I feel my chances are high regarding getting sick from a contagious patient. Not so much at First Health Associates where I see complicated chronic conditions. More at the immediate care centers where I "moonlight" for Alexian Brothers. I get the occasional cough or stuffy nose but the last time I touched an antibiotic was 2003-2004 for a sinus infection after which I proceeded to come down with the rare psuedomembranous colitis from antibiotic over dose (this was after the first day!!!) Note: this is when I was sleeping less, drinking a large coffee from McDonalds with 10 packs of sugar and a steak egg and cheeze bagel/hash browns every morning, beer with dinner which was mostly Filipino feast foods and the occasional 1 pound hamburger from Fuddruckers. Oh...almost forgot the dozen warm cripsy cream donuts "for the staff" on fridays. Those days are far behind me but the point is I try to stay healthy and set and example for friends, family and patients but still get a little cough, stuffy nose now and then. I have confidently developed my "go bag" of herbal supplements that have truncated any/all infections my body is trying to express. As in most integrative treatments, use is based on factual studies. The higher the degree of disease presentation/complication, the more RCT's (randomized controlled trials) or Cochrane Reviews are necessary before making recommendations. (This is the ultimate reason for putting myself through 2 years of fellowship study- outside the normal training set by the state and fed in order to practice medicine.) I have adapted a few things to make sure natureal healing is maximized when homeostasis becomes imbalanced with infection.
1 Avoid all dairy
product for 10-14 days (even organic) I would really cut out all processed food (no matter how much you crave it), complex/big meals, alcohol, excessive caffeine-if you cut out all caffeine now you will have a withdrawal headache ontop of the viral/flu/sinusitis headache. The opposite is true if you starve yourself down to 1000cal daily, the immune system will "hit the wall". If you want to keep at a minimum of food intake....the old way Bananas Rice Apple sauce Toast is ok for 24-48 hours but push fluids:
2 Make sure the minimal fluid
intake per day is 3 liters per day (13 cups) try to make the morning warm fluid and cool it down as the day goes on.....cold water is more palatable. Ayurveda practice is to start with warm fluid as to not cool the fire (solar plexus chakra) that starts the day. I also like using Airborne fizz tablets in the water to insure taste helps it go down. There is argument as to whether Airborne has any healing properties at all....I just want it to taste better without adding sugar.
3 Elderberry
has been studied to shorten the days of illness in children with viral symptoms. The dark berry is surmized to accentuate white blood cell killing power. For kids-Sambucus is a nice formulation with echinacea. For adults I suggest New Chapter Sinus Take Care or Garden of Life Immunity Sinus usually at Whole Foods Market or Fruitful Yield. All about 4-5 times daily for 5 -7 days.
4 Astragalus
a fantastic root that is known as an "adaptogen". This category responds to stress with "boosting" to calm the stress response of white blood cells but also allow to unleash hell to bacterial and viral invaders. Think of the professional boxer-cool, collected knows a strategy that works and is focused on getting a job done in the ring. Compare to a drunk brawler who may have adrenaline but no control of emotion, decision making even if he has the same tools as the boxer. Now think of a while blood cell that is focused on work vs a white blood cell that is over stimultated. The overstimulated will either attack the wrong thing (a friendly knee cell in Rheumatoid Arthritis or an intestinal cell in Inflammatory Bowel Disease) or it wont fight the true invading bacteria/virus leading to infection after infection. There have been small studies showing benefit of astragalus daily use in asthmatic patients during cold and flu season to decrease infection rates. If you are lucky, your local herb shop will have astragalus tongue depressors, think slivers of the root you chop up and place in tea or soup if you dont mind the taste of bark. (Whole Foods Market brand, Nature's Way-purple top, Now Foods from Fruitful Yield)
5 Neti Pot nasal irrigation
2-3 times daily followed by over the counter or prescription meds to decrease nasal swelling (if congestion or cough is part of the picture). I like Nasacrom that can be purchased anywhere no script needed-I relied on it heavily 2 decades ago when it was only prescription and worked well then and still works now (albeit the otc dose is smaller than back in the day). Some people dont like putting things in their nose......a spray form is probably ok but can irritate the ostia (hole) the sinus uses to drain discharge into the nose and out the nostrils. Irritate the ostia too much and it may cause a nasty facial headache. I do not believe the viral story that went out about a neti pot being the cause of a parasite killing someones brain-neti pots have been used for more than 2500 years even before antibiotics/antiparasitics where invented, those were times when infection and parasites were true life enders. If there was a high association with brain absess formation, 2500 years would have shown a relationship of all the people in India dying of massive brain absess outbreaks. Purchase at any herbal store, vitamin shop, most pharmacies.
Link to DrOz Oprah demo of neti pot
6 Aroma Therapy
is a technique of getting the proposed strength of a plant into the body via the nose and lungs. Like asthmatics and their inhalers/nebulizers, so to can an ultrasonic nebulizer "shake up" plant oils to make a vapor for you to inhale/sniff. There is some research saying it works it works to induce a relaxation response in the brain. I havent seen specific reproducible data showing head to head trials vs prescription drugs but who cares? If the potential side effects to the treatment are minimal (breathing in nice smells) then the treatment doesnt need multimillion dollar randomized control trials for me to have a patient use it. (....and it has to be affordable since being broke is a side effect) I experimented with Young Living Thieves.....used it in my office for people coming in with flu symptoms and they did feel very "different" with fewer symptoms. If you are really lucky, there will be an herbalist or "aromatherapy blender" who can find the exact combination of essential oils to help change your mind body response. Jenn from JennScents first introduced me to aromatherapy and herbal medicine- fantastic blends! Or try Olabas Oil found at Whole Foods Market or Fruitful Yield in the water of steam bath or steam cave - link to my Flu Lecture
7 Medical Acupunctureis a fantastic tool that improves normal functioning during the infection. Although the data is still being studied, if an asthmatic cant breath and a few needles helps-positive response! If a gastritis sufferer gets control of nausea with one single acpuncture needles-postive response! I have used it with many different patients and at the least, it makes the patient feel empowered and helps get through the crisis. (Used it for my mom when she was suffering from the abdominal pains from her pancreatic cancer......doesnt matter if it was placebo-she got relief. Only in America to scientist minimalize the placebo effect. In my heart, if it works, causes no harm, is affordable/free.....do it! No such thing as "false hope") See Dr Zhu in my office, Dr Leon Chen in Lombard, Frank Grill in Naperville.
8 Massage
from an energy healer/massage therapist to chest and facial acupressure points feels good. It also is a way to stimulate the acupuncture points that heal if the patient doesnt like needles. Using essential oils like Eucalyptus to the lung points in a bronchitis sufferer or along acupuncture meridias that help drain sinus infections help my average patient get through the infectious process with less drugs. Only problem is finding a credible acupuncturist. I studied 1000 hours from UCLA and I rate myself as"ok". There are far better docs than me and this is where I send my patients. Have to research where the acupuncturist went to school, how long in practice and what is their sole means of economic survival. If it is a practitioner that only does needles and they have been around 10 years with training from China-probably good. If a person that does alot of different things but also does needles and studied for 6 weeks to get a diploma-run for your life. Most states have a credentialing board overseeing non MD's, then there is the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture certification for MD/DO's. Don't forget your spouse.
9 Mushrooms
have great medicinal value and have been used for centuries in Asia. Good studies regarding using only them to intervene with fighting infections. The problem is which companies do we trust? As is the problem with all the above where do we buy our herbs. Regarding mushroom, I like GAIA brand "Throat Shield" peppermint flavored. Cant tell if its the alcohol/cinnamon or the mushroom that helps sore throats.......but it doesnt matter as the cost is little more than chloraseptic throat spray. 2 sprays every 2 hours or before bed helps get through a day or night with less drugs. Also helps calm a throat so you can eat if strept throat or tonsillitis is the problem.
10 RICOLAAA!!!
I like any throat lozenge for soothing if it has elderberry, eucalyptus, echinacea......and not too much sugar. Comfort is important otherwise you wont eat or drink and be in pain all day. If number 9 is too expensive.
And there is my "go bag" of winter illness rescue. I have a few extra things like high dose D3, magnesium, zinc, high dose vit C, colloidal silver, homepathic Boiron products....but just with the 10 things above, people get discouraged when there are too many choices. Even if an antibiotic is needed, I still do all the above plus a probiotic for 30 days to rebuild the gut flora I destroyed with the antibioic. Shopping a Whole Foods Market causes a spasm in my wallet but speaking from personal experience, I have not touched an antibiotic for almost 10 years and I am sitting 2 feet away from people that are being seen with strept, bronchitis, pneumonia, MRSA, sinusitis and infectious diarrhea. Make you own judgement but dont just keep on taking antibiotic after antibiotic thinking you have no other choices.
Link to a slideshare.net lecture on Colds Coughs and Capsules
Link to a video on my influenza experience
