I plan for this website to focus more on alternative medicines and overall wellness; this will include Chinese as well as more “Western” complementary medicines. So, let’s talk about the very popular home remedies involving urinary tract issues. Many women with bladder infections (“cystitis”, UTIs) use cranberry juice, and many men swear that saw palmetto works for their enlarged prostate symptoms.… Read the rest
Category Archives: Illness
H1N1 Hospitalizations Occurring at Any Age
Here’s a quick link to a good review from Medscape about the latest H1N1 information regarding hospitalizations and deaths. This latest paper was in November 4th’s JAMA. The gist is that hospitals are seeing complications at all age groups, including the elderly, which seemed previously to be partially immune.… Read the rest
Mammograms & PSA: To Screen or Not to Screen?
Cancer is one of the last great scourges of humanity, and modern medicine has designed many tests that can screen for cancers. The most popular are mammograms for women, and prostate checks for men. The whole point of a screening test is to do as little harm as possible, to detect something that can be treated, and overall society would benefit from less of this disease.… Read the rest
Does Green Runny Nose = Antibiotic Rx?
It’s a popular misconception among not just the population but also many doctors, that a greenish runny nose = bacterial infection = antibiotics. Well, it’s not true! As this fun New York Times article reviews, the color is more a sign of clumps of your body’s infection-fighting white cells as well as colorful shades of your normal nose bacteria.… Read the rest
Today Is World Pneumonia Day
Pneumonia is a disease of the lungs, usually a serious infection from a virus or bacteria. Healthy adults can usually recover well with outpatient antibiotics, but the elderly and youngest are most vulnerable to serious complications. For example, pneumonia is the #1 cause of death in the elderly from flu, and also is the worldwide #1 killer of children under 5 years.… Read the rest
Can Garlic Help Fight Off A Cold?
The weather is turning colder and flu season is ramping up. There is precious little that Western medicine can offer to fight off the common cold, so it’s good to review what natural medicines and foods actually help. I previously wrote about chicken soup and easy non-food prevention tips; now let’s discuss garlic.… Read the rest