AltMed in the News37: Acupuncture on the Kenyan Coast

	Alternative Medicine in the News August 2009 edition 37 published weekly

in this issue

:: Acupuncture on the Kenyan Coast

:: Influenza-1918: Homeopathy to the Rescue

:: How to Use Paraffin Therapy at Home for Drug Free Pain Relief

:: Using Borax around the Home

:: Ten Things You're Not Supposed to Know about the Swine Flu Vaccine

:: Announcement: Yoga Classes at ALF House

:: Letter Sparks Investigation of Baxter Vaccine by New Zealand Minister of Health

Acupuncture on the Kenyan Coast
Aug 2009

In August, Abha Light founder Didi met up with Megan Yarberry, an acupuncturist visiting from Hawaii. Megan has been providing trainings in Kenya & Uganda since 2005, and in May 2008 she began working with The Omari Project (TOP), a non-profit organization working on drugs and HIV/AIDS on the Kenyan coast. TOP's mission is to address drug addiction and prevent HIV transmission through rehabilitation services, public outreach and education, HIV testing, and counseling.

In May 2008 TOP staff received training in the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) protocol, a simple auricular acupuncture treatment that was originally used in rehabilitation from drug addiction, but which has now proven effective for treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and to promote general well-being.

Since the training, TOP clients can access the NADA protocol during recovery, and members of the public have also benefitted from this treatment. Staff reports that clients are much calmer after treatment sessions, and the nurse says that the need for medications to support withdrawal has been cut in half. During a recent training session with similar organizations in Kenya facilitated by the UNODC, TOP was recognized for its high retention rates (one of the best gauges of success for this type of program) and the number of clients who are able to maintain sobriety over time. "We'll need another year for further study, but acupuncture is the only tool that we have added to explain the improvements we've noted over the past year." says Shosi Mohammed, a TOP administrator.

Influenza-1918: Homeopathy to the Rescue
by Julian Winston

The New England Journal of Homeopathy
Spring/Summer 1998, Vol.7 No.1
The following is an extract of the chapter on the influenza epidemic of 1918 from Julian Winston's history of homeopathy book.

It was called "the Great White Plague." It is hard to imagine the devastation caused by the Flu Epidemic of 1918-19. People who lived through it reported that some one who was up and well in the morning could be dead by evening.

Dr. H. A. Roberts was a physician on a troop ship at the time. Another boat pulled alongside to get any spare coffins- it's mortality rate was so high. On his return to port, the commander said to Roberts, "used all your coffins?" To which Roberts, who had been treating his ship with homeopathy, replied, "Yes, and lost not one man!"

The following is an extract from an article entitled "Homeopathy In Influenza- A Chorus Of Fifty In Harmony" by W. A. Dewey, MD that appeared in the Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy in 1920.

Dean W. A. Pearson of Philadelphia collected 26,795 cases of influenza treated by homeopathic physicians with a mortality of 1.05%, while the average old school mortality is 30%.

Thirty physicians in Connecticut responded to my request for data. They reported 6,602 cases with 55 deaths, which is less than 1%. In the transport service I had 81 cases on the way over. All recovered and were landed. Every man received homeopathic treatment. One ship lost 31 on the way. H. A. Roberts, MD, Derby, Connecticut.

In a plant of 8,000 workers we had only one death. The patients were not drugged to death. Gelsemium was practically the only remedy used. We used no aspirin and no vaccines. -Frank Wieland, MD, Chicago.

I did not lose a single case of influenza; my death rate in the pneumonias was 2.1%. The salycilates, including aspirin and quinine, were almost the sole standbys of the old school and it was a common thing to hear them speaking of losing 60% of their pneumonias.-Dudley A. Williams, MD, Providence, Rhode Island.

Fifteen hundred cases were reported at the Homeopathic Medical Society of the District of Columbia with but fifteen deaths. Recoveries in the National Homeopathic Hospital were 100%.-E. F. Sappington, M. D., Philadelphia.

I have treated 1,000 cases of influenza. I have the records to show my work. I have no losses. Please give all credit to homeopathy and none to the Scotch-Irish-American! -T. A. McCann, MD, Dayton, Ohio.

One physician in a Pittsburgh hospital asked a nurse if she knew anything better than what he was doing, because he was losing many cases. "Yes, Doctor, stop aspirin and go down to a homeopathic pharmacy, and get homeopathic remedies." The Doctor replied: "But that is homeopathy." "I know it, but the homeopathic doctors for whom I have nursed have not lost a
single case." -W. F. Edmundson, MD, Pittsburgh.

There is one drug which directly or indirectly was the cause of the loss of more lives than was influenza itself. You all know that drug. It claims to be salicylic acid. Aspirin's history has been printed. Today you don't know what the sedative action of salicylic acid is. It did harm in two ways. It's indirect action came through the fact that aspirin was taken until prostration resulted and the patient developed pneumonia. -Frank L. Newton, MD, Somerville, Massachusetts
Aspirin and the other coal tar products are condemned as causing great numbers of unnecessary deaths. The omnipresent aspirin is the most pernicious drug of all. It beguiles by its quick action of relief of pain, a relief which is but meretricious. In several cases aspirin weakened the heart, depressed the vital forces, increased the mortality in mild cases and made convalescence slower. In all cases it masks the symptoms and renders immeasurably more difficult the selection of the curative remedy. Apparently aspirin bears no curative relation to any disease and it ought to be prohibited. -Guy Beckly Stearns, MD, New York

Three hundred and fifty cases and lost one, a neglected pneumonia that came to me after she had taken one hundred grains of aspirin in twenty-four hours. -Cora Smith King, MD, Washington, DC

I had a package handed to me containing 1,000 aspirin tablets, which was 994 too many. I think I gave about a half dozen. I could find no place for it. My remedies were few. I almost invariably gave Gelsemium and Bryonia. I hardly ever lost a case if I got there first, unless the patient had been sent to a drug store and bought aspirin, in which event I was likely to have a case of pneumonia on my hands. -J. P. Huff, MD, Olive Branch, Kentucky.

In reading the accounts of the epidemic it seems that most of the deaths were caused by a virulent pneumonia that was especially devastating to those who depressed their system with analgesics-the most common being aspirin.

The Physician from whom I first learned homeopathy, Raymond Seidel, MD, HMD, said that he decided to be a homeopathic doctor during the flu epidemic when he was working as a delivery boy for a homeopath in New Jersey. Raymond Seidel told me that he decided to become a homeopathic doctor when he was a ten-year old delivery boy for a local homeopath. He said, "I saw that the people who were taking aspirin were dying, about half those who were drinking a lot were dying, and those that received homeopathic remedies were living."

How to Use Paraffin Therapy at Home for Drug Free Pain Relief

by Lynn Pritchit
http://www.associatedcontent.com...
[NOTE: Paraffin mentioned here means "wax" as in the type used in making candles. It doesn't mean "liquid paraffin" that's in supermarkets or "kerosine". Wax in large quantities can be sourced directly from candle making factories]

Treating Chronic and Temporary Pain Conditions Yourself Without Drugs
Pain relief does not always need to come from prescriptions or over-the-counter drugs or homeopathic orally ingested preparations. Accidental overdoses and allergic reactions are deadly possibilities with each of those options.

Get Doctor's Approval for Paraffin (Wax) Therapy for Pain Relief
Paraffin (wax) therapy temporarily relieves pain associated with many conditions. It is often recommended by orthopedists, rheumatologists, and physical therapists to aid in pain relief and improving blood circulation in certain conditions. Paraffin therapy should only be used with approval and recommendation of a medical specialist who is familiar with the particular medical issue and patient. Some health insurance benefits may help with costs, so check coverage options before paying.

If a medical professional recommends paraffin therapy for a patient's condition, such as for certain types of arthritis, and related illnesses, sports injuries older than 36 hours, and other specific diagnoses, it is important to use paraffin therapy properly to get the full benefit.

Steps to Use Paraffin Bath
Thoroughly wash and dry the hand or foot that is to be immersed, to keep the paraffin clean as possible for re-use and less waste.

Rub a thin layer of unscented moisturizing lotion on the area, to make the paraffin easier to remove from the skin and maintain the skin's moisture during the paraffin heat therapy.
Slowly dip hand or foot into the paraffin, immersing it completely to cover the painful area.
Keep the fingers or toes as still as possible, so the paraffin can conform properly to the skin.
Slowly lift hand or foot from the paraffin, counting to 4 or 5 so the paraffin layer can set and wax stops dripping.
Continue dipping hand or foot until a thick glove of wax forms, about 5 to 8 times. The more layers are dipped the longer the heat will be maintained.
Carefully put waxed hand or foot into the plastic bag, laying bag closed around wrist or ankle.
Wrap towel around plastic bag, or put hand in a paraffin mitt, to hold the heat in.
Keep wax on for 15 to 20 minutes, or until it cools.
Remove towel (paraffin mitt) and plastic bag.
Peel off wax and return it to the paraffin container.