dentists know anything about tickborne diseases. 

4) Insurance coordinators. Because it gets to be too much work to submit claims AND monitor when the payment comes in from the insurance company, IF it comes in.

5) Alzheimer's specialists. Alack, studies have shown borreliosis in the brains of diseased Altzheimer's patients.

6) Therapists of all types: Stress-reduction, CBT, DBT, speech & language, occupational therapy, visual therapy, art and music therapy, OCD specialists, ADHD specialists, Autism specialists

7) Mindfulness educators/gurus

8) Special education teachers and teachers who are willing to teach the same content again. And again. And again. Because short and long term memories are strange little things when the brain is attacked by Lyme.

9) Attorneys to sue the CDC

10) Robot designers because robots are the future. Can't get up for a meal? Let the robot get it. 

11) Tax advisors...do you have any idea how to deduct medical expenses from your taxes? Count every mile you drove to see a doctor!

12) Internet app designers (particularly apps for keeping account of doctor appointments, miles traveled, gluten free purchases, supplement purchases, moods, symptoms, side effect tracker, etc.)

13) Stay at home parents: Let's face reality. A kid who is sick with Lyme often ends up homebound for a period of time. You sure as heck better have a way of watching that child.

14) This leads to suicide prevention specialists. An ouchy subject but a reality.

15) Mold-free housing builders and inexpensive mold remediators

16) Cheap and easy meal creator and deliverer (that are GF, CF, nut-free, soy-free, this-free, that-free, everything in between-free.)

17) Home tutors. The best school tutors have been currently employed teachers who must wait until after the school day to teach. Where do all the good teachers go when they retire? Not to tutoring!

18) Housewives and househusbands for hire: Because when someone has Lyme or a multi-systemic disease, dinner is no longer made, yards are no longer mowed, clothes are no longer washed. Eww.

19) Drywall repairer. Think: bartonella rage.

20) Urine stain lifter and black light inspector. Kids with Lyme. 

21) Padded wall installer

22) Personal pill organizer

23) IEP enforcer and educational advocates

24) Invitation decliner

25) Hair checker (for dogs, cats, horses and of course, people.) Find those tiny ticks!

26) Interpreter. Sometimes kids with Lyme just stop talking for a while.

27) Rent-O-Possom businesses. Because opossums eat ticks. 

28) Chicken coopers. Build a coop, clean the coop, collect the eggs and get the chickens in. Because guinea fowl also eat ticks. And eggs are good for you. Usually.

29) Insurance advocates: a professional who can fight with the insurance company on your behalf so that the latest test or treatment is covered. 

30) Reminder to look at a reminder list (for people with brain fog)

31) Manufacturer of organic, ultra-comfortable beds that make themselves

32) Epsom salt sales

33) Essential oils consultant

34) Medical Marijuana Customer Service Representative

35) Scribe (for people struggling to write); helps if this person can also act as a thesaurus and even recall the names or books and musicians and titles of books

36) Internet Party Planner for those people who wanna party like it's 1999 in their PJs atop their pillows!

So, there we have it, folks. More than 36 different jobs that will be in demand thanks to the expanding tick populations and our country's current failure to adequately treat, much less acknowledge tickborne infections. Mind you, none of these jobs will pay enough to cover the costs of treatment for a tickborne disease that becomes chronic for one person. If you have Lyme, you might be unable to work anyway, so don't worry, be happy! If you're aiming for the big bucks, you may choose to pursue construction (as an owner) or investment banking. Just make sure your buildings are mold-free with elevators and that your money is invested in...well, not IDSA.