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DEAR DR. ROACH: I understand a vaccine to prevent Lyme disease is in the works, but I wonder when it will be available. We've had multiple tick bites in our family, with some that resulted in Lyme disease. While I appreciate that our dog receives a vaccine and monthly anti-tick prevention, we're long overdue for prevention for humans. Your thoughts are appreciated.
-- K.L.
ANSWER: Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi, which is spread mostly by deer ticks in the United States. The only Lyme disease vaccine (Lymerix) was voluntarily removed from the market by the manufacturer because of poor sales and concerns about the vaccine causing arthritis, although studies found that this was unlikely.
There was a theoretical risk that a portion of the protein that was used could cause the body to attack its own cells in and around the joints. A new vaccine (VLA15) is in the final stages of development and could be released as soon as late 2026. The development of this vaccine included a change to the antigen that was used to try to ensure that there wouldn't be a risk of arthritis caused by the vaccine.
Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Adminstration has made changes to their approval processes for vaccines, which threatens the ability to get timely new and improved vaccines. So, I cannot state with any confidence when the vaccine will be made commercially available. I live in an area of high Lyme disease prevalence, and I volunteered as (but was not chosen to be) a subject for the vaccine trial. I'd personally very much like to see the vaccine made available.
Vaccination alone won't guarantee protection from Lyme disease, but in addition to appropriate clothing and insect repellant, it can reduce the risk of Lyme disease, which can have serious complications.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I recently read in your column that using Flonase can cause cataracts. In my case, I regularly used Flonase for about a year, and during this time, my eye pressure steadily increased, even though I was using eye drops for glaucoma. When I finally asked my ophthalmologist about Flonase, he told me to stop taking it, which I did. I still had to have eye surgery (a trabeculectomy), but since quitting Flonase, my eye pressure has been stable.
-- J.N.
ANSWER: Fluticasone (Flonase) is a commonly used over-the-counter nasal steroid for allergic rhinitis and other nasal conditions. It's generally safe. In one study of over 2,000 subjects, there were zero cases of glaucoma in the nasal steroid group or the placebo group at 12 months.
ToYourGoodHealth
@med.cornell.edu.