A Conventional Look At Alternative Medicine

When friend asked me what kind of medicine I give my children when they have a cold I was at a loss for words, I thought “I never give my children medicine, they rarely get colds.” I was amazed at my response; remembering back, they were perpetually sick.

Where the Change Began

I remember vividly a time in life when my husband and I would shift gears at the slightest sound of a cough from our toddler. What was a small sound for others was often the beginning of a midnight trip to the ER for us. My body would kick into panic, both physically and emotionally. I can feel tears in my eyes today as I recall those scary nights.

Although there was no sign of illness; occasionally the sun would set and a cough would kick in, that progressed to an episode of life-threatening croup. We now know it wasn’t croup. It was a form of asthma, but it mimicked the symptoms of croup and we were alone in the night trying to figure it out.

We’d go through the steps that we had used to rescue our older children from the late-night barking, but it never worked for this child. We’d exhaust the hot water heater steaming the bathroom, offer him warm apple juice and step outside into the cool of the night. More times than not, I’d end up desperately strapping him into his car seat and racing to the nearest medical facility. Frantic for my baby to be able to breathe normally, I would beg God for a miracle the whole way.

Once we arrived, they always managed to get his breathing under control. I guess I feel blessed that he never turned blue. The horror of experiencing my baby’s breathing shut down was a living nightmare that too many parents experience.

Our son wasn’t sick per se, but these episodes would hit us when we least expected it. It was generally in the fall or the spring and in particular when we traveled. We eventually attributed the travel episodes to poor sleep surrounding the trip.

We went to one of our area’s top ranked allergists. He suggested long term steroids, “He’ll be a bit shorter than the other boys his age, but his height discrepancy should level off around age 18.”

I couldn’t see myself doing that. I had to explore other options. I had no idea what they would be, but I was not going to accept that sentence sitting down.

My Quest for Alternatives

I began to put my feelers out. I let people know I was on a search for anything else. My first step was an integrative Dr., a traditional MD who incorporates conventional medicine with the expertise of alternative therapies. He suggested I get my boys off dairy products. Desperate for anything but the steroids, I did what he said. It was a challenge, to say the least, with the way I had been feeding them. Their diets consisted of a lot of milk and cheese.

I remember one night noticing there was silence in the house, a break from all the coughing which we had become accustomed to, from all our boys. Their runny noses and coughs began to dry right up. It was amazing.

Next, a friend suggested I go to a chiropractor. What in the world was she thinking, I wondered? We’re dealing with asthma, not a car wreck or whiplash. In complete desperation I followed her suggestion and went to a chiropractor. I new nothing about chiropractic care. In a nut shell, I learned that it has a lot to do with optimal function of your body’s natural systems. From what I understand our vertebrae inhibit our nerve endings from functioning well, when we are out of alignment. Like a kink in a garden hose those points do not flow properly, in turn our bodies’ functions run poorly.

I was surprised to learn the chiropractor was concerned with many other areas of our lives besides just our backs. He agreed with the dairy advice and added to it. No sugar, no juice, no dyes, no antibiotics (unless your dying), make sleep a top priority, drink a lot of water, up the vitamin C intake and begin regular chiropractic care. (That’s 3x a week for anyone just starting.)

I was beginning to wonder how I was ever going to be able to raise my three boys with this type of lifestyle. I was desperate, so I went for it to the best of my ability.

Among other things, I was concerned there might be something in my home causing the coughing; mold or something like that. I located an individual who tests’ homes and offices for that type of danger. He had nothing to sell but his time, which was important for the skeptics who were convinced he was out to create more work for himself.

Part of his professional criteria included a seat as an expert witness in many court cases. He was able to testify how people had received debilitating neurological damage from Stachybotrys, a toxic mold that is rare but very serious.

One area of major concern in his field included neurological damage stemming from exposure to scented candles. “No scented candles”, (or other artificial home/car deodorizers) he warned me sternly. He took air quality samples from different rooms. Then went through my house room by room and identified any household products that would create possible health issues.

• Bleach, items with bleach
• strong perfumed items, or anything with a strong scent or chemical odor
• Anything with artificial smell
• Plastics, he said, leach at an amazing level into our systems from packaging we use

Household cleaning products, personal care items and even conventional diapers have that ‘wonderful new’ smell, he said are toxic to our systems. Of special concern are products that have much coverage with the skin; lotions, shaving cream, sun screen, chap stick etc. Our skin allows quick access for contaminates.

I read a book called What You Don’t Know May be Killing You by Dr. Don Colbert. It collaborated with much of what this expert had said. The more I read the more I began to shift over to natural personal and cleaning products. Most of which, by the way, are better for our environment. What I learned is anything you can smell is entering your lungs. That includes gasoline, paint, markers, air fresheners, dry cleaning (there are organic cleaners) and many other things.

He cautioned me not to store toxic items in my ‘attached’ garage. He taught me that there is no difference between storing them in an attached garage and having them in my living room. “They need to be in a shed or a detached garage, away from the house,” he strongly urged. The walls of our house are not a protection against airborne fumes and gases. In addition to the changes inside, we switched to a natural lawn service. Another choice that is better for us and the earth.

One more option I pursued for health without the drugs came from an acupuncturist. This area was also foreign to me but I wanted give it my all. We saw an excellent practitioner who agreed with all I had heard. He added (in addition to acupuncture) the need to keep the back of my children’s necks covered from the wind. It was critical to him that they did not get chilled, especially in the back of the neck.

Worth the Effort

As I began some of these simple steps, my children’s health began to improve. I returned back to the top ranked allergist; the one who was ready to dole out long-term steroids that would stunt my son’s height. I shared with him what I was learning and the changes we’d seen. “That stuff has never been medically proven,” he said. I was stunned!

How could he be so narrow-minded? He had pregnant women in his office struggling to breathe. I knew they would end up on steroids. The tragic truth was he was not even willing to share some alternative suggestions because “they had not been medically proven”. I looked at him with pity and disappeared from conventional medicine as a first option, forever!

What I found in alternative medicine is bad insurance policies (unfortunately); but unbelievable, personal care! My experience across the board in alternative medicine includes a lot of quality time and genuine concern about individual healing. Alternative practitioners want to get the big picture. “How are your bowels?” “Let me see your tongue and fingernails.” “How do you sleep?” “Do you have stress, anxiety or other emotional issues?” Most importantly they ask how we eat and what drugs we take. They want to resolve our health concerns, not cover them up with medicine.

Medicine can relieve one symptom, while initiating another. For example, a mega-dose of anti-inflammatory drugs may reduce the swelling in my hurting knees, but chiropractic care adjusts my back to sit properly so they will not continue to decline. Meanwhile my liver and kidneys are spared the taxation the medicine would put on them and my immune system gets strengthened. Healing comes naturally, which I believe will benefit my over all being for years to come.

As I walked this road I began to realize most MD’s only know conventional medicine. Their drug reps drop off new products, they hand them out to deal with patients symptoms; but healing doesn’t seem to come from drugs.

Before I started down the path I am on, I was as conventional as anyone else. My first three children seemed to take back to back antibiotics treating double ear infections; occasionally taking breaks in healthy seasons. I knew the pediatric staff on first name basis. Often asthma took us to the office several times per day and the hospital by night. My boys each had ear tubes (one at a mere 6 weeks old), and one of them had his adenoids removed with the second set of ear tubes.

My 4^th son (yes I said 4^th son) has a completely different health history. He’s been treated primarily under the care of a chiropractor. His first adjustment was at two weeks old. This child had the identical gene pool but 1/100^th of the health issues as his brothers; it has been enough to prove to me the value of alternative living.

These are a few changes that have occurred in our home over the years:

• My children do not drink juice, or conventional milk, mainly water.
• We now incorporate dairy, but it is raw, grass fed and organic. Our eggs are free range from naturally grass-fed chickens. Our meat comes from the same Hamish source.
• Our water ideally, has little to no fluoride.
• Our vaccines are very limited, to none.
• We visit the chiropractor at the first sign of illness and start up some type of appropriate remedy and immune support, in addition to regular chiropractic care.
• Congestion, when present, gets treated with salt water through a neti pot. Sore throats get saltwater, raw local honey and herbal tea. When desperate, a gargle with hydrogen peroxide is in order. Earaches get a strong yank of the earlobe to release fluid, followed by hydrogen peroxide and of course a chiropractic adjustment.
• Stomachaches get acidophilus (supplements or yogurt) and papaya supplements and activated charcoal.
• Minor skin abrasions and cuts get an application of tea tree oil or honey (a natural healing antiseptic)
• We do not bring down fevers (unless they are dangerously high, which we have yet to experience). Headaches do not exist in our home, unless there is dehydration or constipation present which gets remedied with water.
• An injury (short of a break) goes to the chiropractor. It’s remarkable to me what a bone Dr. can do with a sprain, when given the opportunity.
• A traumatic blow to the body, via bang or fall gets soothed with a remedy called Arnica. Tiny sweet balls are placed under the tongue. They help the body recover from its natural state of shock. It is recommended to be used around surgical procedures as well, to help the body cope with the trauma of incision. Arnica prevents bruising when topically applied, immediately to a traumatized part of the body. Arnica also comes in gel or oral form and is said to help arthritis.

*Remedy Note: Remedies do not interfere with drugs, to the best of my knowledge; but we use them wisely. For use: the mouth should be free of strong sensation (coffee, mint, etc.), they should not touch your skin, put the right amount of pellets for the age and weight, as indicated, into the cap of the container and drop (from Cap) under tongue. There are many remedies for babies, including colic relief, cold and flu and teething that come in liquid form also. You can obtain remedies without a prescription at health food shops, natural grocers and pharmacies.

• At the first sign of a cold, in addition to our adjustment, we take a remedy called Alpha CF. Often we will take zinc lozenges (on a full stomach). Airborne, a tasty Alka-Seltzer like remedy which boosts the immune system contains ingredients to support the body naturally. It can be bought in most stores and pharmacies.
• At the first sign of the flu, we take either Alpha CF (for cold & Flu) or an intense remedy called Oscillococcinum.

• Oil of Oregano can be placed under the tongue for viruses or taken in capsule form. It can be placed on pimples or other skin infections. (It is brutally powerful and very unpleasant to the senses, hence not my first choice but a great backup)

I have friend who goes to an apothecary (a historical name for a medical practitioner who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist) She has medicine, cough syrup etc. formulated without dyes or sugars. She needs them, she does not go to t the chiropractor.

From what I can tell, sugar and wheat are the root to much illness. There is a little known phenomenon among the conventional Dr.’s that wreaks havoc in so many areas of our lives. It is a condition called Candida. It is yeast that lives and thrives in many of our guts. In short, if you crave sugar (yeast feeds on sugar), suffer yeast infections, athletes foot or other fungus, asthma, acne, fuzzy thinking, ADD/ADHD and many other symptoms chances are great that you have yeast in your gut. It’s an ordeal to get it out of your system, but clearing it up can relieve so many complications and prevent future ones.

I am convinced that severe food allergies are a result of systemic yeast. My formerly asthmatic child has peanut allergy, and yeast. I struggle tremendously to get the yeast out of his system, despite my hardest efforts I have failed to get him completely adapted to what we should do and he is addicted to sugar. Yeast can lead to addictions to alcohol as well.

Adequate sleep is mandatory, (regardless of what the other kids do). Treats happen, but they are limited. Soda, sports drinks, and any form of juice are very minimal. Sunshine is valuable. Our household cleansers are natural and non chemical, as are most of our personal products non-perfumed and non-bleached. As the years go by we head more and more toward the natural.

Exercise is a must for all of us. When not physically active reading outweighs any form of electronic activity in our house. Outside beats inside. Up a tree beats sitting on the couch.

Chiropractic care is not limited to backs. They (Chiropractors) treat jaws, ankles, knees and an array of bone issues one might have. Additionally they specialize in neurological issues like vertigo, headaches and things I couldn’t begin to understand. No one needs a reason to go to chiropractor, just go. You will be so thankful you did.

We are grateful for conventional medicine; we will use it if we need it. It has, for us, become our last resort. We seem to rarely need it. With the status of our current immune systems our bodies respond so differently to germs and viruses. This is contrary to how it was when we were not nourishing our systems the way we do now. I feel like we are daily moving towards being fine tuned, not living in fear of the next great scare. Certainly, we have a long road ahead of us and more great changes in our future. We feel so blessed by the alternative path we have ended up on.

For a list of local resources, that I have compiled, please ask.