Health News. Lots of resources and information

If there is no organic reason for your emotional illness, or if you are over the early months of withdrawal, you can “choose to be well. This involves looking after your whole being not just your body and it may be necessary to change the way you think. First ask yourself if there are any rewards in staying ill:

Does being ill bring more care and attention from others or protect you from issues you are unwilling to face? Are you avoiding rejection/going out into the world/being an adult/admitting you are with the wrong partner? Because of the illness are you able to avoid responsibility/ risks/social interaction/a sexual relationship/failure or physical effort?

If you are not doing any of these, are you hanging on to sadness or hurtful feelings from the past in order to justify the way you are?

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The collicky pains and diarrhoea are usually diagnosed as ‘Irritable Bowel Syndrome’. Many people have had barium meals and enemas, and some even have investigative surgery. The investigations invariably prove negative, and the symptoms disappear without treatment. A simple diarrhoea mixture may be helpful. The modern approach of a high fibre diet to the irritable bowel syndrome seems to increase symptoms during withdrawal. Diarrhoea can be a side-effect of tranquillizer use too and may start when the drugs are first taken. There have been several reports of people who have had chronic diarrhoea for years which has completely cleared 3-4 weeks after acute withdrawal in hospital. The slight incontinence experienced by some (particularly early morning) is temporary.

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Many users find this tedious, but when you look at the list of symptoms that can be due entirely to over-breathing, it could be worth the effort.

Tie something around your wrist to remind you to be aware of your breathing patterns.

1. Do two 1\2 hour breathing exercise sessions per day and note your breathing rate every hour.

2. Loosen anything tight around your waist and preferably lie on the bed or floor.

3. Allow your lungs to inflate fully by gently lifting your tummy out as you breathe in (it could make you a little light-headed or tingly at first) and allow it to fall as you breathe out.

4. Try to keep the breaths equal and aim to gradually train yourself to breathe between 8 to 12 breaths per minute.

5. Don’t exhaust yourself by doing this too vigorously. Once you have mastered this, you will be able to do it anywhere—standing at the bus stop; whilst ironing; whilst washing up.

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Many people withdraw very successfully at home. If your doctor has agreed that you should reduce, but has not given you a withdrawal regime, here are some suggestions:

The Open University course called ‘Anxiety and Benzodiazepines (Tranquillizers)’ recommends a dose reduction of 1\8 th of the daily dose per 2-4 weeks. Some people feel that this regime prolongs the agony and prefer to tolerate symptoms of a more rapid withdrawal. The course also recommends that where a short-acting drug (e.g. Ativan) is being taken, a long-acting drug (e.g. Valium) be substituted. This can be done when the lowest possible dose of the short-acting drug is reached. Alternatively the recommendation for Diazepam (Valium) substitution from the Drugs Newsletter, No. 31, April, 1985, of the Regional Drug Information Service, Newcastle upon Tyne, can be used.

The benzodiazepine in use should be replaced in increments of one dose per day by the equivalent dose of diazepam [see Appendix]. This substitution can usually be accomplished within a week, although the duration of this period should be varied to suit individual patients. For example, a regime for a patient taking Lorazepam lmg morning, midday and evening is to replace the evening dose with l0 mg Diazepam for two days, then add replacement of the midday dose for two days, and finally replace the morning dose. The patient is then taking a daily dose of 30 mg Diazepam, which is approximately equivalent to 3 mg Lorazepam. Some patients feel better when Lorazepam or other relatively short-acting benzodiazepines are replaced by Diazepam in this manner. Some, however, require slightly more than the approximately equivalent dose of Diazepam given in the table to replace the benzodiazepine they are used to. A minority of patients experience real difficulties in changing from one benzodiazepine to another. In these cases, the changeover needs to be carried out more gradually.

It is generally agreed that the short-acting drugs cause most problems during withdrawal.

Many people have found the short-term or intermittent use of Propranolol (Inderal) useful. It helps the panic attacks, palpitations, sweating, and is a mild sedative.

It is extremely important to check with your doctor before you reduce any drugs.

Do not compare the numbers of milligrammes—1 mg of one drug cannot be substituted for 1 mg of another drug. 5 mg of Ativan does not equal 5 mg of Valium or 5 mg of Mogadon.

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Pollen

Mostly causes seasonal rhinitis (hay-fever). The timing of the symptoms will depend on the type of pollen at fault: February-May, with the peak in April, for tree pollen, June-July for grass pollen and July-August for weeds such as nettles, golden rod and mugwort. Pollen can also cause asthma. Where there is sensitivity to perennial allergens as well, the rhinitis may persist all year but get worse in spring or summer. ‘Hay-fever’ that begins in late July or August and continues into the autumn is more likely to be mould allergy.

In some people, certain foods can heighten sensitivity to pollen. Foods eaten only in summer (or in greater quantities then) can produce symptoms that may resemble hay-fever – suspect summer fruits, orange squash and ice-cream.

House dust

Human skin scales or other components of dust may be the problem, but more often it is the house-dust mite, Dermatophagoides (‘the skin-eater’). This minute animal lives on flakes of human skin shed by all of us in great quantities. It is not an insect, as is often stated, but a mite – a

distant relative of the spiders. Because it is not an insect, it is not killed by most insecticides. Some people react to the mites themselves but most are allergic to the faecal pellets (droppings). These are covered with a thin layer of protein produced by the mite, and it is the protein that acts as an allergen. House-dust mites thrive in dusty houses, old sofas and interior-sprung mattresses – foam mattresses are less of a problem. Sunshine and dry air are the mite’s greatest enemies, so it prefers fitted carpets cleaned with a vacuum cleaner, to loose rugs or carpets that are taken outside, beaten and left to hang in the sun for a while. Damp weather favours the mite so there may be a seasonal variation in the severity of attacks (note that damp also favours moulds). Shampooing a carpet can stir mites up and provoke an attack – especially in children playing on a carpet. Sensitivity varies: some people can obtain relief simply by discarding an old mattress or sofa, others require the house to be scrupulously clean, and free of all fitted carpets and upholstery.

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Dr Miiller asserts that potential carriers of the diphtheria bacillus can render themselves much less dangerous to other people by the systematic consumption of honey. ‘Carriers’ are those who harbour the micro-organism of a disease but are not necessarily affected by it themselves, although they constitute a potential source of infection for others. Any remedy that eliminates this danger is most welcome.

The effectiveness of honey places it on the list of tried and proven remedial foods and our confidence in it is fully justified, even though there may be some people who cannot take it and have to forgo its goodness.

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According to the time of the year, clay poultices may be used either hot or cold. Those who are sensitive to the cold may prefer a hot poultice; a bag of hot herbs can be placed on top of the clay to help retain its heat. With a cold clay pack you can reduce the feeling of cold by a hot herb bag used in the same way.

For a small clay poultice, a tablespoon of clay, mixed with a herbal infusion to make a thin paste, will suffice. Spread the paste evenly, about 3-5 mm (Vs-Vs inch) thick, onto a piece of gauze or linen and place on the affected part. In cases of inflammation, especially inflammation of a nerve (neuritis), St John’s wort oil mixed with clay can work wonders and has the added advantage of keeping the poultice soft and easy to remove. Otherwise its removal can be unpleasant for those with sensitive skin as clay becomes hard and brittle as it dries. It is recommended that the poultice be applied at night and left on until the morning.

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As soon as the warm rays of the sun hit the windows in the spring conscientious housewives are usually gripped by a peculiar restlessness that urges them to declare war on every trace of dust, dirt and disorder in the home. Similarly, such a challenge to spring-clean confronts each and everyone of us and we get the overpowering feeling that our bodies need cleansing, in order to rid them of all accumulated wastes. Then a certain ‘spring fever’ or fatigue seems to gradually reduce, or slow down, our enthusiasm. Even though we may have had enough exercise during the winter to keep our bodies in trim through movement and deep-breathing, we still feel that somehow our reserves of energy are at a low ebb. Of course that is quite true since the food that was stored in the autumn will have been losing more and more of its vitamins and other vital substances. Another problem are the many days without any sunshine, so that our body is even less able to utilise the vitamins properly. Heavy winter clothing, especially thick waterproof coats, hinders the normal breathing and perspiration of the skin and in this way contributes to impaired body functions.

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The last muddy streaks of snow are still lying on the upland meadows and under the rhododendrons when the bright red blossoms of the daphne already catch our eye. The homoeopathic remedy Mezereum is prepared from the bark of this attractive but poisonous plant.

It is a wonderful remedy for shingles, facial erysipelas and vesicular eruptions, those itching little blisters on a red background that become worse when scratched.

For deep-seated varicose ulcers this remedy is second to none.

Mezereum is indicated for dry mucous membranes accompanied by dry and irritating cough and a feeling of constriction across the chest, which occurs especially during the night, as well as intense thirst with burning pains in the throat and a raw nasal discharge. Even in acute cases the remedy must not be given in potencies

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Today, the pimpernel’s main attribute is the wonderful effect it has on the vocal cords in cases of catarrh and sore throats. Pimpernel roots, chewed throughout the day, will have a much better effect than all the expensive patent medicines with their fancy packaging and labels that promise miracles. There is only one drawback, pimpernel roots are far from palatable, even though they are not so bad that one would want to reject them altogether. In the wintertime, when catarrh is so prevalent, one can come to appreciate the pimpernel’s great benefits.

If hoarseness is allied to the catarrh, chew pimpernel roots with rowan berries; both remedies can usually be bought in a dry state at a pharmacy or herbalist. For extremely bad cases, fresh pine bud syrup (Santasapina Cough Syrup) is another excellent remedy.

Formerly, pimpernel root was recommended in cases of calculus and skin eruptions. That our forefathers prized pimpernel as one of the means of protecting themselves against contagious diseases can be seen from the old saying:

To be healthy and fit, eat garlic and pimpernel, You can then hope to live to an old age as well!

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