Naturopathic First Aid for Summer

Burns

-lessen swelling and blistering, and relieve pain by immediately immersing the burned area in cool not cold water or by applying cloths soaked in cool water

-apply aloe vera gel topically; gel from the actual plant is best

-homeopathic Cantharis 30 CH to heal the burn quicker and relieve pain

-Traumeel or homeopathic Arnica for shock and tissue healing

Bug bites

-signs of an allergic reaction to bites include swelling around eyes and mouth, hives, severe nausea or vomiting or difficulty breathing; get medical help immediately for these reactions

-susceptibility to bug bites is related to a deficiency in B vitamins and taking a B50 complex vitamin daily while camping can help ward off bites

-homeopathic Ledum 30 CH can help with any swelling and bruising associated with the bite

Poison Ivy

-a skin reaction/rash to this plant can be very itchy and uncomfortable and may become infected depending on location and severity

-homeopathic Rhus Toxicodendron is an often helpful remedy

-Naturopathic doctors will also support the lymph system to help the body heal the rash faster

Athlete’s foot

-a fungal infection on the feet and between the toes often worse in the summer with sweaty shoes and socks; change socks regularly to help prevent

-topically tea tree oil is a natural anti-fungal; dilute with olive oil to avoid burning the skin

-people with chronic athlete’s foot need more intensive treatment for yeast in the digestive tract that is manifesting itself on the skin

Swimmer’s ear

-infection in the external ear canal due to bacteria where swimming

-support the immune system with antioxidants to treat and prevent

-natural anti-bacterial herbs like Echinacea or Goldenseal may be helpful

-half a baked onion wrapped in a tea towel and placed over the affected ear relieves pain and inflammation

Supplement spotlight - Traumeel

Traumeel is an inflammation-regulating supplement that “results in effective anti-inflammatory response.” While it can be used to treat any aches and pains or trauma to the body, it is also widely used in sports medicine, most notably to administer to sprains, strains, bruises, nerve pain, swelling, and post-surgical pain.

Traumeel is a natural medicine, with no risk of doping or testing for doping, and is therefore not included on the World Anti-Doping Agency list of banned products. It is legal for athletes to take and is used by professionals like the German Olympic team. As a homeopathic, Traumeel is at least as effective as Diclofenac, a generic drug that’s used as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, but has no known side effects.

Traumeel is available in a variety of formats, such as ointment, gel, tablets, and oral drops. The drops may also be used for anyone getting dental surgery.

Bowen and Sports

Bowenwork® is a therapy that is creating a quiet revolution in healing and that is becoming known mostly by word of mouth. As an increasing number of patients achieve relief from pain and injury they have usually had for years, they are sharing their experience and, as a result, more people are taking the chance that Bowen can help them.

Sports of any kind require that the body be balanced in order to enjoy and excel at them. Bowenwork® addresses the entire body at once and creates that balance so that the body can perform as a whole more efficiently.

This aspect of the therapy alone makes it ideal for sports enthusiasts, whether they are on a sports team or just manage to get to the gym a couple times a week. Bowenwork® has the advantage of continuing to work for the week following the session, and after a series of Bowenwork® sessions, the body seems to be able to adapt more easily to physical stress.

Many of my patients have reported that previous to their treatments, a certain activity would put them “in bed for days.” However, they have found that in a matter of hours or overnight after Bowenwork® they are back to normal after that same activity. This is because Bowenwork® trains the body to balance itself. I find this in particular for patients who have received a series of sessions and have moved on to a maintenance program of every 6-10 weeks. It takes as little as this to remind the body of its balancing capabilities once this balancing ability has been established.

There are a few areas that frequently become problems for athletes. Hamstrings, the groin area, and joints can become inflamed and sore as a result of overuse or injury. The hamstrings, for example, can be injured due to an imbalanced pelvis, which puts extra strain on these muscles.

By balancing the body, including the pelvis prior to an event, injuries to these muscles can be prevented. Any chronic problem can be addressed and prevented with regular Bowenwork®.

Athletes who constantly stress their body will require more regular Bowenwork® compared to someone who goes for a walk every day to stay healthy. The reason for this is due to the effect of training on the connective tissue. This therapy stimulates the connective tissue in muscles, ligaments, and tendons to remain healthy under stress. Healthy connective tissue means that it functions better and doesn’t go into an inflammatory response as easily because the tissue is more flexible, compliant, and just simply functions the way it was designed to.

Bowenwork® also resets the body so that any learned patterns from a previous injury are released, making reinjury in a prone area less likely to happen.

In summation, it is Bowenwork®’s ability to keep the entire body balanced and to prevent injury in problem areas where the body has established a pattern of imbalance that makes it so valuable in treating sports injuries.

Bowenwork® can give any athlete the advantage of being able to stay balanced and active under the stress of training and to remain injury-free longer. For a competitive athlete, this is an important advantage.

Janet E. Riley, RN, Certified Bowen Therapist, Advanced Procedures level I and II, Bowtech Teaching Assistant, Bowtech Academy of Australia

Summer Recipe

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

• 1 lb penne (you can use rice pasta instead if you can’t have wheat)
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 1 19oz can black beans
• 1 tomato, diced
• 16 oil-cured black olives, pitted and chopped
• 4 Tbsp parsley, minced
• ½ cup red onion, slivered
• 1 or 2 jars artichoke hearts, chopped
• Your favourite vinaigrette or dressing

Cut peppers in half lengthwise and removed seeds and pith.

Place peppers on a baking pan. Broil 4 inches from the heat, 5 minutes or until charred. Turn and cook the other side until also charred. You can do this on the bbq as well.

Allow the peppers to cool. Peel and discard the skin. Chop roasted pepper

Cook pasta, drain, and cool.

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and toss with your favourite dressing. Serve cold.

Summer Book Recommendations

We all know stress is a major factor of disease. Among other things, it causes the body to become more acidic, which facilitates and perpetuates all sorts of ailments and illness.

With this in mind, we at the Quinte Naturopathic Centre invite you to truly relax this summer. Put down that to-do list and pick up a novel. Escape to a place where time as you know it temptingly, wonderfully, ceases to exist.

Here are a few we suggest:

Janet recommends Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, which was on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year. It’s won several awards for best non-fiction book, and there are over 5 million copies now in print. Eat, Pray, Love follows Gilbert for a year in Italy, India, and Indonesia, after she leaves behind her life in the city in search of how to truly live, be, and love. (It’s also one of Steph’s favourites!)

Steph recommends two: For those who loved Shadow of the Wind, there’s Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s newest, the prequel to SoW, The Angel’s Game. An engaging novel that challenges anyone to categorize it (it’s gothic, a thriller, noir, mystery, historical, and romantic all at once), The Angel’s Game is set in Barcelona in the 1920s and ’30s and follows a young writer who is approached by a mysterious figure to write a book. The novel returns to The Cemetery of Forgotten Books - the mythical building in the heart of Barcelona’s Raval district, as well as the Sempere & Sons bookshop featured in The Shadow of the Wind.

Set against the backdrop of a writer struggling with his demons is a page-turning mystery and a love story, which takes place in the dark, narrow alleyways and creaking mansions of the mysterious heart of Barcelona.

The second novel is for those who favour light reading, and by that I mean funny, because the subject matter is actually anything but light. Set during WWII in Russia, City of Thieves by David Benioff tells the story of a deserter and a looter who are separately arrested and sent to be executed. However, they find their lives spared when they are paired together for an important mission: to find, in a limited amount of time, one dozen eggs for the colonel’s daughter’s wedding cake. What follows is their dangerous journey through war-torn and starved Russia, along which they meet girls, Russian and German soldiers, and Russian partisans, and are befriended, imprisoned, and betrayed.

The characters in this book are so real you can see them, and the book is not only tragic and horrifying but hilarious by turns that will make you shake with laughter. My favourite book of the year!

Michelle recommends The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. A well-researched historical novel that’s also been adapted for the screen, The Other Boleyn Girl is based on the 16^th-century life of Mary Boleyn, lover to the infamous King Henry VIII, who is forced to step aside for her sister Anne Boleyn as a result of her family’s machinations in order to rise in status. A rich and compelling tale of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart.