The Tick-Borne Infections Hiding Behind Your Child's PANS/PANDAS
In this episode, I wanted to demystify something that gets missed far too often: the role that tick-borne and vector-borne infections can play in a child's PANS or PANDAS. Dr. Casey Kelley and I talk through why most families never remember a tick bite, and how other carriers like fleas, lice, mosquitoes, and pets mean a clean history does not rule infection out.
We walk through the symptom patterns that may raise a flag, the honest limits of testing (antibody tests can read falsely negative in the sickest kids), and why she sometimes weighs empiric, clinician-guided treatment by asking a simple question: what would we do differently with the result? She shares how she treats children like small adults with kid-sized doses, opens detox pathways before antimicrobials to ease reactions, and leans on foundations most parents can start with: sleep, anti-inflammatory food, nervous-system and vagal support, Epsom baths, and time.
This is not a quick fix, and I never want a parent to leave feeling more afraid. Dr. Kelley's own reminder stayed with me: create joy, even if it's just being silly and dancing in the kitchen. That counts. It is treatable. It does exist. And it takes a village.
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About the Guest:
Dr. Casey Kelley is the founder and medical director of Case Integrative Health in Chicago, where she practices integrative and functional medicine with a focus on complex chronic illness, including tick-borne and vector-borne disease. She earned her medical degree at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, has been a member of the Institute for Functional Medicine for more than 15 years, and is a former board member of ILADS. She also teaches clinicians and patients through her Groundwork for Healing course.
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Social Handles:
Website: https://caseintegrativehealth.com
Groundwork for Healing: https://healwithcase.com
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Nancy O’Hara, MD, MPH, FAAP, FMAPS
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