Natural Treatments for Sore Throat
My friend and colleague Dr. Randall Neustaedter, OMD, recently wrote this article on the Natural Treatments for Sore Throats. I agree with his approach and this is a great article……..so I wanted to share it with you.
The only thing I wanted to point out is that sometimes I do tell my patients to use antibiotics. The case I usually will tell them to use antibiotics is when they are either not interested in or don’t have the time to try the natural methods and remedies. Natural methods will almost always cure sore throats. But sometimes if you need to get back to work right away, or you have a big trip planned and need to immediately travel, you might not have the time to strengthen your immune system to fight the symptoms on their own. Although the right homeopathic remedy with herbs, will usually work quickly…………..depending on your immune system, it could take longer.
Should you wish to stock your medicine chest in advance with the immune herbs, and sore throat herbs, needed to boost the immune system, feel free to email me, and we can send them out to you. It’s always best to have everything in your medicine chest BEFORE you or your family get sick. That way, you can start to take them at the very first sign of not feeling well. Natural medicine works best when you use it for prevention or at the first sign of the problem. An ancient story goes: In Ancient China, the villagers paid the Chinese doctor a retainer fee to keep them well, and NOT when they were already sick. Does that make sense or not???? 🙂 Please enjoy this great article from my friend. Dr. Martinwww.drrandymartin.comdrrandymartin@q60.3dc.myftpupload.com Natural Health NewsletterRandall Neustaedter OMD Sore ThroatsThroat pain accompanies colds, allergies, and strep infections. The tonsils may be swollen, red, and pitted with yellow pus. Lymph nodes below the jaw tend to get swollen as well. Fever and other cold symptoms may also accompany the sore throat. A high fever, as much as 104°, may signify strep throat, which is generally more severe than viral sore throats, takes longer to go away, and is occasionally accompanied by a rash. In other respects the symptoms can be similar and even indistinguishable unless a throat culture is obtained.Antibiotics for strep?Most pediatricians will insist on treating strep throats with antibiotics. The specific organism is Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus. The effect of antibiotics on the recovery from strep throats has been controversial, with early studies showing no effect on symptoms (Brink, 1951; Denny, 1953) and later studies showing dramatic improvement (Randolph, 1985). The second reason doctors treat strep with antibiotics is because they can prevent one of the complications of strep throats, namely acute rheumatic fever (ARF), which commonly damages heart valves and can prove fatal. Antibiotics do not seem to prevent some other complications, specifically toxic shock syndrome or kidney infections (Weinstein, 1971). However, the incidence of rheumatic fever has decreased dramatically since the age when thousands of people died every year from rheumatic fever. In the late 1940s, 200,000 people per year developed rheumatic fever. That incidence began declining prior to the availability of antibiotics and ARF has nearly disappeared since the 1970s. Pockets of ARF occur sporadically in various small areas of the country, but by and large rheumatic fever is now a disease of the past. Apparently, the strains of the bacteria that have an affinity for attacking the heart simply do not occur anymore except in rare isolated instances (Markowitz, 1998; Stollerman, 1990). Once upon a time antibiotics prevented ARF that followed strep throats, but now the disease has virtually disappeared despite the fact that most sore throats do not get treated. In fact most cases of ARF now have no history of a preceding sore throat.None of this would be an issue if antibiotics had no side effects. The problem is that they do. Antibiotics disrupt the immune system, and kill beneficial bacteria along with the pathogens. Antibiotics also tend to create resistant strains of bacteria so that they do not work effectively when they are really needed. A further complicating issue is that strep bacteria typically do not disappear from the throat following a course of antibiotics. The bacteria will persist even after signs of the infection have disappeared. If a throat culture is taken at some later date, the bacteria will still be present and another antibiotic prescription will follow even though there is no active infection. Finally, studies have shown that when antibiotics are given for strep throat the infection tends to recur more often than when they are not prescribed.I do not recommend antibiotics for strep throat unless there are an unusual number of documented RF cases caused by strep bacteria in the community, or if the patient has pre-existing heart disease. I agree with pediatrician Robert Mendelsohn who wrote as long ago as 1984:
- Both throat cultures and antibiotics are to be avoided, because the hazards of treatment outweigh the remote possibility that your child will suffer any lasting effects even if he has a strep infection (Mendelsohn, 1984).
TreatmentHomeopathic treatment is usually extremely effective in relieving the symptoms of sore throats and stimulating a complete and quick recovery. Strep throats may take longer to resolve than viral sore throats.Belladonna is the first medicine to prescribe when the throat is inflamed, red, and painful with few other symptoms besides fever.Mercurius (vivus or solubilis) is by far the most frequently indicated medicine for children’s sore throats. Characteristic symptoms include a bad odor from the mouth, an increase in saliva production with drooling in younger children, swollen lymph nodes, and irritability.The third medicine is Phytolacca when the throat feels swollen or constricted on swallowing and the lymph nodes are swollen, but the typical Mercurius symptoms of salivation and bad odor are absent.Symptomatic treatment includes eating frozen things (juice popsicles or ice chips), sucking on zinc lozenges, and for older children, gargling with salt water.Give vitamin C and Echinacea as for Colds.Give Windbreaker or Yin Chao Junior.Acupuncture MassageMassage the ring finger on the palm side from the tip to the base in one direction only. Massage along a line in the center of the inside of the forearm from the wrist to the elbow in one direction only. Press on a point at the soft junction of the thumb and index fingerMassage the two points at the back of the neck in the hollows on either side of the bony prominence at the base of the skull.References can be found in Dr. Neustaedter’s book, Child Health Guide. Plastic Bags I had several questions in response to the last newsletter about what to do for garbage bags. You can get biodegradable garbage bags at most large health food stores and use those instead of plastic. They are made from corn and degrade simply in the landfills. Randall Neustaedter OMDClassical Medicine Center1779 Woodside Rd, 201CRedwood City, CA 94061+1 650 299-9170If you have questions or feedback contact me at: randalln@Cure-Guide.comTo view all previous newsletter articles go to: www.Cure-Guide.com/NewsletterFeel free to forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues. They can subscribe using this link=====================================================Dr Randy Martin, OMD, LAc, PhD, QME, MUP, CCHDoctor of Chinese MedicineCertified Classical Homeopath Encino Office: MAILING ADDRESSTuesday and Thursday11:30 am – 7:30 pm17000 Ventura Blvd #220Encino, CA 91316Telephone: 818 905 6171 West Los Angeles/Santa Monica Office: Monday & Wednesday12:30 pm -7:30 pm1444 Carmelina Blvd #132West Los Angeles, CA 90025Telephone: 310 979 6495 Santa Clarita:Saturday and/or Sunday1:00 – 6:00 pmMotion Pros Physical Therapy27141 Hidaway Ave. #207Canyon Country, CA 91351Telephone: 661 312 9868 Email: drrandymartin@q60.3dc.myftpupload.comOn the Web: www.drrandymartin.com
