Treatment for Lyme disease and tick-borne infections is one of the most debated areas in this field. Understanding why that debate exists — and what each approach actually proposes — is more useful than picking a side before you have the full picture.
Read the overview of each approach here, then follow the links to go deeper into whichever is most relevant to where you are.
If you've landed here, you may be worn down by the arguments — one source says one thing, the next says the opposite, and you just want to know what's actually reasonable to try.
This page won't tell you what to do. But it lays out the real options honestly, so the choice feels less like a gamble and more like something you can reason about.
The approach most people encounter first — one antibiotic for two to three weeks, following IDSA guidelines. Effective and well-evidenced for early, localised infection. This page explains what it is, when it works well, and — through the lens of established microbiology — where its limits appear.
Read this approach APPROACH 02 The ILADS approachA physician-led medical organisation whose guidelines support longer, more individualised antibiotic treatment — with close attention to co-infections and clinical response. This page explains what ILADS is, why it exists, how its approach differs from standard guidelines, and what treatment looks like in practice.
Read this approach APPROACH 03 Herbal protocolsThree structured plant-based protocols — Buhner, Cowden, and Zhang — widely referenced in the Lyme community. This page describes the plants used in each, their documented history across traditional medicine systems, and what laboratory research has investigated.
Read this approachHow these approaches relate to each other
Many people with chronic Lyme navigate more than one of these approaches over time — often beginning with the standard route, then exploring ILADS-informed care when symptoms persist, and incorporating herbal support alongside or between antibiotic courses. These are not competing paths. They are different tools, used by different people in different contexts.
The standard approach is most suited to early, localised infection. The ILADS approach was developed largely in response to complex, late-stage, or co-infected presentations. Herbal protocols are most commonly referenced in the context of long-term management and support. Understanding where you are in that spectrum shapes which approach is most relevant to read first.
Understanding the landscape is valuable. Making treatment decisions alone, without medical guidance, is a different matter. Whatever direction you explore, finding a practitioner who knows this territory — and who will discuss it honestly with you — is the most important practical step any of this information can lead you toward.
Healing mentality checkpoint
The treatment landscape for Lyme is genuinely complex, and reading about it can feel overwhelming — especially when you are already unwell. You do not need to understand everything at once. Read one approach. Sit with it. Then decide whether to go further.
Read about healing mentality →
The hardest part for me wasn't the illness — it was the pressure to pick a side in a debate I didn't fully understand, while feeling worse by the week.
What helped was slowing down enough to understand each approach before committing to any. I'm not a doctor, and nothing here is a recommendation. But you're allowed to take the time to understand your options before you choose.
Your next step
Further reading
- IDSA Lyme disease clinical practice guidelines — idsociety.org
- ILADS evidence-based guidelines — ilads.org
- Buhner S.H. — Healing Lyme (2nd ed., 2015)
- Horowitz R. — Why Can't I Get Better? (2013)
- Zhang Q. — Lyme Disease and Modern Chinese Medicine (2006)
Last updated: March 2026