Rosenheimer Str. 6-8, 83043 Bad Aibling, Germany · info@clinicum-stgeorg.de
Integrated Treatment
A single therapy cannot overcome the complexity of chronic Lyme disease. Our multimodal approach is built on three clinical modules: the Core Lyme module, the Co-Infection Module and the Microbiome Restore Week.
Each course bought a few good weeks, then the symptoms crept back like a tide. At 2 a.m. you have read about biofilms and persister cells and wondered whether anyone treats the whole picture instead of one drug at a time.
This page shows how the three treatment modules of our Lyme disease center fit together, and why we combine them rather than choose between them.
Because a long-standing Borrelia infection is several problems at once: the bacteria in their active, cyst and biofilm forms, which can tolerate antibiotics in the laboratory (Sharma et al., 2015); co-infections; inflammation; immune dysregulation; and the gut after weeks of antibiotics. Controlled trials of prolonged antibiotics alone did not show a lasting benefit for persistent symptoms (Klempner et al., 2001). Each module is aimed at one of these problems.
The program is built on three clinical modules, each designed by Dr. Julian Douwes for one dimension of the disease:
All patients may also receive blood filtration (apheresis, immunoadsorption, plasma exchange) or neural therapy with procaine, based on the diagnostic findings. The treatment protocol page lists what happens on which day.
Each therapy is selected and sequenced from the patient's diagnostic findings, co-infection profile, treatment history and response on the ward.
Core body temperature is raised to 41.6–41.8 °C / 106.9–107.2 °F for 120 minutes per session under sedation and continuous monitoring. The core module includes 2 sessions. In the laboratory, increased temperature reduces the viability of Borrelia and adds to the effect of antibiotics (Reisinger et al., 1996), which is why the antibiotics are timed with the sessions.
Targeted heat application to specific body regions where infection concentrates, including joints, the spine, and areas of localized pain. Local hyperthermia achieves even higher tissue temperatures than whole-body protocols and is used to address focal symptoms while complementing systemic treatment.
Blood filtration that removes inflammatory proteins, immune complexes, endotoxins and fibrinogen from the plasma in a session of 2 to 3 hours. In the Lyme plan it is used to lower the circulating inflammatory load during the antibiotic weeks, when bacterial die-off releases the most.
Combination antibiotic regimens given intravenously and orally, with agents chosen for the three morphological forms of Borrelia (spirochetes, round bodies and biofilms) and for the confirmed co-infections. The timing of the intravenous antibiotics is coordinated with the hyperthermia sessions.
Intravenous laser therapy delivers several wavelengths directly into the bloodstream through a fiber-optic catheter: blue (405 nm) with riboflavin for antimicrobial action, green (532 nm) for oxygen uptake, yellow (589 nm) for detoxification and serotonin metabolism, red (635 nm) for anti-inflammatory effect, infrared (810 nm) for the deepest tissue penetration, and UV for immune activation. The co-infection module includes 10 sessions combined with apheresis. The clinical evidence for this therapy in co-infections is limited. The co-infections it is used for
Controlled induction of therapeutic fever using bacterial lysates to activate the body's natural immune cascade. Unlike hyperthermia, fever therapy triggers the full physiological fever response, including cytokine release, immune cell mobilization, and enhanced phagocytosis. This therapy has been refined at St. George Hospital over decades.
Thymus peptide therapy to restore T-cell function, high-dose IV vitamin C (up to 50g), IV glutathione, zinc, selenium, and B vitamin infusions. These protocols address the immune suppression that is characteristic of chronic Borrelia infection and restore the body's ability to maintain remission after active treatment ends.
IV glutathione, liver support (phospholipids, silymarin), activated charcoal and cholestyramine binders, colon hydrotherapy, infrared sauna and lymphatic drainage. These protocols manage the toxin load from bacterial die-off and reduce the severity of Herxheimer reactions.
Medical ozone given by major autohemotherapy, rectally or topically, for oxygen utilization, antioxidant enzyme stimulation and antimicrobial effect, alongside the antibiotic weeks.
Individualized physical therapy programs to maintain mobility, reduce pain, and support recovery during and after intensive treatment. We address the musculoskeletal consequences of chronic infection, including joint inflammation, muscle weakness, and deconditioning that accumulates during prolonged illness.
Chronic Lyme disease profoundly impacts mental health through both direct neurological effects and the psychological burden of prolonged illness. Our psychotherapy support addresses treatment-related anxiety, depression, trauma from medical dismissal, and cognitive rehabilitation strategies.
Anti-inflammatory dietary protocols, targeted supplementation based on laboratory-identified deficiencies, and gut restoration programs. Many Lyme patients have significant micronutrient deficiencies and gut dysbiosis that must be corrected to support immune function and treatment response.
The core module targets Borrelia directly. Two whole-body hyperthermia sessions at 41.6–41.8 °C / 106.9–107.2 °F for 120 minutes each, with combination antibiotics over the full 2 weeks timed to the heat. Daily detoxification manages Herxheimer reactions from bacterial die-off, and immune support infusions run alongside.
Extended antibiotic therapy disrupts the gut microbiome, which is critical for long-term immune recovery. This module begins with gastroscopy and colonoscopy to assess GI health and deliver a living microbiome cocktail directly to the upper and lower digestive tract. This is followed by 3 days of targeted bacterial enemas to reinforce colonization, combined with concurrent detoxification to clear residual antibiotic metabolites.
For patients with confirmed co-infections (Bartonella, Babesia, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, Mycoplasma), this module uses 10 intravenous laser therapy sessions with six wavelengths, apheresis sessions to remove the inflammatory debris of pathogen die-off, and the antimicrobial or antiparasitic agents that fit each pathogen. For severe cases, plasma exchange or red blood cell exchange may be recommended.
Each module addresses a dimension the others do not. Hyperthermia with antibiotics targets Borrelia; intravenous laser therapy with apheresis and specific agents targets the co-infections; the microbiome week rebuilds the gut after the antibiotics. Blood filtration (H.E.L.P. apheresis, immunoadsorption, plasma exchange, red blood cell exchange) or neural therapy with procaine can be added at any stage from the findings.
One team plans the whole sequence and sees the patient every day, which is what allows a module to be shortened, extended or swapped the same day a laboratory value changes.
While the multimodal framework is consistent, every treatment plan is tailored to the individual patient. Factors that determine your specific protocol include:
Your treatment team reviews diagnostic results, clinical findings, and treatment response daily to adjust protocols in real time. This responsive, individualized approach is only possible in an inpatient setting with experienced Lyme disease specialists.
The rationale rests on laboratory evidence that we grade as emerging: increased temperature reduces the viability of Borrelia burgdorferi and adds to the effect of antibiotics in vitro (Reisinger et al., 1996), and Borrelia forms drug-tolerant persister cells in vitro (Sharma et al., 2015). The clinical evidence for the combined protocol is limited: no controlled trial of it exists, and the therapies outside guideline care in it, whole-body hyperthermia, intravenous laser therapy and apheresis, are performed as individual treatment attempts, decided with you after medical consultation.
What the hospital can state is what it measures. Inflammatory markers (CRP, fibrinogen), the Borrelia ELISpot, lymphocyte subsets and standardized symptom scores are recorded before admission, at discharge and at 3, 6 and 12 months, and the course goes to you and your home physician in writing. How we measure outcomes. The practical path for patients from abroad, from the first inquiry to aftercare, is on the page on inpatient Lyme disease treatment in Germany.
Lyme Package
Hyperthermia (41.6–41.8 °C / 106.9–107.2 °F)
Combination Antibiotics
Co-Infection Module
LLLT (6 Wavelengths)
Microbiome Restore
Additional (optional)
Because the problems in a long-standing Borrelia infection differ: the bacteria in their active, cyst and biofilm forms, co-infections, inflammation, immune dysregulation and the gut after weeks of antibiotics. Trials of prolonged antibiotics alone did not show a lasting benefit for persistent symptoms. Each module in the plan is aimed at one of these problems.
Core Lyme module first (2 weeks, hyperthermia and antibiotics), then the co-infection module where one is confirmed (2 weeks), then the microbiome restore week (1 week). Blood filtration, neural therapy, ozone and immune infusions are placed in the plan where the findings call for them.
The framework is the same; the content is not. Which antibiotics, whether a co-infection module is needed, whether immunoadsorption replaces H.E.L.P. apheresis and how much detoxification support is given are decided from your diagnostic findings and adjusted during the stay.
No. Whole-body hyperthermia, intravenous laser therapy and apheresis are therapies outside guideline care for Lyme disease. The hospital performs them as individual treatment attempts, decided with you after medical consultation, and records laboratory values and symptom scores before and after.
The initial inquiry is free of charge. The International Office reviews your message and your case directly and gets back to you.
Munich Airport (MUC), about 60 minutes by car.
