As spring rolls around, another season change with its associated coughs and colds has started. I am getting alot of requests for antibiotics to "get rid of this infection fast". The concept of infection has to be explained. The majority of infections are the bodies usual defensed getting over worked and consquently allowing the build up of bad bacteria in our gut, respiratory tract, throats or sinuses. Soon with summer we will see invasion into our skin of bacteria, allergic rash, sun damage and the dreaded staph (MRSA). Its all around us and hard to avoid but the human genome has been battered by small pox, rubella, HIV, bird flu, swine flu and still surviving. We have a very intelligent built in mechanism that defeats and keeps at bay many diseases....that is unless we mistreat our bodies.
Here is the rub. Most of us can "push the envelope" with little sleep, limited attention for nutrition, limited group interaction and essentially the absence of spirituality. Since the 70's, the American culture has improved exercise with the intro of running, then in the 80's cardio, in the 90's more running (triathalons and marathons), in the millenium yoga. The idea of nutrition is also blossoming into an exact science of knowing details of carbohydrate breakdown, hormone influence and food properties with Pritikin, Atkin, Southbeach, Weight watcher, Jenny Craig, Paleolithic, Glycemic Index, Ph, Blood type.......just look at the diet book section of your local book store! But guess what, the obesity rate in the US is at its highest with many states reporting 1 in 3 adults. Its not just funny to look at big guts....these people develop diabetes and heart disease to be treated by medicine and doctor visits that are paid for you your taxes. Yes, the taxes that come out of your paycheck, that you will probably be paying for in the next week.
So the next time you see someone with a weight problem indulging in bad behavior by eating without regret, think, you are paying for that. This is not to point the finger but it is to bring to the forefront, wellness is all of our responsibilities.
How does this relate to a common cold? I believe if we are eating healthy and hydrated, taking our multivitamin supplements, getting good sleep, all of us should be able to "shake" the symtoms of a cold with time. Most of us dont want to wait and demand a short cut, like antibiotics to prevent the spread to the little ones or with the kids already symptomatic to get them back in shool fast so as to not have to stay home from work and babysit, or for the big kids (men) to not have to miss work by just "resting at home and wasting time". Problem is the antibiotics just kill off an amount of bacteria, good and bad. You may decrease the amount of colonies of strept or staph or ecoli but if the immune system, the respiratory system, the neurologic system and digestive system (that happens to depend on having a large amount of good bacteria) are not pampered and nourished and rested, you will only feel better temporarily and another problem will surface in about 2-4 weeks. Body aches, poor sleep, achey joints and muscles, allergies, rash, heartburn, loose or constipated stools........and then another trip to docs office for more meds (with more side effects). I will use meds if I have to but my patients get a burst information on what to eat for the next 10 days, increase fluids, cut down exercise, take herbal supplements, stay home from work or just avoid contact with the baby. I highly suggest this even before using antibiotics and usually it works, just have to have knowledge of how long to wait.
My kids are now getting better with their symptoms and I had to tie my prescribing hands together to not write an antibiotic for them. Some collegues would say "you just waited long enough and they would have been better anyway". And naysayers can think that, I try to remove myself from the judgement of others and know in my heart this is the right way so I practice what I feel is true. In the end, I dont get into the cycle of treating everything with a prescription and listen to what the body is saying it needs. Andy Weil's words always reverberate with me in making decisions for others......."how would nature do it?" I dont think unhealthy, stressed obese animals survive in the wild too long.
