Guest guest Posted August 6, 2001 Report Share Posted August 6, 2001 Dear List, In the Spring I had a sore throat that lasted almost two months. There was no nasal congestion or running, a little sneezing and a dry cough especially at night that produced a small amount of dried green mucus. I finally went to an allopathic doctor and he told me I had a sinus infection and recommended antibiotics which I did not take. In the meantime I had a bladder infection and did take antibiotics for that. After the 3 day course I noticed not only was my bladder infection gone but so was my sore throat. Now I have the same kind of sore throat again with the dry cough. I take lots of different herbs and supplements for Hep C and they includes garlic, Vit C and E along with many others. Originally I thought this might be allergies but then why would it respond so well to the antibiotics and also the green mucus signifies bacterial versus viral (or so I was taught). I really don't want to take antibiotics again because I try to keep my liver as clean as possible and I am worried about mixing too many herbs, etc. Any suggestions? Thanks, Mindy Kittay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 6, 2001 Report Share Posted August 6, 2001 Garlic is knoen as nature's antibiotic, and doesn't kill the good bacteria along with the bad, which you didn't mention replacing after your original course of antibiotics; and, if you didn't you are setting yourself up for a long term battle with various infections of ever increasing frequency! This is just off the top of my head, but give garlic, and probiotics a try! In health, Steve ----------------------------- Dear List, In the Spring I had a sore throat that lasted almost two months. There was no nasal congestion or running, a little sneezing and a dry cough especially at night that produced a small amount of dried green mucus. I finally went to an allopathic doctor and he told me I had a sinus infection and recommended antibiotics which I did not take. In the meantime I had a bladder infection and did take antibiotics for that. After the 3 day course I noticed not only was my bladder infection gone but so was my sore throat. Now I have the same kind of sore throat again with the dry cough. I take lots of different herbs and supplements for Hep C and they includes garlic, Vit C and E along with many others. Originally I thought this might be allergies but then why would it respond so well to the antibiotics and also the green mucus signifies bacterial versus viral (or so I was taught). I really don't want to take antibiotics again because I try to keep my liver as clean as possible and I am worried about mixing too many herbs, etc. Any suggestions? Thanks, Mindy Kittay *** [This message has been truncated.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 6, 2001 Report Share Posted August 6, 2001 In a message dated 08/06/2001 12:47:35 PM Mountain Daylight Time, bigbird3969 writes: This is just off the top of my head, but give garlic, and probiotics a try! How much garlic and what do you mean by probiotics? Mindy Kittay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 6, 2001 Report Share Posted August 6, 2001 The Doc has a standard of lubing a clove with olive oil and swallowing it, and I would start out with around 3-4 cloves (the individual sections that the bulb contain) per day. If you're worried about being " offensive " , you can try three garlic oil capsules three times per day in an acute situation, and once a day as a prophylactic measure. Now, for the probiotics, or friendly bacteria that your body needs to keep the " bad " bacteria from developing into a problem such as yours; they also help to convert different proteins into various enzymes, B vitamins, etc.. The most popular one is L. Acidophilus, which can be found in supplement form, or in fermented dairy products (ie. kefir, acidophilus milk, yogurt) You should have a mass predominance of the " good guys' to keep from getting anything from minor " inconveniences " (ie. gas, bloating, constipation), to progressively worse " symptoms " (ie. intestinal toxicity, malabsorption of nutrients, candida - yeast - overgrowth, etc.). In Germany, I understand that you are prescribed an antibiotic, and a probiotic (pro= for + bio= life) to get your system back in balance to prevent recurrent infections, diarrhea, and the yeast infection thing that women get so readily after a course of antibiotics! I asked a pharmacist here why they carry the product behind the counter but never recommend it, and he said it all comes back to " if my insurance doesn't cover it, and/or my doctor doesn't tell me about it...there must be no need for it! They do make an aged garlic powdered supplement that has acidophilus in it, but I am unaware if the dosages are sufficient, though the product is supposedly of good quality. (As a note, acidophilus is the most important, but there are several other forms of " friendly " bacteria that are important at their own unique functions) As a side, you should know some anti-microbial/anti-catarrhal essential oils that you could use as a steam inhalant, or you could try equal parts of the herbs echinacea, golden seal, golden rod, and marshmallow leaf, and drink around every two hrs. or so if you think that it's something like sinusitis. In Health, Steve ----------------------------- In a message dated 08/06/2001 12:47:35 PM Mountain Daylight Time, bigbird3969 writes: > This is just off the top of my head, but give garlic, and probiotics a try! > > How much garlic and what do you mean by probiotics? Mindy Kittay *** [This message has been truncated.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 6, 2001 Report Share Posted August 6, 2001 A side bar: Listerine was derived from the volatile oils of thyme, eucalyptus, and one other that escapes me at the moment. Steve ----------------------------- herbal remedies, Aromaconnection@a... wrote: > After the 3 day course > I noticed not only was my bladder infection gone but so was my sore throat. > Now I have the same kind of sore throat again with the dry cough. This is one of the problems with antibiotics... they make you feel better quick, but you often have to keep putting them into your system for quite a bit after your symptoms stop before you actually kill all the bad bacteria. If you stop too soon they are worse than useless. Sounds like what happened is that the antibiotic for your bladder infection only half-cured your sore throat, and only the resistant bacteria are left. Probably the same antibiotic would not help anymore, and you'd have to try a stronger one according to your allopathic doc... etc. etc. By all means try herbal remedies - Garlic is good, I've heard thyme mentioned as well for sore throats. I've also kicked sore throats with warm salt water gargles and, as a less natural path, listerine gargles - both unpleasant options but effective. Whatever solution you find that works, KEEP DOING IT for a few days to a week after you feel completely well and kick this thing for good this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 6, 2001 Report Share Posted August 6, 2001 herbal remedies, Aromaconnection@a... wrote: > After the 3 day course > I noticed not only was my bladder infection gone but so was my sore throat. > Now I have the same kind of sore throat again with the dry cough. This is one of the problems with antibiotics... they make you feel better quick, but you often have to keep putting them into your system for quite a bit after your symptoms stop before you actually kill all the bad bacteria. If you stop too soon they are worse than useless. Sounds like what happened is that the antibiotic for your bladder infection only half-cured your sore throat, and only the resistant bacteria are left. Probably the same antibiotic would not help anymore, and you'd have to try a stronger one according to your allopathic doc... etc. etc. By all means try herbal remedies - Garlic is good, I've heard thyme mentioned as well for sore throats. I've also kicked sore throats with warm salt water gargles and, as a less natural path, listerine gargles - both unpleasant options but effective. Whatever solution you find that works, KEEP DOING IT for a few days to a week after you feel completely well and kick this thing for good this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 6, 2001 Report Share Posted August 6, 2001 1 teaspoon of Echinacea Tincture every one to two hours usually takes care of a sore throat very quickly. Bladder infections are usually avoidable through good hydration, and herbs are very effective for this purpose as well, more so than drugs. The antibiotics that worked for you once are likely to be ineffective next time. A significant percentage of bacteria are NOT killed when drugs are used. See the abstract below: 101st meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Orlando, Florida, May 29, 2001 Bacteria Can Survive in Urine After Antibiotic Treatment Bladder infections caused by E. coli, a common bacterium, return in as many as 30% of women apparently cured by antibiotics. Until now, the reason was not always clear. Bacteria may be able to survive antibiotic treatment for bladder infections by reverting to an inactive state. According to the researcher's laboratory experiments, the number of bacteria reproducing dropped to zero within several days of antibiotic treatment. Not all the bacteria were killed, though. The test showed that about 3% of the bacteria were still present in a dormant state after treatment with ciprofloxacin and about 7% lingered after treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Even after a month of antibiotic exposure, 10 million of the original 1 billion bacteria remained. The investigators conclude that antibiotic treatment does not successfully kill all the bacteria participating in the infection and man, in fact, encourage many of the bacteria to persist in a resting state. Current treatments for bladder infections, they suggest, may, therefore, not be adequate and this phenomenon may account for many of the repeat infections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 7, 2001 Report Share Posted August 7, 2001 Sore throats are usually a sign that the body is getting rid of toxins resulting from an infection. If that infection is bacterial, antibiotics will work. If it is viral, generally only time will work -- and by the time someone has gotten to the doctor, filled the prescription, and rested a few days, the viral infection has diminished on its own. Hep C generally makes a person more susceptible to both types of infections. A program of herbs for Hep C can be relatively complex. And sometimes, certain herbs will stop working if they are taken too frequently. This is especially true of Echinacea, which is a common component of such programs. For most people, rotating herbs and leaving some off for a while is a good idea. Someone dealing with Hep C needs to either become very expert at herbs, or have good guidance. Normally the specific herbs against sore throats are Golden Seal, which is a general anti-infection weapon, and Sassafrass, a blood purifier which tastes great. The usual homeopathic medicine against this type of infection is Kali Phos. But again it must be stressed that with Hep C in the picture there must be a more detailed program created for each individual patient. At 01:11 PM 8/6/01 EDT, you wrote: >Dear List, >In the Spring I had a sore throat that lasted almost two months. There was >no nasal congestion or running, a little sneezing and a dry cough especially >at night that produced a small amount of dried green mucus. I finally went >to an allopathic doctor and he told me I had a sinus infection and >recommended antibiotics which I did not take. In the meantime I had a >bladder infection and did take antibiotics for that. After the 3 day course >I noticed not only was my bladder infection gone but so was my sore throat. >Now I have the same kind of sore throat again with the dry cough. I take >lots of different herbs and supplements for Hep C and they includes garlic, >Vit C and E along with many others. Originally I thought this might be >allergies but then why would it respond so well to the antibiotics and also >the green mucus signifies bacterial versus viral (or so I was taught). I >really don't want to take antibiotics again because I try to keep my liver as >clean as possible and I am worried about mixing too many herbs, etc. >Any suggestions? >Thanks, > >Mindy Kittay > -- Michael Riversong ** Professional Harpist, Educator, and Writer ** RivEdu ** Phone: (307)635-0900 FAX (413)691-0399 http://home.earthlink.net/~mriversong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 7, 2001 Report Share Posted August 7, 2001 Mindy, you might want to invest in some colloidal silver 500 parts per million (In my opinion, any less than that isn't effective) to keep on hand when you feel an infection flaring up. If you can't find it locally, e mail me and I'll tell you where I get mine. I used to take echinacea and goldenseal when I had an infection and it was effective, but since I started using the colloidal silver, I just won't be without it. (The echinacea is still a staple on my "medicine" shelf for rebuilding the immune system). Aromaconnection wrote: Dear List, In the Spring I had a sore throat that lasted almost two months. There was no nasal congestion or running, a little sneezing and a dry cough especially at night that produced a small amount of dried green mucus. I finally went to an allopathic doctor and he told me I had a sinus infection and recommended antibiotics which I did not take. In the meantime I had a bladder infection and did take antibiotics for that. After the 3 day course I noticed not only was my bladder infection gone but so was my sore throat. Now I have the same kind of sore throat again with the dry cough. I take lots of different herbs and supplements for Hep C and they includes garlic, Vit C and E along with many others. Originally I thought this might be allergies but then why would it respond so well to the antibiotics and also the green mucus signifies bacterial versus viral (or so I was taught). I really don't want to take antibiotics again because I try to keep my liver as clean as possible and I am worried about mixing too many herbs, etc. Any suggestions? Thanks, Mindy Kittay Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following: 1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire. 2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy. 3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and to prescribe for your own health. We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long as they behave themselves. Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk. It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from list members, you are agreeing to be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members free of any liability. Dr. Ian Shillington Doctor of Naturopathy Dr.IanShillington Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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