A few last words on Travel Tips. July 1, 2009

I’d like to round out the Travel series with a few last tips.  Below you’ll find naturopathic remedies for travel-related conditions.
Jet Lag:
1.    Melatonin: 1-3mg 2 hours before you would like to go to bed.*
2.    Exercise: 30 minutes each day, even while on vacation to regulate stress and help with sleep
3.    Lavendar essential oil drops applied to the pillow or rubbed into the temples to help with sleep.

I also found this: the anti-jetlag diet.  If you have time on your hands, there are some folks out there who swear by it.

Nausea/Motion-sickness:
1.    Ginger: 6 capsules taken 1 hour before travel to soothe stomach
2.    Candied/crystallized ginger: to chew/suck on during travel
3.    Sea-bands: worn on the wrists, applies pressure to acupuncture points known to relieve nausea

Bacterial and fungal skin infections:
1.    Fungal infections:  topical application of Black Walnut (juglans nigra) 5-6 times/day plus vinegar wash 3 x’s /day—1/2 cup apple cider vinegar with 10 drops lavendar essential oil and 10 drops tea tree oil.  Keep the area clean and dry.
2.    Bacterial skin infections:
External:
•    Make a strong tea of calendula officinalis flowers and apply as a compress to skin (after it’s cooled a bit)
•    topical application of Black Walnut tincture (Juglans nigra) 5-6 times/day
Internal: Echinacea tincture  30 drops 5-6x’s day
*caution: do not take black walnut internally during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Urinary tract infection:
1.    Parsley tea: simmer ½ cup of fresh parsley in 2 quarts of hot water for 5 minutes and drink over the course of 3 hours to flush the bladder.  Caution during pregnancy—high dosages may stimulate uterus.  Please talk to your Dr. or midwife before taking.
2.    Unsweetened Cranberry juice: up to 3L/day with acute onset
3.    Uva ursi (Bearberry) tincture: 90 drops 4x’s/day

*Always check with your health care practitioner before starting this or any other supplement.

Natural remedies for Traveling with Kids June 24, 2009

Whether you’re camping, heading to the beach, or staying close to home this summer, you’ll want to know about these natural remedies for kids (and adults too!).

Sunburn:

1. Mix 1 drop of lavendar essential oil per tablespoon of aloe vera gel and apply to burned areas.

2. For a full-body burn, combine 2 cups of baking soda with 10 drops of lavendar essential oil in a tepid/cool bath and soak for 20 minutes. Apply a soothing hypoallergenic body lotion to skin afterwards to seal in moisture.

Bug Bites:
1.    Prevent bug bites with a homemade bug spritzer:
•    2 drops each: Essential Oils of Wintergreen, Citronella, Cedarwood, Peppermint, and Lemongrass.
•    Mix with ½ cup distilled water and ¼ cup almond oil (or other yummy oil) and put in a spritzer bottle.
2.    If stung, remove stinger with credit card or fingernail and apply ice quickly to prevent swelling and spread of toxins.  If wheezing or dramatic swelling occurs, call 911 immediately.
3.    Apply lavendar essential oil topically (undiluted, 1 drop)
4.    If itching occurs, combine ¼ cup of witch hazel extract with 20 drops of peppermint essential oil and 20 drops of lavendar essential oil and apply as needed with a cotton ball.

Cuts/Bruises:
1.    If the injured area is bruised, apply arnica gel or cream there 2-3 x’s day until the bruised sensation is getting better.  Can also do homeopathic arnica acutely.
2.    If the injured area is bleeding/open, clean the area thoroughly with soap and water.  Apply calendula salve 2x’s/day until a scab forms, then you can apply comfrey salve and arnica gel to continue the healing process.  Never apply arnica or comfrey to an open wound.

Spring Cleaning April 15, 2009

Here in the Pacific NW, the cherry trees, daffodils, tulips, daphnes, rhododendrons, magnolias, and many other beautiful flowering trees and plants are blooming.  While this makes the area absolutely gorgeous, it also sends people into my office wondering how to stop the sneezing and itchy eyes.

Fortunately, there some things you can do to make this time of year more enjoyable.

• Get an air filter for your home so you are not exposed to pollens all night long while you sleep.
• Take your shoes off before coming into the house—don’t track the pollen in!  Ask others to do the same.
• Wear sunglasses or other protective eye gear while you’re out to minimize the amount of exposure–as you know, once you start itching your eyes, it’s hard to stop.  This is because rubbing them recruits more histamine to the site, causing even more itching!
• If you have carpets, get them cleaned at least every spring.  Or even better, replace them with hardwood or tiled floors, which are easier to keep clean.
• Consider doing a “Spring Cleanse” for your body*.  By making sure your liver, kidneys, lungs, GI tract, and skin are all in good working order, you can decrease how reactive your body is to elements it is normally allergic to.

*any type cleansing or fasting should be supervised by a health care practitioner.  If you have not seen a doctor in the past year, please consult one before cleansing or fasting.

Staying healthy on a budget. March 4, 2009

For some time now, I’ve been wanting to address how Naturopathic medicine is the way to go in these times of economic hardship.  The type of medicine I practice relies on the healing power of nature and the wisdom of the  body’s innate ability to heal itself.

We have to get back to the basics of eating simply, living simply, enjoying time outside, and loving what we do.  This, my friends, is how we improve quality of life even when times are tough.  This is naturopathic medicine.

I came across an article today in the NY times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/health/03brod.html?_r=1&ref=health

It gives a number a solid recommendations on how to alter your grocery shopping list to save money, but eat healthy.  It’s so important that we don’t let this economy prevent us from achieving our health goals.  Otherwise, we end up paying the price later as a result of having made the unhealthy choices.

I challenge each of you to make one change this week in the following areas:

1. save money at the grocery store by choosing a healthy meal

2. save money by finding something fun to do IN NATURE (it’s free!) rather than spending money on going out

3. Get back in touch with someone you want to spend time with, or find time to do something you love to do.

I’ll post what I did this week to rise to the challenge, and I welcome you to comment here as well.  Let yourself be an inspiration to others!

Knitting with purpose. February 18, 2009

Check out this article from the BBC today:

It turns out that knitting, amongst other things, can actually prevent you from developing dementia.  I love to knit, try to do the crossword puzzle at least once a week, and we play a lot of Scrabble at home too.  Keeping your brain active keeps you protected from early-onset memory loss.   So grab those needles, pens, or puzzles, and stay healthy!

Bug Bites! July 24, 2008

Here are some Bug Bite remedies straight from Granny’s natural medicine chest:

• Stick a half a lemon in the freezer and apply to bites as needed.
• Make a paste with water and baby aspirin and apply to bites.
• Apply icy-hot or other cream with Capsacin.
• Dab with Lavendar essential oil.
• make a paste with baking soda and apply to bites.
• coat one side of a penny with vaseline and tape the penny, vaseline side down to bite.
• warm some honey and dab onto the bites
• cover with plain old mud, or if you are so inclined, a cosmetic mud mask for facials

In addition to these home remedies, there are other steps you can take to make sure those itchy bites get GONE faster.

• Make sure you are taking your fish oils or other omega-3/omega-6 fatty acid supplement.  This will help with calming down inflammation.
• Don’t eat the things you know cause you digestive problems or skin rashes.  This only takes focus away from your body’s ability to deal with the histamines from the bug bites.
• Drink at least half your body weight in ounces each day to help your body’s immune system function properly and work out the bites.