Bigpharma financial ties to doctors

A survey published last month in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that nearly three out of four doctors have financial ties to Big Pharma. The vast majority of these relationships were with representatives of prescription drug or medical device manufacturers. Gifts included drug samples, meals, and payment for consulting or advisory roles.

Since 2013, federal law has required that payments to doctors by medical device and pharmaceutical companies be publicly reported. The database (which you can access here) has published over 11.5 million records between August 2013 and December 2017, reflecting $8.4 billion in gifts and payments.

Dr. Aaron S. Kesselheim, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the survey, says this may be influencing doctors’ behavior. According to the study, “Free samples are used as a marketing tool and have been linked to prescribing of high-cost, brand-name drugs over lower-cost generic alternatives.” He suggests that money paid for public speaking and consulting engagements may have an even more acute impact on doctor behavior. “Social scientists will tell you that any amount of money will influence people, but I think larger sums can influence behavior more,” Dr. Kesselheim said in a statement to The New York Times,

This information is terrifying.

We trust our physicians to make the best recommendations for our health, but the majority of these doctors are receiving gifts from Big Pharma that may influence the treatments they recommend. For example, an orthopedic surgeon in Manhattan received almost $2,000,000 from companies that manufacture hip and knee replacement products between 2015 and 2017. Not coincidentally, the surgeon, Dr. Geoffrey Westrich, performs hundreds of hip and knee replacements each year. In 2017, this doctor received $870,573.39 in general payments from pharmaceutical and medical device companies, including $448,000 for “consulting fees”, $28,580 for non-educational speaking engagements, and over $23,000 in travel and lodging.

Is it possible that these payments have no effect on the equipment, materials, and drugs the good doctor uses?

Sure.

Is it likely? Dr. Kesselheim doesn’t seem to think so.

Financial connections between physicians and industry remain a prevalent force affecting prescribing practices and health care costs.”

And while health insurance often shields patients from the bulk of these inflated prices, they end up being passed down in the form of higher rates and higher deductibles. And who profits? Big Pharma and the medical device industry.

Remember Purdue Pharma, the makers of OxyContin? In 2015 they paid nearly $12 million to doctors not associated with research studies. This included 4 payments totaling over $460,000 to Dr. Glen Apseloff, the president and lead researcher at Ohio Clinical Trials, Inc. These were reported as “consulting fees” and were paid directly to Dr. Apseloff, not Ohio Clinical Trials.

We’ve talked about the how doctors can profitfrom chemotherapy, and the lengths pharmaceutical companies will go to promote their products. Medical schools focus almost exclusively on pharmaceutical and surgical intervention strategies used to reactively address health issues rather than homeopathic strategies to proactively prevent these diseases in the first place.

And why not? There’s far more money in prescription drugs and medical equipment than there is in holistic and homeopathic treatments.  In a 2009 article by Dr. Art Van Zee, it was reported that Purdue Pharma conducted more than 40 national pain-management and speaker-training conferences at resorts in Florida, Arizona, and California. More than 5000 physicians, pharmacists, and nurses attended these all-expenses-paid symposia, where they were recruited and trained for Purdue’s national speaker bureau. This coincided with the launch of OxyContin.

It is well documented that this type of pharmaceutical company symposium influences physicians’ prescribing, even though the physicians who attend such symposia believe that such enticements do not alter their prescribing patterns,”

says Dr. Van Zee. Dr. Kesselheim agrees, saying that company-sponsored presentations “provide a very narrow educational experience.”

So, what can we do? How do we make sure that we’re getting the best advice from our doctors? One way is to seek transparency with your doctors and avoid seeking advice from health care providers who accept large sums of money from Big Pharma. Another is to learn as much as you can about homeopathy and natural prevention and treatment strategies. Finally, seek out a holistic care doctor in your area, who can help you find the right plan for your body to treat the disease, not the symptoms.

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Autism/ADHD and homeopathy

https://hpathy.com/clinical-cases/autism-and-adhd-in-a-child-of-3-years/

Via link

Read a sample case here at http://www.hpathy.com

3 yrs old boy treatment took Aprox one year

Using classical homeopathy

Pesticides #glyphosate ingr in vaccines

The tests were conducted with the Elisa method, (link to full report here) which is regarded by the scientific community as a screening method only and not as accurate as HPLC mass spectrometry.  Honeycutt reports that they asked numerous labs to test additional vaccines for glyphosate over the past few months and they have been unable to test. After learning of MAA’s results, an independent scientist conducted numerous rounds of testing, and has confirmed the presence of glyphosate in vaccines. He sent his data to Senator Sheehan, the FDA, NIH, elected government officials, major media, last week and received no response. One can contact Senator Sheehan for the additional test results.

Honeycutt continues, “The public must know that their vaccines likely contain glyphosate, a toxic weed killer, which is acknowledged by the EPA as a “reproductive effector” ( i.e.: endocrine disruptor) which “can cause liver and kidney damage” and has been shown to be a neurotoxin. The WHO has deemed glyphosate a probable carcinogen. We do not believe any state or government should have the right to mandate vaccines which contain harmful additives including a probable carcinogen such as glyphosate based herbicides, especially to our most vulnerable babies. Certainly, no parent should have to knowingly inject directly into the bloodstream of their newborn, within hours of being born, or growing child, with a probable carcinogen. No pregnant mother should ever be injected with a neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor.  We are very concerned that the introduction of glyphosate in our food and feed crops, which correlates with the spike of reports of vaccine damage in the late 1990’s, could be a major contributing factor in the autism epidemic. This must be researched. Testing and reformulation must also be done. We will no longer settle for anything other than safe vaccines.“

The question is how does glyphosate based herbicides get into vaccines?

GMO and glyphosate herbicide sprayed crops are ingredients of vaccines or are fed to livestock.

MIT scientist, Dr. Stephanie Seneff, added that “glyphosate could easily be present in vaccines due to the fact that certain vaccine viruses (including measles in MMR and flu virus) are grown on gelatin derived from the ligaments of pigs fed heavy doses of glyphosate in their GMO feed. Livestock feed is allowed to have up to 400 PPM of glyphosate residues by the EPA, thousands of times higher than has been shown to cause harm in numerous studies.”

French scientist and glyphosate expert Seralini’s research has shown that glyphosate is never used alone. It is always used with adjuvants (co-formulants/other chemicals) and they have found those adjuvants to make Roundup 1000X more toxic. So the detection of glyphosate in vaccines with this methodology would indicate the presence of other co-formulants which are 1000X more toxic.

Toni Bark MD MHEM LEED AP and Co-Producer of the movie BOUGHT, states, “I am deeply concerned about injecting glyphosate, a known pesticide, directly into children. Neither Roundup nor glyphosate has been tested for safety as an injectable. Injection is a very different route of entry than oral route.  Injected toxins, even in minute doses can have profound effects on the organs and the different systems of the body. In addition, injecting a chemical along with an adjuvant or live virus, can induce severe allergic reactions to that substance as vaccines induce the immune system to create antibodies to whatever is included in the vaccine. Since glyphosate is heavily used in corn, soy, wheat, cotton, and other commodities, we can expect to see more severe food allergies in the vaccine recipients. In addition, chemicals in ultra low doses, can have powerful effects on physiology behaving almost as hormones, stimulating or suppressing physiological receptors. ”

Rhus tox interesting data

This remedy saved my mother’s life , cured her. Rippling RA👍🏼

Rhus tox is produced from the plant commonly known as poison ivy which grows as a shrub or a woody vine, spreading all over the countryside as a weed in the Eastern USA and Canada. The remedy was introduced into homeopathy by Hahnemann, who performed a proving which he published in the second volume of his Materia Medica Pura. The proper botanical name is now toxicodendron pubescens, but homeopaths will stick to the well known name and its abbreviation until all the anomalies in the naming of homeopathic remedies (and there are many) can be ironed out. It is a member of the anacardiaceae or sumach family of plants. Anacardium is really the only other commonly used member of this family in homeopathy, although there are quite a few others in the materia medica which are not so well known.

Poisoning
A cardinal feature of many of the sumachs is their production of sticky oils, which dry on contact with air to a black lacquer. In Anacardium, this gives the name “marking nut”, as it is produced from the ink-like substance just below the rind of the covering of the nut which has been used to mark clothes for laundry. In Rhus tox, the lacquering oil induces allergic skin reactions in previously sensitised individuals. Up to 50 per cent of the population of the USA, where poison ivy is endemic, is sensitive to the oil and much advice is available (for example on the internet) about avoiding rhus poisoning.

The oil, which binds to skin after even the slightest contact (even stroking a dog that has brushed past a poison ivy plant is enough) is called urushiol, after the Japanese word for lacquer. In Japan, another toxicodendron tree produces a lacquer used, for example, under applications of gold leaf to the Golden Temple in Kyoto. The oil is extremely potent, with only a nanogram needed to induce reaction in an individual, so just a quarter of an ounce would be enough to cause itching in every person on Earth! It is normal for the oil to stay fully active for five years even from dead plants. Samples of urushiol several centuries old have been found to cause at least an itch in some people.

Most people do not have a skin reaction to first exposure. In those who do, it can take seven to ten days to develop. Subsequent exposure, after this initial priming of the immune system to “recognise” the oil, induces a strong skin reaction within half a day to two days. There is inflammation, intense blistering and intolerable itching of the skin which continues for several days before healing and resolving.

Burning the plant releases urushiol into the air and can induce severe reactions in the lungs and eyes, so firefighters at bush fires can be at serious risk without protective equipment in regions where rhus is common. Notice that urushiol itself is not actually poisonous, except insofar as it induces an allergic response. The damage is done by the sufferer’s own immune system!

Rhus tox is a very “big” homeopathic remedy. By this I mean that it has many symptoms recorded in the homeopathic literature (repertories and materiae medicae). Out of 1600 remedies described in a large repertory – The Complete Millennium – Rhus tox is at number 11 when the remedies are listed by number of symptoms described, with 11,400 entries. The areas which stand out for the remedy in the repertory are concerned with the limbs, with disturbed sleep, with fevers and with the skin.

Restlessness
Describing the plant and its oil leads on to the ideas or themes in the illnesses that the remedy made from it might be homeopathically used to treat. The plant spreads rapidly across uncovered ground and up supports such as trees, via long stems and aerial rootlets. It takes many different forms, as a vine, a shrub or a bush and even produces different forms of stem and leaf from the same root-stock. Dr Gibson, in his Studies of Homeopathic Materia Medica describes Rhus tox as a “restless plant”. This shows a major characteristic theme of the remedy; it is one of the most restless of remedies.

People who might be helped by Rhus tox for example, have joint pains which have to be relieved by very regular movements. They cannot sit in the chair in the consulting room for more than a few minutes before getting up for a short walk and a stretch. They toss and turn all night, unable to find one position comfortable for long. When they are still for a while and do get some sleep, waking up is very painful as the relative immobility of the night has quickly rendered them extremely stiff. Thus the first few minutes of the day are spent “limbering up”. Once a little flexibility is restored to the joints, the pain lessens considerably and they can continue their restless search for comfort through the day – the right balance of action and rest.

There is a particular kind of restlessness caused by a stiffness of the neck which can only be relieved by stretching it and moving the head about. There may be accompanying headache relieved by the stretching. Pains in general are better for heat (eg a hot bath or shower) and worse for cold and damp. Similar modalities apply to the severe lower back pain experienced by some who are helped by Rhus tox. This also has the characteristic of being better from lying on a hard surface.

As a “general” symptom, this restlessness can feature in areas other than the purely physical. If a constant need for motion suggests an external restlessness, so we can talk of the restless mind that just can’t settle, there is an internal restlessness. Part of the picture in someone helped by Rhus tox might be restless dreams of great exertions like swimming or rowing, or of working hard in their occupation or of “roaming over fields”. Sleep is interrupted too by pains and by anxieties or illogical apprehensions that something bad is going to happen. Anxiety might drive someone out of bed and there may even be fear of going to sleep. In fact all symptoms are worse at night, another important general feature. This must in some part be responsible for the recorded moroseness at night, when bad things from the past come back to haunt the sufferer.

The restlessness can be seen in tossing and turning during fevers. Rhus tox is disproportionately highly represented in the sections of the repertory that deal with chills, fevers and perspiration (which mostly date from the pre-antibiotic days when the exact pattern of fever was an important observation to make in a sick person). It should be thought of when restless states with a high fever particularly worsen at night, for example in ’flu.

Stiffness
A few moments reflection on the nature of the poison ivy oil might help to explain the very well known joint and muscular stiffness associated with illnesses which are helped by Rhus tox. On contact with air and with the skin, a lacquer is produced. A lacquer is an inflexible, shiny, stiff film. One could image a joint coated in a lacquer being very difficult to get moving at first, but becoming freer with repeated movements. This is exactly the Rhus tox situation. Whenever initial movement is difficult, stiff and painful, but continued movement eases, Rhus tox is likely to be helpful.

In arthritis, this easing will often be followed (perhaps later in the day) by a worsening again as tiredness begins to take its toll. Rhus tox pain is classically worse in the cold and especially the damp and better for warmth. This sounds like an awful lot of sufferers’ arthritis and so Rhus tox is very widely successful in joint problems. It has often been said that it is too easy to give Rhus tox in arthritis. The detail is the important thing. Careful attention to the story might show most of these features, but actually the pain is better immediately on movement, rather than there being an initial aggravation before relief. The remedy Rhododendron might turn out to be more appropriate in this situation. Really extreme damp sensitivity in the joints (“I can predict the rain the day before it comes”) could well be best helped by Dulcamara.

If we go on to think about what the general characteristic of “stiffness” might mean on a mental plane, we can see that some people who do well with Rhus tox can be emotionally unbending, with a tendency to hold feelings back; they find it difficult to respond to others. In the end, when they are worn out by all the pains, this can turn into fixed ideas and superstition.

Skin

A very frequent use of Rhus tox is to help blistering skin diseases. The analogy is with the itchy, painful rash produced by contact of the plant sap with the skin of a sensitive individual. Thus, it is a major remedy to help the pain of shingles, which is caused by a herpes virus. Many homeopathically trained GPs use Rhus tox as their first line treatment for cold sores around the lips, also herpetic in origin, but any inflamed, intensely itchy rash, especially if there are fluid-filled blisters (like some forms of eczema) can benefit. The itch is often better from bathing with scalding hot water.

There are other features which are hard to fit into this analogical approach (looking at the characteristics of the way the remedy substance fits into the natural world and comparing it with the way a disease fits into a human life). A feature of Rhus tox is said to be that there may be a bright red tip to the tongue. On the food desires front, there can be a craving for cold drinks and especially cold milk.

Tom Whitmarsh MA MBBS FRCP FFHom is full-time Consultant Physician at the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital.

Epsteinbarr holistic methods of treatment

Healing from the Epstein-Barr Virus

Because it’s very easy to catch and hard to detect, and can cause a number of mysterious symptoms, you might understandably find the Epstein-Barr virus overwhelming and its effects disheartening.

The good news is that if you carefully and patiently follow the steps detailed in this section, and in Part IV of the book, you can heal. You can recover your immune system, free yourself of EBV, rejuvenate your body, gain full control over your health, and move on with your life.

How long the process takes varies for each individual and depends on myriad factors. Some people conquer the virus in as little as three months. However, a more typical period is a full year. And there are some people who need 18 months or more to destroy EBV.

Healing Foods

Certain fruits and vegetables can help your body rid itself of EBV and heal from its effects. The following are the best ones to incorporate into your diet (listed in rough order of importance). Try to eat at least three of these foods per day—the more the better—rotating your consumption so that in a given week or two, you get all of these foods into your system.

• Wild blueberries: help restore the central nervous system and flush EBV neurotoxins out of the liver.

• Celery: strengthens hydrochloric acid in the gut and provides mineral salts to the central nervous system.

• Sprouts: high in zinc and selenium to strengthen the immune system against EBV.

• Asparagus: cleanses the liver and spleen; strengthens the pancreas.

• Spinach: creates an alkaline environment in the body and provides highly absorbable micronutrients to the nervous system.

• Cilantro: removes heavy metals such as mercury and lead, which are favored foods of EBV.

• Parsley: removes high levels of copper and aluminum, which feed EBV.

• Coconut oil: antiviral and acts as an anti-inflammatory.

• Garlic: antiviral and antibacterial that defends against EBV.

• Ginger: helps with nutrient assimilation and relieves spasms associated with EBV.

• Raspberries: rich in antioxidants to remove free radicals from the organs and bloodstream.

• Lettuce: stimulates peristaltic action in the intestinal tract and helps cleanse EBV from the liver.

• Papayas: restore the central nervous system; strengthen and rebuild hydrochloric acid in the gut.

• Apricots: immune system rebuilders that also strengthen the blood.

• Pomegranates: help detox and cleanse the blood as well as the lymphatic system.

• Grapefruit: rich source of bioflavonoids and calcium to support the immune system and flush toxins out of the body.

• Kale: high in specific alkaloids that protect against viruses such as EBV.

• Sweet potatoes: help cleanse and detox the liver from EBV byproducts and toxins.

• Cucumbers: strengthen the adrenals and kidneys and flush neurotoxins out of the bloodstream.

• Fennel: contains strong antiviral compounds to fight off EBV.

Healing Herbs and Supplements

The following herbs and supplements (listed in rough order of importance) can further strengthen your immune system and aid your body in healing from the virus’s effects:

•Cat’s claw: herb that reduces EBV and cofactors such as strep A and strep B.

•Silver hydrosol: lowers EBV viral load.

•Zinc: strengthens the immune system and protects the thyroid from EBV inflammation.

•Vitamin B12 (as methylcobalamin and/or adenosylcobalamin): strengthens the central nervous system.

•Licorice root: lowers EBV production and strengthens the adrenals and kidneys.

•Lemon balm: antiviral and antibacterial. Kills EBV cells and strengthens the immune system.

•5-MTHF (5-methyltetrahydrofolate): helps strengthen the endocrine system and central nervous system.

•Selenium: strengthens and protects the central nervous system.

•Red marine algae: powerful antiviral that removes heavy metals such as mercury and reduces viral load.

•L-lysine: lowers EBV load and acts as a central nervous system anti-inflammatory.

•Spirulina rebuilds the central nervous system and eliminates heavy metals.

•Ester-C: strengthens the immune system and flushes EBV toxins from the liver.

•Nettle leaf: provides vital micronutrients to the brain, blood, and central nervous system.

•Monolaurin: antiviral; breaks down EBV load and reduces cofactors.

•Elderberry: antiviral; strengthens the immune system.

•Red clover: cleanses the liver, lymphatic system, and spleen of neurotoxins from EBV.

•Star anise: antiviral; helps destroy EBV in the liver and thyroid.

•Curcumin: component of turmeric that helps strengthen the endocrine system and central nervous system.

Autism isopathy+homeopathy

Autism Treatment Using Homeopathy And Isotherapy

Successful Treatment of autism using Homeopathy, Isotherapy and CEASE Therapy

Dr. Tinus Smits’ work using both homeopathy and Isotherapy, became known as CEASE Therapy. This is a form of homeopathy that he pioneered. Although was not a scientist, he was a homeopathic doctor who wanted to heal children who suffer with autism. He wanted to help the parents who are exhausted caring for a wreck of a child, instead of a joy! He helped numerous autistic children improve in the range of 50 – 80%, some 100%, which is a break through.

The United Nations estimates that up to 70 million people worldwide fall on the autism spectrum, with three million in the US. Therefore, looking at multifactorial reasons for why this has occurred appears to be absolutely essential.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children with autism might exhibit the following types of emotional and behavioral disorders:

Behavioural Symptoms

• Not point at objects or show interest

• Not look at objects when another person points at them

• Have trouble relating to others or lack interest in other people

• Avoid eye contact and prefer to be alone

• Have trouble understanding other people’s feelings or talking about their own feelings

Social Interaction Issues

• Prefer not to be held or cuddled, or might cuddle only when they want to

• Be unresponsive when people talk to them, but respond to other sounds

• Be very interested in people, but not know how to talk, play with, or relate to them

• Repeat or echo words or phrases said to them, or repeat words or phrases in place of normal language

List Of Communication Problems

• Have trouble using typical words or motions to express their needs

• Not play typical ‘pretend’ games

• Repeat actions over and over again

• Have trouble adapting when routines changes

• Have unusual reactions to the way things smell, taste, look, feel or sound

• Lose skills they once had (for example might stop saying words they previously used)

In Tinus Smits book ‘Autism Beyond Despair’, Cease Therapy (Complete Elimination of Autistic Spectrum Expression), he gives detailed descriptions of how to benefit from Isotherapy, which he used when treating numerous cases of autism. The book was first published in 2010, with a third edition published in 2016. When he first published the book, Tinus Smits had treated over 300 children, and concluded that after treatment at his clinic virtually every child could be considered improved, even sometimes up to 100%.

What is isotherapy?

Isotherapy treatment is based upon making up homeopathic preparations of the toxic substances that may have caused the disease or symptoms. In the cause of autism it is believed that oxygen, carbon dioxide and fat-soluble molecules including  anaesthetics and alcohol can pass through the lipids in the capillary walls directly to the foetus in the first three months, as the blood-brain barrier is not fully formed. Refer to Tinus Smits’ book Autism Beyond Despair. Additionally, once the baby is born substances can enter through breast milk or via inhaling (e.g. via fresh paint fumes or new vinyl covering on the floor of the baby’s bedroom). Other concerns are shampoo, soap and creams which contain parabens, ethyl glycol, phthalates and bisphenol A. Some parents have been calling this a cease therapy detox.

According to Tinus Smits the main issues to consider when treating an autistic child are:

• Health of both parents prior to conception, a detailed history of both should be taken along with medication prescribed or taken

• Toxic factors in parents prior to conception, which can be from Lyme disease; mononucleosis; fibromyalgia; inhalers for asthma, medication for arthritis or other infectious diseases. Parents at risk may be taking medication for a chronic disease or have poor food habits with the intake of bad oils, low omega-3 fatty acids, lots of sugar and low vitamin C intake, as well as smoking or alcohol overindulgence

• Use of drugs during pregnancy, and quality of pregnancy

• Delivery (with or without medication), a difficult or premature birth so these children should be seen by an osteopath or cranio-sacral therapist

• Medical history of child and use of any drugs during the first two years of its life (any side effects)

• Stress factors after birth due to repeated antibiotics; anaesthesia and other medications; toxicity from plastic softeners, aspartame, glutamate, etc.

Researchers Nora Banachour and Gilles-Eric Seralini published a paper with regard to the high dilutions of Roundup pesticide, and came to the conclusion that concentrations 100,000 times lower than that a normal gardener is exposed to still kills cells in newborns. Due to the huge increase of autistic children (150% in the last few years), this increase cannot be just linked to genetic disorders, as this would mean only a 3-4% increase in cases. Therefore, the combined factors of toxic exposure to food additives, environmental toxins, drugs or antibiotics used during pregnancy (or for two years afterwards), have not been researched with regard to the extreme sensitivity of a foetus or new born to chemical overload.

Homeopathic remedies found useful by Dr. Tinus Smits:

1 Cuprum metallicum – calm obsessiveness, inflexibility and tension, including tics and headbanging

2 Saccharum officinale – restore emotional contact with parents, siblings and classmates

3 Vernix caseosa – better boundaries against external stimuli

4 Lac maternum – be more present and grounded in their body

5 Anacardium orientale – calm aggressiveness

Saccharum officinale D6 (low potency) given once a day is prescribed to help heal the digestive system, which has had great success. Chelidonium and Cholesterinum can detoxify the liver and Berberis stimulates the kidneys. When the organs are detoxified and stimulated, this is called drainage therapy, however, Tinus did not recomend combined remedies but gives them individually. Saccharum officinale 30C and Cuprum metallicum 30C is sometimes to be given once per week by parents. Once there is an improvement the remedies may both be given in 200C.

After treatment with homeopathy, nutrition and detoxification, if the child has made progress but is not completely recovered, then a checklist will be made of what the mother may have taken during her pregnancy, just in case Isotherapy can be considered at this stage.

In one particular case, the mother had taken antibiotics for skin infections, used aspartame in her coffee and a nasal spray xylomethazolin (which she also gave to her child for his colds). Additionally, from birth the child was given milk in a plastic bottle heated in the microwave. After initial treatment with homeopathic remedies, Dr Smits prescribed a homeopathic remedy made from plastic softeners which have been heated in the microwave, produced by the Hahnemann pharmacy in Holland. Next an Isotherapy remedy was made from xylomethazolin and also aspartame, plus finally a remedy from the antibiotics. This case is one of many cease therapy success stories reported in the book Autism, Beyond Despair.

In cases where the child has become worse after numerous prescriptions of antibiotics, a detoxification program of Isotherapy would be to make the antibiotic into a mixture of different homeopathic dilutions: 30C, 200C, 1M and 10M and every potency given twice a week over a four-week period.

Environmental factors, antibiotics and gut bacteria

David Perlmutter in his book “Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain for Life”, also believes that environmental factors can influence early brain development. His advice is to treat the child’s gut bacteria, and also links repeated prescriptions of antibiotics to affecting children on the autism spectrum. He will often order a stool analysis to get an understanding of the gut health, and has found that a lack of Lactobacillus is an indication of serious trauma to the microbiome. For this he will prescribe oral probiotics and vitamin D.

Patients with autism tend to have higher levels of clostridial species in the gut, which crowd out the balancing effects of other gut bacteria, leading to lower levels of beneficial bugs like bifidobacteria. Higher levels of clostridial species may also explain why kids with autism crave carbohydrates – especially refined sugars, the foods that feed these bugs – creating a vicious cycle that fuels the proliferation of more Clostridia. Certain antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones and sulphur based antibiotics, as well as certain cephalosporins, can trigger overgrowth and throw the overall balance of intestinal bacteria out, and this raises the question as to whether some species of Clostridia could be a potential agent in many causes of autism?

Many children with autism have been found to have a much higher percentage of the clostridium in their stools. High levels of clostridial species relates to the role that short chain fatty acids play in the gut. The main fatty acids produced by the gut microbes are acetic, propionic and butyric acid. These are either excreted or absorbed by the colon and used as a source of energy by the body’s cells. Butyric acid is the most important fuel for the cells lining the colon, and this fatty acid is their primary energy source and it also has anti-carcinogenic as well as anti-inflammatory properties. Clostridial species produce propionic acid (PPA) in abundance, and if this passes into the bloodstream it can cause damage to the immune system and brain. PPA also affects cell to cell signalling, crippling the way one cell can communicate with the next, and compromises mitochondrial function, altering the brain’s ability to use energy. It also increases oxidative stress, which in turn harms proteins, cell membranes, vital fats, and even DNA, as well as depleting the brain of various molecules such as antioxidants, neurotransmitters, and omega-3 fats that the brain needs to run properly.

Gout and Homeopathic’s

By Manisha Bhatia

of Gout

Homeopathy is one of the most popular holistic systems of medicine. The selection of remedy is based upon the theory of individualization and symptoms similarity by using holistic approach. This is the only way through which a state of complete health can be regained by removing all the sign and symptoms from which the patient is suffering. The aim of homeopathy is not only to treat gout but to address its underlying cause and individual susceptibility. As far as therapeutic medication is concerned, several remedies are available for gout which can be selected on the basis of cause, location, sensation, modalities and extension of the complaints. For individualized remedy selection and treatment, the patient should consult a qualified homeopathic doctor in person. Some important gout remedies are given below which are much helpful in homeopathic treatment of gout symptoms:

• Bryonia alba – pain with inflammation, which is aggravated by movement and relieved by moderate pressure and rest. There is inflammation of joints which are hot and swollen. The patient feels chilly.

• Ledum pal. – Remarkable remedy helpful in treatment of osteoarthritis, gout and rheumatism, which is of ascending nature, better by cold application, there is deposition of chalk stones in finger joints, wrists and toes. Irritable patient with desire to be alone. Pain may be caused by alcoholism, insect stings, and punctured wound. Pain worse by warm applications.

• Colchicum – A general remedy for gout. There may be aversion to food which smells as soon as served. Swelling of joints which may be red or pale. Abdomen bloated with wind. Albumin in urine which becomes black like ink, scanty urine with dropsical swelling, marked irritability from pains or odors. Worse by motion, touch or mental effort. Better by warmth, rest or sitting. Gout and rheumatism in smokers.

• Guaiacum. – Rheumatic and gout engrafted on syphilitic or tubercular constitutions. Sore swollen joints more painful from warmth and motion. Gouty abscesses of joints. The leg and ankle bones are especially affected shooting pain in legs from feet to knees. Pains in tibia. Better by cold bath and cold application.

• Formic Acid and Formica – gouty and rheumatic pains due to urates and albumin in urine. Inflammation of joints which are very painful. They are worse on motion, by cold or before storm; better on pressure.

• Lithium carb – chronic rheumatism due to uric acid. Palpitation and shocks about the heart the heart. Painfulness of the soles of feet and small joints with a sense of burning therein.

• Kali carb – pains stitching, stabbing and burning character relieved temporarily by cold application and not by rest or motion. The patient shrieks on account of pain. Backache accompanied by great weakness and profuse sweating. If he covers the painful part, the pain goes to the uncovered part. Aggravation after eating and uncovering.

• Sticta pulmonaria – right shoulder blade or joint, wrist joint, ankle joint and knee joint are mainly affected. It also reduces fluid in the joints.

• Berberis vulgaris – pain in heels relieved by putting most of the weight on them. Arthritic and rheumatic affection if attended by renal sticking pain and backache. This urine of this remedy corresponds to many cases of gout, yet it will be rarely indicated unless the characteristic tearing cutting pains are present. These pains are in the renal region and extend down the ureters to the bladder or into pelvis and hips. The urine is hot, dark or bright yellow or blood red, with white, grayish or bright red mealy sediment, or red granules, or yellowish red crystals.

• Chelidonium – rheumatism with edema, heat, tenderness and stiffness. Constipation and whitish stools. Pain is aggravated by slightest movement or touch. The only relief is constant bathing with hot water.

• Asclepius tub – Acts well in cases of osteoarthritis when pains run diagonally.

• Calcarea carb. – Arthritic swelling, knee pain especially in fleshy people which is worse by cold.

• Lycopodium – When red sand appears in the urine, our first thoughts is for Lycopodium, and indeed it will clear up many cases of gout. Its general digestive disturbances, flatulent conditions are often met with in gout. Particularly is it indicated by its scanty, high-colored urine depositing a red or yellowish red sandy sediment. It has severe backache relieved by passing urine. Burning between scapulae, and the 4 to 8 P.M. aggravations are useful characteristics to decide the choice of this remedy.

• Sepia – This remedy must not be neglected in gout treatment. It has a deposit of urates in the urine and of uric acid. Then, too, the general symptoms of venous stagnation, liver troubles, manifested by such symptoms as yellow spots on the face or over dorsum of nose, are important indications.

• Cantharis – Dr. W. P. Laird says that the great remedy for gout, the one which most accurately corresponds to the totally of the morbid phenomena, and which we may prescribe with confidence in at least two cases out of three, is Cantharis. The special symptoms are soreness in the region of the kidneys, cutting, contracting pains in the ureters extending to bladder and urethra and down spermatic cord, with retraction of testicles. Urination painful and difficult, passe in drops; cutting before and after urination; urine scanty, dark colored, with oftentimes a sediment looking like old mortar or a reddish brick-dust sediment.

Anger and homeopathy

Bryonia- The children are irritable and want to be left alone.  They will grumble or snap to get people to stay away.  They often have digestive, respiratory, or headaches after an outburst of anger.

Chamomile-  Demanding.  Have to rock or carry the child to calm them.  Screaming and crying returns when the child is put down.  Temperamental.  Throws things.  Impatient.  May bang head on the wall.  This is my favorite remedy for anger! Works every time.

Colocynthis-  Complain constantly.  Not very talkative.  Irritable and Impatient.  May develop vomiting, diarrhea, or colic during or after the bouts of anger.

Ignatia –  These children hold in their anger, fear, grief, sadness and pretend that everything is fine.  Sometimes they tremble from all the stress that is held inside.  They sigh often.  Their expression of anger manifests through hysteria.  Not violent.  Their moods change from laughter to tears, anger to repentant, rude to nice.

Nux Vomica- Throws tantrums and does not listen to anyone trying to calm him/ her down.  Thrives on rebellion.  Competitive and gets angry at anyone trying to beat him/ her. He blames others for things.  Irritable.  Tends towards constipation.

Stramonium- Out of control with anger and rage.  Wild and delusional.  Hears voices and may claim to see things.  Believes to be falling or abandoned.  Talkative and loud.

Staphysagria-  Suppresses anger and silently dwells on problem.  Eventually he/she explodes.  Trembles.  Loses voice.  Throws things.  Can’t concentrate and becomes exhausted when angry.  This remedy is for the child who is sensitive to the least offense.  They feel bad about the angered explosion afterwards.  Common for those that have been abused physically or sexually.

Constitutional Treatment is necessary for deeper healing and long term improvement with emotional issues. Article by;

GreenBootGirl