Homeopathic answers for dejenitive disc disesase?
I don't think homeopathy is the answer. I know there are people who swear by homeopathy, but there's no scientific evidence that it works. Links to follow. Glucosamine & chondroitin are nutritional supplements and many people report that its helps many arthritic conditions. There have been multiple clinical trials of glucosamine as a medical therapy for osteoarthritis, but results have been conflicting. The evidence both for and against glucosamine's efficacy has led to debate among physicians about whether to recommend glucosamine treatment to their patients. Glucosamine is very safe, however, so trying it may help your condition or it may just lighten your pocketbook. In the United States, homeopathic remedies are, like all health-care products, regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. However, the FDA treats homeopathic remedies very differently than conventional medicines. Homeopathic products do not need FDA approval before sale; they do not have to be proven either safe or effective; they do not have to be labeled with an expiration date; and they do not have to undergo finished product testing to verify contents and strength. Unlike conventional drugs, homeopathic remedies do not have to identify their active ingredients on the grounds that they have few or no active ingredients. In the USA, only homeopathic medicines that claim to treat self-limiting conditions may be sold over the counter; homeopathic medicines that claim to treat a serious disease can be sold only by prescription. Critics describe it as pseudoscience and quackery. The theory that extreme dilution makes drugs more powerful is inconsistent with the laws of chemistry and physics. Placebo-controlled clinical trials have given mixed results, but most have methodological problems, with better-quality trials more likely to give negative results. Additionally, cases have been reported of life-threatening complications resulting from attempts to treat serious conditions solely with homeopathic remedies. Bottom line, buyer beware - save your money. Hope this helps, be well. Rick the Pharmacist
If natural child birth is so painful why do most women opt for it? Instead why not go for cesarean delivery? What are the benefits and costs of natural childbirth?
As a co-founder of International Cesarean Awareness Network, a cesarean mother, and a natural birth mother, I feel that I am qualified to answer this question. I have given birth five times. My first birth was, basically, an unattended hospital birth. The hospital staff didn't think I was in actual labor, so they never called my doctor. He finally called the hospital to see if I had come in. He arrived after I had birthed my daughter. I tore extensively due to poor nutrition and poor positioning. My second child was born by emergency cesarean, weighing one ounce more than her sibling. The surgery went well, and my recovery was uneventful. However, it was six months before I felt back to normal physically.My third child was a VBAC-Vaginal Birth After Cesarean-in a hospital with a family physician. The labor was intense, but I was able to sleep between contractions. My baby was born in one push, and weighed 2 1/2 pounds more than her sisters. I only needed one stitch, and I felt back to normal physically in a week and a half.My last two children were born at home, with midwives attending. Both births were calm and easy, despite my last baby birthing face up. Both home birth babes were 2 pounds bigger than my first two babes. Natural, unmedicated, unmanaged birth is the safest, easiest, least painful way to birth a baby for over 90% of all women. Unfortunately, doctors and hospitals in the USA do not understand this. Doctors want to manage birth, make it faster, more efficient, more convenient. These goals may be helpful to the doctor. They are not helpful to the mother. Birth, in most cases, should not even be considered a medical procedure. It is a natural process, but a delicate one. Mothers cannot labor and birth easily if they are feeling unsafe. Hospitals are inherently scary places filled with beeping machines, gowned and gloved strangers and super germs. No wonder so many labors end up stalling, or even stopping. Which would you prefer-eating a meal of your choosing at your own pace, or having a feeding tube shoved down your throat and proper nutrition pumped directly into your stomach? The tube is very efficient, and the nutrition is more than adequate. I think we would all want the meal, though. Woman would do best birthing in a place of their own choosing, birthing at their own pace.
Why is my 13 year old son more mature about breastfeeding...?
People in this wonderful society of ours (voice dripping with sarcasm, mind you) have taken it into their heads that a breastfeeding mother and child are "shameful" and therefore have to "cover up" and be "discreet". Many people have never even SEEN a woman nurse her child, and so are shocked and (because of the "shame" factor) embarrassed when they do see it. This then causes an angry reaction, that equates to "She shouldn't be doing that in public, anyways", then on to defending WHY they feel that way, when truely, it isn't their fault. What IS their faults, is that they let themselves get carried away with the herd, and tell themselves that it is, in fact, shameful, and raise their children to believe that as well. When children are raised this way, little girls want to wear "sexy" clothes to show off their breasts (since they ARE sexual.. right?) and boys grow up to believe that women's bodies are for their pleasure, and therefore do not respect them. So, even if these little boys and girls grow up to be intelligent, generous, respectful people, and decide they want their children to be breastfed, they have to work through some feelings of shame and of course, some rude stares from strangers (and even family members). And so, the vicious cycle continues, breeding ignorance and shame. We are more likely to listen to advertising than our own bodies and children. Why would we make milk if our children were not supposed to have it? Do you think, maybe, there is a reason nature gave us mammary glands? But, in spite of this knowledge, and the undebatable facts that support breastfeeding, many people will give their children something substandard and artificial. Their logic defies logic, but it will be mothers (and their sons and daughters and husbands) who choose to breastfeed their children PROUDLY and SHAMELESSLY, without covering up in shame or hiding behind doors....nursing mothers who are making it NORMAL to give our babies the BEST and ONLY nutrition for their little bodies... these are the people who are going to make a difference for our next generation. and hopefully the vicious cycle will someday stop...
What are the opposing viewpoints on breastfeeding in public?
A baby is not going to wait for feeding time until the mother is in a private location. There shouldn't be any opposing view points. I think it's worse to hear a poor baby cry of hunger than to catch a glimpse of a mother's breast.
Why do doctors distrust natural medicine?
Because there is little evidence that these things work. Rx drugs are put through a rigorous process to prove that they are safe and effective. Natural products are not. The manufacture of Rx drugs is highly regulated so that each tablet is the same and contains the same amount of drug. Natural products are not. We have examined and know the drug interactions for Rx drugs. We don't know the interactions for natural products. Many of the herbals that are sold have little or know active ingredient. Many interact with prescription medications. Many have severe side effects but people don't know about them because they haven't been studied. Did you know that St. John's Wort decreases the effectiveness of birth control pills by 50%. Try finding that information on the bottle. I have seen patients die because they took herbal supplements. I have seen patients that have had transplanted organs rejected because their herbal supplements interacted with the rejection medications. A lot of natural products have been used for years but don't actually do anything. There was a recent study done to prove that Echinacea helps colds but the study proved that Echinacea does nothing for colds (I found that amusing). I believe that there is a lot of benefit in natural medicine but it HAS to be studied before it is used or it can do more damage than good. People here mention the greed of the doctors and drug companies. Do you think that the people who make herbals are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts? They are in it to make money too. They don't tell you about the risk of herbals. They just make up claims of what they can do with absolutely no proof and they put lives in danger to make money. They are far worse than the doctors. Another thing to consider, the average life-expectancy in the year 1900 (before modern drugs were around) was 47 year old. The average life-expectancy now is 77 years old because of modern medicine. Natural medicine may have been around but it obiously is not as effective or people would have lived just as long. So if you really want to abstain from modern drugs and only use natural medicine, be my guest. I would just advise against making any long-term retirement plans because you probably won't live that long. Good Luck.
How well do you think the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) protects Americans from harmful or potentially harmful diet and nutritional supplements?
They’re probably doing the best they can. Overall there’s been little problems from this industry. Not that there’s been none but generally nothing like the highly regulated pharmaceutical drugs. There was a report a couple of years ago that roughly 23,000 people go to the emergency room each year for supplement problems. First off this was an extrapolation from one hospital. Secondly the vast majority of these visits were for heart palpitations from weight loss supplements. No long term effects were seen, most were released within a couple of hours after observation. The problem with this type of supplement is that is has some kind of ingredient like caffeine or another stimulant that can cause this but the person taking it thinks it’s “natural” and they don’t even have to follow the directions and take too many of them. Also included in the 23K were people who got large pills like calcium stuck in their throats. Overall 23K sounds like a big problem but when you actually looked at the data, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the headlines sounded.There are over 85,000 different supplements and it’s a low barrier to get a product on the market. So it is difficult to regulate. But there are regulations in place so companies have to have GMP (good manufacturing practices) in place. These are very high standards. But it’s not clear whether the FDA is actually testing the many facilities. I think they aren’t in most cases.Are there other problems in the industry? Yes, definitely. Contamination problems are one. You have to use some common sense when purchasing supplements. Is it a well known company? How many years have they been around? Or is it a one product company located in China with a website?Theoretically there shouldn’t be that many problems in the supplement industry. Vitamins, minerals, probiotics, protein powders, vegetable powders, are all substances that we ingest regularly (maybe not the exact form, ie. powders or isolated nutrients). Herbs are a category that is a bit different, although pretty much all the products on the shelves today have been time tested.Companies who make these products want to stay in business, it’s not in their interest to put products out there that are dangerous. Recalls or problems with products give a company a bad image. And image is a big part of the supplement industry.
Is it healthy to take Berocca daily year-round?
I took a berocca for a year when I was doing my final year of college. Actually I took the berocca boost which you are only supposed to take for a few weeks - oops! I found it very beneficial. It gave me so much energy and it tasted good. After my final year I tried to go off it mainly because it contains aspartame. It was hard. I think I was slightly addicted to it. Plus it is very hard to give up something that gives you so much energy. I didn't drink much caffeine at the time so this was my main energy source. Eventually I got off it. Recently I took it again but my body completely rejected it and I got very sick. Based on my experience I would recommend it as a short term fix but definitely not as a long term thing. It is very expensive and I don't how healthy it really is because of the aspartame. I think there are a lot of things more natural that are better for you and provide much more benefit such as maca root. Also following a healthy diet can do wonders. Hope this helps!
Girlfriend's vagina (has infection) bleeds after orgasm, why?
She might have a yeast infection, for which you can get over the counter tablets (which are inserted in the vagina) and creams (like Vagisil). Follow the directions carefully, but she should really see a Doc first. If you were putting things up there, you may have caused some tears or scratches in her vagina which may cause her to bleed, or she may have fibroids, which do tend to cause some bleeding after orgasm and or intercourse. You can also try a douche, to wash out the vagina (available at the drug store...try the vinegar and water one). The thing is, you don't know what it is, and neither do I, and it would be beneficial to her to get checked by a Doctor, so she doesn't end up with a really bad infection or illness. And you want to be sure you aren't transmitting a STD to each other. Be careful, and I'd stop fooling around until she has been cured, because if she does have an infection, she can transmit it to you.