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 (18 page)

Ginger

Ginger is another effective remedy for whooping cough. A teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, mixed with a cup of fenugreek decoction and honey to taste, is an excellent diaphoretic. The fenugreek decoction can be made by boiling one teaspoon of seeds in 250 ml of water until it is reduced to half.

Radish

Syrup prepared by mixing a teaspoon of fresh radish juice with an equal quantity of honey and a little rock salt, is beneficial in the treatment of this disease. It should be given thrice daily.

Almond Oil

Almond oil is valuable in whooping cough. Five drops of almond oil should be mixed with ten drops each of fresh white onion juice and ginger juice, and taken thrice daily for a fortnight. It will provide relief.

Calamus

The herb calamus is another valuable remedy for whooping cough. A pinch of the powder of the roasted herb should be given with a teaspoon of honey. Being antispasmodic, it prevents severe bouts of coughing. For smaller children, the dose must be proportionately smaller.

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The side effects such as discoloration of the teeth and lip color caused by smoking or heavy coffee drinkers can be fixed by changing a few things in your daily lives.  Few things you are going to learn about will make possible the prevention of teeth and lip discoloration.

Symptoms

Smoking cigarettes or cigars are not the only ways that can cause discoloration of the teeth and lip color.  

There are number of other oral symptoms and side effects, which include:

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Sticky tar deposits

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Brown tooth stains

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Red inflammation on the roof of the mouth

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Delayed healing of the gums

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Chronic bad breath

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More tooth decay than non smokers

Causes

The symptoms are gross manifestations of the biological changes occurring in the body due to continuous addiction to smoking. Here are some key reasons that could lead to teeth discoloration.

Saliva is important for cleaning the lining of the mouth and teeth and protects teeth from decay. Smoking reduces the flow of saliva and thus handicaps its key function.

Smoking reduces blood flow to the gums and cuts the supply of vital nutrients.

Vitamin C helps gums to stay healthy. Smoking reduces the level of vitamin C drastically.

Together, a reduced blood flow and diminishing vitamin C level, make treatment of gum disease in smokers a difficult proposition. Smoking also raises the mouth's temperature, damaging and killing important oral tissue cells.

Several diseases that affect enamel (the hard surface of the teeth) and dentin (the underlying material under enamel) can lead to tooth discoloration.

Treatments for certain conditions can also affect tooth color.

Such as:

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Head and neck radiation and chemotherapy can cause teeth discoloration.

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Mouth rinses and washes containing chlorhexidine and cetylpyridinium chloride can also stain teeth.

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Antihistamines (like Benadryl), antipsychotic drugs, and antihypertensive medications also cause teeth discoloration.

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Excessive fluoride either from environmental sources (naturally high fluoride levels in water)

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Excessive use (fluoride applications, rinses, toothpaste, and fluoride supplements taken by mouth) can cause teeth discoloration.

Treatment

Strawberries
Take three to six ripe strawberries, two teaspoons of baking soda, one teaspoon of cream of tartar and a cup of water. Puree the strawberries and make a paste. Apply to your teeth overnight for a week and dazzle everybody with your bright new smile.
Sugarless Gum

Munch on a piece of sugarless gum after you have had your coffee and cigarette. Doing so will produce more saliva to swish away the darkening liquids before they have a chance to stain your teeth.

Water
Sip on water or rinse you mouth every time you eat or drink a stain-producing food or beverage and after you light up. This will help cleanse your teeth and prevent stains from accumulating.
Bicarbonate of Soda

Brush your teeth with bicarbonate of soda and then brush with your normal toothpaste. Repeat this routine every 15 days.

Do not rush when you brush
.

Concentrate on brushing your teeth slowly with circular movements using a soft bristled toothbrush. Take your time and ensure that you get to those hard to reach areas.

Lighter Lips

Smokers have darker lips than normal due to nicotine stains. Here are some methods which you can use to lighten your lips a shade.

This keeps lips moisturized and helps prevent staining of your lips.

Lemon and Glycerin

Scrubbing your lips gently with lemon daily should help remove the discoloration, but this may be harsh on your lips, so make sure you apply glycerin to your lips first. Leave the lemon and glycerin on for at least ten minutes before washing off. You could also do the same at night, and sleep with lemon on your lips.

Lemon juice adds bleaching properties to the lips daily. This helps lighten the color of the lips over time.

Almond Oil

Apply almond oil with a dab of cream on your lips. This will ensure that your lips are moisturized and the layer of oil will help prevent build up of nicotine stains on your lips. You can also apply almond oil or cream of milk daily on the lips.

The most important remedy to reduce staining on your lips and teeth is to quit smoking. The efficiency of these home remedies is dramatically increased if you do not add to the nicotine staining every day.

Reduce drinks with caffeine in them.

Drink at least 10 glasses of water to flush toxins away.

Clarified butter

Apply a little every night to soothe lips. This helps keep lips moisturized.

Another effective treatment for women is to wear lipstick with sunscreen, as Ultra Violet radiation may cause pigmentation.

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If the discoloration of lips is caused by smoking, there is a need to control this habit.

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Drink plenty of water, at least 10 glasses on a daily basis. It helps in flushing out the toxins from the body.

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Apply some lime juice on your lips every day. It helps in retaining the color of your lips.

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Apply some sunscreen lotion on your lips, to protect them from harmful UV rays.

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Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that can cause abdominal pain (often in the lower left side of the abdomen), bloody diarrhea, mucus in stools, fever, weight loss, loss of appetite. It is the result of chronic inflammation, usually in the lining of the large intestine (colon) and rectum.

Symptoms
:

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Joint Pain

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Eye Inflammation

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Skin Rashes

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Lesions

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Mouth Ulcers

There is no known cure for ulcerative colitis. Alternative therapies are popular among people with ulcerative colitis. They should complement, not replace, conventional care and may help reduce symptoms and lengthen the time in remission.

Probiotics

Probiotics, "friendly" bacteria that reside in the gut, have been found to be effective in managing ulcerative colitis. They help control the number of potentially harmful bacteria, reduce inflammation, and improve the protective mucus lining of the gut.

Probiotics are among the more popular remedies for inflammatory bowel disease because they are without significant side effects and appear to be safe.

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A University of Alberta study examined 34 people with mild-to-moderate active ulcerative colitis who were unresponsive to conventional treatment. The researchers gave them a probiotic supplement called VSL#3, which provided 3,600 billion bacteria a day for 6 weeks. At the end of the study, 18 people (53%) demonstrated remission on sigmoidoscopy and a further eight people (24%) had a favorable response.

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Researchers at the University of Dundee analyzed bacteria from rectal biopsies of patients with active ulcerative colitis and healthy control subjects. There were significantly less bifidobacterium numbers in the ulcerative colitis biopsies, which suggested that these probiotic bacteria might have a protective role in the disease. In a further study, 18 people with active ulcerative colitis were given a bifidobacterium supplement or a placebo for one month. Sigmoidoscopy, biopsy, and blood tests showed significant improvement in the probiotic group compared with the placebo group.

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An Italian study examined the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii, which was previously found to be beneficial in the maintenance of the other inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease. Researchers gave 25 patients with a mild-to-moderate flare-up of ulcerative colitis a supplement containing 250 mg Saccharomyces boulardii three times a day for 4 weeks during maintenance treatment with the drug mesalazine (these patients were unsuitable for steroid therapy). Of the 24 patients who completed the study, 17 had clinical remission, which was confirmed by endoscopic exam.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Some studies have found that omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish oil capsules, may reduce inflammation in people with ulcerative colitis.

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A meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at controlled trials published from 1966 to 2003. Although the researchers concluded that more evidence is needed about the efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids, three studies found that omega-3 fatty acids reduced corticosteroid requirements (statistical significance was shown in one of these studies.

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Another study looked at the influence of fish oil and an elemental diet on the intestinal tissues of ulcerative colitis, Crohn's, and control patients and found the most marked anti-inflammatory effect in ulcerative colitis tissues.

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Research conducted at the Cleveland Clinic looked at an oral supplement containing fish oil, soluble fiber, and antioxidants (vitamin E, C and selenium) on disease activity and medication use in adults with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis. In the study, 86 patients with ulcerative colitis consumed 18 ounces of the supplement or a placebo each day for 6 months. Patients taking the oral supplement had a significantly greater rate of decreasing their dose of prednisone over 6 months compared with the placebo group. Both groups showed significant and similar improvement in clinical and histological responses.

Precautions:

More research on omega-3 fatty acids is needed, especially at differing doses, because not all studies have found a positive effect.

Oral Aloe Vera Gel

Aloe vera gel has been found in studies to have an anti-inflammatory effect.

A double blind, randomized trial examined the effectiveness and safety of aloe vera gel for the treatment of mild-to-moderate active ulcerative colitis. Researchers gave 30 patients 100 mL of oral aloe vera gel and 14 patient’s 100 mL placebo twice daily for 4 weeks.

Clinical remission, improvement and response occurred in nine (30%), 11 (37%) and 14 (47%) respectively, of aloe vera patients compared with one (7%), one (7%) and two (14%), respectively of patients taking the placebo. It appeared to be safe. 4) Diet

A Japanese study evaluated the role of dietary factors on inflammatory bowel disease. Included in the study were 111 people with ulcerative colitis who were given food questionnaires to complete.