BLOGGERS and Lyme bulletin boards are smoking as doctors, researchers and ordinary citizens alike try to figure out why President George Bush’s medical team refused to test him for Lyme disease before they treated him for the infection.

Until the White House chooses to answer that question, like everyone else, I’ve got my theories.

Because Lyme tests are either wildly inaccurate (ELISA and Western blot), or experimental, (Bowen QriBb and Igenex), it’s entirely possibly that the president’s doctors decided NOT to test to avoid what surely would have been an ambiguous outcome.

Such an inconclusive or debatable result would have thrown the president’s diagnosis into the public arena for discussion and debate, leading to:

- public anxiety and panic,

- fear and perhaps outrage,

- calls for impeachment or for the president to step down for health reasons.

I’m not defending the handling of the case – far from it. I think the president should have been forthcoming about the tick bite and his diagnosis of Lyme, not 12 months after the fact, but the day he was diagnosed.

After all, he could have used his sickness to put a spotlight on Lyme and the need for more research, better testing, and in the cases of people who aren’t getting well, better treatments.

Instead, the White House kept Mr. Bush’s sickness TOP SECRET. And now, a year later, spokesmen seemingly are trying to justify the diagnosis of Lyme without a test by claiming the president had a bullseye rash.

For those who don’t know, a spreading rash – including a bullseye rash - is the only “definitive marker” of Lyme, per the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

So, by insisting the president had a bullseye rash, the White House is, in effect, saying a test was not needed to determine infection.

Here’s what’s wrong with that. Every day in the United States hundreds if not thousands of ordinary citizens are told they DO NOT have Lyme and DO NOT qualify for insurance coverage and treatment because they HAVEN’T BEEN TESTED for Lyme whether they had a rash or not.

And that’s a tragedy of the first magnitude – an outrage – because Lyme left untreated shatters good and happy lives, putting individuals and families in the poorhouse, unable to work, and all too often, confined to a home or bed.

These “Ordinary Janes and Everyday Joes” might not work in the Oval Office.  And very few of them have the kind of top-tier doctors that fuss over the health of presidents and politicians on Capitol Hill.

And that’s the real rub.  Because as anybody who knows anything about this infection will tell you, you don’t need a great doctor to treat Lyme disease when it’s caught early.

In fact, a child could write the prescription.

Any broad-spectrum antibiotic is good medicine against Lyme. In the realm of natural medicines, potent anti-microbial herbs such as Cat’s Claw and Venus Flytrap are in wide and trusted use.

Simple. Very, very simple.

In truth, the only complication is when Lyme illiterate doctors start ordering up tests that are known to be inaccurate. Things go downhill from there, when physicians who know little or nothing about Lyme start trying to interpret the results of those tests.

Ask yourself this: If Lyme tests aren’t good enough for the president, then why on Earth are regular people forced to take them before their doctor will dare diagnose Lyme, which, as everyone knows, paves the way for insurance to help foot the treatment bill?

Could it be that insurance companies don’t want to pay these bills? Think about it. And if you don’t like the “smell” of this, please, write to your congressmen and give them a piece of your mind. (You can get their e-mail addresses at National Lyme Report)

At any rate, and on a high note, the president’s diagnosis and treatment (which credible sources have told National Lyme Report included two antibiotics and quite possibly a medicinal herb) calls attention to Lyme as a national and international epidemic.

And that’s a good thing.

What do YOU think? Write to me at National Lyme Report. And, yes, I do read and answer every e-mail.

A month-long National Lyme Report poll of 1,787 people delivered up numbers that might surprise you, with 37 percent of those responding agreeing that “Medical doctors are reluctant to diagnose Lyme disease because they are ignorant of the symptoms.”

Another 23 percent blamed “pressure from insurance companies,” with the suggesting being Lyme is too expensive to treat when it becomes chronic and insurance companies don’t want to foot the bill.

Twenty percent said they believe “there is no sure treatment” for Lyme – so doctors prefer to blame the sickness on other illnesses that are easier to treat.

Twelve percent agreed with the statement that “Lyme disease is an epidemic,” and, therefore, doctors avoid diagnosing it to keep the public from panicking over a health threat that is out of control and can’t be stopped.

Eight percent aren’t sure why doctors are reluctant to diagnose Lyme, but believe a Congressional investigation might provide answers the public needs.

The poll is not scientific, but it does represent a wide range of opinion. It was viewed by people in all 50 states and also globally. Respondents were prevented from voting more than once.

Source: National Lyme Report. Questions? Comments? Write to use using the comment box on this page.

Lyme patients – tell the world which antibiotics, herbs, lifestyle changes and other therapies have meant the most to you. Just click the hyperlink below and choose from our drop-down listing. It’s quick. It’s easy. It’s interesting. What’s more, your input will help Lyme patients the world over make informed decisions – and could save a life.

National Lyme Report Survey: Lyme treatments – what worked for you?