Thursday, January 21, 2010
The Drug-less Medicine Cabinet Exposed
Words Amelia Baker
Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 9:33 am
On a not so far off branch under the green umbrella, you’ll find natural, holistic treatment.
The Neti Pot, oh how I love thee...
Ever so timely, ‘tis the season for eternal runny noses and deep coughs, I thought I’d give an alternative approach to treatment. I’m one to self-medicate instead of going to the doctor so I’ll usually try just about anything.
Along with my tried and true natural remedies, homeopathic medicine has done me well this season. Homeopathy is the law of similars, which means that in order for the body to effectively treat and fight off disease, remedies must produce indicators that mimic the intended pallet of symptoms. Homeopathy can be easily defined as similar suffering. It’s been practiced for more than 200 years and founded by a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann.
Without further ado, my drug-less medicine cabinet exposed.
The Neti Pot, oh how I love thee, protects and cleans the nasal cavity which is on the front line of whole body health. Used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic (of Indian root literally meaning ‘life related to knowledge/science’ intertwined with Hindu and Buddhist influences and practiced by many yogis) medicine, the Neti Pot system swooshes a salt rinse through one nostril into the sinus nook and out the other side for an amazingly clear head.
Oscillococcinum is another favorite that I keep around at all times. At the onset of a flu-like bug, take oscillo every 6 hours for a couple of days and you’ll kick some serious flu butt. The reason I am partial to oscillococcinum is because it doesn’t have any side effects or weird interactions with other medicines. It’s a homeopathic dose of little balls of milk sugar that you dissolve under your tongue.
Salt is always kept on hand in large quantities. Mixed with warm-hot water and gargled in the back of your throat, the mixture kills bacteria and germs destined to give you congestion filled, sleepless nights. If you think you’ve been contaminated, calendar some gargling in the morning and at night for a few days.
Local honey
I have this knack for buying local honey every time I see it packaged in the cute little bear-shaped bottle which is silly because bears don’t even make honey, bees do. Anyway, honey is superb for suppressing coughs and soothing sore throats. The honey coats your itchy throat allowing it to heal and successfully smothering the annoying cough that keeps you up all night. Two spoonfuls at night before bed should do the trick. Or, mix into your tea or hot water throughout the day.
Winter Wonder Balm was an amazing companion for me through the holidays when I was wheezing, sniffling, and producing a raspy whisper of a voice. It’s an olive oil-based chest rub filled with goodies like tea tree, eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender, rosemary, and ginger. You can also use it as a steam inhalant for more immediate relief.
Essential Oils are considered intelligent chemistry because they are comprised of hundreds of molecules that fight and kill bacteria. The best part is that no two batches of oil are the same so the sickness bugs don’t form resistance to the oils. Some of the best cold and flu fighters are lemon for immunity (a few drops in water…not on the skin), cinnamon also for immunity can be inhaled, peppermint and eucalyptus for soothing repertory infections can be applied directly to the skin or inhaled, and ginger is great for chest congestion and can be rubbed on or diffused.
Natural treatments aren’t new; they’ve been around for centuries and then some. I have to note that I’m no doctor nor do I have any legitimate medical training. These are my at-home, natural recommendations that I’ve tried and can attest to. If you have a lengthy sickness, you may just need to go to the doctor.
What do you have in your medicine cabinet?
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ABOUT THE WRITER
Amelia Baker is a western Pennsylvania native, Waynesburg to be exact. She left the small 'burg for ODU, then on to Southern California where the green bug really caught up with her and her husband. Working for Corporate America and trudging through her MBA at Cal State Long Beach, Brandon and Amelia were quick to leave Cali after grad school, but not without a break from the rat race. A three-month hiatus from the real world granted them a glorious travel break with cross-country adventure and European backpacking. After landing back on US soil, the Bakers set up shop quickly purchasing Green Alternatives earth-friendly general store and the rest is history.
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Great article! I’m a huge fan of essential oils for every ailment – in a steaming bowl of tea to help with congestion, in a bath for the baby, burned for the aromatherapy benefits, directly applied for injuries and rashes, etc.
I’m all for moderation when it comes to pharmaceuticals. And when a suitable natural alternative to a drug can alleviate the same symptoms without side effects I don’t see any harm in them.
Homeopathy, however, is very different. The law of similars has no basis in science and the idea of water memory is incomprehensible. It doesn’t hold up with the modern understanding of molecules. ( details @ http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org )
Homeopathy may seem like a harmless “alternative medicine” but the truth is homeopaths are in Africa right now peddling magic water to AIDS victims as a cure. I couldn’t think of a more heartless act of greed.
I understand this is an deep routed ideology and believers are likely too write off modern medicine as a bloated overfunded power hungry conspiracy that involves every doctor on the planet. For those on the fence, consider the state of health 100 years ago, consider the rampant plagues and disease, consider the appalling life expectancy rates.
No amount of natural remedies could have gotten us where we are today.
What do I have in my medicine cabinet? I have medicine.
I’m really disappointed to see something like this posted on Alt Daily. Outside of the recommendation of the neti pot, which studies have shown to be useful for a variety of minor ailments, and honey, which does have some therapeutic effects, nothing in this article is accurate. Salt nor essential oils have any antibiotic effects in the body, and homeopathy is a special kind of medical quackery.
I strongly recommend anyone who would take homeopathy or any other type of “alternative” medicine to do some serious research into what they’re getting into. At best, they’re no more effective than placebos. At worst, they can discourage individuals from seeing real doctors and get themselves killed from ailments that may be simple to solve.
The dirty little secret of alternative medicine is that once they are proven to be effective, alternative medical treatments become actual medicine.
If you’re more interested in the realities of homeopathy in particular, see here: http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html
Read more here:
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=2558
Thanks for the article. I’m out the door now to purchase the Neti Pot. Your article is the umpteenth recommendation for this treatment and I’ve been suffering with sinus congestion long enough…
Not sure why my previous comment was blocked by the moderator. I was only suggesting that people remain skeptical of remedies recommended by friends/doctors/writers but especially from those who are not regulated or backed with any evidence. I recommend all readers to look up information on Homeopathic treatments, specifically the lack of evidence that exists for typically suggested homeopathic remedies.
One place to start: http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/
JS
Eat honey, live longer!
it should also be put out there that the seahorses used on the main page graphic represent one of the worst elements of “natural medicine” ( do a google search for sea horses chinese medicine ) It’s no different than the use of rhino horn and tiger penis to treat sterility. Natural does not always mean good for the environment.
Salt water may not be antibiotic, but it does relieve canker sore pain when gargled. I also soak small skin infections, such as ear piercings or large zits, in salt water using a Q-tip. It dries out the infection and brings it to the surface.
Eating a peppermint and/or ginger helps settle my stomach.
I take a shot of whiskey before bed if my throat hurts. I continue to drink lemon water or green tea with honey the next day. I rarely get sore throats for more than a day. It could just be a self-fulfilling prophecy placebo effect, but I always feel better. And I suppose that’s all that matters in the end.
This is a strangley concentrated deluge of sciencbasedmedicine readership. Well you are right salt isn’t “antibiotic” per se. But high consentrations of salt retard bacterial growth that’s why ancient cultures would salt there food to preserve it and why modern doctors (since you are so in love with them) tell you to rinse with salt water after having your wisdom teeth removed.
What made you assume that I am in love with doctors? In case you failed to realize that my post was in support of a drugless medicine cabinet, well, it is.
I realize that i just hit the last reply button i saw, my comments were not directed at you.
You live in a culture nearly free of polio, tuberculosis and small pox, where a trip to the doctor can cure chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea. All easily contracted and deadly only a hundred years ago. Natural medicines may have their place but to deny the value of modern medicine shows little reverence for the research and hard work that has gotten us where we are today.
Amazing. None of these ideas are new (all predate modern allopathic medicine),and remain in use because they work.
Here’s a little info for those who quote quack sites and science based medicine instead of perhaps trying homeopathy, essential oils, and basic age old remedies like salt, ginger and honey.
Newton Flu Care and Oscillococcinum homeopathy work well. I believe the dosage is every three hours though at the first sign of symptoms. It helps to treat symptoms early. Rhus Tox works for preventing rashes and poison ivy. As does Arnica for bumps and bruises. And Chamomilla for colic and upset digestion. How do I know? I’ve used them safely both on myself and my children.
Specific essential oils have anti viral, antifungal and antibacterial properties, as well as many others. They are the concentrated lifeblood of plants that protects them from bacteria, molds and disease, and attracts pollinators. People who use essential oils have less disease for less time than those who do not.
Making natural medicine into medicine, as in taking them out of the hands of people and making them into drugs that are owned by pharmaceutical companies -well only someone who wants drug companies to control/manage their health would want that.
There is so much to be gained from using natural products first.
Okay, seriously? My post didn’t go through.
Silliness, I declare it!
IT IS MY FAULT A *DELUGE*(a deluge is 3 people?) OF POSTERS CAME HERE MENTIONING SCIENCE BASED MEDICINE! BLAME ME! I posted a link to the AltDaily article on my husband’s facebook because I knew he cares a lot about this subject. I think at least one other person on his friends list saw my link and chimed in. We’re a mob I tell ya!
The people who posted criticizing this article aren’t against natural remedies. They are against homeopathy. Do the readers here realize that there is an important difference? Natural Remedy does not equal Homeopathy. I think everyone needs to agree on definitions for the responses here to mean anything.
I’m turning to a dictionary –
ho·me·op·a·thy (h?’m?-?p’?-th?)
n. pl. ho·me·op·a·thies
A system for treating disease based on the administration of minute doses of a drug that in massive amounts produces symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the disease itself.
What that means is they take a substance that would cause a healthy person to become ill, dilute it and dilute it and dilute it and dilute it….till there’s basically nothing but water. The idea is that the water REMEMBERS whatever was once in the water, you ingest it and the water makes you better because it once had something in it that, undiluted, would make you sick.
That sounds like magic to me.
I know that some say that if it’s basically water, then what’s the harm? Well, often there is no harm. You have a cold. You drink the magic water, and your cold goes away basically when it would have run it’s course anyway. BUT, many people also justify not seeking proven treatment for much more serious illnesses by turning to homeopathic *remedies*. It’s used to shill waaaaaaater as cures to people who have AIDS and Cancer. There is a bad side to this. You may not see it in your daily life, but it’s out there and it’s sad and it’s criminal.
As for the person above who talks about big companies taking nature and turning it into drugs(plenty of jazz found in the woods can legitimately be called drugs with or without miserly corporations being involved, it’s not a dirty word), who do you think is trying to sell you vials of magic water? A good natured witch of the woods? Everyone is out to make a buck. If you do purchase homeopathic medicine please take the time to investigate the companies behind the production. In most cases you will find the familiar structure of big business, if not just a little bit smaller.
Homeopathy is not the same as gargling with salt water for a sore throat, drinking tea to settle your throat, daubing witch hazel on acne, or taking flaxseed oil for fiber and to treat bad lipids. These things work or are almost proven to work.
I’m pretty damn crunchy. I wash my floors with peppermint and vinegar. I drink tea, and rub coconut oil on my skin after the shower. I am not a mascot for plastic america. I am not a doctor. I’d love to believe in magic. Just ask the unicorn figurines on my bookshelf, but when it comes to life threatening illnesses I’m going to go see a doctor…or I would if I had insurance. Our healthcare system is NOT perfect, the history of medicine is full of horror stories(that happen to feature a lot of scary ass natural remedies, hmmm). Perhaps those suffering truly terrible illnesses and facing death wouldn’t turn to vibrating water if we could count on our HMOs to not drop us. I don’t know.
Please, read my response with your HEADS and HEART. We all benefit from using both at the same time.
I like this article! It provides potential options to strictly modern meds. Do the people out there critizing a natural approach to caring for your health do all the research, or even review all the research, about prescription drugs?! Seriously folks! I’d take natural over prescription remedies with side affects anyday, but there is also a place for modern meds too. It’s all about finding a balance, not all or nothing! Happy Friday! Weekend r&r are my drugs of choice!