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You are welcome to submit your questions regarding natural health. However, we receive many questions each week and we are only able to publish a few.
All questions will be answered within a "general advice" format in the column only. As health problems require the personal advice of a health care professional, we are unable to answer questions personally.
Karima Burns, MH, ND has a Doctorate in Naturopathy and a Masters in Herbal Healing. She has studied natural healing for 12 years, published a natural healing newsletter for 4 years, and writes extensively on natural healing and herbs. Sister Karima became interested in natural healing after ending her personal lifelong struggle with asthma, allergies, chronic ear infections, depression, hypoglycemia, fatigue and panic attacks with herbs and natural therapies.
Karima offers natural healing consultations, aromatherapy and reflexology treatments, iridology readings, and nutritional and herbal programs from her home in Saudi Arabia. She believes that healing occurs more rapidly when her clients can work on the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of their illnesses.
Dear Editor,
My child has a bad earache. Should I take her to the doctor? I have tried everything from homeopathy to herbs to acupressure. Do you have any new ideas? I have tried eardrops and herbal painkillers. Nothing eases the pain. L.M., Iowa
Dear L.M.,
You have asked two questions. One is about taking your child to the doctor and the second is about ear pain.
In answer to your first question, a person should always go to the doctor if they are unsure of what is happening or if they do not have another healthcare professional to see. There is no law saying that you have to follow a doctor's advise or even take the medicine that is prescribed to you; however, at least you can get a better idea of the cause of your child's illness. Sometimes if you indicate that you do not want medication, the doctor will be happy to tell you that it is not necessary. Remember, however, if all they do is confirm your opinion, don't walk away mumbling that the doctor did nothing. Actually, the doctor did a lot! They confirmed your opinion and are letting you care for your child at home. That is worth every penny you paid. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you should only go to the doctor if you are going to "get something" for your trouble. This is how the entire abuse of antibiotics started. The consumer mentality that you always have to "get something for your money" has made a doctor "visit" obsolete so now when many people go to the doctor, they feel they have to "get something." Consequently, many patients leave with a prescription for medication even if they don't really need it. We need to become accustomed again to regular doctor visits (or to other health care professionals) just for general health maintenance.
Pertaining to your question about ear pain, I find that ear pain is very difficult to deal with, conventionally or with herbs. It does not seem to matter what you do - even Tylenol does not completely take away the pain. However, having previously suffered many bad earaches, I have found some methods that do work.
The first step I take is prevention. A doctor told me once that I had small ear canals (like a child's) and that I should put a drop of warm oil (olive oil is perfect) in them every month to soften the wax so that it would be easily eliminated. Apparently, my recurrent infections were largely due to a buildup of wax. This is so easy to do.
Another preventive measure is to decrease mucous-forming foods (all milk products, sugar and wheat) in general and particularly when a cold or the flu shows up. Thirdly, upon the first sign of congestion or ear clogging, I perform an ear candling session on myself. This is also good for children but should be done, of course, according to proper procedure and with professional advice.
If you are observant and careful at the first signs of an ear infection, you can largely avoid misery. However, if you do miss your chance to "nip it in the bud," you can try one of the following methods that I have used with success:
- Crush a clove of garlic in a few tablespoons of olive oil and warm it. Cool to mixture to a tolerable temperature and put two drops in each ear. This is warm and soothing, helps eliminate wax, and is antibacterial.
- You can still do an ear candling session WITH professional advice (at this point, you must be careful not to damage the ear if the condition is bad).
- You can rub lavender, tea tree, pine or some other oil on the outside of the ear to relieve pain.
- Perform some simple "energy healing" on the ear by holding your hand one-half inch away from the ear, but not touching it (if doing it to a child, have them lie down or sit still while holding your hand in this position over their ear). Concentrate on channeling all your good thoughts, particularly healing thoughts, to your hand and feel the warmth that is created between your hand and their ear. Try increasing this warmth by your thoughts and will power for five minutes. It will be a pleasant experience for the child and surprisingly easy. At the very least, the fascination of the process will distract them from their pain.
- Cut an onion in half. Place the halves on a cloth, leaving a space between them. Fold the sides of the cloth over the onion; then, the top and bottom. Place the cloth on the ear so that one part is covering the front of the ear and one part covers the back (in essence, making an ear sandwich); then secure this package with a hat or a scarf. Check after a few minutes to make sure that the onion is not causing a rash. You can leave this on until the onion stops smelling, sleeping or resting on this side to put pressure on the onion pack.
- Toning is a wonderful way to take away pain. The person with the earache can experiment with letter sounds (Ahhhhh; Eeeeeee; Mmmmmmmm; Oooooooooo, etc...) and see which one works.
- If none of these recommendations work, or they work a little but you want more support, there is nothing wrong with occasionally using a little Tylenol.
Dear Editor,
I have suffered from depression from years and I am on medication. However, I liked some of the suggestions you gave in your article on natural cures for depression. Can I give up my medication to take herbs? R.C., Saudi Arabia
Dear R.C.,
You should never give up medication without the advice of your doctor. You could harm yourself or even die from withdrawing from medication improperly.
Herbs have become so common nowadays that we can find them in grocery store aisles and added to breakfast cereals and vitamin formulas. They are often touted as "safe" and "natural." However, increasing numbers of people are finding out the hard way that herbs can have side effects as well, and that many can harm us or cause discomfort when used improperly. Below, I have listed a number of the most common complaints I have received from my clients when they were using herbs. And this is just the "tip" of the iceberg!
Nettles act as a diuretic, often causing a parched feeling in those who drink too much of it. You must mix it with other teas instead of taking it alone and increase your fluid intake while drinking it. For people who are allergic to the plant, it can cause stomach irritation and rashes.
People who are allergic to grasses are often allergic to alfalfa too. It can also cause stomach upset in some people.
Chamomile almost always causes allergies in people who are allergic to Ragweed as this weed is usually mixed in with chamomile during the harvesting process.
Senna taken alone or in large quantity has sent many a child to the emergency room.
Red peppers have sent many people to the emergency room with red pepper BURNS because they did not realize that it could cause severe burning.
Some clients taking gingko have reported headaches when they took too much or very strong gingko. It also reduces blood clotting, so those who are already taking drugs to do this or who have blood-clotting disorders or heart problems should not take this herb.
Garlic has been known to cause blood-clotting problems in some people as well as rashes or stomach upset in others.
In his book The Healing Herbs, Michael Castleman gives the following advice for safe herb use:
- Don't take herb identity for granted. Find out what an herb should taste, look and feel like before taking it. There are too many documented cases of people dying because the herb they purchased was actually something else.
- Use only the recommended amount for the recommended period. Don't leave herbs to steep for longer than the recommended 20 minutes; don't drink two cups if one is recommended and so forth...
- If you are over 65, suffer from a chronic illness, or are sensitive to drugs, start with smaller doses and work up to where you feel comfortable.
- Pay attention to any signs of toxicity. The great thing about herbs is that they will warn you in a gentle way if they are not right for you, in stark contrast to many prescription drugs that can seriously harm or kill a person. Signs like stomachache or headache often indicate that a person is having a toxic reaction to an herb.
- Do not give medicinal amounts of herbs to children under age two.
- Pregnant women should not take herbs without the supervision of a health care professional. They should use the nutritional support of foods instead.
- Be extra careful when using the "bottled" essential oil or essence version of an herb. Many herbs, perfectly fine when consumed as a tea, are poisonous as a concentrate
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