The numbers are frightening: according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 200,000 people may be infected with Lyme disease annually. Yet despite the fact that new cases of Lyme disease outnumber new cases of AIDS, West Nile Virus, and Avian Flu combined, this frightening malady seems to go virtually ignored in the mainstream media. In this documentary, filmmaker Andy Abrahams Wilson speaks with six Lyme disease patients and the small but dedicated group of physicians
who put their medical licenses on the lines in order to treat the disease that the Infections Diseases Society of America (an organization populated by many individuals who have troubling ties to the health insurance industry) claims is entirely treatable with antibiotics and, in may cases, psychosomatic. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
We may not get to argue both sides of the debate, but Under Our Skin stirs the deepest emotions and reveals the most unsettling truth: We're all vulnerable to a tick bite, sure, but it's the health care system that really gets us in the end.
Heartbreaking stories of patients suffering life-shattering illness make "Under Our Skin'' compelling. It would have been an even better movie if the filmmakers had been more diligent in following the money.
Under Our Skin has a major ax to grind, but if even half of what it alleges is true, it's more deeply terrifying than any slasher film you'll ever see.
What concerns Wilson is why there is so little public discussion of the most common vector-borne disease in the country, and why the disease has become so politicized and controversial.
The information it presents is eye-opening for medical consumers and health professionals of any stripe. And the film incidentally makes a great case for health care reform.
The film is certainly interesting, but considering its excessive running time, very little is given over to the opposing view...One doctor's court trial never makes it clear if any of patients had less than desirable results.
This compelling account of the explosive growth of Lyme disease grows to encompass all the peculiar politics, corruption and inertia of American medicine.
Only in its investigation into these downright evil motives does it take on the necessary role of activist, and...I wish it had gone further and deeper.
It's the nurse in me that draws me to watch things like this. I never knew there was such controversy surrounding Lyme disease. Somewhat thought provoking - could Lyme disease be the cause of Alzheimers and other diseases? Is it psychosomatic? Was it responsible for the death of Jimmy Hoffa? (Ok, last question I
made up.) One problem about watching it - gave me the heebie jeebies for days after.
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