Bach flower remedies use extracts from the flowering parts of plants to counteract emotional states that are thought to contribute to physical illness. The flower remedies were developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s by Dr. Edward Bach (pronounced “botch”), an English physician and homeopath. Bach strongly believed that emotions–such as fear, uncertainty, oversensitivity, jealousy, despondency, and anger–predisposed his patients to certain diseases.
Alternative Approaches To Everyday Problems
After practicing conventional medicine for years and years, now that I’m working with a variety of alternative practitioners, it’s very satisfying to be learning new ways to treat many everyday illnesses, especially those that mainstream medicine doesn’t have much luck with. It was a very humbling experience to observe how other practitioners, outside the “select” […]
Alexander Technique
The Alexander technique is a method of movement and alignment that teaches people to use their bodies more efficiently. It helps individuals improve their posture, let go of muscle tension, and move with greater ease. The goal of this technique is to eradicate such poor habits as slouching and tensing (which can lead to pain, decreased mobility, and other health problems) and replace them with good postural habits.
Yeast Infections (Vaginal)
I really doubt if the women in our grandmother’s time, or before, experienced the same trouble with yeast infections that we do. Truly, we’ve set the stage for yeast to flourish in our vaginas in ways unknown to earlier generations. We overuse broad-spectrum antibiotics, each of us eats 120 pounds of sugar every year (!), we’re on birth control pills, and we all face too many day-in and day-out stresses. The end result? By the time we’re in menopause, 75% of us will have had one or more yeast infections. These are typically episodes in which a yeast known as candida albicans–normally a harmless fellow-traveler in our vaginas–takes over. And the tell-tale symptoms of itching, burning, and a cottage cheese-like discharge make life really unpleasant for a few days.
Weight Loss
On some days, dealing with problems of excessive weight seems to represent the (pardon the pun) bulk of patient complaints. Some of these concerns are genuine: Real obesity does predispose you to a variety of health risks. Understanding the whole issue of being overweight is more complicated than you’d think. Genetics play a part, as does individual metabolism. And don’t forget your environment. There’s no question that for some of us losing weight is hard–and frustrating. We live in a land abundant with good things to eat and everywhere we go, someone is snacking on something.
Warts
Then, one day, you realize the dermatologist’s waiting room is looking awfully familiar these days and more than likely, you’re there because the wart is back on your kid’s finger. These fleshy little growths (the wart, not the kid) are caused by the papillomavirus, of which there are thirty different types. Interestingly, all the different warts you’ve read about (common wart, plantar wart, genital wart, and so forth) are essentially the same, but their appearance changes according to their location on the body. Because the virus invasion is confined to the topmost layer of skin, it manages to elude the radar screen of the immune system. When a wart does disappear spontaneously, it probably just got ‘noticed’ and appropriately zapped.
Varicose Veins
Undeniably, heredity plays a role in varicose veins, those decidedly unattractive blue ropey knots (or squiggly red lines) you’re certain are distracting everyone from your otherwise perfect legs. Although varicose veins are rarely a serious medical problem, they can be quite uncomfortable and even painful if inflamed. Conventional medicine now offers a variety of minimally invasive outpatient surgical procedures that have virtually eliminated the more extensive surgery required in the past.
Urinary Tract Infections
Whenever a patient tells me about calling her doctor with symptoms of a urinary tract infection and being refused an antibiotic because he “never” prescribes one without a urine culture, I know the doctor has never experienced a UTI himself. Let’s face it….bladder infections are a girl thing, and most doctors are, well, male. So they haven’t experienced constantly racing to the john with this uncontrollable urge to pee, then managing to squeeze out a few drops of seemingly liquid fire.
Ulcers
Gone are the old days of ulcer treatments with their incredibly restrictive diets, hourly swigs of Maalox, and sending of patients off to surgery–thank heaven. Today, we know a lot more about the little sores found in the lining of the stomach (gastric ulcers) or the first part of the small intestine, the duodenum (duodenal ulcers), than we used to. Although still associated with the stressed executive (stress increases acid flow), we now know that ulcers are caused by a specific bacterium called Helicobacter pylori. We still don’t know for sure how people become infected in the first place. But it’s a very democratic germ: Anyone can get an ulcer. And drinking alcohol or too much coffee, or taking aspirin (or NSAIDs), or being overstressed–all simply make the situation worse.
Thyroid Disease
Here’s a section you can read to gather some information on your thyroid, a vital gland located in your neck that controls how fast or slow everything (but everything!) operates in your body. Compare it to the gas pedal of your car, with the gearshift in neutral. Too slow, and the motor dwindles and grinds to a halt. Too fast, and you’ll burn your engine out. Although most thyroid disorders are treated either by replacement hormones or prescription drugs, an inappropriately operating thyroid places all sorts of burdens on the smooth functioning of your body. Many of these can be helped with dietary changes and selected nutritional supplements.
Sunburn
Most people have had at least one vacation ruined by sunburn. Usually, they then smarten up and remember that heading outside means putting on sunblock. Children are frequent victims of sunburn, their time in the sun flying by as sandcastles get bigger and bigger. We grown-ups can be caught unaware, too. Whether skiing, backpacking, or just sprawled on the chilly deck of a cruise ship, we just don’t notice until it’s too late how the dazzling sunlight has baked our pale arms, legs, and face into a glowing lobster red.
Stroke
It’s a reflection of the body’s remarkable power to recover that most people do quite well after a stroke. We know that actors Patricia Neal and Kirk Douglas went back to work, but so do teachers, doctors, and cab drivers.
Even more remarkable is how each year the number of people who have strokes declines. This is a dramatic statement about how medications for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, low-fat diets, and regular exercise are finally paying off.
Stress
An interesting transition in any primary care physician’s career occurs when he or she realizes that the real culprit filling up the office every day is stress. It’s not “disease,” like you’re taught at medical school. In fact, people under age 65 are remarkably free of disease these days. So why the waiting room crowds complaining about headaches, skin rashes, back pains, colds, stomach distress, insomnia? Of course, all these people undergo “tests” to rule out the diseases they’re worried about. The results are routinely normal. So you, the doctor, having to do something, write out a prescription for medication to mask the symptoms. Years later, tired of fighting off decades of unrelenting stress, the body falls prey to real ulcers or genuine heart attacks.
Sprains and Strains
For some of us, a strained or sprained muscle (if it’s mild) can be a badge of honor. We feel proud that at 40-something we can rub a shoulder dramatically and complain we played too many innings of baseball or too many sets of tennis. I remember treating the strained shoulder of an octogenarian who was bursting to tell me how it had occurred during an evening of vigorous sex. More serious strains and sprains are too painful to occasion boasting. Instead, they may require specialized medical help. Sprains particularly can take a long time to heal, and ligaments (bands that connect bones to each other at the joints) that are injured may remain weak and prone to reinjury.
The supplement and lifestyle suggestions we offer at WholeHealth Chicago are helpful for both mild and serious muscle strains and sprains, and they can complement any medical treatment.
Sore Throat
You know the sensation. First, it’s an uncomfortable little “awareness” in the back of your throat, and the thought crosses your mind, “I hope I’m not coming down with something.” Slowly, over the next few hours or so, your awareness increases. Then the next morning, you awaken with the sensation of having swallowed a blowtorch. And, since a sore throat is all too often the first act of a bad cold, you know what the next few days are going to be like, and wonder what you can do to prevent things from getting worse. Here are some suggestions from WholeHealth Chicago.
Sinusitis
In my town, doctors refer to it as the “Denver drip,” but of course the “Chicago crud” or “Manhattan mucus” serve just as well. In fact, that decidedly unpleasant, back-of-the-throat, thick-as-molasses post nasal drainage is simply your sinuses, endlessly trying to empty themselves. What with clogged heads, tickly coughs, constant nose blowing, and voices perpetually needing a “harrumph!” to clear them, it’s little wonder that sinus sufferers are willing to undergo repeated surgeries for temporary relief. Or borrow somebody’s old antibiotics. Or fantasize about plunging a Craftsman power drill up their nostrils.
Shingles
Since almost everyone gets chickenpox as a child, most of us are susceptible to developing shingles as adults. Each illness is caused by the same virus, which is called varicella in children and herpes zoster in adults. After the chickenpox ends, the virus goes into hibernation in the nerve cells along the spinal cord. Then, many years later, when the immune system is weakened in some way–by age, stress, certain drugs, illness (even the flu)–the virus awakens. At some point along the spine, it travels along a nerve, producing a painful rash along the band of skin served by that nerve. Herpes zoster means “belt of fire”–the name is apt.
Rosacea
You’re in your thirties and confident that those former anxieties about teenage acne are ancient history. Then you begin to notice something. Hmm… your cheeks…your chin…and the bridge of your nose seem to redden easily, especially when you eat some spicy food or drink alcohol. At first you think nothing of it, and don’t mind when friends comment about your “healthy glow.” But then, this odd redness just doesn’t seem to go away. When you examine your skin carefully, you see lots of tiny blood vessels. Your face appears a little swollen, and it definitely feels tender. Since the resemblance to Santa Claus is getting a bit unnerving, you decide it’s time for some help.
Raynaud’s Disease
People with Raynaud’s disease are at the other end of the spectrum from people who blush at the drop of a hat. But, instead of having blood vessels that open readily, they have vessels that constrict too easily, usually in response to something cold. When you have Raynaud’s, you can walk into an air-conditioned room or even reach into a picnic cooler, and suddenly your fingers feel oddly cold, even numb and tingly. As you watch, the tips go dead white, then blue, and (after you frantically warm them up again), a bright, throbbing red.
Psoriasis
When I was a kid, there used to be a magazine advertisement that began “Do you suffer the heartbreak of psoriasis?” I couldn’t understand the connection between a skin rash and a broken heart until I began actually treating people with this skin condition. Psoriasis, which affects about 6 million Americans, is indeed a frustrating disorder, for both patient and doctor. Although the exact cause is unknown, we do know that new skin cells reproduce and accumulate faster than they can be sloughed off. The condition can range in severity from a few small patches to large and unsightly thick plaques that appear just about anywhere on the body.