Most children contract this childhood disease before age nine. It is caused by a virus and manifests itself as a fever and headache, usually starting between seven to twenty one days after exposure to the virus.
Twenty-four to thirty-six hours later, small round “pimples” appear on the face and body. They are filled with fluid and look like water blisters.
The fluid leaks from the swollen areas of the skin, forming a crust. These eruptions continue in cycles, lasting from three days to one week.
The blisters and crusts are infectious and itchy, and scratching them can lead to infection and scarring.
Natural Remedy for chickenpox
Once the scabs are gone, the individual is no longer infectious. Chickenpox usually runs its course in two weeks.
Adults who contract the infection tend to have more severe cases than children do, although the infection can be serious in newborns.
One bout with chickenpox generally will provide immunity for a lifetime against the illness. Rarely will there be a second attack.
However, the virus that causes chickenpox, Varicella-zoster, is the same virus that causes shingles in adults. This virus can lie dormant for years, then resurface as shingles in adulthood. A person can contract chickenpox (but not shingles) from direct contact with a shingles rash.
Do not give any cow’s milk or formula to a feverish infant. Better, use pure, freshly made juices that have been diluted with a combination of 4 ounces of steam distilled water and 100 to 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C for each 4 ounces of juice.
Infants who are six months old or older can have almond or soy milk, available in health food stores.
- Give a sick infant lots of water to prevent dehydration.
- Take care not to scratch the pocks. Keep a child’s nails short and clean, and bathe the child often.
- Put mittens on a young child’s hands if necessary.
- Wet compresses help to control the itching; use these often.
Keep infected children separated, and keep an infected child away from elderly people, newborn babies, and pregnant women who have not had chickenpox.
The “flu” or also known as influenza, is a highly contagious viral infection of the upper respiratory tract.
Because the flu can be spread easily by coughing and sneezing, influenza epidemics are very common, especially in winter.
More than 200 different viruses can cause colds and flu, and strains of these viruses are constantly changing, so vaccinations against the flu have been only partly successful in preventing epidemics of the disease.
The symptoms of influenza begin much like those of the common cold:
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Body aches
In many cases, a fever develops, and you may feel unbearably hot one moment and chilled and shaking the next.
- Most influenza sufferers have a dry throat and cough.
- Nausea and vomiting may occur
Often, a person with the flu is so weak and so uncomfortable that he or she does not feel like eating or doing anything else.
Influenza is rarely dangerous in healthy adults sixty years of age or younger, but it does make a person more susceptible to:
- Pneumonia
- Ear infections
- Sinus trouble
Among people sixty five or older, serious respiratory infections such as pneumonia and influenza are the fifth leading cause of death, so the flu is clearly a serious infection for older people.
Do not give aspirin to a child who has the flu. The combination of aspirin and a viral illness has been linked to the development of Reye’s syndrome, a potentially dangerous complication.
Sleep and rest as much as possible.
Take hot chicken or turkey soup. This is grandmother’s old remedy and it is still good today. Add a bit of cayenne pepper to help prevent and break up congestion.
Consume plenty of fluids, especially fresh juices, herbal teas, soups, and quality water, to prevent dehydration and help flush out the body.
The “flu shot” and it’s usefulness is questionable. The side effects may be worse than the flu would be. Enhancement of immune function is preferable and safer.
Antibiotics are useless against viral illnesses like influenza. The best way to get rid of the flu or any other infectious illness is to attack it head-on by strengthening the immune system.
If you are over 65, see your health care provider. Influenza can cause serious complications for people in this age group.
Endometriosis is a condition in which the cells from the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) also grow else where in the abdominal cavity. It can produce a host of different symptoms, including:
- Incapacitating pain in the uterus, lower back, and organs in the pelvic cavity prior to and during the menses
- Intermittent pain throughout the menstrual cycle
- Painful intercourse
- Excessive bleeding, including the passing of large clots and shreds of tissue during the menses
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Constipation during the menses
- Infertility
Because menstruation is typically heavy, iron deficiency anemia is common.
Vulnerability to endometriosis seems to run in families, it often passes from mom to daughter.
Growths of endometrial tissue outside of the uterine cavity occur most often in or on the:
- Ovaries
- Fallopian tubes
- Urinary bladder
- Bowel
- Pelvic floor
- Peritoneum (the membrane that lines the walls of the abdominal cavity)
The most common site of endometriosis is believed to be the deep pelvic peritoneal cavity, or the cul-de-sac.
During the normal menstrual cycle, a continually changing hormonal environment stimulates the endometrium to grow in preparation for a possible pregnancy. This also causes an egg to ripen within one of the ovaries and an egg is released. If the egg is not fertilized within 24 hours or so the uterine lining proceeds to “die,” to be sloughed off, and to pass through the vagina during the menses.
Though not inside the uterus, the abnormal implants of endometriosis also respond to the hormonal changes controlling menstruation. These fragments build tissue each month, then break down and bleed. However, blood from the implants has no way to leave the body. Instead, it must be absorbed by surrounding tissue, which is a comparatively slow process. In the meantime, the blood accumulates in body cavities. The entire sequence, from bleeding through absorption, can be painful.
As month after month passes, the implants may get bigger. They may seed new implants and form localized scar tissue and adhesions, scar tissue that attaches to pelvic organs and binds them together. This contributes to the pain of endometriosis, and it can cause extreme pain in a subsequent pregnancy, as the uterus enlarges and the organs within the abdomen are pushed into different positions.
Because endometriosis depends on hormonal cycles, and pregnancy temporarily interrupts those cycles, many women find their symptoms improve during pregnancy. In other cases, however, the relief is only temporary, and once the hormonal cycles return to normal, the symptoms of endometriosis recur.Sometimes a collection of blood called a sac or cyst forms. Endometrial or “chocolate” cysts are common on the ovaries. These are usually found to contain moderate amounts of oxidized blood, which looks something like chocolate syrup. If a cyst ruptures, it can cause excruciating pain.
In traditional Chinese and Oriental medicine, the health of the endometrium is closely linked with liver health – as the liver plays an important part in removing toxins from the body, as well as maintaining the health of the immune system.
Eating foods that are understood to be liver-weakening is therefore to be avoided. Refined foods– especially those containing wheat flour, sugar, caffeine, or that are deep fried (as well as ice-cold drinks)– all compromise liver functioning and should be avoided by everyone, especially women wishing to support endometrial health. Stress is also a big enemy of liver health, and in Chinese medicine, the liver is considered the most emotion-sensitive organ of the body.
In addition, caution should be exercised in the use of conventional medicines, including NSAID’s, as these are potentially harmful to the liver and kidneys. By supporting liver and hormonal health, traditional Chinese Medicine can help to maintain the health of the endometrium and support regular and comfortable periods.
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