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 (31 page)

Treatment

Oral antibiotics usually doxycycline for adults and children older than eight, or amoxicillin or cefuroxime axetil for adults and younger children — are the standard treatment for early-stage Lyme disease. These drugs often clear the infection and prevent complications. A 14- to 21-day course of antibiotics is usually recommended, but some studies suggest that courses lasting 10 to 14 days are equally effective. In some cases, longer treatment has been linked to serious complications.

If the disease has progressed, your doctor may recommend treatment with an intravenous antibiotic for 14 to 28 days. This is usually effective, although it may take some time to recover. Intravenous antibiotics can cause various side effects, including a lower white blood cell count, gallstones and mild to severe diarrhea.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns consumers and health care providers to avoid bismacine, an injectable compound prescribed by some alternative medicine practitioners to treat Lyme disease. Bismacine, also known as chromacine, contains high levels of the metal bismuth. Although bismuth is safely used in some oral medications for stomach ulcers, it's not approved for use in injectable form or as a treatment for Lyme disease. Bismacine can cause bismuth poisoning, which may lead to heart and kidney failure.

In March 2005, one person was hospitalized after receiving a bismacine treatment, according to the FDA. In April 2006, another person died because of treatment with bismacine.

Prevention

You can decrease your risk of contracting Lyme disease with some simple precautions:


        
Wear long pants and sleeves:
When walking in wooded or grassy areas, wear shoes, long pants tucked into your socks, a long-sleeved shirt, a hat and gloves. Try to stick to trails and avoid walking through low bushes and long grass. Keep your dog on a leash.


        
Use insect repellents:
Apply an insect repellent with a 10 percent to 30 percent concentration of DEET to your skin and clothing. Choose the concentration based on the hours of protection you need.  About 10 percent concentration is effective for about two hours, while higher concentrations last longer. Keep in mind that chemical repellents can be toxic, and use only the amount needed for the time you will be outdoors. Do not use DEET on the hands of young children or on infants younger than age 2 months. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, oil of lemon eucalyptus, a more natural product, offers the same protection as DEET when used in similar concentrations. Other natural repellents, such as citronella and oil of geranium, also offer some protection.

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Do your best to tick-proof your yard:
Clear the brush (rake) and leaves where ticks live. Keep woodpiles in sunny areas.


        
Check yourself,
your children and your pets for ticks:
Be especially vigilant after spending time in wooded or grassy areas. Deer ticks are often no bigger than the head of a pin, so you may not discover them unless you search carefully. It is helpful to shower as soon as you come indoors. Ticks often remain on your skin for hours before attaching themselves.

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Do not guess you are immune:
Even if you have had Lyme disease before, you can get it again.


        
Remove a tick with tweezers:
Gently grasp the tick near its head or mouth. Do not squeeze or crush the tick, but pull carefully and steadily. Once you have removed the entire tick, apply antiseptic to the bite area.

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Type 1 and Type 2

Type 1
Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's own immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas (called beta cells).

Normally, the body's immune system fights off foreign invaders like viruses or bacteria. But for unknown reasons, in people with type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks various cells in the body. This results in a complete deficiency of the insulin hormone.

Some people develop a type of diabetes – called secondary diabetes --, which is similar to type 1 diabetes, but the beta cells are not destroyed by the immune system but by some other factor, such as cystic fibrosis or pancreatic surgery.

The Causes for Type 1 Diabetes

Doctors do not know all the factors that lead to type 1 diabetes. Clearly, the susceptibility to the condition can be inherited.

Doctors have identified that an environmental trigger plays a role in causing the disease. Type 1 diabetes appears to occur when something in the environment -- a toxin or a virus (but doctors aren't sure) -- triggers the immune system to mistakenly attack the pancreas and destroy the beta cells of the pancreas to the point where they can no longer produce sufficient insulin. Markers of this destruction -- called autoantibodies -- can be seen in most people with type 1 diabetes. In fact, they are present in 85% to 90% of people with the condition when the blood sugars are high.

Because it is an autoimmune disease, type 1 diabetes can occur along with other autoimmune diseases such as hyperthyroidism from Grave's disease or the patchy decrease in skin pigmentation that occurs with vitiligo.

Symptoms

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Increased thirst

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Increased hunger (especially after eating)

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Dry mouth

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Nausea and occasionally vomiting

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Abdominal pain

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Frequent urination

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Unexplained weight loss (even though you are eating and feel hungry)

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Fatigue (weak, tired feeling)

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Blurred vision

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Heavy, labored breathing (Kussmaul respiration)

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Frequent infections of the skin, urinary tract or vagina

Signs of an emergency with type 1 diabetes include:

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Shaking and confusion

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Rapid breathing

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Fruity smell to the breath

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Abdominal pain

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Loss of consciousness (rare)

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes, often called non-insulin dependent diabetes, is the most common form of diabetes, affecting 90% - 95% of the 18.2 million people with diabetes.

Unlike people with
type 1 diabetes
, people with type 2 diabetes produce insulin; however, the insulin their pancreas secretes is either not enough or the body is unable to recognize the insulin and use it properly. This is called
insulin-resistance
. When there is not enough insulin or the insulin is not used as it should be, glucose (sugar) can't get into the body's cells. When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, the body's cells are not able to function properly. Other problems associated with the buildup of glucose in the blood include:


        
Dehydration:
The buildup of sugar in the blood can cause an increase in urination (to try to clear the sugar from the body). When the kidneys lose the glucose through the urine, a large amount of water is also lost, causing dehydration.


        
Hyperosmolar nonketotic diabetic coma
:
When a person with type 2 diabetes becomes severely dehydrated and is not able to drink enough fluids to make up for the fluid losses, they may develop this life-threatening complication.


        
Damage to the body:
Over time, the high glucose levels in the blood may damage the nerves and small blood vessels of the eyes, kidneys, and heart and predispose a person to atherosclerosis (hardening) of the large arteries that can cause heart attack and stroke.

Who Gets Type 2 Diabetes?

Anyone can get type 2 diabetes. However, those at highest risk for the disease are those who are obese or overweight, women who have had
gestational diabetes
, people with family members who have type 2 diabetes and people who have metabolic syndrome (a cluster of problems that include high cholesterol, high triglycerides, low good 'HDL' cholesterol and a high bad 'LDL' cholesterol and high blood pressure). In addition, older people are more susceptible to developing the disease since aging makes the body less tolerant of sugars.

Causes

Although it is more common than type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes is less well understood. It is likely caused by multiple factors and not a single problem. Type 2 diabetes can run in families, but the exact nature of how it is inherited or the identity of a single genetic factor is not known.

Symptoms

The symptoms of type 2 diabetes vary from person to person but may include:


        
Increased thirst


        
Increased hunger (especially after eating)


        
Dry mouth


        
Nausea and occasionally vomiting


        
Frequent urination


        
Fatigue (weak, tired feeling)


        
Blurred vision


        
Numbness or tingling of the hands or feet


        
Frequent infections of the skin, urinary tract or vagina

Rarely, a person may be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after presenting to the hospital in a diabetic coma.

Treatment

Bitter Gourd

Among the several home remedies that have proved beneficial in controlling diabetes, perhaps the most important is the use of bitter gourd. It has lately been established that bitter gourd contains a hypoglycemic or insulin-like principle, designated as 'plant insulin', which has been found valuable in lowering the blood and urine sugar levels. It should, therefore, be included liberally in the diet of the diabetic. For better results, the diabetic should take the juice of about four or five karelas every morning on an empty stomach. The seeds can be added to food in a powdered form. Diabetics can also use bitter gourd in the form of a decoction by boiling the pieces in water or in the form of dry powder.

Indian Gooseberry

Indian gooseberry, with its high vitamin C content, is considered valuable in diabetes. A tablespoon of its juice, mixed with a cup of bitter gourd juice, taken daily for two months, will stimulate the islets of Langerhans, that is, the isolated group of cells that secrete the hormone insulin in the pancreas. This mixture reduces the blood sugar in diabetes.

Jambul Fruit

Jambul fruit is another effective home remedy. It is regarded in traditional medicine as a specific against diabetes because of its effect on the pancreas. The fruit as such, the seeds, and fruit juice are all useful in the treatment of this disease. The seeds contain a glucoside 'jamboline' which is believed to have the power to check the pathological conversion of starch into sugar in cases of increased production of glucose. The seeds should be dried and powdered. One teaspoon of this powder should be mixed in one cup of milk or water or half a cup of curd, and taken twice daily.

The inner bark of the jambul tree is also used in the treatment of diabetes. The bark is dried and burnt. It will produce an ash of white color. This ash should be pest led in mortar, strained and bottled. The diabetic patient should be given ten grams of this ash on an empty stomach with water in the morning, and twenty grams in the afternoon, and in the evening an hour after taking meals. An equal quantity of amla powder, jamun powder, and bitter gourd powder also makes a very useful remedy for diabetes. A teaspoon of this mixture once or twice a day would be effective in checking the progress of the disease.

Grapefruit

Grapefruit is a splendid food in the diet of a diabetic patient. If grapefruits were eaten more liberally, there would be much less diabetes. If you have sugar, use three grapefruits three times a day. If you do not have sugar, but a tendency towards it and want to prevent it, use three a day.