Your Health Detective

A Doctor’s Recent Experience with Ocular Migraines (Eye Migraines)

As par for the course my life takes, I’ve often had to be the recipient of a symptom or condition to truly understand its causes, effects and solutions – providing me with a deeper understanding of what my patient’s experience. Unfortunately, this investigative report came about because I recently experienced a very troubling visual disturbance and dull headache over one eye and immediately panicked thinking it was a detached retina again – one of the most debilitating conditions I’ve been through!

I was consulting with a patient when suddenly I began to see light flashes as if looking through shattered glass. I had a dull headache over my right eye that morning but discounted it as having been on the computer too many hours the day before. As the symptoms worsened, I called my eye doctor and rushed to her office, fearing the worse. Upon examination, she assured me I had all the symptoms of an ocular migraine; to which I responded, “What in the heck is that?” That said, most any other diagnosis was welcome other than the dreaded detached retina with its harrowing recovery...click to continue reading...

Be ProActive about Spring Allergies

  It's almost spring and many of you  already called the Health Matters Store to order your homeopathic remedy for pollen and weeds...if you haven't, you'll soon wish you had. Everytime the U.S. goes through a winter that is unusually wet, either by rain or heavy snow, pollen counts are extremely high and cause serious symptoms. 

Before you run out and buy an over-the-counter antihistamine or get a prescription from your doctor for a steroid, consider homeopathics. Homepathic remedies are prescribed by symptoms rather than conditions;  each allergic response is indivdualized and one medication or remedy doesn't fit everyone in every part of the world. For instance, the allergens in north Idaho, where I'm based, are very different than those in Arizona, South Carolina or upper state New York...click to continue reading...

New Year Resolutions MUST be Life-style Resolutions…Part 2 of 2

 

The following are what I found are simple easy-to-implement changes to create a healthy, non-toxic environment, naturally:

Your Environment…

› Avoid chemical cleaning products in favor of natural cleaning ones.  Baking soda, vinegar, or organic orange oil can replace almost any chemical cleaner. Additionally, consider using anti-bac microfiber cloths to clean all surfaces – they’re easy to clean by tossing into the laundry and literally do not create an environment for bacteria to harbor. Switch from sponges to anti-bac microfiber cloths for cleaning – most sponges have been treated with a chemical called Triclosan, which is toxic to the skin and immune system...click to continue reading...

Spice-up Your Health, Naturally

 

If you’re a cook and love food like I do, you’ll appreciate this report – I have always cooked with generous amounts of herbs and spices. Being raised by my paternal grandmother, she always included herbs and spices in her culinary delights and everyone was in disbelief how she could simply “throw some ingredients together” at the drop of a hat and make them a gastronomical delight…ah…her secret weapon was all those aromatic herbs and spices.

More recently, studies show what grandma knew long long ago. The health benefits of many herbs and spices have now been validated according to Professor of Medicine and Director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, David Heber, M.D., Ph.D. The most researched herbs include, but are not limited to: cinnamon, chili peppers, turmeric, garlic, ginger, oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary. For the purposes of this report, I will be sharing the health secrets of only three: cinnamon, turmeric and ginger...click to continue reading...

Epidemic Prescription Drug Abuse and Safe Options, Naturally…Part 2 of 3

Continuing my reporting regarding prescription drug abuse and natural safe nutraceuticals, the list goes on…

Many of you asked for me to explain the various uses of prescription medications for pain, inflammation and muscle-relaxing abilities. The following list isn’t complete but should provide you with information for those drugs most commonly prescribed...Click to continue reading...

Headaches: First-hand Clues to Second-hand Reactions

Headache Facts:

–     Headaches are so common Americans dish out more than $1.5 billion annually to get relief – especially from migraines.

–     More than 30.5 million Americans suffer from migraines –women being affected three times more than men.

–     Conventional medicine focuses on symptom-care, not causes.

–    Most migraines seem to have a food-based reaction relating to wheat, dairy, sugar, artificial preservatives or chemicals.

Headaches signal the body something is wrong!...click to continue reading...