THE seasons are changing gear, and many people are coughing, sneezing, wheezing or their noses are running. But, mind you, not all coughs follow the ebbing of the rain season and the onset of harmattan. Some people, especially the old, may be coughing because their hearts are enlarged and, thus, weak, two weak to pump blood out of the lungs. The lungs, overfilled with blood, are irritated, and are trying to expel the irritant. This may be a sign of congestive heart failure, often misdiagnosed as a stubborn cough and treated with cough mixtures. It was the cause of the deaths at 76 of one of my uncles and an auntie. My uncle watched television till about 11p.m, retired to bed soon after, and began to cough at about 1.00am. It is possible he may have survived the cough if he went to hospital immediately. One was opposite his house. But old people do not always wish to attract attention to their health status. Perhaps he should not have taken some water to douse the cough. For this could increase the blood volume and give a fatigued heart more work to do. He did. And, as the cough worsened, he had to be walked down the stairs and across the road. He remarked on the way that his legs were becoming heavier. Obviously, not enough blood was reaching them. He didn’t return home!
Two weeks ago, I had a cold which ran my nose and gave me a tickling cough. It was a reminder to me that the rains were rounding off and the harmattan warming up. Like the back of their palms, fruit sellers know of the seasons than many of us. They know hawks flutter in the sky when the new yam flourishes in the farms. Cough tends to be widespread at this time. Among chickens, this is the critical time New Castle disease goes for their jugular. When I reared native chicken in cages for an experiment, I found that they survived New Castle and Gomboro if I gave them garlic or onion, both of which are respiratory herbs. From the women in the chicken market who may keep about a thousand birds in seemingly airless stacks of cages, I learned of the wonderful effects lime or lemon juice has on the health of these animals. In the drinking water of these birds, the women would cut lime or lemon into bits and keep them in the water pans or troughs. Mortality among these birds is low or non-existent in many cases. Dr. Lind in about 1842 had shown English people how good for health lime could be. Remember that English sailors of those days returned from long voyages with some of their teeth fallen off. Dr. Lind discovered that was because the sailors didn’t have enough fresh fruits on board. While we may think today that all fresh fruits are useful, for they are Vitamin C, it has been found that Vitamin C alone does not effectively stop gum disease or loosening of the teeth in their sockets. There are other factors, including bioflavonoid, plentiful in the pith of fresh fruits which we throw away co-opted by Mother Nature to help Vitamin C do this job. When Dr. Lind gave lime to British sailors, their nightmare ended. From then on the British government by law made British ships keep lime on board for sailors. It was from this culture that the gin and lime culture evolved. Dr. Lind and the women in the Nigerian live chicken markets may not have heard about Limolene. It is an oil found in the peel of orange and some other citrus fruits. When I find people coughing or beset with a cold, I advise that they extract this oil or cut the peel into tiny pieces and boil in a little amount of water. They are to gaggle with the solution of this oil which collects on the heated water, and then swallow it. To the surprise of many people, the cough goes soon after. If I wish to excite such people, I give them a Limolene soft gel, ask them to keep it in the mouth for one minute and then tell me what they think it is. ‘Orange’, many of them often exclaim. Thereafter, I tell them about limolene and how, apart from helping coughs and cold, it has been found to be an anti-histamine which may help some asthma attacks. Rex Adams says in his Miracle Medicine Foods that asthmatics can dry orange peel and keep it in cellophane packs kept in a refrigerator. From time to time, especially if they sense an attack is coming, asthmatics can chew these dried orange peel cuts.
A physician’s dilemma
hen we have a cough or a cold, our first reaction is to try to knock it out. I found myself in this boat about 30 years ago when, on the eve of an important spiritual event, which takes place once in a life time for many people, I suddenly developed a cold and cough. Of course, I took Vitamin C and Zinc lozenges which in Europe and America, is said to cut the duration of a cold by an average of seven days, according to Dr. Elson Haas, one-time director of Marin Clinic of Preventive Medicine and Health Education in California. Chicken soup, said to also help, was not immediately available. What I believe gave me the magic wand was garlic perle. As suggested by Rex Adams, I took two gels every four hours or so. And, by the following day, my throat was clear and my nose was free. But this was a clear case of suppression of a natural process which could backfire.
In that natural process, coughing is regarded as a part of the immune system and respiratory defence mechanism. In that process, a sudden burst of air and fluid from the respiratory system (trachea, bronchi etc) support expulsion of dust, microbes, chemicals and other toxic substances from the-air passages. But a cough can also be a warning signal of infections in the breathing system such as bronchitis, asthma, lung cancer and heart problems. This then means that the underlying cause of a cough has to be determined before a decision is taken about how to clear it. If it is a simple case of the body trying to expel pathogens (invading germs) or irritants, the diet may be supplemented with remedies which, for example, help the immune process. The common cold is caused by rhinoviruses which plant themselves on the adhesion molecules which attach human immune cells on the lining of the respiratory tract. It is a wonderful scenario. When lymphocytes, a member of the mobile immune cell family, attacks these rhinoviruses, the body produces more ‘lymphocytes’ for back up defence. This means more adhesion molecules have to be produced for this stand-by reinforcement. That means, also, that more breeding grounds for rhinoviruses have been produced. A huge war must, therefore, rage, which causes those tell tale signs of watery eyes, sneezing, wheezing and coughing. Sometimes, the body temperature goes up, so that some of the pathogens can be eliminated through the pores of the skin during sweating. Even the mucus and the phlegm are ways and means of evacuating the irritants and dead or expended immune cells. This is why it would appear no pharmaceutical drug can cure the common cold. For it tries to suppress the immune process, not to support it. Other than garlic, one remedy I know works well for the common cold by supporting the immune system is Golden Seal Root. It is a berberine containing herb. Berbering is a chemical which coats the lining of hollow tubes in the body, such as the nasal cavity and the intestine, thereby preventing adhesion by microbes. Adhesion gives microbes the opportunity to extract proteins from the body’s cells and grow their own population accordingly. Thus deprived of nutrition, these microbes become weakened and are easier to deal with by the immune soldiers. Golden Seal root may not be used longer than seven days at a time, with breaks of seven days rest in-between onslaughts, because it may dehydrate the mucus membrane. It is important to follow this therapy with high grade vitamin A supplements which support cellular hydration.
When the process is disturbed, the germs may be driven underground, someday to cause troubles such as bronchitis, bronchiestasis, emphysema or, pneumonia. We all know too well that water will always find its level. If we block its flow one way, it doesn’t immediately angrily challenge us. It will await us, someday, where we least expect to find it! Herbal medicine would rather support the immune system. For example, oregano oil or spray helps in dilating the nasal passage to enhance speedier evacuation. Clove oil dropped in hot water produces vapour which may be inhaled for this purpose.
Coltfoot tea releases serious congestion and dry cough. Garlic activates the production of more Macro-phages. These are germ-eating giant immune cells. Maitake mushroom contains a substance which kills viruses, and is effective for persistent colds. A proprietary blend known as Maitake D-Fraction is popular in cancer therapy. Maitake Gruffria goes well, as a detoxifier, with the D-fraction. Reishi Mushroom is known to prevent colds from aggravating asthma. It is rich in anti-histamines and compounds which inhibit platelet activating factor (PAF), the hormone which causes bronchial airways to constrict. Siberian Ginseng prevents cold after exposure to toxins. As an adaptogen, it enhances the body and makes it face and stand tops over challenges. Vitamin C is known to work as a scavenger for trash, including those of viruses.
In the doctors book of home remedies, researchers at mount Sinai Medical Centre, Miami Beach, are reported to have discovered that ‘a hot chicken soup either because of its aroma or its taste, appears to possess an additional substance for increasing the flow of nasal mucus’.
They add: ‘These secretions, what comes out when you blow your nose or sneeze serves a first line of defence in removing germs from your system’
I believe this is what old people try to achieve when they use snuff. I have found that one or two capsules or two capsules of cayenne pepper every day helps to improve blood and other circulation and warmth.
Congestive Heart Failure
s I said earlier, many people try to suppress stubborn cough with cough medications without realising their cough may be a sign of an underlying heart disease. There are many people who go about their daily lives with swellings in the lower limbs which refuse to respond to aspirin or warfarin or some other blood thinners which the doctors prescribed to free the congestion and relieve the heart of damaging overwork. Many of such people run kidney function tests which give their kidneys beautiful testimonials. But some doctors advise laboratory testing kits do not catch sub-clinical malaise. They detect problems only when the damage has begun to seriously manifest. The same may be true of clean bills of health given to many ailing hearts. In this scenario, some doctors opt out of medical technology and return to their gut instinct, or rather intuition, relying on the art of medicine, and not the science of medicine.
In this case, the question may be asked:
•Does the swelling disappear when the patient is walking?
•Does the swelling persist when the patients is asleep at night, on a plane surface?
•If the swelling persists in No. 2 above, can this be a kidney problem?
There are some cases that fail to fit a module. In such cases, the holistic physician begins to think not only about kidney health but about liver health as well. In the books, ‘Your body’s many cries for water and you are not sick, you are only thirsty’, Dr Batmanghelidj, now of blessed memory, says it is “criminal” to give diuretics in oedema conditions because, in his view, the body is using the eodema as a storage for water which is becoming scarce or likely to be given a current trend towards dehydration. In eodema, the regular doctor advises against sodium intake, believing elevated sodium blood level caused fluid to accumulate. Dr. Batmanghelidj says capital no. He says sodium is needed to hold water in the intestinal fluid, that is fluid which surrounds the cells, and that a shortage of sodium in the diet was causing such loss of water, as advised the body, to create water storages by retaining sodium to do the job.
Whatever the doctors are thinking or saying, it appears fairly settled that congestive heart failure is a condition in which the heart muscles are unable to pump blood fast enough to supply all the nutrient and oxygen needed by the body.
Among the symptoms are fatigue and weakness, especially on exertion, and swelling associated with fluid retention.
According to Japanese Kampo Medicine by Robert Rister:
“Fluid retention in the lungs can also cause shortness of breath since congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, and heart attack are inter-related”, all three conditions are discussed in this entry.
Congestive heart failure may be acute (sudden) or chronic (long standing). Sudden cases may be caused by myocardial infarction or heart attack. This is when enough blood does not flow into the heart through the coronary (heart) arteries. This may be caused by blockage of cholesterol, blood clots or homocysteine. Some heart attacks are silent, producing no prior symptoms. They can cause heart failure. Both may arise from coronary artery disease in which one or more of the arteries are blocked. Infections of the heart muscles can also cause acute heart failure. This condition is called cardiomyopathy. As the name suggests, Chronic congestive heart failure is usually an effect of high blood pressure or heart valve problems or previous heart attacks. Other causes suggested for this condition include diabetes, hyperthyroidism, extreme obesity. In the train also as contributing factors are chronic lung disease such as emphysema and anaemia. Sight should not be lost of arrhythmia, a slow, fast or irregular heartbeat. This condition may be mild or worrisome. A worrisome heart beat irregularity is ventricular fibrillation. In this condition, the beat is rapid, uncontrolled and ineffective and, so, the heart cannot pump blood well into the arteries. Some of the symptoms of congestive heart failure are:
•Enlarged heart and
•Fluid retention. Enlargement occurs when the heart has to work too hard to pump out blood. The blood vessels may be hard (arteriosclerosis) or blocked (atherosclerosis) or the major organs (liver, pancreas, kidneys or spleen) may be blocked and resisting blood flow.
Intially, enlargement helps the heart, but weakens it in the end, decreasing heart pumping action. To support a weak heart, the body retains sodium and fluid, to increase blood volume. In the end, the excess fluid seeps into surrounding tissue, causing oedema.
Diuretics, such as dandelion, increase urine flow, and relieves the heart of pressure. Kidney proprietary supplement, such as kidney Rescue and kidney KDY-CL clean, heal and tone the kidney. Vasodilators such as Hawthorn Berries, Garlic, Bilbery (also good for the eyes and blood sugar) enlarge blood vessels to reduce tension. Co Enzyme Q-10 energises the heart. Hawthorn increases mechanical pump action, according to many studies. Rex Adam suggests that a combination of Vitamin B1 and Garlic helps to shrink enlarged heart. Shepherd’s Purse, known for stopping bleeding, also helps to muscularise muscles, which is why it is used for the womb, a muscular organ, and should be good for the heart, another muscular organ.
Magnesium helps in arrhythmias. I have not discussed homeopathic/biochemic cell salts. Ferrum phos oxygenates and removes blockages. Magphos stops palpitations. Lion’s Man should improve nerve flow and improve nerve action in arrhythmias. Rister suggests that 200Mg of Thiamine (Vitamin B1) improves functions of the left ventricle, which pumps bloods to all parts of the body.
One of the herbs I would like to suggest for heart disorders is Hawthorn Berries of which about 300 species are available. It has been used medicinally by many cultures for many medicinal purposes for many centuries. In Europe, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the most single significant cause of untimely death. Modern research into the medicinal uses of hawthorn has, therefore, concerned its effects on the cardiovascular system, that is the heart and the blood vessels- arteries, veins and capillaries.
