Is a mothers love, medicine

Is a mothers love, medicine

by: Kacy Carr

Is a mother's love, medicine

Minus all meningitis thoughts.The flu symptons were strong. Headache,burning fever and sore throat. So what does any natural mother do when their offspring takes ill. They smother him or her with a lot of TLC and would walk to the ends of the earth just to take away the pain and suffering.

Is a mother's love, medicine?

Despite all those motherly rituals mentioned above. There was no change in my nine year old son's condition. Meningitis still so distant in my thoughts..The lucozade was poured out in pints to quench his thirst and a saturated flannel to change every minute to wipe his brow. I prayed more times to god than that of any pope for my son to pull out of this other world he had elapsed into.

A mother's love is more of a cure than any cough medicines pills or tablets, so I thought..

Humming one of his favourite tunes as I held him up close in my arms rocking him back and too.
Not even his favourite videos could pull him out of this alien world that he now belonged to

Was a mother's love? slowly killing her little boy.

Every mother's worst nightmare was to befall me with the inevitable happening. Purple like bruises began to appear on his chest followed by the loss of his voice.
With trembling hands I struggled to dial 999. Please god if your up there hear my prayers, let my little boy reach 10..

When the doctor arrived he said he couldnt rule out meningitis. And so my little boy was rushed off in an ambulance at a speed that would have given Nigel Mansell a run for his money.
Thank god for flashing blue sirens.

In silence I prayed for god to give me back my son.

The curtain may well have been a brick wall that separated me and my little boy in the hospital. But he was in good hands I assured myself and that being the hands of god.

It seemed like a life time before that curtain came swishing back to have the doctor in his white coat appear before me.
I gave him lucozade I wiped his brow. I even put on his favourite videos and smothered him with all the love I could possibly give. Where did I go wrong doctor? You did nothing wrong was his reply.

Just to hear those words that there was no cause for alarm and that my little boy was going to pull through, gave me back all the strength that seemed to have drained from my body while waiting for the outcome of this nightmare.

Meningitis symptons had a strong presence the doctor said. It was a virus on the inside trying to break out.
Tears of happiness flowed like that of Niagra falls as I rushed to my little boys side.

Holding him tight kissing and cuddling him like any natural mother would do.

I had unfinished business to attend to and that was to thank the man himself up above for hearing my cry. Now to arrange a ten year olds birthday party.

The doctor approached me and asked if he could say something before I left.

Yes of course doctor?
A mother's love is great medicine for comforting her children

but when it comes to curing them. please call a doctor.

About the Author

We all do what we think is right, but is it right?. dont leave it to chance. Consult a doctor, and make sure that your child gets the right treatment. Thats what natural mothers do.

Integrative Medicine

Integrative Medicine And It's Future

by: D. S. Epperson

The NBC National News, quoted the Washington Post in March of 2000, about the concerns that the FDA had over the mixing of supplements and conventional medications. There were concerns that millions of people are taking supplements (considered herbs, homeopathic, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes and some diet products) and having reactions when they mix these things with common and prescribed medications.

I have studied this phenomenon for over 20 years and do know for a fact that with conventional medications, these reactions are quite common. The AMA is calling for the FDA to reverse their ruling on supplements implemented in 1997.

But is this really the best approach?

Many Universities across the nation have closed their Ethno -botany and Botany labs, disallowing many with the gift in this field to aid in the search for new cures, and to determine which plants will have adverse reactions when combined with other chemicals

A good example is the treatment of Gout.

Medications that are prescribed by traditional medicine are normally Allopurinal or Zyloprim and Colchicine (which, by the way, is a homeopathic remedy from the bulb of the Autumn Crocus) which decreases the reaction that causes uric acid in the blood. Allopurinal and Colchicine can be enhanced by a specialized diet and the elimination of some supplements that can cause an elevation of certain enzymes in the diet. Both of these drugs can also cause serious side effects and toxicity when taken in high doses and/or for a prolonged period of time.

The deficiency of certain nutrients can provoke an attack of gout, people who take antibiotics can increase the risk of an attack and a persons diet can certainly influence not only the severity of an attack, but the frequency of attacks.

There are other reactions that need to be taken into account also, and that is that Allopurinal and Colchicine has a negative effect on the liver after 6 months of use, which will make it harder for those drugs to work effectively. If you also add some supplementation, even a regular multi-vitamin into the system when the liver is already struggling to keep up with the demands of the system, this can cause an adverse reaction to the liver, in part because the liver has to work harder to absorb the micro-nutrients given in the multi-vitamin.

The balance between conventional medicine and alternative medicine is a delicate one. Right now, both schools of thought refuse to work together, and the general public is who suffers.

For some who suffered from allergies when Seldane was prescribed, this was a very concerning issue. When taking Seldane, patients were not told that taking the medication along with certain micro-nutrients could prove to be fatal, and was in a few cases across the United States.

In 1993, the New England Journal of medicine published an article in which researchers estimated that as many as 60 million people had participated in alternative medical care. A follow-up study to that one, which appeared in a 1998 issue of JAMA, estimated that the number of visits to alternative practitioners had increased more than 47 percent between 1990 and 1997 and that expenditures in 1997 for alternative medicine services exceeded 21 billion dollars.

In our small town we had a family practitioner that took care of the community needs. He was a wonderful man that always gave of his time, energy and knowledge freely. A week after he was diagnosed with Gastric Carcinoma, he called me for advice. I asked him why he would call me and ask me for help. He told me that he had watched the patients that he had diagnosed with this same disease die slow, painful and miserable death, even while they were on conventional medications. He said he knew that the traditional medications and protocols didn't work, he had diagnosed cancers, informed the patients, watched them slowly die and he wanted something else. I treated him for 9 months; the cancer did not advance in that time, it didn't go away either, but it didn't advance. I asked him to do both treatments together, traditional and integrative, but he refused. He had a friend that was a Oncologist and this friend finally convinced him to try some clinical trials at a couple of Universities. In order to do that, the family doctor had to come off all other protocols that he had been taking. They waited a few weeks for the nutrients to leave his body, then started him on a protocol called PP6 and Thalidomide. A few days after the first treatment, he told his closest friend, "I've killed myself." Within a few weeks, he was totally incapacitated. He passed away some 5 months later, in severe pain and agony.

It's not always conventional medicine at fault....A cancer patient in N-stage was being treated by both conventional physician and naturopathic physician. Because the patient had been put on Prednisone he had become edemic. The Naturopath told the patient to come off the drug immediately, and then left town on a business trip. I got a call a few days later, the patients breathing was labored and he had fluid in his lungs. The massage therapist that called explained what had happened. I told her to call the man's medical physician immediately, the reduction of Prednisone can not be halted that quickly without the patient undergoing repercussions . The patient paid the ultimate price for the bridge between alternative and conventional medicine. There is so much that can be integrated into both schools of thought and treatment. These stories are why the public is turning to other methods for treatment, most do a combination, which, as the previous story illustrates, can be detrimental to health, unless the health care giver has a knowledge of both fields and an understanding of the chemical reactions that can occur.

It is always best to be responsible for your own health and treatment. No health care professional should be given total and complete control over another man's life. The need for knowledge is a necessity when deciding to integrate different methods of treatment for the health care provider involved, it could mean the difference between the life and death of a patient. The future of Integrated Medicine lies in the publics demand for the combination of traditional, alternative medicine, Bio-technology and Nano-technology. This integration will be needed in order to give patients the best of all fields of study.

D.S. Epperson is the top Formulary for Home Blend Gourmet, (www.sugarblend.com) a Fuctional Foods Company based in the U.S., and South Pacific Health, the Corporate Base for 9 different Company's associated with Human Health, Enviromental, Agricultural, Veterinarian, Nutraceutical, Topical, Functional Food, Skincare, Sports and Fitness and Botanical Extractions. Her work spans a period of 20 years as a Nutritional Biochemist in protocols for acute and chronic conditions. She has writen reference books on herbs and manufacturing medicines from botanicals, and formulates functional foods for the benefit of those suffering from disease. More information can be found at: http://www.sugarblend.com.

How to Help the Medicine Go Down

How to Help the Medicine Go Down

by: Lisa Simmons

I have a confession to make. I'm a 40-year-old adult that cannot successfully swallow pills. Shocking...I know. However, it does give me a tremendous empathy for the many kids with special needs who must take one or multiple medication EVERY day. For many of these families, medication time is a daily struggle if not a daily battle!

For those of you who are already saying, "Oh it's so easy, you just ....". Plese stop. Every adult who has ever learned of my dilemma has shared his or her "no fail" strategy. Needless to say, they can't claim they are "no fail" anymore. I think one of the problems is this -- if you swallow pills easily it's really hard for you to explain how you do it. You just DO it. In an effort to understand and ease my own situation and that of others like me, I went researching. Here are my findings, both the common and the "more creative".

1. Eliminate the non-essential

This tip is high on my list. Any medication I can manage NOT to take is a step in the right direction. Here are a couple articles to help you decide when medications are essential:

• How to Get the Most Benefits with the Fewest Risks http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/takemed/medtips.html
• Psychiatric Medications for Children & Adolescents: Questions To Ask http://www.childhooddisorders.com/children_medications.html
• How to swallow pills

First of all, not everyone CAN swallow a pill. Some children truly do not have the mouth and throat control to swallow a solid pill. This can be seen in the very young child. It can also be the case in an older child with a developmental delay that affects his ability to swallow or speak. If your child cannot swallow a moderate mouthful of water without it dripping out of his mouth, he may have a physical problem with the swallowing reflex. If you aren't sure whether your child has the physical ability to swallow pills, consult his/her doctor or a speech therapist. Once that issue is cleared up ....

Everyone has a theory on how to "teach" pill swallowing.

Dr. William Sears recommends this approach:
"Instead of following the natural tendency and tipping the head back to swallow a pill, have your child bend her head forward. Place the pill near the tip of her tongue. Have your child bend her head forward so that the chin touches the chest. As she swallows, she should lift her head up quickly. The pill will rise to the top of the water (toward the back of the tongue) and wash down easily with the swallow."

A seasoned mom suggested this method:
"Get a couple of packages of those MINI m&m's. They are slightly bigger than many children's pills and taste much better. Talk with your child about how much better they feel on the medication. Explain that you want to help him or her TEACH THEMSELF to swallow meds. Give him/her the M & M's and a glass of milk/water, whatever s/he picks, and a couple of M & M's. Here's the bargain: If s/he can swallow an M & M whole, s/he gets the rest of the package. Let him/her try. Limit your training to 3 chances so you don't reinforce failure. If s/he sincerely tries and ALMOST succeeds, then give a portion of the treat and try again the next day."

And Christy Russell at the University of Kansas offers this idea:
"Sometimes children must take baby steps to master the art of the gulp. In those cases, it helps to sweeten their path. Start by teaching your child to swallow one of those Sprinkles used in cake decoration -- Blue, Yellow, Red, any color will work. Then move up to spherical silver sprinkles. From there, it's a short jump to introducing your child to fragments of red licorice whip snipped to less than half an inch in length. Your final stop before the jump to an actual pill might be a capsule-shaped candy like Tic-Tacs, then a vitamin."

NOTE:

Although more than one expert recommends this approach (Dr. Sabine Hack outlines a similar approach in Pill Swallowing Made Easy http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/pill_swallowing.html) it is important to note that it can encourage some kids to think of medicine as candy. If you are concerned about confusing a child with developmental delays or other cognitive issues, then this approach is probably not a wise choice for your situation.

Here are some other creative methods for getting a pill down:

=> Mix with food - The taste of most medicine is hard to disguise, but sometimes you can help "slide" a pill down or mix a capsule's contents into a food that hides it enough to help. Buttering the pill or burying it in a spoonful of jam can help it to slide down more easily. Other foods to try mixing with include: ice cream (especially flavors that already contain chunks of brownie, fruit, or nuts), whipped cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, apple sauce, peanut butter, pudding, grits, mashed potato, sweet potato pie, Jell-O, the slippery sauce from canned peaches, mashed banana, pancake syrup or chocolate syrup. Remember to use only a small amount of food.

=> Use a straw - Have your child put the pill on his/her tongue. Then using a straw, suck down three big gulps of water. With a straw there is no pill floating around in your mouth like there is if you just try to swallow a pill with a big mouthful of water.

=> Use a cookie - When the cookie is chewed and ready to be swallowed, pop the pill in and then swallow the cookie.

=> Add liquid - Dissolve the pill in a tiny bit of warm water and mix it with Cranberry juice.

=> Add a disguise - Take a small bit of Fruit Roll-up and wrap the pill inside it.

=> Try thicker fluids - If water isn't working try milk, fruit nectar, Carnation Instant Breakfast, Ensure, a milkshake, or one of the new liquid yogurt products. Thicker fluids create more bulk, making it harder for the pill to separate itself from the fluid during swallowing. Remember: If you are diabetic, use the sugar-free version of these beverages.

=> Reduce your mouth sensitivity - Spray or gargle with an over-the-counter topical anesthetic (normally used for sore throats) before swallowing or have your child suck on a Popsicle to partially numb the mouth.

=> A little at a time - Crush a chewable tablet between two spoons and add a few drops of water, making a paste of the medicine. Using your finger, place a small amount of the paste on the inside of your child's cheeks and allow her to swallow a little bit at a time.

=> Give it a little squeeze - Liquid medications can often be administered using an oral syringe. Draw the medicine into the syringe and give directly into your child's mouth. An oral syringe has no needle, just a tip to dispense the medicine. When you give medicine with a syringe it is always best to give it on the left or right side of the child's mouth to reduce the risk of choking.
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/oralsyringe.htm

IMPORTANT: Every medication is unique and how you administer it may impact the way it works. It is always smart to check with your regular pharmacist before you decide to use any approach that differs from the instructions you were given with the medication.

3. Consider a pill alternative

I knew I wasn't alone in my struggle when major pharmaceutical companies started to make Adult medication in a variety of formats -- liquid, dissolving pills, sprays, patches, etc. Children's medicines also now come in liquid form, chewable tablets, dissolving tabs, and spray formulas.

=> Oral sprays can deliver vitamins, minerals, and other supplements directly into the bloodstream in a way that is quick, convenient and requires NO special skills.
http://ezwaysprayvitamins.com/

=> Another option is to offer medication in a lozenge or medication stick form. Lozenges are solid preparations that are intended to dissolve or disintegrate slowly in the mouth. They contain one or more medicaments usually in a flavored, sweetened base.
http://pharmlabs.unc.edu/lozenge/text.htm

=> Many medications are available in liquid form. You can talk to your care provider, nurse, or pharmacist about which of your medications can be prescribed in liquid form but here are some tips from Dr. Carol Watkins:

Antidepressants: Several of the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and Celexa) come in liquid form. Paxil has a relatively palatable orange flavor. It was difficult to find in pharmacies for a while but is now more available. Celexa has a mint flavor with a slight medicinal aftertaste.

Stimulants: Adderall XR and Metadate CD capsules can be opened and sprinkled on pudding and applesauce respectively. Avoid swallowing amphetamines with citrus or other acidic juices.

Mood Stabilizers: Lithium comes as a syrup. Tegretol comes in a chewable form. Depakote comes in sprinkles. Some antipsychotic medications come in liquid or suspension forms. Some pills can be dissolved in certain specific liquids. Years ago, Prozac came no smaller than 20 mg. When patients needed a smaller dose, we told them how to dissolve the capsule in cranberry juice-we called it Cranzac. Consult your doctor and your pharmacist before attempting to dissolve or crush a pill. Dissolving or crushing some medications, will change how the pill works.

4. If all else fails . . .

When a medicine cannot be crushed and mixed with food, or when your child still refuses to "eat" or "drink" the mixture, a pharmacist may be able to prepare a custom liquid mixture from a tablet or capsule form of the medicine. Very often, pharmacists can also add a flavoring to the liquid, such as cherry syrup, to improve its taste.
http://www.flavorx.com/default.asp

This type of preparing of medication is called compounding Some pharmacies do compounding and others do not. Children's Hospitals around the country often have outpatient pharmacies that can prepare special doses of medications for kids. Even if you don't live near a Children's Hospital, they may be willing to prepare and mail a special prescription.
http://www.rxsolutionsonline.com/lab.html

As with much in life, the key seems to be creativity and persistence!
Copyright 2003, Lisa Simmons
About the author:
Lisa is the director of the Ideal Lives Inclusion & Advocacy Center supporting parents raising children with special needs. "We provide the tools, resources, and information you need to get results. Our focus is on making support simple and connecting advocates to answers."