Natural Health and Herbal Remedies Blog – information on herbal medicine

GENESIS OF BACKACHE: BABIES’ BREACH POSITION In breach position, the baby goes through a very difficult situation as the buttocks are ‘docked’ into the birth canal. The hip is wider than the width of the skull and unless the size of the baby is really small or the birth canal large, labour in this position is always very strenuous and difficult. Ultimately, there is only one solution, namely to tilt the hip to one side so that it enters the birth canal in an oblique position and inches through it very slowly. This tilting of the hip results in shifting of its delicate joints and bony structures. This may result in a semi-permanent tilting of the hip which is one of the main reasons for scoliosis and shortening of one of the legs. Injuries to the gluteal muscles may lead to spasms in later years, causing sciatica. These injuries show signs of pathology years later. There is always an ‘inborn’ spinal defect when babies are born in breach positions. Traditional Indian midwives take breach positions very seriously and they do their best to reverse the positions in the womb, before birth, by using manipulative art and massage. Babies born in breach positions are said to grow up to have lower back pain and sciatica in later years. There is also a very interesting saying in folk remedies in India (probably circulated by the Dais): ‘If you have low backache, go and ask a man born in the breach position to massage the back with his left foot and it will get cured.’ Why a man born in breach position and why the left foot will remain a mystery. I suspect that when dealing with breach positions, the experienced midwives try to pull the baby down with the right hip first and therefore the left leg is stronger or less traumatised as one presumes that the left leg is innately weak and one does not want to weaken it any further by causing further damage. Only statistics can prove this.*132\330\8*

HOW RELIGION IS RELATED TO SEX?
Great God is worshiped throughout India in the form of the “Linga” set in the female emblem of the ‘yoni’. Sexuality can be said to have been regarded as divine in the high cultures of India. Five thousand years ago phallic objects similar to the modern linga were made and worshiped in the ancient city of Harappa. Is preaching of moral issues about sex necessary?
The moral issues about sex should be taught not preached. Explanations should be given with the child making up his/her mind about such topics. The pupils should never be given idea that the teacher is preaching about morals as this can have the opposite effect. The children if told continuously that a certain behaviour is the wrong thing to do, the more likelihood there is of them trying it out.What is the relation of love and age?
There are no age limits on loving or the need to be loved. From birth to death men and women need to be loved and can express love. One of the myths about love and age is that older people cease to love and at best let their love due to a serene affection. Their capacity for loving is undiminished as is their need to. receive love.*129\301\2*

BACH FLOWER REMEDIES: DR. BACH’S PHILOSOPHY – PHYSICAL AILMENTS ARE NO DISEASEBach Flower Remedies were discovered only 50 years ago, and although very effective will require some more years of research and experimentation to attain the same prestigeous position as Homoeopathy.However, Back blower Remedies are a very useful adjunct in the Homoeopathic Practice.In order to understand the correct utility of Bach Flower Remedies, it is necessary to understand the philosophy of Dr. Bach. In order to live a healthy and happy life on this Earth, it is necessary for the man to keep his individuality in tact. He should lead his life in his own way without any interference from other quarters and he should not interfere in the way of life of others. He should consider his inner voice as guidance provided by the Providence for leading to fulfilment of his life’s aim.Physical ailments are no disease; they represent only the imbalance or non-synchronization of the vital trio—the soul, (inner voice), the mind and the physical body. Physical ailment is only an exhibition of the above imbalance. When we tread our way in complete freedom and let others tread their path without interference, then the path of life is easy and without any hold.Any hold in the path is troublesome. Very often we forget that even petty things hold us unnecessarily, and destroy our freedom. Such things as we want to hold to, things in the absence of which we feel frustrated such as some property, some piece of furniture, some pieces of rare art etc., these are the things which hold us and destroy our freedom. The inner voice tells us that the worldly things are transitory, and separation from them is a must, even then we get attached to them and become unhappy.You are welcome to use the worldly things and derive pleasure from their use, but do not give them so much importance that the thought of their absence destroys your happiness. Do not consider that the impediments in your way are an unnecessary evil. Give them the status of a friendly opponent, whose aim is not to destroy you, but to train you against odds and to make you fit to withstand adverse circumstances. Like a trainee who gets punches and blows on his face from the boxer and yet touches his feet to show his respect, you should treat these impediments as friendly opponents meant to strengthen your mental condi¬tion so that you can face and overcome, with confidence, any impediments in your mission of life.*27\308\8*

SOME REASONS FOR NOT GETTING BETTER: HANGING ONTO YOUR ANXIETY/DEPRESSION & REFUSAL TO LOOK AT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SIDEHanging onto Your Anxiety/DepressionThe responsibility for your emotional state is yours. Outside factors may make life very hard for you, but what actually goes on in your body is determined by you; if you respond to life with tension, this causes anxiety which in turn causes depression. This is not being done to you, you are doing it and what is more, it is a habit that needs a great deal of determination to break. It is true that when you feel ill you need understanding and support, but subsequently it is up to you to take responsibility and train yourself to live without tension.Refusal to Look at the Psychological SideBeing physically low often acts as a catalyst; all the stored rubbish from the unconscious is unearthed because the person is too weak to hold it in. This does not happen to everyone, because some people are able to express their emotions as they experience them. While many people recover as soon as the physical cause of their discomfort is eased, there are others who don’t. Often these are people who stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that there could be psychological problems too. Hanging on to guilt, anger, frustration and failure to forgive will keep you firmly on the tension-anxiety anxiety-depression trail.*148\326\8*

DRUGS FOR PARTIAL SEIZURES AND TONIC-CLONIC SEIZURES:  CARBAMAZEPINE (TEGRETOL)Carbamazepine is an excellent anticonvulsant medication for partial and generalized tonic-clonic seizures, and our initial choice for children with these seizures because of its apparent lower incidence of effects on learning and behavior and its lack of cosmetic side effects. Earlier concerns about carbamazepine’s effect on the blood and bone marrow seem to have been greatly overstated, especially for children.Carbamazepine, a seemingly very safe and effective anticonvulsant, “induces its own metabolism.” If we start a child on the amount of medication that he’ll eventually need to control seizures, he’ll become toxic, so we start slowly. The half-life is longer when the medication is first introduced into the body; the body’s metabolism hasn’t been induced, or “turned on,” and the drug accumulates. Therefore, when starting carbamazepine, the drug should be begun at a low dose and increased each week for the first several weeks to reach and maintain the appropriate blood level.*122\208\8*

KEY POINTS: CONSENSUS FOR INTENSIVE MANAGEMENT OF LIPIDS AND LIPOPROTEINS IN TYPE 2 DIABETESThe ADA and the NCEP (ATP III) now agree in recommending intensive treatment for lipids/lipoproteins in type 2 diabetes.LDL-C is the primary target of therapy. Optimal levels of LDL-C are < 100 mg/dl.Triglycerides and HDL-C are secondary targets.Optimal triglyceride level is < 150 mg/dl.Optimal HDL-C levels are > 45 mg/dl for men and > 55 mg/dl for women.The first step is total lifestyle change (TLC).TLC includes a desirable body weight, exercise program, and meal plan with saturated fat < 7% of calories, cholesterol < 200 mg/day, and monounsaturated fat up to 20% of calories. TLC recommends 25-35% of calories as fat, 50-60% as carbohydrate, 15% as protein, and 20-30 gm of fiber daily. The non-HDL-C (cholesterol minus HDL-C) target is < 130 mg/dl. This goal should be used if high plasma triglyceride levels (200-499 mg/dl) are present after LDL-C is < 100 mg/dl.Fibrate or nicotinic acid therapy is recommended if the non-HDL-C level is > 130 mg/dl.*171\257\8*

EFFECT OF VARIOUS RISK FACTORS OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE – THE ESSENCE OF UNDERSTANDING RISK FACTORSIt is all a matter of odds, and that is the essence of understanding risk factors and deciding your response to them in your life. Your decision revolves around the value you place on your health in relation to the risks that may compromise it in the future. Persons who value a long, healthy, and productive life place a high priority on increasing their chances of attaining those goals.  Like many games ofchance, it comes down to each individual plotting a strategy based on the odds (your risk factors) and the stakes. With coronary artery disease, the stakes are your health and your life span.Most people, if asked to rank the importance of their health and life span, would place them at the top of their list. Yet, whether through laziness or lack of discipline, they take risks. Regardless of what the specific risks may be, it is useful to consider what might motivate persons to risk their well-being.There are several fundamental reasons why people take risks. First, risk does not imply certainty, so you may believe or hope that the risky behavior will not actually affect you. Second, although health is a high priority, conflicting priorities certainly exist. Some risky activities may be rewarding in some other sense, such as seeming fun, glamorous, carefree, or sociable. Third, most people take their health for granted; they have only a dim idea of what it is actually like to be deprived of their health. Finally, the consequences of risk factors usually do not show up immediately; rather, they occur later in life, beyond the normal planning period of most young people. Understanding this “psychology” of risk factors is an important first step for you to deal with them constructively.*222\252\8*

TREATMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: SECOND-LINE DRUGSThe purpose of second-line medications is to alter the course of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) – to control the arthritis process and prevent joint damage. Second-line drugs are commonly referred to as DMARDs, or disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. They are also known as slow acting anti-rheumatic drugs (SAARDs) because it takes several weeks or months for them to work.All drugs classified as DMARDs or SAARDs have been proven to be effective in slowing down the process of RA. In some cases they may even induce a complete remission of the condition (which explains why they are sometimes referred to as remittive drugs). Their ability to affect the course of RA distinguishes this group of drugs from NSAIDs, which effectively treat symptoms such as pain and swelling but probably do not change the course of the disease. Although second-line medications do not provide fast pain relief, improved comfort is often a long-term benefit of using them to control the arthritis process.Five of the second-line medications – injectable gold, oral gold, hydroxychloroquine, penicillamine, and sulfasalazine – are categorized strictly as DMARDs. We do not fully understand how they work. Other second-line drugs are categorized as immunosuppressants. This group includes methotrexate, azathioprine, and cyclophosphamide, and we think we know how they work: immunosuppressants appear to change the course of RA by suppressing, or decreasing the activity of, the immune system.As we have seen, parts of the immune system are overactive in RA, so a drug that decreases the hyperactivity of the immune system is useful in controlling the disease. But to maintain health, a person must have a properly functioning immune system, since the immune system is designed to fight infection. For this reason, immunosuppressants must be prescribed with care. The immune system cannot be allowed to become suppressed to the point that it is unable to fight infection. Safe and effective treatment of RA with immunoby a physician experienced in their use, preferably a rheumatologist.*89/209/5*

SAFE SEX: THE ONLY DEFENSE AGAINST AIDSPrevention is the only defense against AIDS and the best defense against other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). There is no vaccine for HIV (the virus that causes AIDS). It’s what you do — not who you are — that puts you at risk. Anyone can get AIDS.What you can do PreventionEliminate your risk entirely by not having sex with anyone (abstinence) or by having sex only with a non-infected partner who has sex only with you (mutual monogamy).Unless you are in a monogamous relationship and you and your partner have tested negative for HIV for six months or longer (or have been in a mutually monogomous relationship since the late 70s):
Use a latex condom each time you have sex.Avoid unprotected vaginal, oral and anal sex.Don’t use “natural” skin condoms. Only latex condoms protect against HIV/STDs. In addition:Always check the condom for tears.Cover the erect penis with the condom before any sexual contact.Keep the condom snugly in place until sexual contact is over.
If needed, use a water-based lubricant, such as K-Y Jelly during intercourse. Avoid petroleum-based products, which can weaken the latex barrier.Get to know your sexual partner(s) before you have sexual relations, and limit the number of partners you have.Behaviors that are considered to put you at high risk for contracting HIV include having sex with:
Intravenous (IV) drug users, or anyone who has had sex with an IV drug userSomeone who has or has had numerous sexual partnersSomeone who has or has had an STD such as genital herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea or any open genital or oral soreSomeone who has received a blood transfusion or blood products between 1978 – 85 and has not been tested for HIVMale or female prostitutesHomosexual or bisexual menIndividuals with questionable HIV statusFinal notesAlthough sexual intercourse is the primary means of infection with HIV, it is not the only one. Infants can be born with the virus if their mother is infected, and HIV can be passed to children through breast milk from infected mothers. Always consult your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.*115\303\2*