Is Natural Healing Right for Me?
good general rule for adults and children over age 12: : If you're not sure what is the cause of an ache or pain, see a health care practitioner; if you know what is the problem, treat it with Natural Healing medicines or therapies. After a healthcare practitioner has diagnosed the ailment, take the drug prescription if that's the offered solution but consider Natural Healing methods. When you become familiar with Natural medicines and therapies you will not hesitate to try, for immediate relief, homeopathy or reflexology. Unlike pharmaceutical drugs and some Over-the-Counter (OTC) medicines, if you choose the wrong homeopathic medicine, it will DO NO HARM.
Two points to keep in mind: (1) 70 to 80 percent of all illnesses are self-limiting; if you do nothing, you will most likely feel better in a few days. (2) allopathic medicine (pharmaceutical medicines including prescriptions and OTC) does not heal the body but only blocks our experiencing the symptoms, and blocking symptoms often is not desirable. Fever, for example, is the body's natural response to efficiently and quickly destroy viruses or bacteria.
Allopathic medicine has a biphasic effect on the body, meaning that it works in two phases. In phase one the drug works on the body, biochemically blocking the substances that cause the symptoms; in phase two (after about two weeks) the body's biochemistry counteracts the drug. In other words, antihistamine drugs will provide you with temporary relief but will stimulate your body to produce more histamine in the long run. This biphasic effect of allopathic medicine keeps the body in a state of disorder; instead of allowing biochemical realignment for optimal health the body continues expending energy fighting foreign substances (the drugs). 1
If a child less than three months old has a fever, call a physician immediately. Linda B. White, M.D., co-author of Kids, Herbs, and Health, warns that disease in children can take a turn for the worse much more quickly. With a young child who is not yet verbal, detecting illness or even injury depends upon Mom's attention and knowing what is not usual behavior. Still, children respond rapidly to Homeopathic treatment for ear infections, minor injuries and ordinary childhood ailments.
In general, pharmaceuticals are critical in times of trauma and life-threatening illnesses. With the exception of a handful of "smart" drugs that make a correction at the cellular level, pharmaceutical medicines DO NOT HEAL. An asthma inhaler can avert a life-threatening asthma attack, but it will never cure the illness. Herbs rebuild the body. Homeopathic medicines, which are most effective at the onset of an infection or injury, are used to treat acute infections such as ear infections, stomach ailments, and injuries that are not life-threatening. Since homeopathic remedies are taken sublingually (under the tongue) and not through the digestive system, relief is experienced within 15 to 20 minutes. Reflexology is another Natural Healing therapy that gives immediate relief in urgent cases such a stomach acid eruption (GERD)or to heal an achy liver injured by a too strong OTC medicine. With GERD and the asthma that often accompanies it, acupuncture is also helpful in correcting the body's energy and thereby aiding healing.
By all means, tell your M.D. what food supplements, herbs, or other treatments you are doing for your recovery or health maintenance. S/he may or may not ask, and may or may not record your report. As their training routinely includes one class in nutrition and nothing in herbs or medical therapies other than pharmaceutical drugs, do not expect any positive support in your self-care activities. If you are taking any pharmaceutical drugs or planning surgery, it is your responsibility to check with a naturopathic physician or herbalist and other sources such as WomensMedicineBowl to learn of any potential interactions between drugs and herbs; your M.D. is not likely to have this knowledge at hand.
Your friends know nothing about Natural Healing treatments and your husband thinks it's all silliness? As four out of 10 visits to health care practitioners in the US are to health care practitioners other than M.D.s, this is not very likely anymore. Another often heard response is, "I don't believe in---." Medicine is often not a matter of faith--try it and if it works continue using it. And someone else's personal belief system should not be the determining factor in your healthcare. If your primary care physician's belief system is limiting your choices, challenge him/her or find another physician more amenable to working with you in your self-care.
Anyway, knowledge is power, and WomensMedicineBowl aims to create the community and offer the information in which you feel safe to explore new avenues of healthcare, making healthcare truly self-care.
See also Why Natural Healing? and How do Pharmaceuticals Work? and Tending to Spirit
