Abandon antibiotics if you have sinusitis

If you have a blocked, painful nose, throbbing cheeks and forehead it could be sinusitis. It often comes with a cold. The mucus in your sinuses, air filled spaces in your cheekbones and forehead, can become infected causing inflamed sinuses. You can get acute sinusitis, a one-off nasal infection or chronic sinusitis where you keep getting infections. It normally clears up on its own or with the help of decongestants or painkillers, but antibiotics may be prescribed although recent research shows they are ineffective.

Trials undertaken at University of Southampton, showed that the antibiotic Amoxicillin was no more effective than a placebo in altering the symptom severity, the duration, or the natural history of the condition was the researchers conclusion. This is concerning, as up to 92% of patients with acute sinusitis in Britain and 85% to 98% of such patients in the U.S.A. receive antibiotics, even though doctors rarely confirm a bacterial infection for which they would be effective.

If you do suffer from sinusitis and want some natural relief, then this suggestion might help you stay well, or at least cut the duration of the condition.

Good old fashioned steam inhalation is still one of the most effective ways of clearing your nose, and chest. Try adding five drops each of the aromatic oils of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) and sage (Salvia officinalis) to a bowl of hot water and cover the bowl and your head with a large towel to trap the steam. Do this twice a day and just relax and breathe in until the steam has evaporated. The aromatic oils from eucalyptus and sage leaves help halt bacterial growth and reduce the risk of getting secondary infections. These herbs have both decongestant and antibacterial properties and are an excellent remedy for respiratory problems, including chest congestion, bronchitis, bronchial cough and sinusitis. You could also try adding a couple of crushed garlic cloves in the water as garlic has great antiviral and antibacterial properties.

Natural help for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Whether you suffer from a mild, or acute, form of IBS you will probably have worked out a strategy or have medication to deal with. However, there are also many herbs and spices which have a pacifying effect on the stomach and digestive process and it would be fairly easy to add these into your normal diet.

When cooking, bear in mind that all these herbs could help: dill, clove marjoram, rosemary, and black pepper. Parsley, that all-time garnish favourite, is also good as long as you remember to eat it!

Try a daily cuppa containing some of these herbs: aniseed, peppermint, spearmint, chamomile, fennel and lemon balm. You can buy them individually, but they are often used in combination so check the label and of a good natural, preferably organic, tea range and your digestive system will definitely thank you. I don’t have IBS, but I always have a peppermint tea after meals as it helps counteract rich foods, and any potential indigestion.

Although ginger is a stimulant, there is a herbal remedy for IBS that suggests you have a tea with peppermint and chamomile with a little sliced fresh ginger added. I would start with just one slice, and drink this 2 to 3 times a day.

If your IBS is really troublesome, then talking to a nutritionist can help as there are specific vitamins and minerals that help reduce stress, and that helps with IBS symptoms. Commonly used for this purpose are a good vitamin B complex with extra biotin, and also extra vitamin B5 but don’t self prescribe = see an expert.

If you want to find a nutritionist in your area, then you can visit www.nutripeople.co.uk to find a local practitioner. You just input your postcode and a number of suggestions will come up, if you see one that interests you then click on the more detail button to the right of their name and full contact details will come up.

As will all natural remedies, take it slow and monitor your response. If you feel fine then keep taking it, but if it makes any of your symptoms worse, then stop immediately.

The value of water

In December we have a natural tendency to eat and drink more, particularly alcohol as we attend more social functions than usual. One result is that we put more stress on our bodies and can neglect one of the most simple ingredients we need to stay fit and healthy. Water is absolutely a prime requirement for health, there is virtually no function in our bodies that doesn’t require it in one way or another, and it is the simplest, cheapest thing we can do to stay healthy. Your body starts out comprised of 80% water when you are born, but by the time we die we average only 50% water. In fact 48% of older people admitted to Emergency Rooms showed signs of dehydration in addition to their other symptoms. Chronic dehydration can lead to many serious health problems as well as exacerbating conditions such as allergies, asthma, diabetes, hypertension and arthritis. The common tiredness and headaches many people very frequently experience is often just dehydration as we have drink more tea and coffee, which are diuretic in action and remove water from our systems rather than adding to it. The old 1.5 to 2 litres a day rule of drinking just plain water (don’t include tea, coffee or soft drinks in your daily total is not a dietary fad, it is good sound medical sense. Water is needed for fat metabolism, to remove waste from cells, and to keep your brain healthy.

We also use it for transporting nutrients and wastes, lubrication, temperature regulation, and tissue structure maintenance and recently uncovered research adds some fascinating water facts.

A French medical doctor, specialising in immunology, discovered something truly fascinating about water. Dr. Jacques Benveniste died in 2004, but he discovered certain scientific properties of water that no one else had found. He called this particular brand of science digital biology, and so far no one has duplicated his experiments, but I thought you would like to hear about them.

His first discovery was that when a substance is diluted in water, the water can carry the memory of that substance even after it has been so diluted that none of the molecules of the original substance remain. Secondly, he found that the molecules of any given substance have a spectrum of frequencies that can be digitally recorded with a computer, then played back into untreated water (using an electronic transducer), and when this is done, the new water will act as if the actual substance were physically present. It sounds like something a science fiction writer would come up with, but Dr. Benveniste’s findings about the ‘memory’ of water may go some way to showing why homoeopathic treatments work though no one can ‘[prove’ why the more the substance is diluted the more potent it’s effects are. A remedy that is marked 6x does not mean it is six times as effective but that it has been diluted 6 times. So a remedy marked 30x has been diluted 30 times and it that level where it is actually ‘stronger’ and more effective.

Whatever your thoughts about water, believe me you will benefit from drinking more of it. Try drinking a large glass of water every morning and top up throughout the day and see what a difference it will make.

Toning Up Your Digestive Tract

December usually is the start of the ‘out of the window’ with sensible eating plan. It’s a sociable time; office parties, Christmas lunches and dinners with friends and neighbours and what they all have in common is rich food and usually some alcohol. It is of course great fun, but if you are not used to eating that sort of diet in such quantity and with such regularity it can put a real strain on your digestive system and one of the results can be constipation and bloating. There are of course numerous products you can buy to help you with it, often expensive, usually with additional additives in terms of chemicals, sweeteners and colourings.

How about something incredibly cheap, natural and yellow? It’s called a lemon and is the simplest way to help your system stay toned and ready to cope with that additional load. All that extra food and drink puts a large strain on your liver, gallbladder, and pancreas and so you don’t digest your food properly and the result is discomfort. One of the great things about lemons is that they are the most amazing cleaners for your body and a great source of Vitamin C and potassium. How do they do that? First by building up enzymes in your liver, so it can detoxify toxins in your blood, and then they help to prevent kidney and pancreatic stones forming by combining with calcium in your body.

All you need to do to get these great health benefits is to drink the juice of a lemon in a large cup or mug of hot water every single morning after getting out of bed. Make it the first thing you do, and don’t eat anything before it or for at least 30 minutes afterwards. If that sounds too sour for you then add some honey or maple syrup to sweeten it but however you drink it I promise you will feel the benefit – oh and it helps keep your skin clear too!

More on Health Texting

It may seem like a gimmick, but there is serious money being invested around the world in setting up systems to send mobile phone text messages for a variety of health situations. Some companies are beginning to capitalize on the concept by selling a service that companies can then provide to their employees or customers. They will send text, email or voice-mail messages reminding users to take their pills, refill prescriptions, get to appointments or check vital signs such as blood pressure or blood sugar levels. Interested parties include drug companies, insurers and large employers hoping to improve efficiency and decrease absenteeism and next year, a direct-to-consumer service is being launched that for $60 a year will offer you a personal email, text or voice-mail reminder about prescriptions and appointments. In the older age groups, 60 plus, they showed little interest in the service as generally that age group are more averse to using new technology.

The advantages are fairly clear. Text messaging is fast, cheap and private. Unlike voice mail, it is easier to recall and easier to respond to. In England, women have received text reminders to take their birth-control pills, and Rifat Atun, professor of international health management at Imperial College in London, says several hospitals in England already text-message appointment reminders and test results. AIDS patients are helped to keep to adhere to complicated drug regimens by text in Australia, and German researchers are examining how text messages can offer psychological support to bulimics.

The San Francisco Health Department started a texting service for sexual-health information last year, in response to rising venereal disease rates among adolescents and young adults. A text-message number was extensively advertised on posters, and on public transport and urged young people to call and they will get texted responses to common questions. This is similar to a programme running in the UK aimed at the same age group, and in case you wanted to know, the top three messages that were accessed by users were:

1 “what 2 do if ur condom broke,”
2 “2 find out about STDs,”
3 “if u think ur pregnant”

For the older generation, yes I do know how to spell, and those messages are exactly as they appear on the phone! It’s why I struggle with texting, I spell everything in full which takes me so long it’s much quicker just to phone someone!

Antiseptic Health Wipes – Proof Positive?

You know that theory that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction? It certainly seems to apply to any new product development as the report in the British Medical Journal of 1 December seems to prove. Because there is such a prevalence now of bugs and viruses, the incidence of using antiseptic hand cleansing products has become much more widespread in public buildings and in our homes. However these various products from hand wipes to hand washing solutions usually contain alcohol in one form or another and there is now concern that they could be a problem to alcoholics.

Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust did a study after investigating a case report on a patient known to have a history of alcohol dependence who displayed withdrawal symptoms even though he had not consumed alcohol for 24 hours. The patient arrived at the hospital and during admission was found collapsed, having vomited in the bathroom. He was holding an empty 500 ml bottle of alcohol hand rub with another such bottle next to him. His blood ethanol concentration at the time of collapse was nine times over the legal British driving limit and a potentially fatal concentration

The Trust then looked at hospital admissions related to children and adults exposed to alcohol hand wipes and it was found that during the 18 month period after alcohol hand wipes and hand rubs became widespread in use that 66% of the admissions were thought to result from intentional abuse. These cases all occurred within hospitals or nursing homes where their use ought to be strictly monitored, though it appears that in a normal adult as little as 360 ml of an alcohol hand rub containing 80% ethanol might potentially lead to life-threatening complications.

Any ill effects generally occur within one to two hours after ingestion and usually have symptoms of gastric pain and vomiting. More serious effects involve central nervous system depression, leading to aspiration and respiratory arrest. According to the toxicologists who wrote the report, the more serious effects are seen in those who ingest more than 500 ml of hand rub, and this is most likely to occur in confused patients and alcohol abusers seeking the desired effect.

Diabetes and the Younger Generation

First the bad news: the onset of type 2 diabetes appears to be rapidly increasing for people in their twenties. This is an age group that most doctors traditionally wouldn’t think about diagnosing for diabetes, but the evidence shows that it is now a serious factor.

Diabetes Care magazine this week ran a report from the University of Michigan study that showed there had been a 40 per cent increase in hospitalisations related to diabetes among those aged 20 to 29. Joyce Lee, M.D. and her colleagues studied data from the period 1993 to the end of 2004 and one of the conclusions they reached was that this huge increase probably was reflecting the physiological connection between obesity and type 2 diabetes. Throughout the Western world, and particularly in the USA and UK, there has been an unprecedented rise in childhood obesity. This is due to the change in diet, which has many youngsters consuming far more empty calories from snacks such as crisps and carbonated soft drinks, and this has unfortunately been mirrored by a corresponding decrease in physical exercise and activity.

Interestingly the rate of increase of childhood diabetes has remained fairly stable, leading to the possible conclusion that damage done in childhood from diet takes some time to take effect, and that most people on leaving school undertake far less exercise than they did when younger.

Now the good news: do you know anyone under the age of 30 without a mobile phone? Texting is as automatic as breathing to most young people, so some health practices are taking advantage of this to track individuals with acute and chronic medical conditions such as asthma and diabetes. This group may not respond well to conventional follow up methods, but they always check their messages so this one way to ensure that the message about medication and specific health practices is getting through. For example, in one study in Scotland, young diabetics could send a text message to their doctor to check how to modify their insulin treatment after eating certain foods, or drinking alcohol at a party.

Mobile phones and Autism Link

Do you know a child who doesn’t have, or want, their own mobile phone? There are good practical reasons for giving children a way of being in touch when away from home, but there is now new research that links mobile phone use and autism. Rates of autism, a disabling neurodevelopmental disorder, have increased nearly 60-fold since the late 1970s, with the most significant increases occurring in the past decade. The cause of autism is unknown, although theories include such potential causes as:

* Genetic predisposition

* Inability to clear heavy metals

* Increased vulnerability to oxidative stress

* Environmental exposures including mercury preservatives in vaccines

* Trans-generational accumulation of toxic heavy metals

Now a groundbreaking new theory has been suggested by a study published in the Journal of the Australasian College of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine. They believe that it is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from cell phones, cell towers, Wi-Fi devices and other similar wireless technologies that are an accelerating factor in autism.

The study involved over five years of research on children with autism and it found that EMR negatively affects cell membranes, and allows heavy metal toxins, which are associated with autism, to build up in the body. The researchers pointed out that autism rates have increased concurrently along with the proliferation of cell phones and wireless use. EMR from wireless devices (such as laptops, bluetooth etc) works in conjunction with environmental and genetic factors to cause autism.

EMR, the researchers say, could impact autism by facilitating early onset of symptoms or by trapping heavy metals inside of nerve cells, which could accelerate the onset of symptoms of heavy metal toxicity and hinder therapeutic clearance of the toxins.

What’s the solution? At present there doesn’t seem to be one. Research on the potential health effects from mobile phone technology is evaluated periodically by the Government’s Health Protection Agency s Radiation Protection Division after the Stewart Report in 2000 recommended further research as part of an overall precautionary approach to the use of mobile phone technology. The independently managed Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme, jointly funded by Government and industry, was set up in 2001 in response to the Stewart Report recommendations. It is currently supporting a number of studies into the possible health effects but there is no definitive answer as yet. My suggestion? Seriously limit mobile phone use – especially for children – and my feeling is that being available 24/7 by phone is hugely stressful and is a health hazard in itself so switch it off unless it is an essential call! My mobile is off until I need to check my messages or call ahead about a delayed appointment.

In fact my mobile message is very specific it says ‘I do not leave this mobile switched on so do not leave a message unless you are prepared for it not to be picked for several days. Leave a message on my home phone instead’. Worth a try?

Red Wine Blues

I am one, among many apparently, who have had to give up drinking red wine because it gives me a headache. I can avoid that mostly by sticking to organic red wine, and just having one glass, but scientists at the University of California have developed a new device may be able to detect the chemicals in red wine that lead to the dreaded post-red headache.

The chemicals are called biogenic amines, and they’re found in a variety of fermented foods including wine, cheese, olives, nuts, cured meats and chocolate. The specific red wine headache is thought to be caused by two amines called tyramine and histamine, but other potential causes also exist. Red wine and sake were found to have the highest amine levels so if they are your tipple of choice then a sensible interim solution if you are susceptible to such headaches, is to avoid amine-rich food and drinks because, aside from headaches, amines can also trigger high blood pressure, heart palpitations and elevated adrenaline levels. None of which are desirable drinking companions.

The new detector, which is the size of a small suitcase, can analyse a drop of wine and determine its amine levels in five minutes. Don’t worry, they know how ridiculous you would look lugging a suitcase along to a restaurant or dinner party, so they are now in the process of developing a pocket-sized version that you can take with you. Quite how your hosts- or the sommelier – would react is another matter as my experience has been that is the very cheapest wines that have the highest number of chemicals.

Only a scientist wouldn’t think this through to the end-user stage but they could always develop a tiny first aid kit to cope with the reaction to your using it!

Lead-free for Christmas

Christmas means toys but if you are not careful it could also mean poison. The health dangers of lead are well known, and can cause blood and nervous system disorders, and even lead to death in extreme overdose cases. Children are particularly vulnerable, and although the recommended international safety limit is 0.06%, (the UK limit is 0.1%), experts believe that even such low levels can affect children’s intellectual development.

Dr Gill Lewendon, acting director of public health for North and East Cornwall Primary Care Trust, has carried out research looking at the effect of lead on children and she has said, ” research suggests there’s actually no safe level of lead in the blood.” Although she is conscious of the success achieved in reducing lead levels by introducing lead-free petrol and taking lead out of paint the reality is that some items do slip through. Children’s toys often find their way into their mouths so there has been a highly effective campaign that has made using lead based paint in children’s toys virtually unknown in the UK. However, imports are a different matter and China in particular does not have a good track record in this instance. Although there is legislation covering toys imported here, there is nothing covering children’s jewellery and high levels of lead have previously been found in such items. Shopping for Christmas, be aware of this and check the point of origin of anything you are buying.

Also, if you are planning on buying yourself a new computer this Christmas the good news is that the Intel Corp. has announced plans to stop using lead as a soldering agent in its microprocessors. Lead is particularly useful as a semiconductor, due to its specific electrical and mechanical properties. Intel began phasing out the use of lead in its products in 2002, with the introduction of a tin-silver-copper soldering alloy. This alloy had replaced lead as a soldering agent in nearly all Intel chip sets and processors by 2004, with the exception of 0.02 grams of lead that continued to be used inside each chip. This small amount will now be eliminated entirely by using a tin-silver-copper alloy, beginning with the Penryn line of processors. The company plans to have its microprocessors be lead-free by the end of this year, and to phase out lead in its 65-nanometer-process chips in 2008.

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