acute and
chronic infections
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HEN FACED with an acute infection the body’s immune
system springs into action and unleashes a host of reactions, one of which is
to produce a cocktail of natural compounds with antimicrobial effects. Fasting,
the time-honoured naturopathic treatment for infectious and other conditions,
speeds this process, so that bacteria and other infectious agents have to
contend with an inhospitable acid environment as well as a variety of other
immune-defence processes, including bug-eating blood cells, sticky mucus, and
the burning heat of fever.
In otitis media
(glue ear) the inner ear has access to at least 30 different immune defence
mechanisms to kill off unwanted visitors. Not surprisingly, if an eardrum
bursts what comes out is a sterile glue containing the remnants of dead
bacteria. A healthy body is not a comfortable habitat for pathogenic
trespassers.
Fasting and the
use of plant medicines with antimicrobial properties have been used since antiquity
as a potent treatment for most common infections.
With the advent
of penicillin in the 1940s, major research into the antibiotic properties of
natural compounds was scaled down, because it was thought that the days of
serious life-threatening infectious agents were numbered.
But the bugs
have fought back and deaths from infections have been increasing in recent
years. Hospital-based antibiotic resistance culminating in the deadly MRSA
(methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) has become an extra worry for
those who need surgical intervention.
It’s a fact that
hundreds of people being admitted to hospital for routine operations now die
every year because of MRSA.
Although
hospital hygiene is vital in the control of MRSA in hospitals, the emergence of
MRSA as a disease has been due to the over-prescribing of antibiotics for
simple conditions that could easily have been treated by natural methods – a
good example being the use of tetracycline antibiotics for teenage acne. The
routine prescription of antibiotics by general practitioners over the years for
simple coughs, colds and other minor ailments has been criticised consistently
by medical herbalists and naturopaths, but to little avail. The medical
profession, alas, always thinks it knows best.
Fungal
infections have also become difficult to treat with orthodox medicine.
Prior to the
widespread use of antibiotic and steroid drugs, fungal infections were a low
priority for pharmaceutical research. Treatments for fungal disease reaped a
miserable income, as they were not in much demand. How things have changed.
Antibiotics and steroids have done wonders for the antifungal industry, and
what were once categorised as “orphan” drugs are now huge earners.
We have reached
a point in history where all means of dealing with serious infections needs to
be considered.
In my naturopathic and herbal medicine practice I
use various methods to support and enhance the body’s natural defence
mechanisms against bacterial, viral and fungal conditions.
A combination of
plant medicines and optimum nutrition can be a powerful combination for
preventing and treating a wide range of acute and chronic illnesses.
While the
medical world has been ignoring the power of traditional herbs the food and
agricultural industry has been researching into plant compounds, including
those with potent antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.
Such compounds
are useful, not only for flavouring, but also for extending the storage and
shelf life of food products by suppressing moulds and other microbial problems.
This kind of
research tends not to be published in mainstream medical journals, which means
that many significant finds go unrecognised by health and medical
practitioners.
However, the
anti-infective properties of many herbs that have been used in various parts of
the world for centuries are gradually being scientifically confirmed.
Patients with
stubborn and resistant conditions like systemic Candida albicans – and even
serious lung conditions like emphysema and bronchiectasis – can be positively
helped.
Among the
infective conditions seen in my practice on a regular basis are:
Recurrent
cystitis, chronic coughs, bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis, tonsillitis, sore
throat, glue ear, infected sinuses, athlete’s foot, chronic body odour, gum
abscess, lichen planus, stomach upsets, and laryngitis.