Bathroom - Medicine Free Med Cabinet

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Medicine Free Med Cabinet

(NOTE: This is not medical advice. This is more of a testimony of what has worked for our family over the years.)

Though I've seen the benefits of using an antibiotic, and have helped to support the pharmacutical companies with my fair share of perscription drugs, I am not a fan; nor am I a believer that they are always the best choice. The side effects that I have had to deal with after using some presciption drugs have sometimes been more complicated than the condition that sent me to the doctor to begin with. For the most part, I have tried not to use prescriptions unless I absolutely have to. It is my goal to have a medicine cabinet in the bathroom that is filled with anything but medicine. ;-)

Of course there's always the other extreme: I read once about a Native American mother who used her own urine as drops for her ailing son's earache. I don't know if it worked or not, but I don't live in the Barrens, in a tent, and miles from the nearest clinic, so I think I might have passed on that particular remedy when my kids had an earache.

For most common ailments, like an earache, sore throat, cold, runny nose, etc. I was told once (by a doctor) that if it lasted longer than a week, and nothing we tried at home was helping, then we should probably see a doctor. For the most part, this is the general rule I have followed.

I am more of a preventative maintenance person, which means that you have to be a little more pro-active when it comes to the overall health care of your family. There are a host of wonderful resources available for you to read. Here are a few resources that I have found to be extremely helpful over the years:

> Perscription for Nutritional Healing - Second Edition (by James & Phyllis Balch, both doctors)

> Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine - Second Edition (by Michael Murray & Joseph Pizzorno)

> Making the Best of Basics - Chapter 14 (by James Talmage Stevens)

> Foods That Harm Foods That Heal (by Reader's Digest)

> Food Your Miracle Medicine (by Jean Carper)

> Medical Training Institute of America ( Basic Care Bulletins)

Two more things for your medicine chest:

LOG Water

This recipe was given to me by a doctor years ago. It has proven itself with our family, and other's that I have shared it with. In fact, my dear friend, Susan L., affectionately named this concoction, LOG water. Make up a batch of this to take for colds and flus, as well as a preventative for the same.

For Earaches

One of the best things you can do to prevent an earache (and stay off infections) is to put two drops of hydrogen peroxide in each ear after you get out of the shower. If the ear is already hurting try this twice a day and see if it clears up after a couple of days. (You will hear the oxygen bubbles doing their thing, so don't be alarmed.) A pharmacist once told me that he used a drop of rubbing alcohol in each ear after a shower. He said that this is the main ingredient in most ear drops. We've done the alcohol, but I think the peroxide works better if the ear is hurting.

For Urinary Tract Infections

Some woman are more prone to this than others, and once you have a UTI it seems that you are more susceptible to them, unless you make some lifestyle and diet changes. I have found several things that have worked for me.

To prevent a UTI:

~ Keep the sugar intake LOW. Too much sugar throws off your chemical balance and will multiply the bad bacteria and create havoc in your urinary tract.

~ Buy concentrated cranberry juice (not the kind in the grocery that's loaded with sugar). I get this from a health food store. It comes in a 16 oz. bottle and costs about $12. Twice a day I add 1 T. cranberry to a full glass of water and drink it. (After a while the taste isn't so bad.)

~ WATER! Drink LOTS of it and cut back on the sugar drinks.

~ Wipe from front to back after a bowel movement.

~ Don't have intercourse during your period.

~ Bump up your vitamin C and garlic intake.

If it's too late for preventative and you feel the onset of a UTI, here's a good regiment to go on (but ONLY for 3 days - no longer - this is VERY important):

~ Cut ALL red meat, white flour, and sugar completely out of your diet. DON'T cheat on this. All three of these feed the bad bacteria and cause it to multiply rapidly.

~ Drink 16 oz. of water EVERY hour during the day. (You can also do 8 oz. every half hour. Yes, you will pee a lot, but that is a good thing. You need to flush, flush, flush your system.)

~ To 8 of the glasses of water add: 1 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice and 1 T. cranberry concentrate.

~ Eat plain, unflavored, unsweetened yogurt throughout the day.

~ Take Acidopholis (Get this at the health food store and follow directions on label.)

The key here is to starve the bad and multiply the good bacteria.

Note: Antibiotics kill both the good and the bad bacteria. Take Acidopholis after (not during) any antibiotic regiment. This will prevent yeast overgrowth too. (Taking A. while on antibiotics is a waste of time. The antibiotic will kill the good bacteria you are trying to replenish with the A.) H