In the case of sinus problems, the application of heat to the hands is very beneficial. This is because the hands provide a reflex area through which the head may be reached.

In the case of neuralgia (pain radiating along nerves), hot and cold to the area may be tried, but we usually use only heat in this case. Cold here tends to set up a chill reaction through the body. However, if the patient does not experience this effect, the stimulation to the circulation accomplished by the cold will be very good.

Awakening one morning with severe neuralgia of the face, I remembered the two principles just outlined above. So, I drew the vanity stool in front of the hand basin and sat down, a very miserable spectacle. Running hot water into the basin, I placed my hands in it and Oh! the reaction to my face! It certainly was intense. But as it abated, it brought relief. I continued to make the water hotter and hotter until finally, there was no more reaction, but only a relaxation of pressure in the sinuses and a freeing of the nasal passages. Soon, I was able to breathe freely again.

Others suffering with the same problem who have employed this suggestion have also found relief. One young woman repeated the treatment off and on throughout the day, and by night she found that the cold that had been threatening was now practically non-existent. Being a piano teacher, she much appreciated this quick relief. No drugs were needed. Since the body was rid of its congestion, her head was clear, and the lesson periods went smoothly.

When hay fever is irritating the fine membranes of the sinuses, ears, throat, and mouth, place the hands in very hot water. In a few minutes, a reaction will set in, and you will feel relief. If done several times in a day, by evening the condition is often much improved.

A hot foot bath (leaving out the cold) can be used for congestion in the pelvic area causing menstrual cramps, etc. Put the feet into hot water for fifteen minutes or more. This will help draw the blood away and relieve tension. Headache caused by complications of the female organs can often be relieved by placing the legs in a hot water bath. In this case the legs must be covered with hot water up to the knees. (Here again, your garbage bin will stand you in good stead.) In this kind of headache resulting from pelvic congestion, more of a relieving action and a relaxing effect is wanted rather than the more stimulating effect that comes from alternating hot and cold water, so only the use of hot is indicated.

Should anyone suffer with a husky, tired throat from prolonged speaking, giving lectures (speaker’s throat), etc., a hot foot bath with a cold rag around the neck will benefit and restore energy to the tired muscles of the voice box. It goes without saying, however, that the person must take care of .ill other angles of health. He must supply himself with the necessary nourishment and rest to maintain the organ of speech. A little help with hot water will hasten the repair work and keep him going till the program is complete.

When the whole body is tense and sleep is evasive, run a warm bath and lay the whole body in it with only the nose above water. A gentleman of my acquaintance found himself In hospital owing to an accident. At night he refused the sleeping drugs. Instead, he ran himself a warm bath and lay In it as described above to bring relaxation and healing to his body. After that, he was able to sleep comfortably. Warm or hot water is very relaxing and comforting to a tired, tense body.

We previously mentioned the sitz bath. This is harder to accomplish in an ordinary home but there are times when some form of sitz bath will help to silence an irritated spine. Often after a long trip in a car, the bottom of the spine, being vibrated upon all day with the movements of the car, will give rise to a very irritable nervous system. Congestion in the pelvic area and irritation of the bladder are also helped by this treatment. Run a hot bath, not too deep. Step in and sit down. Do not lie down. Do not splash the water over you. Just sit in the hot water with your legs bent up and feet in the water up to the ankles. Only the feet and pelvis should be in the water. After ten to fifteen minutes get out and sponge yourself over with a tepid cloth and go to bed. The concentration of heat in this area will help restore a normal balance between the nervous system and your body.

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1. Milk Fever.

I became aware of the value of this treatment after the birth of my third child. After bringing the baby home, I developed a fever accompanied by shivering. In those days these treatments were not understood, and I turned to the hospital for help. There was a strong suspicion of malaria because I had been raised in the islands of the Pacific, and so I was isolated in the infectious diseases section. Later, however, it was diagnosed as milk fever, or mastitis. I was then treated with penicillin, the milk was dried up, and all in all, it was an unpleasant experience.

After the birth of the next child the problem reoccurred. The memory of the painful treatments received previously at the hospital made me very anxious not to go back. This time my husband and I turned to a medical handbook which directed us to use an ice pack treatment. We were incredulous! The idea was extremely foreign to anything we had ever learned, but, despite our skepticism, we decided to try it.

In those days we had no refrigerator and had to obtain ice from a neighbour. Treatment was begun in the evening by placing the ice bag on the hard, inflamed breast. Within three hours of continuous treatment, the shivering had gone, body temperature had returned to normal, and the heat and hardness of the affected breast had been replaced by softness and coolness. A good sleep followed. The next morning everything was perfectly normal. To do it the first time took courage, but confidence was inspired by the amazing results obtained, and we have since used this method on many others with equal success.

2. Mumps.

While paying us a visit, the little daughter of a good friend began to complain of swollen and painful salivary glands. We were strongly suspicious that it was mumps because she had been in recent contact with children who had succumbed to the disease. The ice pack treatment was begun at once. In addition, we added one tablespoon of Epsom salts to the ice water (this makes it colder and opens the pores of the skin) and gave the girl large doses of vitamin C and cell salts—Ferr Phos, Nat Mur, and Kali Mur. Not only did the child obtain relief from the pain, but all further development of the mumps was halted, and she had a speedy recovery. In this case, a great advantage was gained by getting onto the sickness so quickly. Always in natural treatments, the earlier in the illness the treatment is begun, the quicker and more satisfactory will be the results.

For instance, we had previously treated some other children in whom the swelling had already become well established. The salivary glands were so painful that they could not eat breakfast. Half an hour after the ice pack with added Epsom salts was applied, they could eat with pleasure and comfort. At this time, we did not understand the value of vitamin C and Ferr Phos, so we gave them none. Because the sickness had obtained a better hold and also because they did not have the extra medication, it took a couple of days for the swelling to fully disappear. However, the pain was completely relieved and the temperature had returned to normal long before that. Even so, these children enjoyed a great advantage over other children who spent two painful weeks recovering and also experienced unpleasant side effects such as sore ears, etc.

There are other instances that could be cited, but these are sufficient to illustrate the point. When the fire of fever is controlled by the application of cold, the body is aided in its work of eliminating toxins through an invigorated blood stream. As far as we are concerned, this is the only treatment we would ever consider for this type of problem. It takes courage to do it the first time, but, if you persevere until the pain and heat are removed, you will see how completely successful and quick the treatment really is, and you will become, like us, a confirmed believer.

*13\62\2*

How well the patient responds to natural treatment will depend very heavily upon his past history. There will be a considerable difference in response between the person who has had a healthful way of living and the person who has lived unhealthfully.

Just as vegetation depends upon sap for its life, so the human body depends upon the circulatory system for bringing life to it. The term ‘circulatory system’ is meant here to include also the lymphatic system, which, together with the blood stream, supplies nourishment to the tissues and carries off waste products. This area, along with the eliminatory system and the digestive system, is one of the areas in which we can most effectively work to assist the body in the healing process.

We will first consider the person who has been nourishing his body with a balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, nuts, and grains. He has been drinking pure water, taking adequate exercise and rest, and keeping himself clean inside and out. This patient will, as a result, have a healthy blood stream fresh with vital oxygen and as a result, it will have tremendous healing power. If this kind of patient is injured in some way, or is taken with sudden illness or infection, his body’s response to natural treatments will be quite swift and dramatic. The same amount of recovery that might demand days or even weeks to achieve in a person who has not lived so healthfully will be achieved in far less time with a person who has lived according to health laws.

On the other hand, a patient who has not respected nature’s laws will be a different case altogether. He has eaten at irregular hours, loaded his system with flesh foods, eaten devitalized products such as white flour and sugar, poisoned his system with alcohol, coffee, tea, and tobacco, stayed up late into the night, and has not obtained adequate exercise. The blood stream of such a person is in a diseased condition, the extent of which depends upon how far and how long he has persisted in this abusive course of living. Such a blood stream has a seriously weakened potential for healing. Therefore, it must be understood and borne in mind that this person will respond far more slowly to home treatments than will the healthy person. For best results, this patient should have cleansing treatments included in his regime, whereas this would not be necessary for the person who has been living healthfully.

*4\62\2*

A trace mineral that acts as an antioxidant in combination with glutathione peroxidase and Vitamin E, selenium inhibits platelet aggregation and in turn protects against stroke and heart disease. It is a free radical scavenger and is thought to delay the division of cancer cells, giving the body time to repair before the division of more malignant cells.

In countries where the soil content of selenium is low, there is higher incidence of certain diseases. In the United States the south-western stroke belt of Georgia and Carolina has the lowest level of selenium in the soil in the country. In China selenium in the soil varies widely over the vast distances but rates of cancer of the oesophagus, stomach and liver are higher where the selenium soil content is lowest. New Zealand soils are selenium deficient and research has found rates of asthma increase where blood selenium is below a certain level. A Finnish study showed people with a selenium deficiency had three times the chance of having a stroke.

The maximum daily dose of selenium is 200 mcg a day. More than this amount may be toxic. Normally 100 mcg is enough. There is a risk that more than 100 mcg could exacerbate an iodine deficiency.

Selenium is found naturally in whole grain wheat. Garlic is an important source, also onions, red meat, chicken, shellfish, fish, broccoli, Brazil nuts and brewer’s yeast.

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Home care

Do not attempt to treat an eye injury at home if the child cannot easily open the eye. Place a soft bandage over the eye, and see your doctor promptly.

Do not attempt to treat at home if the child has any of the following symptoms: bleeding from or in the eyeball; differences in the size or color of the pupils; differences in the color or position of the irises; any collapse of the eyeball; or blurring of vision. If any of these symptoms appear, place a soft bandage over the eye, and see your doctor promptly.

Do not attempt to remove a fishhook or any other object that has penetrated the eye. See a doctor immediately.

If a harmful liquid or powder enters the eye (acids, alkalis, caustics, petrol), immediate action is essential. Seconds count! Hold the eye open, and flush it with several pints of cool water. If possible, put your child into a cool shower, clothes and all, and wash out the eye. Then immediately take the child to your doctor for further care.

If none of the above signs is present and you see a speck on the eyeball or under the lid (and the child is cooperative), you may try to remove the speck by gentle strokes with a cotton swab. If the speck does not immediately come off, stop. The object may be embedded. See a doctor.

Precautions

• Be cautious about treating eye injuries yourself.

• Some golf balls explode if they are unwound and can cause eye injuries. Do not let young children play with golf balls, and do not allow anyone to unwind them.

• Beware! Aerosol spray cans and carbon dioxide cartridges explode violently in fires or in extreme heat. Be sure your child knows this.

• Machine sanders, paint removers, and grindstones throw off particles that can injure the eyes. Anyone around these machines should wear protective glasses. Keep children far away from such machines.

Medical treatment

A doctor can easily anaesthetize the eye and examine it internally and externally without pain or damage. Your doctor may stain the eyeball with drops to make small injuries and foreign objects readily visible. Areas inside and outside of the eye can be examined with a special microscope.

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Vitamins may be the most convoluted health story of the century. First we discover that without them, we die, slowly and painfully from deficiency diseases like scurvy and beriberi. Then we figure that, if a little is good, more is even better. And folks go haywire, popping more pills than Jimi Hendrix on a bad day. Before long we find out that you really can get too much of a good thing, as people succumb to the side effects of vitamin overdose-like liver damage from too much vitamin D. And now, nearly 100 years after we first heard about vitamins, we’re still searching for middle ground.

We know for certain that in the proper amounts vitamins and their sidekick minerals can dramatically improve our health. What we’re finally realizing is that vitamins and minerals alone are not the sole makings for good nutrition. We also need substances known as phytochemicals, such as the flavonoids in red wine that fight heart disease and the carotenoids like lycopene in tomatoes that fight prostate cancer. We need fiber, which keeps us regular, lowers cholesterol, and cuts our risk for colorectal cancer. And we likely need countless other compounds that scientists don’t even know about yet. The only way to get all that is from food.

The question then is: should we take supplements at all? The answer is yes, according to Katherine Tucker, Ph.D., associate professor of nutrition at Tufts University in Boston. For two reasons: First, we’re imperfect. Try though we may, most of us still don’t eat well enough to get the Daily Values of all the nutrients we need all of the time, especially as we get older, says Dr. Tucker. Second, there are a few nutrients that can provide us extra protection from conditions like heart disease if we take them in doses higher than what we can get from food. Today, most respected nutritionists and experts in the field recommend loading up on fruits and vegetables and taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement to pick up any slack. Obviously, for the best protection, you should take a multi that has enough of the nutrients you need.

E-normous Benefits

If you supplement nothing else, supplement vitamin E, advises Dr. Tucker. You’ve heard by now that vitamin E is an antioxidant. But you likely have no idea just how good this free-radical-fighting nutrient really is. Even researchers have just begun to scratch the surface.

For a quick review, free radicals are simply oxygen molecules just like the ones you’re breathing in right now, only they’ve been damaged-meaning that they lost an electron-by sunlight, pollution, or even your own metabolism. To repair themselves, they steal electrons from your body’s healthy molecules, which not only damage your cells but also create more free radicals. Antioxidants stop this molecular chain of destruction by stepping in and offering their own electrons instead.

Antioxidant action may be most helpful inside your arteries. Scientists have found that it’s free-radical damage to your unhealthy low-density lipoprotein cholesterol that makes the stuff stick to your artery walls and eventually clogs them up. Vitamin E is so effective in the fight against hardening of the arteries that when British researchers gave more than 2,000 people with partially blocked coronary arteries either 400 or 800 international units (IU) of vitamin E a day for 18 months, these coronary candidates (of either dose) lowered their risk for nonfatal heart attack by 75 percent.

“The benefits of vitamin E against heart disease are pretty well established,” says Dr. Ichiro Kawachi of the Harvard School of Public Health. The Daily Value for vitamin E is only 30 IU, a standard that leading health experts consider far below what you need for disease protection. The problem is that it’s practically impossible to get higher, protective amounts of vitamin E from food alone since it’s mostly found in fatty oils. You certainly don’t want to drink the eight cups of corn oil that it would take to get 400 IU, so Dr. Kawachi recommends taking a supplement of 200 to 400 IU a day instead.

As a bonus, it may make you better in bed. Vitamin E prevents testosterone from breaking down, which keeps your libido up. And it may keep your memory sharp to boot. Though researchers have used only astronomical doses so far (a lot more than anyone should take without a doctor’s supervision), vitamin E was able to delay the progression of severe dementia in a group of 341 people with moderately severe Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study from Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Chicago.

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