You might be able to treat your cold without regular "Medicine"...

A couple of days ago, I came down with symptoms of a cold – the “common” cold.  This was after all three of my kids had or were already infected.  It probably started with my oldest kid – who in turn probably got it at the local germ cesspool known as a school where a whole bunch of other germy kids gather on a daily basis.

This cold was a little different as it took almost two weeks for me to get it after he had it – which meant the “incubation” time was 7-14 days – longer than most colds.  Probably it was Respiratory Sincytial Virus (RSV) which can be dangerous and even deadly in small infants.  In older children it causes a fairly intense cold and in adults it usually causes a minor illness – doesn’t really mean you don’t feel like garbage, you just don’t feel like you are going to die.

RSV is one of the most common causes of “croup” which is characterized by a barking and sometimes spasmodic cough.  In children, this often leads to a buildup of congestion – which can lead to infections such as ear and sinus infection, along with pneumonia.  I say it was probably RSV – but it could have been an adenovirus, a parainfluenza virus – or a number of others.  Point is RSV is not an emergency except in small children.  You should take your kid for treatment if they can’t breath, have a high fever, have been sick for more than a couple of days…etc.  Use your common sense or someone else’s if you have none of your own (apparently a lot of people don’t).

Aside from waiting until the bacteria have grown in the stagnant mucous – and aside from the over-the-counter meds that you can give or take, there are also a number of home or natural remedies that can help treat a cold – or even a worse infection such as the flu.

• MOST OBVIOUS – wash your hands frequently with soap.  DON’T touch nasty tissues or drink after someone else.  If you have touched something or someone – WASH YOUR HANDS and DO NOT touch your face or eat.
• Spending a little time in a steamy room – can help to moisten and liquefy mucous so that it can

Why can’t "they" cure the common cold?

Let me start by saying - geez, I hope there are no typos in this....

So if you have been reading – or not, a few posts back – I said that my oldest kid had a cold.  Since it was a few weeks ago, I thought the other two (and mom) had escaped the bullet.  Not true this time – since I have a cold and have two kids at home with the same cold.

As normal with a cold – the symptoms are: stopped up nose, slightly runny eyes, mild fever – and this time a barking cough.  In babies, this would be known as “croup”.  A lot of people think that croup is “whooping cough” or pertussis.  It is not.  Whooping cough – truly sounds like the “whoop” of a crane – the noise also occurs on inspiration – and not when they cough.  The croup cough sounds like a barking seal and is also called “bronchiolitis” – which simply means that the bronchioles are inflamed - and likely infected.

In either case - in small infants, it can be troublesome and even dangerous.  This is why “they” insist that all children should get the pertussis vaccine - usually several times (in addition to the other 100 or more vaccines they now “require”).  The problem with the pertussis vaccine is that pertussis is “dangerous” in infants under the age of two months – and the baby can’t get the vaccine until 2 months or “out of the woods”.  The idea behind making kids (adolescents and some adults too) get the vaccine is to prevent babies from getting it….huh?

I digress, the common cold is caused by any one of a number of viruses.  Symptoms are usually less severe than the “flu” which is caused specifically by an influenza virus.

Why is my kid screaming? Sensory Processing Disorder, colorblind too

I have three children - they are now old enough to wipe their own butts, tie their own shoes, wash their own private parts which has frankly freed up enough of my time so that I can work again (joy).

At one time in my life I actually had three kids under the age of two and I was way too old for it (36 when I had the last one).  I had twins - and as if that wasn't intense enough - I managed to get pregnant right after they turned one with a third.  Needless to say, even though I had traveled full-time and been a high-level manager in a very stressful job – this was the hardest thing I had ever done – relentless – and really it still hasn’t ended.  These are the things that even though someone probably told you – you can’t remember when your body is saying “Have a kid….HAVE A KID” – that is what I wanted – A KID (that would be ONE KID) but instead I got three – all at once.  I didn’t go to the grocery store without a second adult for almost five years.

All of my kids have behavioral quirks - one more so than others.

Mental Health Issues: It might be you and not “them”

Since last week was Mental Health Week – I know this not because I am self-aware but only because I have seen several postings from Nikki et al at “Moms Who Drink and Swear” – which is a nationally recognized phenomenon now - (a blog, a book and a facebook page - probably soon a cable TV show - since there is so much swearing it has to go on cable), occasionally quite nasty blog, offensive to some but always funny and true - anyway, MWADS had several blog postings on the subject of Mental Health. Anyway it made me think - about my own journey - and that of my friends and relatives - and those small-ish and irritating people who suddenly developed an opinion about the age of two.  Also - lets not forget my husband - he has issues too.

According to the National Institutes of Health, about 1 in 4 adults are at any one time suffering from some sort of mental health issue.  As with many government statistics – this is certainly vastly under reported as this is likely based on those who are actually diagnosed – or who answered a survey.  In fact there are certainly thousands and thousands more with issues that they either will not see a doctor about – or refuse to admit it even to themselves – even if family and friends already know.

Unfortunately in today’s judgmental society, admitting that you have a mental disorder can disrupt many facets of your life.  First, it will likely affect your friendships – once your friends know that you have a mental disorder, they can hold it against you – be patronizing – disregard what you say, etc.  It may also affect your family relationships – "if you disagree with me, it must be because you aren’t taking your meds" – "are drunk or high" or "are just plain crazy which is "bull$hit" – or "I must make sure you are limited in your exposure to the outside world and therefore you are not allowed to drive or go anywhere by yourself" - or all of the above.

Valerian Root – Natural Antianxiety and Insomnia Treatment – or Just a Big Stink Bomb

 

 

So, since I am perimenopausal (I like to continue to claim that, so I can avoid saying I am actually menopausal), I am having a lot of anxiety – and insomnia.  I am currently trying an herbal regimen including: Valerian, 5-HTP and sometimes Melatonin. 

The problem with this particular regimen is that you have to take Melatonin several hours before bedtime in order for the Melatonin level to be high enough when you want to sleep.  Melatonin is good for jet lag and shift work.  I am not currently experiencing jet lag – as I refuse to fly over the ocean – and I am not a shift worker as I found out years ago that working nights will actually drive me insane-r than I already am – but it is also reported to be a natural sleep aid if taken appropriately.  The problem with this is two-fold.  The fact that you have to take it at the same time as your kids are going insane and tearing $hit up – AND that the instructions for taking it are very blurry.  Most recommendations are taking it at 3-5mg but some people recommend up to 60mg.  Anyway, I have a bottle of 3 mg which is actually not open yet.

The 5-HT is a precursor of tryptophan (you know the natural stuff that was banned several years ago) that is contained in high levels in turkey and warm milk – which is supposedly why those foods make you sleepy.  I am not sure of the effectiveness of either of these treatments as I think the post-thanksgiving nap is usually due to overeating and laziness – and warm milk makes you sleepy because it is already night time and you should be sleepy.  I digress and am trying it anyway.

The other thing I am taking (more often than the recommended dose of 1 capsule daily – usually two) for anxiety and sleep.  Valerian root supposedly works on the GABA receptors, the same receptors that benzodiazepines such as Valium, Ativan, Xanax – etc. work on.  It seems to be working .  I have been faithfully taking the Valerian – yes, without a consultation with a physician.  The problem with Valerian – is that it stinks – and I don’t mean just smells kind of bad – it STINKS – kind of like toe cheese, smelly feet or really bad stinky cheese that is actually a food product.  BTW – do you know what cheese actually is?  It is moldy milk.  Kind of gross.  But I digress again.

Valerian capsules are so stinky that the offensive odor lingers in the air, on your hands (even after you wash them) and causes your daughter to exclaim – JAS, wash your feet!  Seems to work though – or maybe it is the 2 to 4 or possibly 6 Benadryl (diphenhydramine – also now in Sominex – and in Nytol), an antihistamine that has high sedating effects that I end up taking.

Either one of these treatments  - Valerian at the near intended level can actually exacerbate migraines – which I don’t want because I had them during puberty and beyond but they finally went away when I broke ddown and started taking medicine for my blood pressure – which brings up another story which I will get to in a minute but don’t want to get side tracked.  On to the story – Benadryl, though sedating and very useful for giving kids at night – doctors used to recommend it for long car rides, plane trips or if you just really needed the kid to go right to sleep at bedtime – plus it is the best antihistamine, anyway – Benadryl can cause – a disturbance in REM sleep – which means your sleep is not “quality” sleep.  It can also cause tinnitus – or ringing of the ears.  I experience this as feeling like I am in a tunnel made of aluminum foil. 

I rationalize continuing to take these medications – natural or otherwise as I am experiencing extreme insomnia – developed over a period of years.  Since the late stages of pregnancy with twins (where I was only able to get 30 minutes of sleep at a time after my belly swelled to the point of two watermelons) to the birth of said twins – where I was able to get about 2 hours of sleep – ending every morning at 4:30 am since the boy was an “early” riser – meaning the crack of o’dark thirty – to the birth of the 3^rd kid – and then I was way too busy to sleep with 3 kids under the age of two.  Through the toddler, beginning school, I gotta catch the bus but refuse to do anything to help and later I don’t wanna go to bed days – to the now hormonal, I can’t sleep through the hot flashes, night sweats, severe anxiety, anxiety related eczema which actually wakes me up and I have to slather on a steroid cream which oddly causes insomnia – not to mention the same kids who get up on the weekend to watch cartoons.  These are the same kids who won’t get up during the week.

In any case – I have been sleep deprived for now – about 13 years, give or take.

It turns out, no matter what the side effects or how much the medicine smells like dirty feet – I will continue to try anything – including Kudzu root – you know the voracious vine of the south which will even grow over a small moving cow?  Well I tried that anyway – didn’t work.  So I stay with the Valerian root and Benadryl regimen for now – until I find something that lets me sleep (I am now up to about 4 hours).

Kids with allergies…medicine unsafe….give me a break!

I was born in Oklahoma – the land of all flowering trees, grasses and all known allergens. I had allergies that were severe enough that my mother thought I would die….seriously. I had ear infections every 6 weeks and regularly visited a “pediatric allergist” who refused to take out my tonsils or put ear tubes in because he was not sure I would survive the surgery….seriously. I had full allergy testing performed and was taking allergy shots by the time I was four. Let me tell you this was over 35 years ago and they did not have “scratch” testing for allergies. They used to fill little cups with allergen solution and set them on 4 needles imbedded in your arm or back and wait for 15 minutes or so for a reaction. I don’t remember much about it but it must have been torture for my mother. By the time I was four, I was also taking adult strength allergy pills – not kids allergy liquid but adult tablets. I know this because my mom used to put one under my tongue as she dropped me off at day care and say “run in and get a drink of water to swallow it.” At the time – this was not considered dangerous and this way she knew that I got my medicine on time and it would last the rest of the day.

Fast forward many years. I now have 3 children – 6 and under. They all have allergies. Fortunately, we don’t live in Oklahoma so they are not quite as severe but as we do live in Central Texas – they are certainly noticeable and bothersome. Consequently, I have had to give them allergy medicine almost every day since they were infants.

A couple of years ago, the American Pediatric Association in conjunction with drug manufacturers came out with a statement that medications given for colds and allergies to children under two years of age are ineffective and could be unsafe. Because of this, all over the counter cold/allergy medication formulated for infants and toddlers were removed from the shelves of your local drugstores and grocery stores. All children’s cold/allergy medicine had to be relabeled to eliminate dosing instructions for children under 2. Cases and cases of cold medication were actually thrown away. A year or so later – this was repeated for children under 6. Now there is news that the same situation may be repeated for children under 12…..What is next….18? 21? 30? All cold medicine for all ages?

The medical establishment says that cold and allergy products do NOT work for children and that they may be unsafe. This is an outright lie.

The real problem is twofold. The first is that the medical community thinks the average American is too stupid to take medicine properly and especially that American parents are too stupid to know when children need medication and too stupid to give it properly. They claim that “hundreds” of children are seen each year in emergency rooms due to overdosing. Since we have become a litiginous society, the pharmaceutical industry and their insurance companies are unwilling to take the risk that some kid might get overdosed by his dumb parents….huh? I worked in hospitals and emergency medicine for many years and I don’t know of any cases that a child was harmed from an accidental overdose of allergy medicine. It would take way more than mom giving 1 teaspoons instead of 2…

The second reason is this: allergy and cold medication is still available in pediatric formulation for children – you just can’t buy it unless you visit a doctor. In fact, the last 3 times I have taken my kids to the doctor for a respiratory infection, I have been given a prescription for exactly the same medication I would have purchased over the counter. So the statement….these medications do not work is a LIE. If they didn’t work – why would the doctor prescribe it? The truth is they just want you to be required to see a doctor…..This in a time where many, many Americans including hundreds of thousands of children are not covered by health insurance –you have to see a doctor to get a prescription for medicine that was available 40 years ago…..sounds fair….(NOT).

Natural Therapy: Coffee Treats Asthma, Headaches and other Conditions

Everyone knows that drinking a cup of coffee will give you a little boost of energy. But, it can also treat and prevent a number of other disorders such as asthma, headaches, Parkinson's Disease, Type II Diabetes and colon Cancer.

Coffee as a Stimulant
While most people realize that the caffeine in coffee may wake them up in the morning, many do not realize there may be additional benefits to drinking coffee. Coffee has also been shown to improve mental performance and increase productivity at work. According to the National Coffee Association, 54% of adult Americans drink coffee on a regular basis. The average amount consumed is around 3 cups per day.

Coffee as Disease Prevention
The International Coffee Organization, states that it is also believed that since coffee contains a slew of antioxidants there may be benefits to the liver, brain and it may actually help prevent colon cancer. Coffee has also been shown to have benefits in prevention of Parkinson’s disease, Type II Diabetes.

Coffee Treats Asthma
Coffee’s primary stimulant activity is caused by the presence of caffeine. Caffeine is a member of the chemical group Xanthine derivatives which also includes Theophylline and Theobromine.
Theophylline is a powerful bronchodilator which has been in use for many years to treat asthma available by prescription as “TheoDur” and several other brand names. Theobromine, a related chemical is highly present in chocolate.

When medical help is not available, because of its caffeine, coffee can be used to treat an asthma attack. The Caffeine works similarly to Theophylline by constricting the blood vessels in the lung tissue leading to an opening of the airway and easier breathing.

Coffee Treats HeadachesBecause Caffeine is a “vasoconstrictor”, it can also be used to treat headaches. Some headaches, such as migraines are thought to be caused by a dilation of blood vessels in the brain. Drinking a cup of coffee can help to alleviate this condition. Many “migraine treatments” have caffeine as one of the active ingredient. This includes the popular over-the-counter pain relievers “Excedrin” and “Anacin” and the prescription products “Fioricet” and “Fiorinal”.

As a health care professional and natural therapy enthusiast, I have often recommended that people drink a cup of coffee in order to alleviate a headache. If it won’t completely treat the headache, it may help the pain reliever work better.

There are a few drawbacks to drinking coffee on a regular basis such as staining of teeth and possible bad breath, though good oral hygiene should minimize this effect. The worst potential side effect of daily use is that one may become dependent on the caffeine and develop a need to consume it daily. Withdrawal can be unpleasant and result in tiredness and withdrawal headaches which seem to be only treatable by consuming more coffee.

As coffee is readily available most everywhere in the world, it doesn’t seem to be much of a problem and the benefits appear to outweigh the drawbacks. So, drink up!