What are the most common viral infections?
How can I treat bronchitis naturally?
What herbs treat chicken pox?
What are the best vitamins for shingles?
Congratulations! You’re ready to take more control of your health! In the previous chapters, I’ve shared with you how viruses affect your immune system and how integrating healthy habits with natural medicine and techniques can keep most, if not all, of these nasty invaders at bay.
This final chapter puts all the pieces together and provides specific ways to treat the most common viral infections facing you and your family today.
Just a few reminders before you plunge ahead. Specific dosages and frequency of use are based on the average adult weighing 150 pounds. Use that as your benchmark. Don’t hesitate to consult your naturopathic physician or other holistic health-care practitioner for a specific dosage that meets your special needs. Treatment by a natural-medicine practitioner is advised whenever possible for optimal results.
Accessibility is a big plus in my solution plan. Most of these herbal medicines, vitamins, minerals, homeopathic remedies, and other natural treatments are readily available at your local health-food store or pharmacy (or even your supermarket, in some cases). They are also safer and, often times, less expensive than conventional prescriptive medications.
As a bonus, the virus cocktail (see Chapter 3) improves your immune system for all of these conditions.
You play the most pivotal role in all of these treatments. Stop waiting and hoping for the viral infections to disappear on their own. Here is the ammunition you need to enhance your immune system with natural treatments that will contain or eradicate viral invaders.
Here are the thirteen viral conditions that top my Body Enemy List:
• Bronchitis
• Chicken pox
• Common cold
• Hepatitis
• HIV/AIDS
• Measles
• Mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr)
• Meningitis
• Mumps
• Pneumonia
• Shingles
• Sore throat (pharyngitis)
• Warts
What it is: Bronchitis refers to an infection and inflammation of the passageway leading to the lungs known as the bronchi. Common symptoms include fever, fatigue, and coughing. The cough can be dry or produce mucus. This condition is commonly caused by viral and bacterial infections.
Caution: Although bronchitis responds well to natural treatments, do not confuse it with bronchiolitis. This condition is caused by a specific viral infection (known as RSV) in the lower respiratory tract of infants and young children. It usually develops after a few days of cold symptoms. Symptoms can include wheezing and respiratory distress. It requires immediate medical attention and possible hospitalization to prevent respiratory failure. Bronchiolitis requires medical supervision, including the use of natural therapies.
• Echinacea or echinacea/goldenseal: 60 drops or 500 mg every three hours.
• Olive leaf extract: 500 mg every three hours.
• Astragalus: 60 drops or 500 mg every three hours.
• Mullein: 30 drops every three hours to soothe lung pain.
• Cherry bark extract: 500 mg or 30 drops every three hours to reduce cough.
• Vitamin C: 1000 mg every three hours (cut back if diarrhea occurs).
• Vitamin A: 100,000 IUs daily for three days and then reduce to 50,000 IU daily.
• Zinc: 50 mg daily.
• Eat chicken soup, broths, ginger, garlic, and onions. Drink at least 8 ounces of water a day. Avoid sugary foods.
• Phosphorous: burning in lungs, feeling better with cold drinks.
• Antimonium tart: lots of mucus in lungs, rattling of mucus in chest.
• Arsenicum: chills, restlessness, shortness of breath, fatigue.
• Sulphur: burning in lungs, feeling hot and sweaty, last stage of pneumonia.
• Bryonia: sharp sticking pains in chest, feeling chilly.
• Acupuncture and Chinese herbal therapy from a practitioner.
• Constitutional hydrotherapy.
What it is: This acute, highly contagious disease is caused by the Varicella-zoster virus. Epidemics of chicken pox among children usually occur in winter and early spring. This condition is easily spread through respiratory droplets released when talking, sneezing, and coughing. Symptoms of fatigue, fever, muscle aches, and a mild headache usually surface in a person about fifteen days after being exposed to the virus. At that point, an itchy rash of red dots appears (usually starting on the face and torso and then spreading to the rest of the body). Blisters form and develop into scabs that flake off within a week or two.
Caution: Chicken pox is generally a much more severe and painful infection for adults than children. Complications are rare unless the infected person is pregnant. The virus can cause problems for the fetus. Fortunately, most people develop chicken pox during childhood, and it is very rare to be re-infected later in life.
Note: Dosages are targeted for children, since they get chicken pox more than adults.
• Echinacea/goldenseal: 20 to 30 drops or 500 mg every three hours.
• Olive leaf extract: 250 to 500 mg every three hours. Both herbs help prevent infected lesions.
Herbal topical application–Option 1: Oat bath. Add a cup of oatmeal powder (such as Aveno) to a warm bath. Soak in the tub for at least five minutes. Do not rinse off after stepping out of the tub. Pat dry. Leave a film of oats (Avena sativa), which contain anti-itch properties, on the body.
Herbal topical application–Option 2: Sock of oatmeal. Fill a sock or porous bag with oatmeal, tie it under the faucet, and run water over it during the bath. Soak in the tub for at least five minutes. Add peppermint (Mentha piperita) essential oil to the bath for additional anti-itch and antiseptic benefits.
• Vitamin C: 250 to 500 mg every three hours for immune system support and skin healing.
• Vitamin A: 25,000 IUs daily until skin has healed over.
• Eat chicken soup, broths, ginger, garlic, and onions. Drink at least 8 ounces of water a day. Avoid sugary foods.
• Variolinum: speeds up the course of the disease and is helpful in preventing a painful outbreak. Take as soon as possible.
• Rhus toxicodendron: helpful for the intense itching and restlessness. Take twice daily until there is relief of symptoms.
• Sulphur: Use if Rhus toxicodendron does not provide relief, especially if there is burning pain.
What it is: This condition is caused by a variety of viruses that infect the upper respiratory system. About 30 to 50 percent of all colds are caused by the rhinovirus (which has over one hundred different varieties). Symptoms usually begin with throat or nasal discomfort, followed by sneezing, runny nose, headache, and fatigue. Left untreated, symptoms usually resolve in four to ten days when there are no complications such as sinusitis or ear infections. When natural treatments are begun during the first stage of cold symptoms, they can disappear quickly—sometimes within one to four hours! You can reduce the length and severity of a cold with natural therapies during any stage.
Caution: Conventional treatments (over-the-counter medications) help against symptoms, but do not reduce the length of a cold. In fact, many over-the-counter pharmaceutical decongestants have been shown to actually increase the duration of a cold by providing a breeding ground for the infecting virus!
• Echinacea: 60 drops or 500 mg every two to three hours.
• Olive leaf extract: 500 mg every two to three hours.
• Astragalus: 60 drops or 500 mg every two to three hours.
• Lomatium: 30 to 60 drops or 500 mg every two to three hours.
• Elderberry: 60 drops or 500 mg every two to three hours.
• Ginger tea: sip cups throughout the day.
Note: Use one or a combination of these herbs as found in formulas.
• Vitamin C: 1,000 mg every three hours (cut back if diarrhea occurs).
• Zinc lozenge: 15 mg lozenge, three to four times daily
Note: Regular supplementation with a multivitamin has been shown to reduce the frequency of colds, especially in the elderly.
• Eat chicken soup, broths, and drink at least 8 ounce of water daily. Eat plenty of ginger, garlic, and onions, as these foods give immune-system support.
• Oscillococcinum: take at first symptoms of a cold.
• Aconite: useful at onset of a cold when symptoms come on suddenly. Person is chilly, can have a fever, and has a fearful sensation of illness coming on.
• Allium cepa: cold with runny, clear nasal discharge.
• Pulsatilla: cold with yellow-green mucus, flushed, person may become more clingy and weepy.
• Hepar sulph: person has a stuffy sinus, chilly, and becomes very irritable.
• Nux vomica: person becomes chilly, constipated, and irritable.
• Press area between thumb and index finger where a mound of flesh pops out when these two fingers are pushed together laterally (LI-4) to relieve headache and head congestion. Also, push and hold LI-20 (this point located at the outside, lower corner of each nostril is to relieve sinus pressure.
• Foot bath
What it is: Different forms of hepatitis exist, but all are caused by viruses that infect the liver. (Please refer to Chapter 1 for more details.) In general, hepatitis A is spread through oral-fecal contamination. This commonly occurs as a result of a food preparer not washing his or her hands after going to the bathroom and then handling food. Hepatitis B is spread through sexual intercourse and infected blood products (including surgery, transfusion, and IV drug use). Hepatitis C is spread mainly through blood transfusions (rarer these days) and IV drug use. This type of hepatitis can lead to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Medical experts have also identified new forms of hepatitis, D, E and G, but are still gathering information on them.
Regardless of the type of hepatitis, these are common symptoms:
PHASE 1:
• Malaise
• Fever
• Aversion to cigarettes
• Altered liver function tests
PHASE 2:
• Loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting
• Malaise
• Fever
• Weakness
• Headache
• Muscle ache
• Enlarged, tender liver
• Dark urine
• Occasionally, joint pain and hives
PHASE 3: (follows 3–10 days later)
• Dark urine and jaundice including the sclera (whites of the eyes); liver enlarged and mild spleen enlargement is present in 15–20 percent of patients
A diagnosis of hepatitis is confirmed by blood tests, including antibody-antigen tests and elevated liver enzyme tests that signify liver inflammation.
• Milk thistle (85 percent silymarin): 150 mg, three times daily. Contains the active ingredient silymarin, which both protects liver cells from damage and promotes liver cell regeneration.
• Dandelion root: 30 drops or 500 mg, three times daily.
• Burdock root: 30 drops or 500 mg, three times daily.
• Phyllantharus amarus: 200 mg, three times daily
• Licorice root: 30 drops or 500 mg, three times daily.
• Reishi extract: 30 drops or 500 mg, three times daily.
• Vitamin C: 3,000 mg daily minimum (aim for higher dosages that can be tolerated).
• Intravenous vitamin C by a doctor is highly advised.
• Selenium: 200 micrograms, twice daily.
• Multivitamin: daily.
• Vitamin B12 and folic acid injections by your doctor.
• B-complex: 50 mg to 100 mg daily.
• Chelidonium: useful to relieve jaundice.
• Natrum sulph: useful to relieve jaundice.
• Phosphorous: burning pain, high thirst for cold drinks, nausea, vomiting.
• Many others, depending on symptoms; see a practitioner trained in homeopathy.
• Plant-based diet.
• High-fiber diet, including foods healthy for the liver: dandelion greens, dandelion root, burdock root, mustard greens, black radish, apples, saffron, watercress, beets, parsley, artichokes, cherries, grapefruit, parsnips, endive, garlic, onion, chicory, carob, horseradish, kumquats, limes, quinces, grapes, wheat germ, lecithin, yogurt, tofu, soy, and ganoderma mushrooms.
• Fresh juicing: One apple, 1/4 beet, and three carrots is a good liver formula.
• Strict avoidance of alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, sugar products, saturated fats, meat, trans-fatty acids, hydrogenated oils (margarine, vegetable shortening, imitation butter spreads, most commercial peanut butters, oxidized fats), deep-fried foods, fast foods, and barbecue meats.
• Thymus extract—500 to 1,000 mg of thymus glandular daily or thymic protein A as prescribed by your physician.
• Constitutional hydrotherapy daily.
• Acupuncture/acupressure: Specific treatment by a practitioner can be very helpful in recovery from hepatitis and is highly recommended, along with Chinese herbal therapy.
What it is: The conventional cause of AIDS is human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV sabotages immunity so that the immune system (cell-mediated immunity) cannot protect itself from secondary infections. Unfortunately, a cure has yet to be found for AIDS. As discussed in Chapter 1, HIV interferes with T4 helper cells. These lymphocytes help other immune cells to increase in number to fight infections; T-4 inactivity leads to a suppression of the immune system. Blood is the most common medium of transmission (especially through sexual intercourse, IV needles, or being born to a mother who has HIV).
Common signs and symptoms include:
• Persistent fever
• Weight loss
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Fatigue
• Dry cough
• Shortness of breath
• Night sweats
• Personality changes
• Diarrhea
Opportunistic infections that threaten someone with AIDS include pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, candida albicans, toxoplasmosis, cryptosporidiosos, mycobacterium, and Kaposi’s sarcoma (a type of cancer that is a later-stage complication and which has a poor prognosis).
The course and prognosis depends on the health of the infected person upon contracting the disease. Resulting infections are treatable, but unfortunately the course can be long and painful (physically and emotionally) for this incurable disease.
It is important to distinguish between AIDS and AIDS-related complex (ARC). Many ARC sufferers live relatively normal lives. Practicing a healthy lifestyle and dietary habits can often prevent ARC from progressing to AIDS. Some people with AIDS have managed to keep their condition at bay, while others have quickly declined.
Recent research demonstrates significant gains for patients using comprehensive alternative medical protocols as all or part of their treatment.
The diagnosis of HIV is made by a positive blood test for HIV antigens and antibodies. The diagnosis for AIDS depends on certain criteria:
• Positive HIV test and a CD4 count (T helper cells) less than 200, or
• Percentage of T helper cells to total lymphocytes (CD8) less than 14 percent, or
• Presence of an opportunistic infection.
Current conventional treatment focuses on the use of protease inhibitors and medications that interfere with the replication of the virus. Opportunistic infections are treated as they occur.
Natural therapies can be helpful to optimize immune function so that opportunistic infections or cancer, which are how people die from AIDS, do not occur.
• Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra): small human studies have shown licorice root to be effective in maintaining healthy T helper and total T lymphocyte counts. It has also been used intravenously, with some success in reducing the viral load.1–3 Dosage: 30 drops or 300 mg of an extract, three times daily.
• Reishi extract: 30 drops or 500 mg of an extract, three times daily.
• Maitake extract: 30 drops or 500 mg of an extract, three times daily.
• Chinese herbal therapy from a knowledgeable practitioner is strongly recommended.
• Multivitamin: daily.
• Vitamin C: minimum of 1,000 mg, three times daily.
• Vitamin E (natural source): 400 to 800 IUs.
• Mixed carotenoid complex: 25,000 to 50,000 mg daily.
• Lipoic acid: 500 mg daily.
• Selenium: 200 micrograms daily.
• Vitamin B-12: 1 mg daily.
• B-complex: 50 mg, twice daily.
• IV-Vitamin C
• Diet should be a whole-foods diet high in vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and fresh fish and poultry. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, sugar, fried foods, and trans-fatty acids such as margarine. Drink at least six 8-ounce glasses of purified water daily.
• See a practitioner for individualized prescription.
• Thymus extract: 500 to 1,000 mg of thymus glandular daily, or thymic protein A as prescribed by your physician.
• Regular exercise.
• Stress reduction techniques such as prayer, tai chi, mental imagery, acupuncture.
• Constitutional hydrotherapy.
What it is: More than seventy viruses belong to the herpes family. The two most common types are herpes simplex (also known as HSV-1 or cold sores) and herpes complex (also known as HSV-2 or genital herpes). Genital herpes is spread through sexual contact. Herpes simplex is spread by direct skin contact with a person who has the virus (but may not have visible lesions). These reoccurring viral infections appear on the skin and mucous membranes (including lips, mouth, and genital area). A prodrome (warning) period occurs first, marked by tingling or itching, which is then followed by the eruption of clear fluid-filled vesicles. After a few days, the lesions dry up and form a crust. This can take two weeks or longer, depending on the individual. In both cases, the virus remains dormant until it is reactivated, usually by some sort of stress-inducer such as an infection, mental or physical pressure, or sun exposure. Genital herpes has a much higher reoccurrence rate than HSV-1, but both have similar natural treatments.
• Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra); both are available as topical creams and are helpful for many in reducing the severity of symptoms and duration of an outbreak for both types of herpes. Apply one or both of these twice daily to the lesions.
• Vitamin C: 500 to 1,000 mg, four times daily.
• Bioflavonoids: 1,000 mg, three times daily.
• Selenium: 200 micrograms, twice daily with meals.
• Zinc: 50 mg daily.
• Avoid alcohol and refined sugar products. Also avoid foods that contain the amino acid arginine, because this amino acid may cause replication of HSV. Common foods containing arginine, include chocolate, peanuts, almonds, and other nuts. Do consume foods that contain lysine, an amino acid that helps suppress the herpes virus. Foods containing lysine include vegetables, legumes, turkey, potatoes, fish, and chicken.
• Herpes simplex nosode is useful for treating outbreaks and to prevent reoccurrences.
• Rhus toxicodendron: for pustular outbreaks that have a burning sensation.
• Natrum mur: good for chronic outbreaks and for people who break out when out in the sun.
• Applying ice to a cold sore at the first sign of symptoms works well to prevent an outbreak.
• Lysine: this amino acid is helpful for many people in preventing and treating herpes outbreaks. A typical adult dosage is 3,000 mg for the treatment and 1,500 mg for preventative purposes. It is best taken between meals.
• Thymus extract: 500 to 1,000 mg of thymus glandular daily, or thymic protein A as prescribed by your physician.
What it is: This viral condition (also known as rubeola or the nine-day measles) is a highly contagious infection that occurs during childhood. Common symptoms include fever, cough, malaise, runny nose, conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eye), and Koplik’s spots (red spots with a bluish-white center that appear in the mouth). About three to five days after the onset of the symptoms, a rash typically appears. It begins on the neck and face and spreads to the trunk and then the rest of the body. A mild itch also develops.
Respiratory droplets spread the virus. Complications of measles can include pneumonia, ear infections, and other bacterial infections, and encephalitis (brain inflammation and swelling). The disease is usually self-limiting and runs its course in ten days. Conventional treatment includes the use of fever and pain relievers, and antibiotics when indicated.
Note: Dosages are intended for children with a weight between twenty-five and forty pounds.
• Echinacea: 15 to 30 drops, three times daily.
• Echinacea/goldenseal: 30 drops, three times daily, if a secondary bacterial infection is present.
• Vitamin A: 100,000 IUs for three days and then 25,000 IUs for five days. Vitamin A use should be under the guidance of a doctor. A study of 180 children with rubeola (also known as nine-day measles) looked at vitamin A levels. Ninety-one percent of the children were found to have levels below normal. They were given vitamin A (200,000 IUs) supplements for two consecutive days. Results indicated an eighty-seven percent decrease in death rate for children under two years of age.
• Vitamin C: 250 to 500 mg every three hours for immune system support and skin healing.
• Eat chicken soup, broths, and drink at least eight 8-oz glasses of water daily, eat also ginger, garlic, and onions for immune system support. Avoid sugary foods.
• Morbillinum-measles nosode: can help shorten the course and severity of the infection. Take as early as possible in the course of the infection.
• Pulsatilla: for a child who is often clingy, feverish, has low thirst, discharge from the eyes, and coughs at night.
• Sulphur: child is very warm, thirsty for cold drinks, and rash is red and itchy.
• Constitutional hydrotherapy
What it is: Mononucleosis is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, a member of the herpes family of viruses. The virus replicates in the nasal and throat areas, then infects B-lymphocytes. Most adults have antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus. It is thought that this virus is harbored in the body during one’s entire life. Only when the immune system is compromised does this virus replicate and cause disease. Signs of mono are fatigue, fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes. The spleen enlarges in 50 percent of cases. The illness usually lasts an average of two weeks, but can last several weeks longer in some people. Transmission of the virus can occur through kissing, blood transfusion, or simply by drinking out of someone else’s glass. Diagnosis is confirmed with blood work. Conventional treatment is typically a fever and pain reliever, like acetaminophen, and bed rest.
Note: Epstein-Barr is also associated with Burkitt’s lymphoma. Cancer researchers feel that in susceptible persons, Epstein-Barr may initiate the development of Burkitt’s lymphoma and other cancers. It is also believed to be an initiating factor for some people with chronic fatigue syndrome.
• Echinacea-goldenseal combination: 20 to 30 drops or 500 mg every three hours.
• Olive leaf extract: 500 mg every three hours.
• Licorice root: 30 drops or 500 milligrams, three times daily. Acts as an antiviral.
• Ceanothus americanus (New Jersey tea): 30 drops or 500 mg, three times daily. Provides excellent help for an enlarged spleen.
• Lomatium: 20–40 drops or 500 mg every three hours.
• Vitamin C: 250 to 500 mg every three hours for immune system support and skin healing. Consider IU Vitamin C.
• Vitamin A: 25,000 IUs to 50,000 IUs daily.
• Vitamin B-complex: 50 mg daily.
• Zinc: 50 mg daily.
• Eat chicken soup, broths, and drink at least 8 oz of water daily. Eat ginger, garlic, and onions for immune-system support. Avoid sugary foods.
• Epstein-Barr virus homeopathic nosode: take at beginning of illness to reduce severity of symptoms and shorten duration.
• Gelsemium: muscle aches—feel as if bruised—extreme fatigue and dizziness.
• Arsenicum: intermittent fever, exhaustion, restlessness, chills, liver and spleen enlargement.
• Baptisia: muscle soreness, fever with chills.
What it is: Meningitis refers to an infection and inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord, known as the “meninges.” It is usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Symptoms can include high fever, malaise, vomiting, dilated pupils, and a stiff neck and back. This can be a life-threatening infection and requires immediate hospitalization. The natural therapies included can be used as complementary approaches, especially for viral meningitis for which there are limited conventional treatments. Even though antibiotics are ineffective against viral infections, they are still prescribed for viral meningitis in case a bacterial infection is present. Antiviral drugs such as acyclovir are prescribed as well.
• Oregon grape (berberis): 60 drops or 500 mg of an extract, every two hours (use half-dose for children and a quarter for infants).
• Echinacea: 60 drops or 500 mg of an extract, every two hours (use half dose for children and a quarter for infants).
• Olive leaf: 60 drops or 500 mg of an extract, every two hours (use half dose for children and a quarter for infants).
• Astragalus: 60 drops or 500 mg of an extract, every two hours (use half dose for children and a quarter for infants).
• Vitamin C: 1,000 mg every two hours, preferably by IV from your doctor.
• Vitamin A: 100,000 IUs for first two days and then 25,000 IUs until recovered.
• Zinc: 50 mg daily.
• Eat chicken soup, broths, and drink 8 ounces of water daily. Eat ginger, garlic, and onions, foods that deliver immune-system support. Avoid sugary foods.
• Belladonna: high fever, dilated pupils, flushed face. Best prescribed by a practitioner.
• Constitutional hydrotherapy.
What it is: This childhood viral condition causes painful enlargement of the salivary glands, specifically the parotid glands which are located below the ears. The virus is spread through saliva and respiratory droplets. It usually occurs between the ages of five and fifteen. Symptoms usually include chills, headache, loss of appetite, and fever. After a day of these symptoms, parotid-gland swelling and pain occur. Complications are rare, although testicular swelling in boys can cause infertility if the disease occurs as a teenager or young adult. Conventional treatment calls for pain and fever relievers as well as bed rest.
• Echinacea: 20 to 30 drops or 500 mg, every three hours.
• Olive leaf extract: 250 to 500 mg every three hours.
• Vitamin C: 250 to 500 mg every three hours for immune system support.
• Vitamin A: 25,000 IUs daily.
• Eat chicken soup, broths, and drink at least 8 oz of water daily. Eat ginger, garlic, and onions for additional immune-system support. Avoid sugary foods.
• Belladonna: high fever, throbbing pain, flushed face.
• Pulsatilla: especially indicated for mumps that have spread to the testes.
• Constitutional hydrotherapy.
• Acupressure and acupuncture from a practitioner.
What it is: This condition is caused by an infection of the lungs where the alveoli (tiny air sacs that line the lungs) become inflamed and filled with fluid. Various pathogens can infect the lungs, including viruses, bacteria, and mycoplasma. Symptoms of viral pneumonia include headache, fever, muscle pain, shortness of breath, and coughs that produce sputum. Pneumonia is often accompanied by an upper-respiratory infection. Antibiotics are ineffective against viral pneumonia. Bed rest and fluids are conventional recommendations. Diagnosis is made by listening to the lungs, through blood work, and by examining a chest X-ray.
Pneumonia is often preceded by an upper-respiratory infection. Although antibiotics are ineffective against viral diseases, they are often prescribed for viral pneumonia to treat or prevent a coexisting bacterial infection of the respiratory tract. Medical attention is necessary for pneumonia, whether it be viral or bacterial.
• Echinacea or echinacea-goldenseal combination: 60 drops or 500 mg, every three hours.
• Olive leaf extract: 500 mg, every three hours.
• Astragalus: 60 drops or 500 mg, every three hours.
• Mullein: 30 drops every three hours to soothe lung pain.
• Vitamin C: 1,000 mg every three hours (cut back if diarrhea occurs) or IU Vitamin C.
• Vitamin A: 100,000 IUs daily for three days and then cut back to 50,000 IUs.
• Zinc: 50 mg daily.
• Eat chicken soup, broths, and drink at least 8 oz of water daily. Also eat ginger, garlic, and onions, which give immune-system support. Avoid sugary foods.
• Phosphorous: burning in lungs, feel better with cold drinks.
• Antimonium tart: lots of mucus in lungs, rattling of mucus in chest.
• Arsenicum: chills, restlessness, shortness of breath, fatigue.
• Sulphur: burning in lungs, hot and sweaty, last stage of pneumonia.
• Bryonia: sharp sticking pains in chest, chills.
• Acupuncture from a licensed practitioner.
• Chinese herbal therapy from a practitioner.
• Constitutional hydrotherapy.
What it is: Known medically as herpes zoster, this condition is a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chicken pox. It lays dormant in the nerve endings and usually erupts after the age of fifty, generally when some event weakens the immune system. It usually begins with three or more days of chills, fever, and aches. By day four or five, crops of red, fluid-filled blisters appear on the skin. They usually occur on the abdomen and back, following the same contours as the ribs. They can occur anywhere on the body. Severe burning and itching can occur over the affected areas. This usually lasts two weeks, but the pain can go on for months. The lesions eventually scab over and resolve. Some people still have pain after the lesions are gone, a condition known as post-herpetic neuralgia.
Secondary infections can occur at the site of the blisters. Pain relievers and antiviral medications are the conventional treatment.
• Vitamin C: 3,000 to 6,000 mg daily. For acute phases of the illness, IV vitamin C is recommended, given by a physician.
• Bioflavonoids: 3,000 mg daily.
• Selenium: 400 to 600 mg daily for acute treatment.
• Vitamin B-12 injections: 1cc daily or every two days by a physician.
• Olive leaf extract: 500 mg four times daily.
• Echinacea: 60 drops or 500 mg, four times daily.
• Astragalus: 60 drops or 500 mg, four times daily.
• Lomatium: 30 to 60 drops or 500 mg, four times daily
• Capsaicin cream: extract of cayenne that inhibits pain. Apply topically to areas of pain.
• Variolinum: take at beginning of illness to shorten duration and severity.
• Arsenicum: burning pains made better with warm applications, restlessness.
• Rhus toxicodendron: burning pain, restlessness.
• Apis: burning and stinging pain. Made better with cold applications.
• Acupuncture.
• Chinese herbal therapy.
• Constitutional hydrotherapy.
• Thymus extract: 500 to 1,000 mg of thymus glandular daily, or thymic protein A as prescribed by your physician.
What it is: Throat infections are usually caused by viruses or bacteria. Fever, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, and pain on swallowing are common symptoms. Conventional treatment is pain and fever relievers, and bed rest.
• Echinacea: 60 drops or 500 mg, four times daily.
• Olive leaf extract: 500 mg, four times daily.
• Astragalus: 60 drops or 500 mg, four times daily.
• Lomatium: 30 to 60 drops or 500 mg, four times daily.
• Mullein, slippery elm, licorice root or marshmallow root to help soothe the throat: 30 to 60 drops or 500 mg, four times daily.
• Vitamin C: 1,000 mg every three hours (cut back if diarrhea occurs).
• Vitamin A: 100,000 IUs daily for three days, then cut back to 50,000 IUs.
• Zinc: 50 mg daily.
• Eat chicken soup, broths, and drink at least 8 ounces of water daily. Also eat ginger, garlic, and onions for added immune-system support. Avoid sugary foods.
• Phosphorous: raw burning pain in throat, feels better with cold drinks.
• Lycopodium: right-sided throat pain that feels better warm drinks.
• Lachesis: left-sided sore throat with burning pain.
• Acupuncture.
• Chinese herbal therapy.
• Throat hydrotherapy: alternate hot and cold compresses over throat area.
• Thymus extract: 500 to 1,000 mg of thymus glandular daily, or thymic protein A as prescribed by your physician.
What it is: Warts are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). Warts are commonly found on the hands, fingers, forearms, knees, and face. Warts on the soles of the feet and toes are known as plantar warts. Plantar warts are not known to spread to other areas of the body. Those on the genital area are called genital warts. They are highly contagious and transmitted sexually.
Caution: Certain strains of human papilloma virus that cause genital warts are associated with cervical cancer.
• Thuja oil: apply with a cotton swab to warts daily until they are gone.
• Multivitamin: daily.
• Mixed carotenoids: 25,000 IUs daily.
• Selenium: 200 micrograms daily.
• Vitamin C: 1,000 mg three times daily.
• Thuja: common homeopathic remedy used for warts.
• Indicated remedy is prescribed by practitioner.
• Acupuncture.
• Chinese herbal therapy.
• Thymus extract: 500 to 1,000 mg of thymus glandular daily, or thymic protein A as prescribed by your physician.
• Hypnosis and mental imagery have been shown to be effective in eliminating warts.