Herxing

Quick meaning: Herxing is a verb meaning present participle and gerund of herx (“to experience Jarisch–Herxheimer reaction”).

Meaning

present participle and gerund of herx (“to experience Jarisch–Herxheimer reaction”).

More Meanings

1. (medicine, informal) Jarisch–Herxheimer reaction, a negative reaction to antibiotic treatment.

Example Sentences

He sets the machine to the frequency that’s supposed to kill the Lyme spirochete, turns it on, and immediately starts Herxing.

Brenner’s own experience with “herxing” (a common phrase among Lyme patients) started 2 or 3 hours after his first antibiotic treatment.

Moreover, the Jarish–Herxheimer reaction (sometimes referred to as “herxing”) is a rare syndrome seen within the first 48 hr of starting antibiotic treatment for some spirochetal diseases; the belief that “herxing” causes ongoing symptom flares in patients with Lyme disease is a fallacy for which there is no objective evidence.

Herxes, or “herxing,” are a great bugbear in the world of chronic Lyme. The term is drawn from the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction, originally identified in the context of syphilis. It refers to a brief, severe reaction that can take place within the first few days of antibiotic treatment; as bacteria die off and release endotoxins, a patient experiences fever, chills, and sometimes dangerously low blood pressure.

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