In my search for answers to use alternative medicine in place of modern drugs and pharmacy I ran across the story of colorful naturopath Henry Lindlair (1862-1924). As a young man Lindlair accumulated a fortune. Although rich he was sick at 35. Diagnosed with diabetes and given just a few months to live he changed his lifestyle to nature cure. Ten years later he owned a successful drug free nature cure clinic in Chicago. Over the next 20 years became the leading scientific naturopath in America.

Lindlair’s story is common in the annals of nature cure. His cure was not found in drugs, but located in nature. His first touch was reading Louis Kuhne’s The New Science of Healing which introduced him to the concept that disease is caused by violating nature’s laws. After applying the Kuhns suggestion he eventually became cured of diabetes. The experience gave him the drive to embark on a lifelong journey into natural cures.

Before that Lindlair had believed that life, death, and disease were largely a matter of being in the wrong place and disease was caught by chance. He felt betrayed by a medical community that should have explained that as simple a thing as diet and that he was cured by what medical doctors called a “Quack.”

Lindlair believed that if he became a medical doctor he could correct the wrong thinking conveyed by the medical profession. He learned osteopathy and nutrition, then later received his medical license and started his Chicago practice. He consistently railed against the rich American diet and felt good blood did not need large quantities of fats, proteins, meats, and dairy products. He felt that vegetable salts were taxed with heavy foods that nutritional deficiencies would occur. He never became a fanatic about food but was careful about quantity, making vegetables the biggest portions on his plate.

Four core solutions were used in his sanatorium
o Rest and Relaxation
o Water, air, light, electricity
o Hydrotherapy of all sorts, cold, warm, hot
o Controlled diet

Besides those he used homeopathy and occasional herbs. Lindlair was an accomplished naturopath whose light went out too early when he paid no attention to himself. An infection in his toe led to blood poisoning killed him.

More independent physicians are partnering with their local hospitals to deliver efficient care to patients. These doctors and hospitals are employing a range of new information sharing technologies in order to facilitate access to patient information.

Without the aid of information sharing technology, hospitals and doctors often need to contact one another to ensure they have all the necessary information to prescribe treatment. This can lead to delays in treatment due to the waiting time for the transfer of patient information.

Information sharing networks eliminate this downtime by allowing physicians in private practice and those in community hospitals to access all records pertaining to a specific patient instantly.

This also diminishes the risk of valuable information being forgotten or omitted. Patient allergies to medications and previous treatment information are particularly relevant to physicians when trying to prescribe treatment. With new information sharing systems, doctors have a more reliable source to turn to for these types of information.

Integrated technology systems also facilitate physician workflow efficiency. Care providers can electronically submit laboratory and radiology orders to be viewed instantly by physicians either at their practices or at the community hospital.

York Hospital in Maine and San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital in California are just a few of the hospitals that have found the use of information sharing technology helpful, enabling them to offer safer, more efficient care to their patients. These programs generally work with the hospital’s existing electronic infrastructure and are therefore easy to implement and use.

The ready sharing of information can also help to strengthen bonds among medical professionals. New technologies are reducing the barriers to information between physician practices and hospitals and creating a larger sense of community among those involved with patient care.

Planning a medical tour is not everyone’s cup of tea, because hey, it isn’t a recreational holiday. You might miss out on a lot of aspects when making a health travel to another country, and will be unable to do anything about it while in midst of your treatment.

To reduce this burden off your head, there are numerous travel consultants who can organize a travel plan for you, but not many general travel consultants will understand the requirements and arrangements of a medical tour.

Read on to find out why you should hire a Global Heath Care Consultant for your medical travel abroad!

Expertise and Experience

The global health care consultant has knowledge about health and medical tourism, and has expertise in planning it, because your consultant is aware of the necessities and facilities that need to be arranged, and knows exactly where to go to arrange for what you will need.

Language Considerations

When you go to a country, and do not know the language, it becomes very difficult to convey your needs to the person standing in front of you. And a miscommunication may lead to problems.

A health travel consultant will arrange for the facilities and needs on your behalf, and put you in places where people will understand your language and you will be able to communicate freely and clearly.

Cost Saving

A health travel is no doubt, a costly affair. However, avoid the unnecessary costs by hiring a global health care consultant. With the right resources at hand, and with the ability to extract the same services at a lower rate, your global health care consultant will make health travel a lot cheaper.

Find the best hospitals

Trust your health care consultant to find the best-in-class hospitals to deliver the treatment you are seeking. Your agent will find the best suitable country and hospital, to make sure that your treatment doesn’t lack quality.

Save Time

Since the travel agent is an expert at fixing things according to your needs, he can fix for everything you’ll need in a jiffy. Thus, you’ll end up saving a lot of time, and can have a peaceful trip.

Your global health care consultant will be one of the best friends you make, because he will make your medical trip stress free and smooth.

To know more about them, visit our website. Feel free to leave your comments, opinions and suggestions.

Now-a-days people are facing various health problems due to the inappropriate health care taken in their hectic and busy life. This calls for a need to provide appropriate healthcare for everyone. An average American is not able to afford the skyrocketing hospital charges and the amount spent on health care is much higher than any other expenses.

Studies reveal that the expenditure on health care in 2002 reached to a whopping $1.6 trillion. This doesn’t mean that people have a lot of money to spend on health care but this gives a picture of the percentage of amount being spent from their income towards the medical expenses. In general, one can say that ‘medical bills just keep eating people’s money away’. This condition would really hurt the people’s mind-set which might result in dire consequences.

The only solution for this situation is to make health care affordable. Many companies voluntarily are working to solve this issue in their own ways. One such company which is majorly focusing on providing affordable health care is Ameriplan. As a part of this initiative, Ameriplan has started discount plans which help every individual save up to 80% of the medical expenses. Ameriplan discount plans provide services such as dental care, vision care, and chiropractic care and prescription drugs at a lowest cost ranging from $19.95 a month that covers whole family. Many more benefits are said to be provided by Ameriplan which aim at reducing the costs incurred towards health care. One thing to be remembered is that Ameriplan discount plans are not insurance, in fact they are much more than insurance.

Both the cold and the flu are respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different viruses. Typically, the cold is milder than the flu and generally doesn’t result in serious health problems.

Sometimes it may be difficult to tell the difference between the two, but according the National Institutes of Health there are some obvious differences in symptoms.

Symptoms the cold and flu may have in common:

General aches & pains – colds sometimes have these, but they are common and often severe with the flu

Fatigue & weakness – colds are sometimes associated with this, but it usually occurs with the flu and can last up to 2-3 weeks

Stuffy nose & sneezing – common with colds and sometimes occurs with the flu

Sore throat – common with colds and sometimes occurs with the flu

Chest discomfort & cough – mild to moderate with a hack for colds, but can be more severe with the flu

Symptoms that are not shared by colds and flu’s:

Fevers – rare in colds, while usually occur with the flu (100°F-102°F, occasionally higher in younger children)

Headache – rare in colds, but common with the flu

Extreme Exhaustion – never occurs with colds, but it usually occurs with the flu, especially at the beginning of the illness

Complications of the cold vs. the flu:

The Cold – sinus congestion, middle ear infection, and asthma

The Flu – Bronchitis, pneumonia, and can be life threatening

If you think your child is suffering from the flu be sure to contact your child’s pediatrician right away.

If you’re still not sure, play it safe and talk to your child’s pediatrician.

This article was brought to you by ReliaDose® – The Easy & Accurate Way to Give Medicine to Your Baby.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and National Institutes of Allergy & Infectious Diseases – September 2005.

Maintaining a good health needs a highly relaxed mind. Stress can put your normal life into a complex and dangerous situation which can transform into fatigue and compounds in developing problems that can ruin your life to a great extent. This can put your life into great trouble.

One of the reasons, where an individual can undergo stress is the escalating healthcare costs that are no more accessible to an average individual. This increase in costs makes proper healthcare inaccessible to most of the people which would develop into a major concern in the near future. This rise in costs is because of many cost drivers such as prescription, expenses of modern technologies, treatments and skyrocketing hospital charges.

In order to effectively control costs, quality healthcare must be provided to all the people by the government at an affordable price but due to many sociopolitical reasons this hasn’t been implemented. Many organizations and individuals also have put in a lot of effort to reduce the costs but to their utter dismay this wasn’t possible for them. Some organizations were able to survive against all the odds in providing affordable healthcare to the public. These organizations, with an objective and vision to provide affordable healthcare access to the citizens of America, have started offering huge discounts on the medical care expenses. This includes providing dental, vision, prescription drugs, and chiropractic care for the well-being of the people. By giving provide huge discounts on the medical bills, companies have restructured the whole healthcare industry to a great extent. Such a situation created has provided ultimate solution in critical situations.

Like so many others we now and then experience cold sores. Sometimes just a small outburst and other times an outburst that really hurts a lot. Even worse is when it appears in your mouth, on the hard palates. If it appears in your mouth, try to cool it down with ice cubes or ice cream!

Cold sores – also called fever blisters – are caused by the Herpes simplex virus. It`s a viral infection of the skin and are contagious. They can appear once or return again and again.

Red blisters appear on your lip.Once you have had an episode of cold sores, the virus lies dormant in the nerve cells in your skin. Fever, menstruation, stress and exposure to the sun may trigger a recurrence.

Signs and symptoms

* small, painful, fluid filled blisters

* pain or tingling often precedes the blisters by one or two days

* usual duration of seven to ten days

* a yellow crust forms

Cold sores are quite common and though you can`t prevent them, you can take some steps to limit the duration of an occurrence.
Shared eating utensils, chap sticks, razors and towels may spread this infection.

* use creams rich on myrrh and thyme

* take a pain reliever if needed

* avoid picking

A hernia is a very painful disease and if it goes into the last stage, it has to be operated. There are many patients who prefer to go for surgery instead of continuing with the medication because it helps cure fast.

However, there is a different alternative to surgeries and it is becoming more and more popular among hernia patients. Technology has advanced in every possible way in the health section and doctors have come up with amazing solutions to make sure that you can get hernia treatment without surgery. This treatment involves controlling your diet plan, starting an exercise program and also wearing garments that would help heal a hernia. In fact, there are similar cures for piles treatment that doctors have come up with up in the recent time. But, what is it that will help you cure a hernia without having to go for the traumatic surgery? Let’s find out.

A systematic diet

One of the most important parts of treating a hernia without surgery is to have a good diet plan. Just like you have a diet chart when you want to lose weight, similarly there is a specific diet plan when you have hernia. However, it is important that you follow the diet religiously in order to quicken the process of recovery. Foods that are rich in fiber would be ideal for this situation. In addition to fiber rich foods, you should also include lots and lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. Since hernia patients lack minerals and vitamins in their body, it is essential that you eat food that are rich in vitamins and minerals and also zinc. All these will combine together to make collagen so that your skin gets the right amount of protein. A primary concern for hernia patients is their weak collagen content due to which the hernia occurs in the first place.

People exercise for various reasons, but for those who have a hernia, there are also exercises that helps to cure a hernia and prevent patients from undergoing a surgery. The exercises meant for hernia patients are mainly muscle exercises because the abdominal muscles have to be strained in order to cure the hernia. The main target area would be the muscles that lie just below the 6 pack. As those muscles are strained higher towards your stomach, the chances of curing your hernia increases. The most ideal exercise in this case would be Pilates as they directly deal with the abdominal muscles and will not only cure a hernia, but will also prevent it from growing any further.

Change in attire

That is the reason why many companies have come up with abdominal belts and pants that can keep your abdominal muscles tight. This in turn will help in ensuring that the hernia is prevented from getting worse.

Dealing with lower back pain can be tough for some patients. At times, the pain is hard to manage, and painkillers might not be the right solution. Depending on the facts of the case, doctors may use epidural steroid injections. In this post, we will discuss some of the aspects of such injections in detail.

What’s an epidural steroid injection?

The use of injections for low back pain is limited to certain cases, but this is certainly one of the many ways to treat chronic pain. An epidural steroid injection essentially contains an anesthetic drug for pain relief with a corticosteroid. For the uninitiated, corticosteroid is a form of steroids known to have anti-inflammatory benefits. The injection helps in reducing the pressure from the nerves and surrounding areas and muscles, which can offer considerable respite, while the painkiller ensures immediate relief. Corticosteroids may work independently for pain relief, but since most patients want immediate effects, an anesthetic medicine is used.

Knowing the procedure

Please note that you cannot ask your doctor for epidural steroid injections. Unless the patient has stopped responding to nonsurgical treatments, doctors don’t try ESIs. In most cases, certain imaging tests are done, so as to find the right spot where the nerve roots at pressed or have a problem. In some cases, a x-ray machine may be used by the doctor, just to find the right point where the needle must be placed.

The need for epidural steroid injections

Typically, epidural steroid injections are used as the last resort to offer pain relief, especially in cases of extreme pain, often related to a condition known as “lumbar spinal stenosis”. This condition mainly starts from the lower spine and often spreads to the legs. There is limited information on how these injections may work in the long run, but like most steroid injections, this too offers relief for the next few weeks. It is always best to talk to your doctor, who can suggest more details in this regard. However, in cases of lumbar spinal stenosis, other treatments are tried and used as well.

What are the side effects?

There can be a few side effects with ESIs, but that varies from case to case. In most cases, the focus is on reducing the pain, so the minimal adverse effects are ignored. However, if you have issues with breathing or have swelling on your facial area, do contact your doctor immediately. There can be some pain at the injection site, but if that doesn’t subside in the next couple of days, check with your doctor. For immediate swelling at the injection site, you can use ice, which will also offer some relief from the associated pain.

Pain management clinics have a lot of information on epidural steroid injections. If you need to know more about lumbar spinal stenosis, you should consult a doctor at the earliest. With early intervention, other treatments may work more effectively for you, but it also depends on how you respond to the standard treatment plans.