Health News

The sleep-wake pattern is the first clue to a diagnosis of DIMS. In addition, the length of time a disorder has persisted—a few days? years?—is a significant factor in understanding the problem. All of us suffer disturbed sleep at some time or another as a normal response to grief, illness, or a major change in our lives. A long-term sleep disruption, however, may be the result of behavioral patterns learned in childhood. This kind of conditioned response accounts for perhaps a third of all DIMS diagnoses.Like other physicians I have noticed other patterns of behavior common to many insomniacs. They frequently report that, come bedtime, they feel increasingly tense and anxious. They begin to ruminate about the state of their health, their problems at work, or their personal relationships. Thoughts of death intrude. I’ve already mentioned that common but bizarre prayer “Now I lay me down to sleep”; the scientific literature on sleep contains reports of people who have been terrorized by this innocent prayer and its not-too-concealed threat that they might die before they awaken. One sensitive parent I know of rewrote the prayer this way: “In the morning when I wake, keep me again for thy dear sake,” thus effectively shielding her children from the association between sleep and death.In large measure, insomniacs are people who lack adequate means of dealing with stress, who tend to turn their emotions inward. Laboratory studies demonstrate that these thought patterns have physiological consequences in that they stimulate the autonomic nervous system. Heart rate, muscle tension, and body temperature may increase, making onset of sleep more difficult. In the morning these individuals feel worse than on retiring: tired, unrested, irritable. They drag themselves through the day feeling tense, unhappy, not fully in control.*108\226\8*

The presence of asthma is very closely related to the serum IgE or allergic antibody level. The IgE blood test is an important blood test, which measures the amount of allergic or IgE antibody in a child’s serum or body. A small sample of blood is processed through an analyzer to detect and count the IgE count. A high IgE level indicates that the child is susceptible to allergies, and allergies play an important role in the asthma.The test is very helpful in predicting if infants or young children with asthma will ever develop asthma, hay fever, or allergies even at a future date. The IgE antibody levels tend to get elevated years before a child develops signs of asthma or hay fever. Studies have concluded that even wheeze free children with high IgE levels may have allergic or hyperresponsive airways.*50\260\8*

I have seen great improvements in patients who decided on a course of fasting, and also in some patients who used bicarbonate of soda or Epsom salts in the bath water. The use of sulphur as a major detoxifying agent, together with vitamin B6 is recommended. I also think that vitamin A is necessary, although it should not be taken indiscriminately because, in some psoriatic patients there are indications of liver involvement. The liver may be allergic to certain foods, or sometimes we just demand too much from this ever-industrious organ. It is like a well-run laboratory which never stops – it cleans 1,200 pints of blood every twenty-four hours – and it performs less effectively if there is too much vitamin A.I observed the effects of a vitamin A surplus at close hand during a period of training with Dr Vogel in Switzerland. There we often spent long days working in the hot mountain sunshine. Black or brown patches appeared on the skin and nails of some of the workers indicating that, because of the strong sunshine, too much vitamin A was being absorbed. This is a note of caution to those psoriasis sufferers who are convinced that sunray treatment improves their skin condition.Vitamin A ensures the healthy growth and repair of cells in all parts of the body, from the eyes to the intestines. It is not only an important thymus gland nutrient, but helps the entire immune system. Sufficient vitamin A is also required to maintain the defensive mucous membranes of the lungs, throat, nose and mouth so that pollutants and germs can be trapped and excreted. In a similar way, its cell-protection capabilities ensure smooth scalp and skin, our double organ of protection and secretion. Vitamin A is required for vision, as it keeps the eyes from drying out and forms part of the light-sensitive pigments of the eye. It is involved in the production of blood and the formation of bones and teeth.Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin because it is produced in the body in response to the action of sunlight on our skin. Because vitamin D is so important for the absorption of calcium and the use of phosphorus to form healthy bones and teeth, people who feel they do not get enough sunlight often choose to supplement their diet with vitamin D. Calcium and phosphorus are also vital for the health of the nervous system and normal blood-clotting. Nature’s Best combine a natural form of vitamin D with vitamin A, which helps the body utilise it to its best advantage.Although sunrays may have a healing effect on psoriasis patches, it is important that a sun filter cream is used. An excellent example is the P20 Sunfilter cream manufactured by the German company Riemann & Co. This product was tested for the Institute of Applied Skin Physiology by Karlheinz Schrader Laboratories in Holzminden, West Germany.When visiting the beach, bathing in sea water and wading through seaweed is also therapeutic. The natural minerals in seaweed, such as sodium, potassium, iron and magnesium, encourage a better balance. This can also be achieved by mud baths, hot and cold fomentations, or castor oil fomentations.Urticalcin is a homoeopathic remedy containing stinging nettle and will help to improve the skin condition of a psoriatic patient. Dabbing the affected parts with Molkosan will ease the inflammation. Usually Hepar Sulf 3x together with Rhus Tox 4x, is also helpful, and if the condition is very persistent I would recommend high potencies of Formic Acid 3x, together with graphite powder.Fortunately psoriasis is not contagious, which means that even perspiration cannot cause it to spread, although this doesn’t mean that the problem should be ignored. A raw food diet has always proved very successful and many of my patients believe that this was the decisive factor in the improvement of their condition. For the best results it is advisable to fast for a few days, and then follow this with a period when raw fruit and vegetables only are eaten. Because of the dietary link, essential fatty acids are of great importance and I would strongly recommend that three or four capsules of evening primrose oil are taken every night before going to bed.You may be dazzled with all the treatment options open to you. I appreciate that it may not be easy to find the right treatment, but you will agree that the reward of a clear skin would be more than worth the effort. I remember a young nurse who was unable to accept her skin condition and refused to give up, going from one practitioner to another in her search for a cure. I suggested a programme that included dietary advice, vitamin supplements, evening primrose oil, herbal teas, and a few homoeopathic remedies, and asked her if she was prepared to follow my advice. Although she was initially sceptical, she agreed to follow my recommendations and was eventually rewarded with success. She was particularly pleased to reflect that her recovery was largely the result of her own perseverance: we may be dealing with a very stubborn disease, but it is not incurable.For the last time I would remind you that skin diseases are an outward symptom of what is going on inside the body. Having read this book, you now realise that the causes of skin diseases may differ greatly, but an answer can always be found, if only we do not give up hope and continue to search for a solution. Whether the treatment is orthodox or complementary, bear in mind Calvin Coolidge’s advice, ‘Persistance and determination alone are potent factors’.Worldwide it is thought that there are about eighteen million people who suffer from psoriasis, which is more than one in fifty. From experience I can promise you that all forms of psoriasis will improve when a well-balanced diet and herbal or homoeopathic remedies are used. Psoriasis annularis, for example, requires a different approach thanPsoriasis pulmaris. The latter usually affects the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, and requires mainly external treatment. Psoriasis diffusa manifests itself in large lesions, whereas the lesions in Psoriasis punctate consist of minute papillae. Psoriasis universalis is possibly the most common form of this disease and produces lesions all over the body.Sometimes, for a very persistent psoriatic condition, it may be necessary to apply acupuncture treatment. Such treatment must encompass the acupuncture law of the five elements, in which case it will result in an adrenal cortoid action or affect the thyroid and the endocrines. Acupuncture can be of tremendous value in certain cases of psoriasis, as can biomagnetic treatment. Copper needles should be used on the large patches and treatment should take place at regular intervals. Even I am sometimes still surprised when I see how quickly scabs and scales disappear after acupuncture treatment.Hopefully I have by now managed to convince the psoriasis patient that the problem is not hopeless and that there are endless treatment combinations. Have faith in your practitioner, co-operate and the desired results will come. At heart I will always remain an old-fashioned naturopath and, as such, I remind you of the saying that ‘Beauty comes from within’; cherish your inner health and a beautiful skin will be the result.*43\147\2*