Ticks: What You Need to Know From Start to Finish featuring Dr. Susan Eisen

In this essential episode, we dive into everything you need to know after a tick bite.  From safely removing the tick to deciding between medical routes -- whether allopathic, functional, natural or an integrative approach -- we guide you through your next steps with clarity and care. 

We explore common tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Ehrlichiosis, and more, and discuss the latest testing options and timing for accurate results.

You will also learn how to support your immune system naturally post-bite, how functional medicine approaches tick-borne pathogens differently, and why early action is key. 

Plus, we spotlight Tick Tock Naturals, a 100% natural insect repellent that offers safe and effective tick prevention -- because the best bite is the bit that never happens. 

Whether you're a hiker, gardener, parent, or pet lover, this episode is for you

DR. SUSAN EISEN is a Functional Medicine specialist who practices root cause medicine. She is a Lyme literate holistic chiropractor and deeply involved with changing policies for Lyme patients in the United States. Dr. Eisen is the founder of Tick Tock Naturals®, an organic mosquito and tick repellent.

Dr. Eisen has been practicing in New York City since 1993 and is the first female chiropractor in New York State to receive reciprocal privileges to practice in the state, at a time when that honor was reserved only for chiropractors who had the finest records of practices.

Connect with Dr. Susan Eisen 

Website: drsusaneisen.com

Instagram: @drsueeisen

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 1:19

Welcome back to today's episode of Unapologetic Living. I'm Elizabeth Elliott and I am your hostess. And I am once again joined by Dr. Susan Eisen. Welcome, Susan. Hi,

SPEAKER_01: 1:31

how are you today? Thank

SPEAKER_00: 1:33

you for

SPEAKER_01: 1:33

having me again. Yeah,

SPEAKER_00: 1:35

I love our conversations and especially now that we are in the throes of this is Lyme Awareness Month, right, May?

SPEAKER_01: 1:45

Yes, Lyme and tick-borne disease awareness month.

SPEAKER_00: 1:49

Yeah, and I think it was April, it was April of 2021 that my daughter was diagnosed with Lyme disease, which is when we met originally. We were, I think, talking around, I don't know if it was May per se, but we did start, I found you then, right? Um, because of your awesome TikTok naturals, all natural, um, bug spray. And that might not be the only way I found you, but that was definitely a doorway into, um, you know, I wanted something for our family that was healthy and not going to be poisoning us at the same time. So with it being, um, I feel really lucky because my daughter got her tick bite and she insisted that we go in. I saw this stuff on TikTok. We have to go because her lymph nodes were swelling in the neck and even into onto her scalp. And so that's why we went in and she tested positive. I mean, we were I know a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01: 2:56

So lucky.

SPEAKER_00: 2:57

Yeah. A lot of people don't test positive. go in right away. And I don't want to say we did things wrong, but I know that people oftentimes will get a tick bite and they flush it down the toilet. I want to begin with like, okay, now we've got our tick bite. We found a tick. Now what? And then more recently, I know you and I've talked about, I have a friend who was diagnosed with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Again, both these people are in Kentucky. These tick-borne illnesses do live here. So if you're in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, do not think for one minute that Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are not here because that simply is not true.

SPEAKER_01: 3:42

That's right. The ticks are migrating all over the country.

SPEAKER_00: 3:47

So, okay, I have a tick bite. I found a tick. What is the best way to handle that?

SPEAKER_01: 3:55

So first of all, obviously you want to, if the tick is attached, you want to get it out with a very sharp, uh, Kind of needle nose. I don't know how to describe it. Very pointed tweezers and just pull it straight out if you can intact. Do not put alcohol or a match or any of these crazy things that you may have seen. The best thing that you can do is remove the tick, put it in a little plastic baggie, you know, with or without a little piece of wet paper towel. It doesn't matter. And then send it off to a local tick lab for testing this is very very important um do not flush the tick down the toilet as you said because that tick contains all sorts of pathogenic microscopic genetic information that can be ascertained by a laboratory and it's also the cheapest way to go um You can spend about$25 or$50. Some states have labs where if you're sending it in-state, it's even no cost at all.

SPEAKER_00: 5:15

Is there a website to find the one that is in your area? Is there a place

SPEAKER_01: 5:20

that's- You can probably Google it, you know, for your local area, but there are many. And they all do a very good job at, you know, determining if the tick is carrying pathogens. And that's your best tool. information that you can have to even bypass all of the expensive testing. So without getting into it, you know, the testing protocols are not good. And you're very lucky that you're daughter actually tested positive. The problem also is that before ticks bite, they do inject an analgesic, so you do not feel the bite. A lot of people think, oh, how awful. Of course, you're going to feel them drilling into your skin, but they kind of zap you like a spider. And in fact, ticks are arachnids, so they're cousins of spiders. And they put a little analgesic venom or whatever before they go in and get their blood meal. So this is very concerning. There are also ticks that do not stay attached for more than 15 or 30 minutes. Some will stay attached for days. So it's kind of a Russian roulette of what you're getting. And as time passes we are just being blanketed with ticks all over america so as you said with your friend who had rocky mountain spotted fever it did start in the rocky mountains hence the name designation but it has spread widely and now it can be found in mexico canada South America, Central America. So you can even go on vacation and get bitten by a tick and get infected.

SPEAKER_00: 7:36

Yeah, you can go in your backyard.

SPEAKER_01: 7:38

Absolutely. You can go right in your backyard. And that's why I do say it's so important for people to Take prevention seriously, and prevention is using a tick repellent. Now, for your listeners who don't know me or anything about my brand, it was developed because I got bitten by a tick. And I developed a raging case of neurological Lyme and developed OCD and all kinds of symptoms. particular issues, you know, the overwhelming fatigue. And for me, there was aphasia and dysphasia and all of the phasias basically, but the OCD was overwhelming and it really prompted me to not only try to find out what was wrong with me, but, you know, at the same time develop something and use my training in biochemistry to protect myself and my family and my friends and my patients. And that's how TikTok Naturals was born, basically. And it protects against all flying and crawling bugs. Spiders are carrying Lyme disease. And now we have to worry about alpha-gal syndrome, which is a meat and allergy that is... basically developed from a sugar that is found in all meat and mammalian and even byproducts in gelatin and what have you, which can be simple or severe and life-threatening. And so, basically, the way that you can prevent all of this is just to wear a tick repellent. most repellents will have broad coverage as far as for spiders and ticks and fleas and all of it. But getting back to it, that's the most important first step. But then what you say is you've gotten bitten by a tick, hopefully you've sent the tick to a tick lab and you get the results back. And if you're lucky, the results come back negative and you're good to go. But not so lucky is that the tick may have Lyme disease or anaplasma or tick-borne relapsing fever or Bartonella babesia. There's just a huge cocktail of infections and microorganisms that are being carried in ticks and also mosquitoes these days. So basically, let's say somebody gets bitten, and I've had patients who are acute. Obviously, they need to get on doxycycline. The current CDC recommendation is for 14 days of doxycycline. And the truth is, you need a minimum of 45 days of doxycycline. Unfortunately, a lot of traditional medicine does not tell the patient to dairy restrict, which is essential with doxycycline. Amoxicillin is also being used and is very effective against Borrelia, which is the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. And that has a one hour dairy restriction window, but doxycycline has a three hour dairy restriction window. So that means if you're taking a pill at 9 a.m. in the morning, you cannot have any dairy from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and then 9 a.m. to 12 noon. And very important because it can reduce the efficacy of the pill. And of course, the last thing you want to do is not have an antibiotic that's doing its job. I, as a functional health practitioner, medicine practitioner, I recommend that patients do add the supplements that are used in chronic Lyme just to support and make sure because obviously, you want to make sure that you're using all of your tools in the toolbox to eradicate this infection. If it becomes chronic, it can be persistent and very difficult to get rid of.

SPEAKER_00: 15:18

So, okay, I want to step back. We take the tick off, we put it in a baggie or some sort of thing with a wet paper towel. I forget, it's been a minute since we've had a tick bite. Do you need, is it still alive once removed from the human?

SPEAKER_01: 15:37

Yes, but whether the tick is alive or dead, it doesn't matter. You can still send it off and they can extract the genetic information.

SPEAKER_00: 15:48

Right. Do you think that it's best to go ahead and kill that little tick? I know for me, I'm like, oh my God, I just want the thing dead.

SPEAKER_01: 15:55

Yes, and I mean, they can be hard to kill. Regardless, you want to get it off of you and into a baggie, like as quick as possible, seal it up and send it off. And again, like I said, it's about$25 to$50 and you'll have your answer.

SPEAKER_00: 16:15

Okay, so we've taken the tick off. And I know you mentioned sending it away. Do you... recommend going to see a practitioner right away to get a doxycycline?

SPEAKER_01: 16:30

I do absolutely recommend that. I've had patients come into my office who had a tech and maybe they had doxy at home, maybe they didn't, but maybe they started getting immediate symptoms and they were referred into my office. And basically sometimes because I'm a chiropractor and obviously chiropractors Do not prescribe medication. We're not allowed to prescribe medication or pharmaceuticals. We try not to. We try to stick to the natural methods. But in a case like that, this is not something you want to fool around with. I'm not going to be that person who's going to say, oh, we can fix this without it. I wouldn't want to take the chance for myself. I wouldn't wanna take the chance with my loved ones. I would recommend getting on antibiotics and then getting on the alternative supplements that target strengthening the immune system and making sure that you can heal and overcome fully.

SPEAKER_00: 17:43

And then I know there's multiple supplements that you like to help support the immune system. And I know doxycycline is a powerful antibiotic. And people think about, okay, well, this is killing all the bacteria in my gut. Should I re-inoculate with a probiotic? Now wait until afterwards because it seems as though that would be counterproductive.

SPEAKER_01: 18:12

No, it's not counterintuitive at all. And in fact, I have the best outcomes when patients are taking probiotics. I often do like an SBI protective type of product that will basically help to strengthen the gut immune system. connection, which is very, very important because that's something that can be interrupted with Lyme disease. Also, you know, we know, you know, the obvious medicinal herbs, you know, Japanese knotweed and cat's claw and artemisinum, you know, I personally like phytocidal from orthomolecular because it contains all of these products and ingredients in the proper dosing. And the important thing is that patients need to understand that they really do need to work with a medical professional. And when I say medical professional, it does not have to be a medical doctor. It can be a Lyme literate, naturopath, chiropractor, you know, medical doctor, um, osteopath. There are plenty of us out there. Um, there are also functional medicine practitioners who understand. Um, although, you know, I, I being in this, um, space, I want to say I've seen a lot of different recommendations with a lot of different brands and, um, I've chosen the brands that I like to work with because they work, they're effective. You don't have to be on them for a full year. I've seen a lot of practitioners stretch things out and it becomes extremely price prohibitive for the patient. So I think it is important to consider that people don't have tens of thousands of dollars to regain their health. And so this is why I've made the decisions that I've made. But I also think that eating clean is essential. A lot of people do not eat clean. They think they eat healthy, but eating healthy and eating clean are two separate things. Obviously, as you know, eating clean means organic, non-GMO, pesticide-free. And if you can't buy things that are completely pesticide-free, and I feel like we're getting a little off the core focus here, there are things that you can do to free up your pesticide load in your body. So this is something that's very important.

SPEAKER_00: 21:17

It is. And anytime we're dealing with a bacteria or virus or something like Lyme, right, we have to support the immune system, which is going to include.

SPEAKER_01: 21:30

Absolutely. Another thing that I didn't address is that Lyme Borrelia, you know, it's a neurodegenerative critter, if you will. It likes to eat, you know, like fatty nerve tissue which is why people develop all sorts of weird symptoms that can mimic other neurodegenerative illnesses such as parkinson's or ms or als and i'm not saying that these illnesses don't exist but it you know can trigger it or it can actually mimic it and it can be lyme and so basically these are all really important considerations to address, but because it also attacks the fatty cell membrane, it's very important to replace the cell membrane. And so that is also part of the protocol. And then also something that's extremely essential is Cryptolepis, I don't know if you can see this properly, but Cryptolepis is an African medicinal herb and it's very strong. It's a very broad spectrum. It works against viruses, parasites, bacteria, you name it, and basically I always add it even when patients are taking antibiotics. Some people will say, oh no, separate it out. I actually think you need to hit the body with everything that you can with the immune support, the cell membrane support, and the natural antimicrobial support. you just not take it all at the same time. You want to take it at different times of the day, which a Lyme literate practitioner can help a patient set up a schedule.

SPEAKER_00: 23:44

The other thing I want to mention just in learning about Lyme when my daughter was diagnosed is that the traditional practice what is it, the Western blot test is often inaccurate.

SPEAKER_01: 24:07

That's right.

SPEAKER_00: 24:08

So...

SPEAKER_01: 24:12

And there are a number of considerations as well. You know, because of the vaccine, lines 31 and 34, which are the outer surface proteins, are not considered in... the test, whether it's iGenX or New York State or any other state in the United States. They actually say if that's a positive line that's found in your Western blot, they don't count it. And those are the two most seen lines that are found in immunoblot testing, but not everyone has had a Lyme vaccine. In fact, very few people, as I understand, have. There were a lot of problems with the vaccine, unfortunately. So.

SPEAKER_00: 25:17

So, for those, okay. My daughter, right, her Western blot proved positive. But now, if she had another one, it would say negative. But that is not indicative, right, that the Lyme is not. Well,

SPEAKER_01: 25:36

she may still have the antibody. Once you develop an illness, you do develop antibodies. But it wouldn't be an active infection. So basically, but as you stated before, the problem with some of the lab testing is that it doesn't show positive in the acute phase. Thankfully, a lot of research has been ongoing with this and new tests have come out and more accessible, inexpensive testing is available. There's a new test called Acudart, which is$159, including shipping. Unfortunately, it's not specific. Like you can't have it tested for four different products. And so, you know, really, if you get bitten, you would want to test for Borrelia, Bartonella. You would want to test for Babesia. That's kind of the trifecta. But unfortunately, with this testing protocol, it only will test each one separately. So that's$159 times three or four or five times, which ultimately is still a lot less expensive than a$2,000 test from, you know, Igenix. And not everyone can afford that test.

SPEAKER_00: 27:10

Right. Because Like I think of someone with multiple sclerosis or someone who has worked outside for years and they know they've had tick bites over the years. I'm like my partner, he has multiple sclerosis. He's been working, hiking, mountain biking, all of his work has been outside. But you could go and have the test today and a Lyme test might come back completely negative, right? On your Western blot. but he might actually have been diagnosed. Well, that's

SPEAKER_01: 27:49

true. Unfortunately, you know, and I hate to mention names of labs, but you know, for the podcast, I think maybe we should. Okay. But Quest and LabCorp don't always pick up active or even prior infections. And Unfortunately, traditional medicine will say, oh, it's an old infection. And the problem is if you haven't treated that old infection, it's not just, it's disseminated throughout the entire body. We know that these stealth organisms do cross the blood brain barrier, whether it's the COVID virus or Borrelia or Bartonella. I mean, they... are not like the old, simple, old school infections that target specific areas. They do travel all over the body. And there has been research, histological research out of Drexel University proving that Borrelia lives inside of Alzheimer's Flax and that Borrelia lives inside of Lewy bodies, which is from Lewy bodies dementia and frontotemporal dementia. So this is a very, very big problem that we should take very seriously. And it's been a hard fight. I wish I could say from a political perspective that everything is being done correctly, but it's not. And as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter. you know, left, right, center, you know, it's a hard fight. And so we lay people need to be smart and we need to be prepared because we're not being told the whole story. I

SPEAKER_00: 29:49

100% agree. So for someone like that with him, this is when they might really want to consider something like AccuDart or

SPEAKER_01: 29:59

Absolutely. So AccuDart, like I said, I would recommend the lime because, you know, that's the most prevalent. And if it comes back positive, then somebody can consider, do I want to test for other things? Now, going back to test at Quest and LabCorp, I will say they are excellent. extremely accurate for anaplasmosis and Ehrlichia. They're just not very accurate when it comes to Lyme, okay? I believe they are more accurate when it comes to Bartonella and Babesia as well, but the problem is definitely with Lyme, it's very good at hiding itself and it changes its form from a spirochete into like a cystic, form, and it can hide up inside of a biofilm and not be prevalent or visible on a blood test. There are things that can be done to provocate making that happen, and that would be maybe a week of antibiotics prior to taking the blood test. So there are things that you can do to kind of like, you know, push them out of the, you know, back bush basically, you know, but a lot of doctors don't use these methods. They're not trained in these methods. And, you know, this is, it's not right. You know, traditional medicine just isn't being trained as well as they need to. And so we need to do a better job. In America and in Canada and all over.

SPEAKER_00: 31:45

Yeah. And then definitely I know that I learned that it was important to look into Lyme literate practitioners. I wouldn't have known that if my daughter had not contracted Lyme herself. And so I think it's really great. I love the work that you're doing and I love your particular TikTok Naturals product. I know that I want to honor your time and I want to, you know, I know that we are, you and I are having these more regular conversations in a shorter amount of time on purpose so that we can get more information out, you know, to the public and to the audience on how to live your best life. And

SPEAKER_01: 32:36

living your best life. you know, it's like you shower, you brush your teeth, you have all your personal hygiene. But if you're not taking or using an insect repellent every day, you are at risk and more extreme risk with each passing year. Basically, a lot of people are afraid of insect repellents because they are toxic and poisonous. And, you know, that's why This product was developed, TikTok Naturals, and it was developed as a clean product. It's organic, non-GMO, no hexane extraction. Everything is done slow and low, you know, and it's a little more expensive, but it's it lasts a lot longer and the application is different. Instead of an aromatic or spray that is lost in the air, it's like a body lotion. So you just would put it on, rub it all over your skin, even before you get dressed. You can even extend the time of use if you put it on right out of the shower and basically go about your day. I always tell people, make sure to have a travel size that you can just throw into your purse and just to have it. But it lasts a good four hours, absolutely. And anecdotally, we've been told it lasts up to seven hours, you know, But I always bring a bottle with me because never say never. You just want to be safe.

SPEAKER_00: 34:21

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And you might find even, you know, just taking a walk, but definitely. And

SPEAKER_01: 34:27

I always say, make sure you apply it. If you're wearing open toed shoes, make sure you put it over, you know, like your ankles and your entire foot. Let it seep in. And because it's 100% oil and there are no additives or ingredients that actually to homogenize it, it just naturally will homogenize. That's why it lasts longer, and the bioactivity of the product will last longer. If you've got alcohol, or witch hazel, or any of these types of ingredients in alcohol, a bug repellent, it's going to reduce the time that it is effective, you know, from what could be, you know, 90 or longer minutes, you know, to as little as like 30 to 40 minutes. So using a 100% oil is very important. And that, as I say, is With my background training in biochemistry, I decided to use a hydrophilic oil, which isn't waterproof, and that sounds a little counterintuitive. You would think you would want it to be waterproof, but a hydrophilic oil, it's water loving and it actually adheres to the skin better. And even if you jump in water, it doesn't necessarily wash off. It's still adheres to the skin. Although of course we recommend that you reapply after swimming, you know, because of chlorine in the water or what have you.

SPEAKER_00: 36:13

Yeah. Well, and that's available tiktoknaturals.com. Yes. And that's T-I-C-K, T-O-C-K. Don't get confused with TikTok, the social media. And then they can find- It is

SPEAKER_01: 36:33

also carried by other stores. There are stores all around. Also, the Morrison Center carries it. I don't know if you've heard of Dr. Jeffrey Morrison. He's actually the- president of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine. And he uses TikTok for himself, his family, and all of his patients. They stock it in the office and on their website. Although, you know, obviously we like people to come to the website and purchase directly. And I can give your listeners a discount code LimeAdvise, L-Y-M-E-A-D-V-I-S-E, which is a Lime information platform. And if anybody who uses that code is 20% off of everything in the store.

SPEAKER_00: 37:42

Okay, I'll make sure that information gets out there. And... They can find you at drsusanisen.com, right?

SPEAKER_01: 37:54

They can.

SPEAKER_00: 37:56

Awesome. Well, I'm so glad. Thank you for

SPEAKER_01: 37:59

your time.

SPEAKER_00: 38:00

Yeah, you're welcome. I look forward to our next conversation.

SPEAKER_01: 38:05

Absolutely. Let's put our heads together.

SPEAKER_00: 38:09

Yeah, you have a fantastic day. You

SPEAKER_01: 38:12

as well.

SPEAKER_00: 38:13

Thanks.