WHO WE ARE?

1. To raise awareness of Lyme disease.

To make the general population aware of the disease. Knowledge of the disease will create a situation of understanding, empathy and respect for sufferers, which is not generally the case at present, and which is a determining factor for people who suffer not only from Lyme disease, but also from rejection in many areas of life simply because they have the disease.

To raise awareness and sensitise health professionals to the real problem of this complex disease so that, in this way, they can be alert and patients with symptoms compatible with Lyme will undergo the appropriate tests, taking into account the clinical picture; they will seek how best to treat patients with new scientific knowledge and will not be referred from one specialist to another, allowing decades to go by without diagnosis and treatment.

For this, the help and collaboration of the media is extremely important. Every article, interview or news item will do a great deal of good, because if there is no knowledge, there will never be awareness.

2. Promote prevention measures.

Schools, institutes and universities are forums that will prepare healthier generations if they are informed now.

Hunting federations and federations of those sports that are practised in risky environments can provide the necessary information to practise these sports without risk. The same applies to agricultural and livestock cooperatives.

If posters explaining the risk and the measures to be taken are placed in Health Centres, at least in those areas with the highest prevalence, many people will surely have simple but important information for their health.

Pharmacies today do not sell special hooks for the safe removal of ticks. Selling them and putting up posters in risk areas would also help prevention.

3. Support Lyme disease sufferers.

This task is of great importance given the complexity, controversy and lack of information about the disease. If we compare the number of entries on the Internet in French (we are not talking about English because more scientific/medical articles are published in this language than in any other language), with the entries in Spanish, the difference is immense. The first thing a Lyme patient needs is information on what the disease is like.

After that, comes support both in terms of helping them to find doctors to treat them, and psychologically, giving them encouragement and hope, which there is, so that they do not feel as alone as their medical, occupational, social and unfortunately sometimes family environment probably makes them feel.

The task ahead of us is immense and a challenge because we are a small association, with no resources of our own, and we are all sick, with both physical and cognitive limitations due to the effects of the disease.

ALCE does not support any doctor, clinic, hospital or pharmaceutical company. If you need guidance, please contact us and we will inform you, according to the experience of our members, of the different possibilities according to your condition, needs and possibilities.

ALCE is a non-profit association, independent of the pharmaceutical and medical industry, the media, politics and any kind of funding that can influence us.