Earth Clinic

With the economic downturn we're going through, I think many hundreds of thousands of folks will lose their health insurance coverage. If/when that happens, what will you do for medical care? The time to think about this is now, before it happens. And even if you have health insurance coverage, do you constantly want to run to the doctor for prescriptions? You might want to read up on the problems with modern drugs, the side effects, which ones have been withdrawn by the FDA, etc. If you are really brave, you might want to read this article: Death by Medicine. Only for the very brave, however. It's scary!

Or you might want to read this article by Bill Sardi. When you're done with that, read some of the many articles in Bill Sardi's archive at the Lew Rockwell site--the link for Bill's archive is at the end of the article. He writes on other topics, but most often on medical matters. Definitely read his enlightening article on the simple garlic clove. Written as a tongue-in-cheek semi-military metaphor, it is a long exploration on the benefits of eating garlic.

Even if you are fully content with modern American health care practices, you might want to look into some very simple and effective home remedies. Why spend a fortune for doctors visits and prescriptions when you don't have to? There's other and better uses for that money. And all it takes will a little time and research effort on your part.

I believe I mentioned this marvelous website many blog entries ago, but I wanted to emphasize it more. Earth Clinic is a fascinating webpage. These folks have been collecting home remedies from around the world since 1999. They collect the stories from anyone who writes in, and so have developed a large and continually updated database of various remedies used by many people the world over.

Earth Clinic is well-organized; it is divided into sections as follows: Remedies, Ailments, Supplements, Pets, Mind & Body, and Latest Posts. There's an area where you can send in your story or remedy for an ailment--see the Give Feedback button at the top of the page.

You won't believe some of the folk medicine cures recommended by readers of Earth Clinic. For the most part, the items you will need for the remedies are cheap, available at the local supermarket, and are probably in your kitchen already. Some of these remedies are very well-known--apple cider vinegar, for example, or clove oil for toothache, while some are unheard of outside sites like Earth Clinic. I found the section on survival remedies to be very interesting!

People also write in with feedback when a remedy doesn't work for them, or when they have a warning to add. For example, taking too much blackstrap molasses can be a problem for various reasons. Not all the comments are positive--and the negatives are given right up front with the positives. Not every remedy will work for every person, in other words. You may have to try different remedies to find the one that will work with your body.

Here's a sample post from a section called "Recent Notables."

STAPH INFECTION AND TURMERIC
12/04/2008: Mel from Miami, Florida writes: "Wow, where do I begin? I'm in my mid twenties with great health. I generally eat wholesome foods, don't take legal or illegal drugs, and might get a cold once every couple of years but that's it. Here's my Staph Infection Nightmare Story.

I decided to travel abroad for a year as the economy was already spiriling downward at the end of 2007 and I had some money saved up. During this journey, I spent a couple of months in Cuba at which time, most likely due to poor nutrition and hygiene in the country, acquired my first Staph Infection which I initially thought was a spider bite. The reason I believed it to be a spider bite is that my cousin came back to The States from the Dominican Republic with a bunch of spider bites that looked almost exactly the same as my Staph Infection. I began to take some left over Amoxicillin prescribed from the removal of my wisdom teeth that I was traveling with. The amount I had was not enough to completely attack the virus so it came back stronger but this time on my neck. Here's a picture.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2223/2282232618_767969b71d_b.jpg

The pain was excrutiating and I literally felt like I was going to die. My neck throbbed with every heartbeat and gave me a horrible constant piercing headache. I never get sick and this put me down for almost a week with soarness throughout my body. I hate taking meds but broke down and went back on the Amoxicillin. After a few days it started to go away finally. A few weeks later I got a horrible ear infection in my right ear that eventually shifted to my left ear and then apparently came out of my middle finger as a huge boil. My finger was literally three times as thick as normal. Again Amoxicillin was taken only to have dozens of more small boils continously appear throughout the rest of my trip.

A third large infection in my nose began to appear in Colombia two days before my trip was scheduled to end. When I returned to The States the infection had grown enough that my upper lip was ridicolously inflated and my family was really worried about me. Again, the throbbing pain was excrutiating enough that I felt like I was going to die. My entire body was sore and I had this constant fierce headache. I was seriously considering flying out of the country again for medical treatment as I don't have insurance at the moment. One night I stayed up not being able to fall asleep because of the pain and started surfing the web on my bed with my mobile. I came across the typical 'western medicine' websites and read people's depressing comments about how they have suffered with MRSA for years and have no hope in site. It really got me down. I googled the same string as before but this time adding 'natural cure' to the end and came across Earth Clinic. There are no 24 hour supermarkets in my area so first thing the next morning I went out, bought some Turmeric, and literally poured some in my mouth chasing it with some juice I had also bought. Within four hours my lip started to go back to a normal state enough so that my cousin noticed and asked what I did. I couldn't believe how quickly this worked without having to take Amoxicillin. It actually reacted faster than the Amoxicillin did with previous infections. I hate taking Amoxicillin because after five days on it I feel horrible and of course theirs the toxicity factor of continuously administering it.

Looking back a lot of things make sense now that I researched the disease and apparently a lot of it has to do with an individuals immune system. I first got the infection in Cuba where basic nutritious things like milk and meat can be hard to come by and expensive. After a few days of heavy drinking I noticed it was more likely for the boils to appear or if already midly present they would intensify. The last few days in Cuba I partied pretty hard with friends while the neck infection was in a mild state. By the time I got to Costa Rica it was huge. Also on the last few days of my trip, of course, I had to go out with a bang and partied non stop which probably caused the most recent one. As soon as I got back family and friends that haven't seen me in a year wanted to catch up so the partying didn't end in Colombia. Another observation was that during my journey through Brazil I fell in love, not only with Brazilian women, but also with their smoothies and drank a couple a day. Looking back, I didn't get any boils while in Brazil though I partied hard there as well. In conclusion Turmeric worked amazingly, it might have prevented me from getting boils, and heavy drinking for a few nights in a row would cause boils to either appear or, if already present, intensified the infection. I thank Earth Clinic so much for this great information and God for always having an answer within nature so as not to be exploited by western medicine."

Keep in mind, however, that the good folks at Earth Clinic merely collect this information from readers. They do NOT offer medical advice, and always recommend that you consult with your health care provider. Their standard disclaimer is located at the bottom of each page. Just FYI.

Should you find that you have lost your health insurance, keep Earth Clinic in mind. There's hundreds of folk remedies offered for hundreds of ailments. Whatever is bothering you might be listed, and you can read up on what other people have been doing for the same problem. You might find it useful and try some of the simple remedies. You might even get adventurous and try some of the odder treatments. One thing you will note over and over again: folks that have a certain problem, have spent fortunes on doctor visits or trips to the ER for treatments that ultimately didn't work, and how happy they are when they try a simple home remedy and find that IT WORKS. These stories, in this essential form, are repeated constantly at Earth Clinic. There's got to be something going on here, don't you think?

I have tried some of the remedies I found at Earth Clinic. Right now I'm treating my cats' ear mites with a remedy I found in the pet section--yellow dock root extract in water for the mites. The cats hate it when I put the drops in their ears, but they are getting better!

I learned a long time ago not to trust the medical system fully, and so I have a strong opinion on this topic. And yet I also realize that to each their own--do whatever you are most comfortable with and works for you. But try to keep an open mind: sometimes it is the simplest things that work the best. Best of all, these remedies are cheap, easy to get your hands on them, and effective. If one remedy doesn't work, there's usually multiple remedies for any particular problem and you can simply pick another one to try.

Here's another sample post to EC:

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR FOR ARTHRITIS
11/11/2008: Jack from Sheffield, United Kingdom writes: "Hi to all those in the UK who are thinking of using ACV, it is absolutely amazeing! I am a 60 yr old RN and have had severe pain in my hips and lower back for 3 years, medics said it is because Im on my feet all day on the wards and gave me NSAIDs which were not effective and I would wake up in pain every morning and it was becoming so restrictive I'd even contemplated a double hip replacement. I then read about ACV on this site and gave it a go,WOW!! within 48 hours all the burning in my hips had gone! I could not believe it,even my wife noticed how fluently I was moving again, I use 2 tablespoons with honey twice a day, its even more effective with 72.5mgs Aspirin with my night time dose, Aspirin is a known anti inflammatory, I really cannot thank this site enough.As a person who has worked in the health profession for thirty years and put my complete trust in its remedy,s it is a real eye opener and has definately changed my opinions, Good luck everyone.

Give Earth Clinic a whirl when you have the time. It makes very interesting reading, at the very least, and you may find a solution to a physical problem that has been bothering you for a long time. Good luck, and let me know what you think.
Onwards,
HM