Under Our Skin: A Health Care Nightmare on WXXI-TV

Pictured: Warnings seem insufficient to halt the growing Lyme disease epidemic.

Credit: UnderOurSkin.com

A real-life thriller and shocking exposé about how our corrupt medical system is failing to address one of the most serious epidemics of our times.

A gripping tale of microbes, medicine and money, Under our Skin: A Health Care Nightmare airs Thursday, July 14 at 8:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV/HD (DT21.1/cable 1011 and 11).The film by Andy Abrahams Wilson exposes the hidden story of Lyme disease, one of the most serious and controversial epidemics of our time. Each year, thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, often told that their symptoms are all in their head. Following the stories of patients and physicians fighting for their lives and livelihoods, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of the health care system and a medical establishment all too willing to put profits ahead of patients.

In the early 1970s, a mysterious illness was discovered among children living around the town of Lyme, CT. What was first diagnosed as isolated cases of juvenile arthritis, eventually became known as Lyme disease, one of the most misunderstood and controversial illnesses of our time. Today, many of those untreated will suffer chronic debilitating illness. Some unknowingly will pass the disease on to their unborn children. Many will lose their livelihoods, and still others, their lives.

Difficult to test accurately, tens of thousands of people go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. The Centers for Disease Control admits that more than 400,000 people may acquire Lyme disease each year, a number ten times greater than AIDS and West Nile Virus combined. And yet, the medical establishment--with profound influence from the insurance industry--has stated that the disease is easily detectable and treatable, and that "chronic Lyme" is some other unrecognized syndrome or a completely psychosomatic disorder.

From a few brave doctors who risk their medical licenses, to patients who once led active lives but now can barely walk, the film uncovers a hidden world that will alarm viewers. While exposing a broken health care and medical research system, the film also gives voice to those who believe that instead of a crisis, Lyme is simply a "disease du jour," over diagnosed and contributing to another crisis: the looming resistance of microbes and ineffectiveness of antibiotics.