The Complete Herbal Guide: A Natural Approach to Healing the Body - Heal Your Body Naturally and Maintain Optimal Health Using Alternative Medicine, Herbals, Vitamins, Fruits and Vegetables (6 page)

Diet

During treatment, it is necessary to limit intake of sweet and starchy foods. People usually experience a noticeable decline in bloating, gas, indigestion, diarrhea, and other digestive symptoms.

Medium Chain Triglycerides

Unlike regular oils, which a person with bacterial overgrowth may not be able to assimilate, medium chain triglycerides are absorbed directly without the need for digestive enzymes. Medium chain triglycerides are often recommended for people with bacterial overgrowth or any type of malabsorption. Coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride.

Digestive enzymes

Digestive enzyme supplements can support the body's digestive enzymes until function is restored. They should be taken before meals. A typical dose is one capsule before each meal.

Vitamins and minerals that may be deficient in people with bacterial overgrowth include vitamin B12, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, vitamin A, D, E, and K.

Probiotics - needed to replace healthy bacteria in the intestines. Lactobacillus plantarum and lactobactillus GG are some types that have been used for bacterial overgrowth.

Getting a Diagnosis

The "gold standard" test is to take bacterial cultures of small intestine fluid.  Lactulose hydrogen breath test - The most common test is the lactulose hydrogen breath test because it is less invasive. Lactulose is a non-absorbable sugar that is fermented if there are intestinal bacteria, resulting in hydrogen production. If there is bacterial overgrowth, fasting hydrogen levels will be high. In addition, after ingesting glucose, there will be a significant rise in hydrogen.

Other tests are the schilling test (for b12 deficiency). A small bowel follow through may be done to look for structural problems.

One of the underlying causes of bacterial overgrowth is insufficient stomach acid, called hypochlorhydria. Stomach acid naturally declines with age.

What Conditions Can Bacterial Overgrowth Lead cause?

• Leaky gut syndrome
  
• Vitamin and mineral deficiency
  
• Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
  
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
  

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A blister is a protective device of the human body. When the outer layer of the skin called the epidermis separates from the fibre layer called the dermis, a group of lymph and other bodily fluids collects between these layers while the skin will re-grow from underneath.

Causes of blisters

• Heat
  
• Frostbite
  
• Chemical injury
  
• Capsaicin
  
• Friction
  

Common causes of blisters include friction and burns. Usually, blisters are caused by rubbing from shoes or clothing, which rubs repeatedly on the skin causing friction burns. If the blister is not too painful, do everything possible to keep it intact. Unbroken skin over a blister provides a natural barrier to bacteria and decreases the risk of infection. Cover a small blister with an adhesive bandage, and cover a large one with a porous, plastic-coated gauze pad that absorbs moisture and allows the wound to breathe.  Unless infection occurs, blisters usually heal quickly.

Treatment

Do not puncture a blister unless it is painful or prevents you from walking or using one of your hands.

If you have diabetes or poor circulation, call your doctor for advice.

Home treatment: To relieve blister-related pain, drain the fluid while leaving the overlying skin intact. Here is how:

1. Wash your hands and the blister with soap and warm water.  This will help prevent any infection from occurring.
   

1. Swab the blister with iodine or rubbing alcohol.
   

1. Sterilize a clean, sharp needle by wiping it with rubbing alcohol.
   

1. Use the needle to puncture the blister. Aim for several spots near the blister's edge. Let the fluid drain, but leave the overlying skin in place.
   

1. Afterwards, apply an antibiotic ointment to the blister and cover with a bandage or gauze pad.
   

1. After several days, use tweezers and scissors sterilized with rubbing alcohol to cut away all the dead skin. Apply more ointment and a bandage.
   

1. Call your doctor if you see signs of infection around a blister
   

Symptoms of an infection:


        
Pus


        
Redness


        
Increasing pain


        
Warm skin

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A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that begins in your urinary system

(UTI).  UTIs can be painful and annoying. But you can become extremely ill if the infection spreads to your kidneys.

Women are most at risk of developing a UTI. Half of all women will develop a UTI during their lifetimes, and many will experience more than one UTI.

Your urinary system is your kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. They all play a role in getting rid of waste from your body. The kidneys are shaped like a pair of bean-shaped organs in your upper posterior abdomen, filter waste from your blood. Your tubes are called ureters they carry urine from your kidneys to your bladder, where it is stored until it exits the body through the urethra. These organs can become infected, but most infections involve the lower tract — the urethra and the bladder.

Types


        
The most common type of UTI is a bladder infection
, which is also often called cystitis. Cystitis literally means an inflammation of the bladder.


        
The other type is called a kidney infection
.  It is also known as pyelonephritis. This kind of infection can be serious, but if treated quickly the kidney is most often not damaged permanently.

Causes

If bacteria get into the bladder it begins to multiply in the urine, it will cause a urinary tract infection.

UTI cause discomfort, but urinary tract infections are usually quickly and easily treated, but it is important that they be treated right away. You cannot get a urinary tract infection from someone else, although females who are just becoming sexually active often get UTIs. This is because sometimes Chlamydia can also cause a UTI.  Almost 85% of UTIs are caused by the bacteria called E
scherichia coli
, or E. coli.

There are several ways bacteria can get into the urethra. During sexual intercourse, the bacteria in the vaginal area can be pushed into the urethra, which causes irritation in the bladder.

Any time the vaginal area is rubbed, bacteria can be pushed into the urethra. You can get a bladder infection from oral sex too. Infections are also common in women who wear tight jeans.

Symptoms

• Symptoms include frequent urination
  
• Burning or pain during urination (dysuria)
  
• Bladder spasms
  
• Feeling of having to urinate even though little or no urine actually comes out
  
• Cloudy urine
  
• Bloody urine
  
• Foul-smelling urine
  
• Possible mild fever
  

Symptoms for a kidney infection

• Fever
  
• Chills
  
• Nausea
  
• Cloudy urine
  
• Bloody urine
  
• Abdominal pain
  
• Burning feeling when urinating
  
• Frequent urination
  
• Most people with kidney infections also experience back pain just above the waist.
  

Diagnosis

A doctor can treat urinary tract infections. The first thing your doctor will do is confirm that you have a UTI by taking a clean-catch urine specimen. You will be asked to wash your genital area with disposable wipes and then urinate into a sterile (bacteria-free) cup. If an infection is found when the specimen is examined, you will be given antibiotics.

Since there are many different antibiotics available, the doctor may then use your urine specimen for a urine culture, which is a test to identify the exact type of bacteria causing your infection. It takes about 48 hours to get results from a urine culture, so you may have to switch antibiotics depending on the results.

Although antibiotics begin fighting the infection right away, they cannot stop all the symptoms right away. If you have a lot of pain, your health care provider may recommend a medication to relieve the pain in your bladder; this medicine will clear up the painful symptoms in about 3 days, although it will usually make you much more comfortable within hours.

It is important to take the antibiotics until the prescription is finished. Many people stop taking the medication when they begin to feel better, but that does not allow the antibiotics to completely kill the bacteria, which increases the risk that the infection will reappear. If you ever develop a rash from an antibiotic or have difficulty breathing, STOP taking it immediately and call the health care provider who prescribed the medication! For some bladder infections, you may only have to take antibiotics for 3 days, but usually you will be on medication for 7 to 14 days.

* * * * *

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is a bacterial infection of the bladder, kidneys, ureters, or urethra, the organs and tubes. UTIs in children usually clear up quickly if they receive treatment as soon as they are beginning to experience any of the bladder infection symptoms. The biggest concern about untreated UTIs in children is that they can cause permanent kidney damage and scarring.

Symptoms


        
Unknown cause for fever


        
Fool smelling urine


        
A lack of appetite


        
Vomiting


        
Irritability


        
Pain while urinating


        
Burning during urination


        
A need to urinate even if you do not need to urinate


        
Loss of bladder control


        
Red, pink, cloudy, or foul-smelling urine


        
Pain in the back on one side or pain in the lower abdominal pain

Diagnosis

Your child's doctor may order additional tests after the infection improves to determine whether your child has a structural or functional problem with the urinary tract that may make the child more likely to get UTIs. The most common of these problems is the backward flow of urine from the bladder into the kidney.

Treatment

Treatment for most children with UTIs is oral antibiotics and home care. Antibiotic treatment typically lasts 7 to 14 days but may vary depending on how severe and the location of the infection.  They need to make sure, if it is in the bladder or kidneys.  Doctors need to take in the consideration of the child's age and medical history, and other important medical information.

* * * * *

Another name for breast pain is called mastalgia. Breast pain that comes and goes with monthly periods is called cyclic.   If the breast pain does not follow any pattern, this condition is called noncyclic.


        
Cyclic pain
is the most common of breast pain. It may be caused by the normal monthly changes in hormones. This pain usually occurs in both breasts. It is usually described as a heaviness or discomfort that travels to the armpit and arm. The pain is generally the most severe before a menstrual period and is often relieved when a period ends. Cyclic breast pain occurs more often in younger women. Most cyclic pain goes away without treatment.