Stopping Pneumonia

High quality probiotics do help many health issues, preventing secondary infection related to antibiotic use and ploy-antibiotic use of fluroquinolones, by maintaining health gut bacteria necessary for immune function. Other methods must be relied on when overuse of acid blockers reduces gastric HCl (hydrochloric acid). The acid acts to fight bacteria and help in protein digestion to give you the necessary nutrition to support your body while you're fighting off infection.

Another excellent way to fight pneumonia is the use of vitamin A. This can be by oral administration or in IVs for critically ill persons. The dose is very high for a short duration, either three days or seven days, with dose adjustment based on time used.

Vitamin A acts to protect the mucous membrane lining of the respiratory tract.

Probiotics 'may stop pneumonia'
Probiotics could be used to protect critically ill patients from developing pneumonia, according to scientists.

The friendly bacteria can block the colonisation by dangerous bugs of the airways of ventilated patients, the Swedish study concluded.

The probiotic solution performed just as well as normal antiseptics used to keep pneumonia-causing bacteria at bay, the journal Critical Care reported.

Being more natural it could pose fewer side effects, the authors said.

Friendly bugs

The probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus plantarum 299 is normally present in saliva and is also commonly found in fermented products like pickles and sauerkraut.

Although rare, some patients are allergic to the antiseptics normally used to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia, namely chlorhexidine.

There is also a very small risk of the pneumonia-causing bacteria developing chlorhexidine resistance.

Pneumonia is a common complication in patients on breathing machines and occurs when harmful bacteria from the mouth, throat or breathing tube are inhaled into the lungs.

This is a plausible idea. But we need much larger trials that focus on clinical outcomes to prove it is an effective and affordable treatment
Bob Marsterton of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

Swabbing the mouth with chlorhexidine is widely recommended to reduce the risk ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients requiring mechanical ventilation.

Bengt Klarin and colleagues at the University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, compared the probiotic treatment with chlorhexidine in 50 critically ill patients.

Microbiological testing revealed both treatments appeared to be equally effective at preventing potentially harmful bacteria from flourishing in the mouth and throat.

In addition, a probiotic that adheres to mouth lining will be able to work around the clock, unlike antiseptics which wear off after a few hours, say the authors.

The scientists said bigger studies were now needed to investigate the feasibility of using probiotics in this setting.

Bob Marsterton, chair of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy's working party on hospital acquired pneumonia, said: "This is a plausible idea. But we need much larger trials that focus on clinical outcomes to prove it is an effective and affordable treatment."

He said chlorhexidine highly effective, affordable and readily available.

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7708895.stm

Published: 2008/11/06 © BBC MMVIII

Excerpt: Other Than Antibiotics

I have studied and used the method of essential oils with tinctures for many years, based on my studies of the European medical model as exemplified by the work of Drs. Duraffourd and Lapraz.

My method for H. pylori is one based on the use of Taoist herbal formulas fully evaluated at Dana Farber / Harvard.

There is great value in this work.

Treatment Of Infections Without Antibiotics By Dan Kenner, PhD, LAc.
Alternatives to Antibiotics

There are numerous alternative ways of treatment including ultraviolet light, Rife frequency generators, Chinese herbs, homeopathic medications, and more; but there are three methods that are in use in Europe among physicians practicing alternative medicine: isopathic immune modulators, essential oils with tinctures, and metallic colloids. They are used by a growing number of primary care practitioners in most countries in Western Europe. The approach to using these alternatives addresses the problem of infection as a problem of the whole system. The medications are considered to alter the internal condition in some way so that it is no longer hospitable to pathogenic microbes. To illustrate this point, it is well known that the streptococcus bacterium is a normal inhabitant of the throat mucosa as well as the gall bladder and colon. If a person’s internal condition is such that an internal toxic condition causes overgrowth of streptococcus in the throat, it is not enough to simply kill the germ. The fundamental toxic condition must also be treated. Streptococcus is a saprophyte, a bacterium that feeds on dead or decaying organic matter. Killing the streptococcus will prevent it from doing its job and simply result in another overgrowth, perhaps with renewed force or a more resistant strain. Another example is Helicobacter pylori, which is thought to be responsible for gastric ulcers; and, according to some researchers, overgrowth may even be implicated as a causal factor in stomach cancer. But while many individuals, perhaps most people, carry H. pylori, most of them never become symptomatic. These are two examples of how the primary cause of a disease is the creation of internal conditions in the body that cause certain microbes, even normally occurring ones like streptococcus and Helicobacter, to proliferate and overgrow.

Pregnant? No Flu Shot for You

While others on the Internet seem to need to have notoriety for disclosing information about vaccines issues known to CDC "first", please note that there are at least three pages or more of articles on our blog that you can locate via the search function. Other resources are on our main site that contain a tremendous amount of information about the risks of vaccination.

We also credit our sources, many of whom specialize in vaccine issues. And we don't troll other web sites, copy information and use it as our own.

We come from many decades in health care and many more in natural health ( just celebrating more than 50 years studying and using natural healing, with more than 30 years in medicine). We write based on the science and fact, with a strong hold on ethics. It's that our goals are probably different, even though we know it takes money to provide this and other services.

Lately I am sure you've noticed that there is a push for women who are pregnant to get a flu shot to protect their baby one it is born.

This PR campaign is not for your health, as you can see from a 2001 report on our web site.

One of the most bizarre twists on the flu vaccine saga is the CDC recommendation of 2001 that all pregnant women receive the vaccine in their second or third trimester. This recommendation even has doctors confused, since the vaccine remains a category C drug (unknown risk for pregnancy). No adequate studies have been conducted to monitor safety of the vaccine for mother and fetus. The only studies of adverse effects in pregnancy were conducted in the 1970s (Heinonen et al., 1973; Sumaya & Gibbs, 1979). Some flu vaccines still contain mercury as a preservative, despite a 1998 FDA instruction to remove mercury from all drugs. According to the CDC, two groups are most vulnerable to methylmercury¾the fetus and children ages 14 and younger. An article published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 1999 stated, "the greatest susceptibility to methylmercury neurotoxicity occurs during late gestation" (Grandjean et al., 1999). How did CDC committee members determine that flu vaccines were safe for pregnant women? They did not. The committee, despite its own recommendation, states, "additional data are needed to confirm the safety of vaccination during pregnancy" (CDC, 2001b).

Many other queries wish information about vaccine ingredients. That information is on this blog, posted earlier this year, and many from prior years. October 07 we have a post on what's in the vaccines. And their is much, much more.

Please just get the information before you blindly act on TV ads.

Barbara Loe Fisher is a key vaccine researcher. She exposed the FDA and CDC issues on Gardasil in 2006. She's the go to person when you want facts not sensationalism.

Remember, we're not selling pots or anything else, we don't have backers with lots of money because we are a certified non-profit organization dedicated to natural public health, since 1988.

And we certainly appreciate your fully tax deductible donations and hope you'll support those who do help us out.

Cell Phones and Death

Do Cell Phones Kill 1,000 People a Year?

News: In June 2003, the Bush administration nixed a report on the dangers of gabbing while driving. Six months later, a Michigan 12-year-old became another statistic.

Continue reading...

What's in that can? M, M, not so good...

TV ads for Campbell's Select Harvest Healthy Request soup leave me with my head scratching.

The ads are to try to prove to you that Campbell's is a better choice over Progresso. Of course now Progresso has axed the MSG and salt too so it makes you wonder.

One thing I don't like about Campbell's is that their ads promote the use of "sea salt" yet if you call them they refuse to tell you where their 'sea salt' comes from.

Well I thought I'd check it out so I purchased a can of Campbell's SH soup, reading the label, as the soup heated up on my range.

I chose the Italian Style Wedding Soup, with "Real Ingredients For Real Taste".

First off I didn't notice too much taste.

Textured soy protein or concentrate isn't a health promoting substance, and they add additional soy protein concentrate! Bleached wheat flour cracker meal is followed by corn syrup solids, then there's modified wheat starch, flavoring (often this means MSG), potassium chloride (a salt substitute added in with 'lower sodium sea salt'), carrot juice concentrate (means it's cooked), salt, yeast extract, sugar, cornstarch and a few vegetables and chicken stock all thrown in the vat and cooked up for your delight. And if you cook it in the microwave your 10% vitamin A content goes up in smoke.

They also note that "Real Ingredients" are ingredients you understand.

I guess I don't understand because to me the list includes little of what is real to me.

Next time I'll try Progresso, then it will be back to homemade, like the big pot of turkey soup I just made from authentic "real ingredients".

NYC Marathoner Dies

Often times we see althletes collapse and die after grueling competitions. Some of the risks of such tragic events involve electrolyte loss, dehydration, ingestion of aspartame containing drinks, Marfan's Syndrome, or as recently reported - just the act of jogging or running may cause servere or life-threatening cardiac irregularity.

Our original product (ADVENTURX) developed in 2004 is an option for those in xtreme sports to help maintain oxygen levels and keep miscles relaxed as well as help feed the heart. Our new herbal sportZtea blend provides electrolytes and since we advise you to use raw honey for sweetness, it aids perfomance and stamina.

Runner, 58, finishes NYC Marathon, collapses, dies

Sun Nov 2, 2008

NEW YORK – A Brazilian runner has collapsed and died after finishing the New York City Marathon.

Police say 58-year-old Sao Paulo resident Carlos Jose Gomes had just passed the finish line around 4:30 Sunday afternoon when he complained about feeling ill. They say he was taken by ambulance to a Manhattan hospital, where he died shortly after.

No cause of death has been disclosed.

At least two other runners fell ill during the race and had to be hospitalized.

AIDS treatment should be started sooner

Bill Gates' foundation recently awarded a grant to a Japanese scientist who hopes to engage mosquitoes in the vaccination of everyone.

When I read the story about these awards I wondered what kind of a crazy idea this is, because just like the fluoridation of municipal water supplies, the concept overlooks informed consent, practicing medicine without a license, and not taking adverse reactions or allergy into consideration.

With AIDS, I am not denying that treatment should start as early as possible, but I'd rather get a grant from Gates to run a trial of my suggestion to provide a set of four nutritional supplements to people with HIV, in an effort to show that this pack prevent the progression from HIV to AIDS.

So Bill, I know I won't have any trouble locating a test group for my project. I'm sure to get cooperation of a supplement company to provide the items needed in the amount needed. Then we can support this research for many more people for a longer time period than in a lab, and most likely get real outcomes and a ton of better health for everyone involved.

Of course if this is too logical for you, I'm sure Bono or some one else would bbe willing to work on my team.

AIDS treatment should be started sooner, study saysMonday, October 27, 2008 By Marilynn Marchione

ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- People who have the AIDS virus should start drug treatments sooner than current guidelines recommend, suggests a large new study that could change the care of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

The study found that delaying treatment until a patient's immune system is badly damaged nearly doubles the risk of dying in the next few years compared with patients whose treatment started earlier.

Doctors have thought it would be better to spare patients the side effects of AIDS drugs as long as possible.

"The data are rather compelling that the risk of death appears to be higher if you wait than if you treat," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which helped pay for the study. The institute is a division of the National Institutes of Health.

If the results prompt doctors to change practice, as Fauci and other AIDS specialists predict, several hundred thousand Americans who are not taking AIDS drugs now would be advised to start.

The study was reported yesterday at an infectious-diseases conference in Washington.

About 56,300 Americans are newly infected with HIV each year. The virus ravages T-cells -- "helper cells" of the immune system that fight off germs. Once that happens, people can fall prey to a host of diseases that prove fatal.

Powerful drug combinations available since the mid-1990s have transformed HIV infection into a manageable chronic condition rather than the death sentence it once was. But the drugs can cause heart and cholesterol problems, diarrhea, nausea and other side effects. They also must be taken faithfully, or resistance develops and the drugs stop working.

That is why guidelines by the government and the International AIDS Society recommend that patients who are not yet having AIDS symptoms delay starting on the drugs until their T-cell counts fall below 350 per cubic millimeter of blood (healthy people have more than 800).

"There was this thinking, maybe the drugs were worse than the disease. If you could wait as long as you possibly could wait, you would have fewer side effects," said Dr. Robert Schooley, infectious-diseases chief at the University of California, San Diego.

The new study is the largest to look at whether that advice is sound. Researchers led by Dr. Mari Kitahata of the University of Washington in Seattle pooled information on 8,374 people in the United States and Canada with T-cell counts of 351 to 500 from 1996 to 2006.

About 30 percent started taking AIDS drugs right away; the rest waited until their T-cell counts fell below 350, as guidelines recommend.

"We found a 70 percent improvement in survival for patients who initiated therapy between 350 and 500" compared with those who waited, Kitahata said.

Two other recent studies found that people who start taking AIDS drugs while their T-cell count is above 350 have a better chance of getting their count back to normal than those who start later. Another key study found that briefly interrupting treatment to give patients "drug holidays" puts them at grave risk.

"These studies have all shown the same thing -- that we were starting too late" and need to keep treatment going once it starts, Schooley said. He helped write the AIDS society guidelines and consults for several companies that make AIDS drugs.

The bigger problem is that as many as a third of people diagnosed with HIV only discover they are infected after their T-cell counts already have fallen below 350 and they have serious complications.

"People are still being tested and identified way too late," said Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, an AIDS specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He said the new study shows how important it is to test and find people sooner.