@peggy-sue there is certainly nothing "quackish" about "detox" although I can make no judgements on the effectiveness of this clinic.
Here is a brief explanation on why all Lyme docs believe detoxing is important.
1. When spirochetes are killed their outer surface proteins (lipoproteins) cause extreme activation of the immune system. These are also called blebs.
2. This raises pro inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6 typically and TNF-alpha.
3. These are the cytokines which cause "sickness syndrome" or will make people feel ill as well as causing inflammation and many other compounding issues.
So by "detoxing" one of the important components is removing the blebs so the immune system is not so over activated. This reduces the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction which if extremely severe can even cause permanen
t damage. Glutathione is used as an antioxidant in many Lyme treatments to reduce these "flares" of symptoms. It has also been observed the Lyme outer surface proteins cause 50-500 times more immune activation than other bacteria such as E. Coli. So there is really nothing controversial about detox in Lyme disease. The only other illness other than Lyme and co to cause Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions is Syphilis, another spirochete bacterium
Best wishes,
JBB