Jan 26

Arm Yourself With Info About Alternative Herbal Medicine



Alternative herbal medicine is one of the best ways to cure chronic or other disease, in many cases. The major benefit of herbal medicines is that it is 100% natural and does not have any side effects, if taken according to the advice of a competent doctor. Look for and use organic herbs when ever possible.

Gamma Linoleic Acid (GLA) is the wonder medicine made from primrose, borage or currant seed oil that is extremely effective for treatment of alcohol addicts. Alcohol intake in huge amounts has the chances of slowing down your brain cells. This particular effect of alcohol can be checked by Valerian herb. Another effectual herbal medicine for people suffering from emotional or physical stress is Skullcap.

The alternative herbal remedies for stress, anxiety or depression are St. John’s wort, ashwagandha, valerian and hops ginseng, and Motherwort.

If one is suffering from any degree of sleeplessness, the most helpful herbal medicines are lemon balm, linden, chamomile and ginger tea. For quick relief from common ailments like the odd headache, you can go for eucalyptus or peppermint oil and lavender while for rapid pain relief or inflammation, one can take meadowsweet or willow bark instead of chemical painkillers.

Salicylic acid, the chief component of the pain – killer aspirin, is found in its salicin form in willow bark and meadowsweet. The salicin is reacted upon in the stomach and transformed to salicylic acid, which grants you instant relief from pain. Ginger, which reduces the prostaglandin levels in the body, is another useful pain reliever.

Thanks to the hectic modern style of present day living, most of us suffer from stress in different forms. Herbal medicine is a great way to counter this. Ginseng and Siberian ginseng are two of the most potent stress relievers. Herbal medicines like gingko biloba, ginseng, Siberian ginseng and gotu kola are also successful in curing partial memory loss. Hawthorn, ginseng, motherwort, valerian and pineapple are the wonder herbs that help in curing angina or irregular heartbeat.

Most herbal medicines are prepared from the major herbal ingredient along with other contents. At present, almost 80% of all the medicines have some herbal ingredients.

Although herbal medicines have been extremely successful in treating many diseases, prescription drugs still hold the fort when it comes to treating critical diseases. Thus, one should not consider alternative herbal medicine to be a competitor of prescription drugs, but as a new and effective form of medicine that works in tandem with prescription drugs to treat certain illnesses.

Another benefit of herbal medicines is that it is accessible to most everyone. Herbal treatment is not at all expensive and the herbs can even be grown in your backyard! In fact, prescription drugs are much more expensive and associated with a greater amount of risk.

Alternative medicine is cheap, effective and most importantly, natural and free from any side effects.

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Posted in Medicine

Jan 26

Massage Therapy For Eye



Panchkarma is the process, which finds and cures the root cause of a problem by maintaining the correct balance of ‘Tridosha’ in body. Pancha Karma is not only good for alleviating disease but also beneficial during periods of transition whether it is a change of season or change in your personal/professional life like marriage, divorce or a transition into a new phase of your life. This therapy helps to remove the undesired elements from the body, enhance digestion and improve metabolic process through food herbal medicines. Panchkarma means the five therapies:

1) Vamana (therapeutic vomiting or emesis)

2) Virechana (purgation)

3) Nasya (elimination of toxins through nose)

4) Vasti (enema)

5) Raktamoskshana (detoxification of blood)

EYES AND PANCHKARMA

Eyestrain due to TV, computer, pollution, watering of eyes, dimness of vision, formation of cataract are some of the eye diseases cured by panchkarma.

Netratarpan- it is one of the therapeutic processes for the treatment of eye. It cleanses eyes by bathing them in pure medicated ghee. It gives a cooling effect to the eyes and strengthens optic nerve thus improving eyesight.

Akshitarpan

Akshi’ means eyes, Tarpan means nutrition. This is a process where herbally medicated Ghee is poured over the eyes and fresh black gram paste is applied. Netravasti is a treatment for the eyes. To undergo this treatment the patient is made to lie on his back on the droni as in Urovasti. A receptacle is built around the eyes with black gram dough for the retention of the medicated ghee (ghritam) used in the therapy. The receptacle around the eyes should be one and half inches high and totally leak – proof. After the ghee is poured over the patient’s closed eyes, he/she is asked to open them slowly. The ghee is normally kept in the receptacle for less than 5 minutes after which it is gently removed while the patient keeps his eyes closed. Exposure to strong sunlight must be avoided for sometime after this treatment. Netravasti is indicated for glaucoma, conjunctivitis and night blindness.

Dhara

Dhara is the pouring of warm medicated oil or an herbal decoction over the body. Dhara with oil is one among the major oil therapies. While in Shirodhara oil is poured only on the forehead, in Sarvangadhara, it is poured all over except on the head. However, any dhara with oil is generally called Snehadhara.

When medicated buttermilk replaces oil (Sneha), the therapy is called Takradhara. If medicated milk is used instead of medicated oil, then the process is called ‘Ksheeredhara’. All types of dhara are useful for eye diseases.Extracts of herbs that possess preventive and curative properties are used for Netradhara. The procedure of the treatment is very simple. A stream of herbal extract is gently poured into the eyes of the patient who lives on the droni. The patient is made to lie on both sides in order that both eyes are thoroughly washed. The extract is poured through a funnel made of leaf of jackfruit tree. Any device that lets out a small, continual flow may substitute for the leaf funnel.

Shirovasti

Shirovasti is considered more of a palliative (Shamana) Treatment than an eliminative (Shodhana) and Sudation (Swedana).

A leather sleeve of about 6 to 8 inches in length is placed on the shaven head of the patient and a band (Vartti) tied around the forehead to keep it in place. Kneaded dough is used to line the inside of this sleeve and ensure that it does not leak. Oil is then poured into the sleeve and allowed to remain on the head for a while. The oil commonly used is Ksheerabala or Dhanwantaram. The length of time the oil should be kept there is determined by the severity of the disease. Usually it is upto 15 minutes for diseases caused by severe Vata disorders.

This treatment is prescribed for disorders like facial paralysis, cataract, deafness, earache, insomnia and other diseases that afflict the cranial nerves.

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Posted in Eyes

Jan 26

Hypertension Medication Side Effects – Do You Know What Your Drug Can Do to You?



Hypertension medications have made improvements over the past years and that’s good news for people who have been prescribed those antihypertensive drugs. Some drugs have improved potency which means lower doses are required. Others work in ways that did not exist several years ago and also allow for lower dosages or more effective combinations of drugs.

So if there have been so many improvements, why do you feel so lousy?

These drugs still come with side effects. Understand that hypertension treatment is a numbers game. Your doctor will start with a low dosage on one or two medicines and will continue to adjust both type of drugs and dosages until a combination is found that controls your condition. At least it controls it for now. If you condition changes, or you develop intolerance to the drug, the mix and match process begins again.

Here’s a sample of what you can expect in the way of side effects for a few of the classes of drugs:

Diuretics are the oldest and least expensive form of treatment for high blood pressure. Diuretics flush sodium and excess fluids from the body reducing blood volume. The less blood in the system, the less pressure required to pump it. Thiazide diuretics can also prevent sodium from being reabsorbed in the body. Side effects include:

Thirst, potassium depletion, frequent urination, weakness, impotence, muscle cramps, lightheadedness, constipation and confusion.
Anti-adrenergics work by limiting the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine which have a stiffening effect on the blood vessels. Without this effect both the vessels and heart are more relaxed and less pressure is required to pump blood. Side effects:

Depression, fatigue, wheezing, insomnia, impotence and a decrease in good cholesterol HDL can occur as a result of taking this class of drug. The very scary part is do not miss taking your pill as prescribed. Sudden withdrawal can trigger an angina or heart attack.
ACE Inhibitors. This class is one of the most effective in controlling blood pressure. This drug works by deactivating angiotensin-converting enzyme which prevents the kidney from absorbing sodium and retaining water. Left unchecked, these enzymes can stiffen blood vessels and increase pressure. Side effects include:

Cough, rash, fluid retention and loss of taste. May also cause fetal abnormalities.

So that’s the popular line up of hypertension medications and their side effects. Is there an alternative to these?

The answer is yes, if you want to make some changes in the way you live your life.

The American Heart Association endorses changes in diet, exercise and stress management as the best way to control hypertension. If you are fed up with the side effects, the expense, or simply the fact that you will be reliant on daily medication for the rest of your life, then you need to learn about the alternatives.

Natural approaches can not only control your high blood pressure, it can cure it and reverse much of the damage that has already been done. Take responsibility for your health and learn how to live without the drugs.

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Posted in Blood Tension

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