In our post-modern industrial polluted stress-filled bad-diet culture, no one’s health is simple. We are plagued by complex long-term illnesses like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, AIDS, even sinus problems… it may seem weird to you that I include sinus infections, but the root causes of sinus trouble can be quite complicated… Especially if they are long-term.

Antibiotic Overuse Problems

I hate to say it (because antibiotics are so great in some situations, and so popular overall), but antibiotics can complicate things even further – there are conditions that do not respond to them… and there are many situations in which they are not even indicated.

Physicians have over-prescribed antibiotics for years… they know it, there have been studies that show it, and as a profession they’ve moved away from that. But people still want to leave the doctor’s office with a prescription, a magic-bullet. Of course, sometimes the issue is which antibiotic is the most appropriate one. They don’t all work for everything.

Antibiotic Side Effects – When They’re Wrong

If the sinusitis hasn’t responded to antibiotics, then either the wrong ones were prescribed, or you need to try another kind of treatment.

Chinese Herbal Medicine can address the full spectrum of complaints and causes; we often treat the conditions which are not responding to conventional treatments like antibiotics.

A woman wrote me about how antibiotics weren’t solving her diarrhea problem- this can happen when the disease is cold in nature. Antibiotics are cold and bitter; these qualities help it fight the dampness and heat of bacterial infections. But they are more of the same damage when the disease is cold or deficient in nature.

Acupuncture and moxibustion (the warming of acupuncture points) can also be effective; some people respond very quickly… results vary depending upon a number of factors (the acupuncturist’s education, accuracy of diagnosis, frequency of treatment, and patient compliance with diet and lifestyle suggestions).

Cold and Deficient If the mucus is clear or white, then it is more likely cold in nature. That fits with a Spleen-system deficiency and dampness. That would fit with the pulse she felt. You would have lowered appetite, feel fatigued, have loose stool, and possibly feel cold easily.

Antibiotics wouldn’t help here, and could even make things worse.

Sinus Infection Symptoms

The classic acute sinusitis symptoms are nasal congestion, green nasal phlegm, facial/dental pain, eye pain, headache, and a cough at night. Some patients also complain of fever, feeling ill, bad breath and a sore throat. Chronic sinusitis is more difficult to diagnose. You can have the same symptoms above in a milder form. Chronic means long-term; it’s not usually thought of as chronic unless it’s been going on for 2 months or more.

Sinus Infection Causes Sinus problems can be caused by many things- you have to think about environmental and food allergies (allergic sinusitis), chronic sinus infection, and chronic colds. Without more information, it’s hard to be specific. Sinusitis often develops after colds, and can become a chronic problem. The sinuses are very small… one of our weak points, especially for people with weakened immune systems or in the presence of irritants (once again, pollution, allergens, etc.)… she probably asked about the farms and pesticides while she was thinking about the cause of your chronic sinusitis.

Mold, Fungus, and Sick Buildings

We can’t forget about mold! While some people appear to be more sensitive than others, fungus can cause fungal sinusitis. This gets into the whole ‘sick-building’ topic… Mold can grow in the walls of houses and offices, and is not always easy to detect. Decongestant Side Effects Decongestants are often prescribed. They work by drying you out. Unfortunately, they don’t just dry the mucus. Long-term use of decongestants can lead to other problems, like the dry or heat types of sinus inflammation.

This is why, in Chinese Medicine, we always balance an herb with other herbs- if we are drying the phlegm, we also moisten at the same time. Moisture helps the sinuses drain- you remember that Crocodile-Dundee-put-your-head-under-the-steaming-pot-thing? Likewise, there are Chinese herbs whose function it is to moisten and transform phlegm.

Serious Causes of Sinusitis, and Serious Solutions

For those with chronic sinusitis, tests need to be done to rule out the serious things. Sinusitis can be just a simple end-of-your-cold complication, but it can also show up as part of: nasal tumors, fungal infections, and HIV or other immunodeficiency. What about the sinusitis surgery? It works from 50-93{451cb9bdd6b9e2862e15979076b10dd5b792f4772bfb4b679a32dd47787626d3} of the time… so it can be a great help if you’re sick and tired of it, and nothing else has worked. but it’s also a super-painful process! I would see an herbalist first.

It is important to know what you’re getting yourself into when you decide to purchase any form of medicine. Whether it is produced by a giant pharmaceutical manufacturer such as Merck or Pfizer, or obtained from your local Chinese herb shop, being in the know is what is best for you.

In this day and age of the internet, lack of information is not an acceptable attitude. If you take any medicine too often or for the wrong ailment, you could be putting your health in jeopardy; however, there are some medicines that are considerably less risky.

It is a well known fact that a person should visit their doctor on a bi-yearly basis if they are taking a number of prescription medicines. The reason for this is that the normal doctor, busy as they are, does not generally take the time to review each medication you are taking at your timer of regular visit. Perhaps you are going in for treatment of the complaint of gout, for example, and your doctor treats you for this ailment at that time. But the doctor, usually distracted and in a hurry, does not review your current list of meds to determine that what he prescribes you for gout may interact with the medication that he has you on arthritis or rheumatism.

It is the patient’s responsibility to discuss these concerns with the doctor at time of visit.

Natural health medicine has been documented to have less or no side effects when compared to its chemical counterparts. That is because natural health medicine is generally made with products taken out of nature without being refined. They have generally been used for decades by different cultures, with little or no side effect.

The medicine is made out of natural ingredients that will work in conjunction with the body, whereas their refined counterparts might have an adverse affect. One must also consider too that the compounds and inert substances used to bind prescription drugs may cause an interaction in the system. At the very least, the body cannot process naturally these agents. The natural ingredients are normally plant and root extract, which have been used for centuries by countries such as China, which is known for its herbal medicines.

That is why it is evidently clear that natural health medicine is good for the body, particularly when it comes to strengthening your immune system. When you use natural health medicine, you know that you are getting the best of both worlds. You are getting help from Mother Nature as well as man through the extraction and compilation of these products. And you get the benefit of a medication that has been tried and tested sometimes for centuries.

The American culture has a bad habit of treating the symptoms, not the underlying cause. Hopefully, this will be addressed in the future, as more and more people become aware of what they are introducing into their bodies. Any attempt to improve your health should always include natural health medicines.

If you have an illness, then the effects of natural health medicine will work faster, as it will provide your body with all the vital ingredients it needs to combat the illness without seriously damaging or impairing it in the process. You feel better faster and can resume your way of life without being held down by your illness. That is indeed the best way to tackle and handle the winter cold and flu.

In addition to all of the other benefits, natural health medicine will also boost your immune system, which will make you less prone to contracting any illnesses in the future. As always, one should carefully research any medication, and make every attempt to determine if there are side effects, adverse reactions to other drugs, or complications from allergic reaction. A search of the internet will reveal over 2,660,000 websites utilizing the keyword “natural herbal remedies.” The information is out there…

This form of treatment has been made use of for a far longer period of time than most people realize. It originated many centuries ago, but it has only become properly recognized in many western societies within the last few years. This form of treatment is where herbs and plants are used to provide the body with support in order to combat many adverse states.

The adverse states can be divided into different types according to the energies that are affected by this state and different plants and herbs can be used to treat each adverse condition depending on what type of energy is affected or is causing the adverse state. Each herb and plant that is used can have a different energy and this can determine which of the herbs can be most effective when attempting to combat the adverse condition of the body.

There are four energies within the body and they are classified according to their heat, there are cold energies and hot energies as well as warm energies and cool energies. The exact symptoms of a disruption of the body’s energies can depend greatly on which is the energies has been affected. The plants that are used are typically of the opposite heat to the energy that is being disrupted or is the cause of the disruption.

There are many herbs that are used as part of a mixed selection of herbs in Chinese herbalism where there is one primary herb and other subordinate herbs that can help to provide support for the primary herb. There are many different ways in which a selection of different herbs can react to one another. It is these reactions that determine which herbs should be used in a selection together since a positive reaction between the herbs can provide the body with a range of benefits especially helping to provide support the immune system and help to rebalance the energies within your body.

Some herbs may have negative reactions when used together so herbalists need to train for many years to have sufficient knowledge of herbs so that they can be aware of what reaction will occur when using particular herbs together. This form of treatment is guided by the Chinese philosophies of health and philosophies regarding the body. This influences how problems within the body are dealt with and what manner of treatment can produce the greatest results as well as what ingredients are best to use in any given situation or condition.

According to health philosophy the body has three physical components and two non-physical components, blood, Qi and moisture are the three physical components while Spirit and essence are the two non-physical components. It is the interaction of these five components that have such a large impact on the health of the body. The selection of each herb to be used in the treatment of a particular ailment is largely influenced by which of the components in the body is affected as well as which energies within the body are effected.

There are some plants and herbs that may have a beneficial effect on the energy being affected but have a negative effect on the component being affected. Therefore all ingredients to be used in a course of Chinese herbalism must be checked to ensure that they provide beneficial effects for both the components and the energies within the body.