Phenylketonuria

Early diagnosis is key to treating PKU, a rare genetic disorder that results in an amino acid imbalance in the body. According to research or other evidence, the following self-care steps may be helpful.

• Fight back with fish oil Take a daily supplement containing 500 mg for every 8.8 pounds of body weight to prevent deficiencies caused by the PKU diet
  
• Seek support from supplements Prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies caused by the PKU diet by taking supplements that provide the daily value of L-tyrosine, vitamin K, vitamin B12, and selenium
  
• Discover branched-chain amino acids Under a healthcare provider’s supervision, improve mental functioning by adding amino acid supplements to each meal and at bedtime; take 150 mg per 2.2 pounds (1 kg) of body weight each of valine and isoleucine, and 200 mg per 2.2 pounds (1 kg) of body weight of leucine
  
• Monitor amino acids in your diet Work with your healthcare provider and a nutritionist to maintain a phenylalanine-restricted diet that is nutritionally adequate
  
• Pass up aspartame Help prevent increased phenylalanine intake by steering clear of soft drinks, candy, and other foods and drinks sweetened with aspartame (Nutrasweet)

About This Condition

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a rare genetic disorder that results in excessive accumulation of the amino acid, phenylalanine, and reduced levels of the amino acid, L-tyrosine, in the blood.
If untreated, high levels of phenylalanine can cause severe mental retardation, behavioral disturbances, and other brain and nerve problems. Fortunately, newborn screening programs now identify most cases of PKU in the United States and other countries. Early diagnosis and treatment is the key to reducing or preventing PKU-related conditions. Gene therapy is currently being researched as a possible cure. Research is also being conducted on methods to decrease levels of phenylalanine in the blood through the use of certain enzymes⁵ and amino acids.

Symptoms

Infants with PKU may be lethargic, feed poorly, and have a “mousy” odor from their sweat and urine. Eczema, sensitivity to sunlight, and light skin are also characteristic of PKU. Symptoms of children with untreated PKU include significantly diminished mental capacity, hyperactivity, and seizures.

Healthy Lifestyle Tips

Access to PKU resource/support groups, and education of family members may help simplify the complex dietary restrictions and improve one’s ability to follow them.
PKU during pregnancy (maternal PKU) is of particular concern. Excessively high or low levels of phenylalanine may occur during pregnancy, both of which may adversely affect the fetus. Maternal PKU can lead to fetal malformations, including small head size (microcephaly), heart abnormalities, failure to grow properly in the uterus (called intrauterine growth retardation), and mental retardation. Adverse effects on the offspring can be reduced and by careful dietary control both prior to and during pregnancy. Consultation and follow-up visits with medical and nutritional specialists are necessary for effective monitoring and dietary guidance in people with PKU.
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Petechiae

Deal with delicate capillaries by uncovering the cause—bleeding beneath the skin may signal a serious condition. According to research or other evidence, the following self-care steps may be helpful.

• Seek support from C Consult a knowledgeable healthcare provider to find out if you need to increase your vitamin C intake to prevent a deficiency associated with capillary fragility
  
• Get to know proanthocyanidins Increase capillary strength by taking 150 mg a day of these powerful plant nutrients
  
• Go for a checkup Visit your doctor to find out whether your capillary fragility is the result of a treatable medical problem

About This Condition

When the smallest blood vessels, capillaries, become weak, a person has capillary fragility.
There are no serious complications from having capillary fragility, but it may signify that a more serious, underlying problem exists. Therefore, people should consult a physician if there is bleeding in the skin.

Symptoms

Weak capillaries lead to small spots of bleeding in the skin and easy bruising. Bruises look like areas of blue to purple-colored skin that can turn yellow to dark brown over the course of a few days.
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Bronchitis Homeopathy Remedies

Primary Remedies

Bryonia

This remedy is often indicated when a cough is dry and very painful. The person feels worse from any movement, and may even need to hold his or her sides or press against the chest to keep it still. The cough can make the stomach hurt, and digestion may be upset. A very dry mouth is common, and the person may be thirsty. A person who wants to be left alone when ill, and not talked to or disturbed, is likely to need Bryonia.

Causticum

Bronchitis with a deep, hard, racking cough can indicate a need for this remedy. The person fees that mucus is stuck in the throat and upper chest, and may cough continually to try to loosen it. A feeling of rawness and soreness can develop, or a sensation as if a rock is stuck inside. Chills can occur along with fever. Exposure to cool air aggravates the cough, but drinking something cold can help. The person may feel worse when days are cold and clear, and better in wet weather.

Pulsatilla

Bronchitis with a feeling of weight in the chest, and a cough with choking and gagging that brings up thick yellow mucus, may respond to this remedy. The cough tends to be dry and tight at night, and loose in the morning. The fever may be worse in the evening and at night. Feeling too warm or being in a stuffy room tends to make the person worse, and open air brings improvement. Thirst is usually low. A person who needs this remedy often is moody and emotional and wants attention and sympathy. (This remedy is often helpful to children who are tearful when not feeling well and want to be held and comforted.)

Other Remedies

Antimonium tartaricum

This remedy is indicated when the person has a feeling of wet mucus in the chest, and breathing makes a bubbly, rattling sound. The cough takes effort and is often not quite strong enough to bring the mucus up, although burping and spitting may be of help. The person may feel drowsy or dizzy, and feel better when lying on the right side or sitting up.

Calcarea carbonica

This remedy is often indicated for bronchitis after a cold. The cough can be troublesome and tickling, worse from lying down or stooping forward, worse from getting cold, and worse at night. Children may have fever, sweaty heads while sleeping, and be very tired. Adults may feel more chilly and have clammy hands and feet, breathing problems when walking up slopes or climbing stairs, and generally poor stamina.

Dulcamara

When a person easily gets ill after being wet and chilled (or when the weather changes from warm and dry to wet and cool) this remedy may be indicated. The cough can be tickly, hoarse, and loose, and worse from physical exertion. Tendencies toward allergies (cats, pollen, etc.) may increase the person’s susceptibility to bronchitis.

Hepar sulphuris calcareum

The cough that fits this remedy is usually hoarse and rattling, with yellow mucus coming up. The person can be extremely sensitive to cold—even a minor draft or sticking an arm out from under the covers may set off jags of coughing. Cold food or drink can make things worse. A person who needs this remedy feels vulnerable both physically and emotionally, and may act extremely irritable and out of sorts.

Kali bichromicum

A metallic, brassy, hacking cough that starts with a troublesome tickling in the upper air-tubes and brings up strings of sticky yellow mucus can indicate this remedy. A sensation of coldness may be felt inside the chest, and coughing can lead to pain behind the breastbone or extending to the shoulders. Breathing may make a rattling sound when the person sleeps. Problems are typically worse in the early morning, after eating and drinking, and from exposure to open air. The person feels best just lying in bed and keeping warm.

Silicea (also called Silica)

A person who needs this remedy can have bronchitis for weeks at a stretch, or even all winter long. The cough takes effort and may bring up yellow or greenish mucus, or little granules that have an offensive smell. Stitching pains may be felt in the back when the person is coughing. Chills are felt more than heat during fever, and the person is likely to sweat at night. A person who needs this remedy is usually sensitive and nervous, with low stamina, swollen lymph nodes, and poor resistance to infection.

Sulphur

This remedy can be indicated when a person has had many bouts of bronchitis (sometimes the resistance has been weakened by taking antibiotics too often for minor complaints). The cough feels irritating, burning, and painful; yellow or greenish mucus may be produced. Problems can be worse if the person gets too warm in bed, and breathing problems at night may wake the person up. Redness of the eyes and mucous membranes, and foul-smelling breath and perspiration are often seen when a person needs this remedy.

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Pernicious Anemia

Your body relies on B12 for healthy blood. Too little of this vital vitamin can lead to anemia and other health issues. According to research or other evidence, the following self-care steps may be helpful.

• Get your B12

  Manage mild deficiency with over-the-counter vitamin B12 supplements

• Add vitamins to your vegan diet

  If you follow a strict vegan diet, take a daily B12 supplement of at least 2.4 mcg

About This Condition

An abnormally low level of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is a factor in many disorders.

The absorption of dietary vitamin B12 occurs in the small intestine and requires a secretion from the stomach known as intrinsic factor. If intrinsic factor is deficient, absorption of vitamin B12 is severely diminished. Vitamin B12 deficiency impairs the body’s ability to make blood, accelerates blood cell destruction, and damages the nervous system. The result is pernicious anemia (PA). In the classical definition, PA refers only to B12 deficiency anemia caused by a lack of intrinsic factor.

True pernicious anemia is probably an autoimmune disease. The immune system destroys cells in the stomach that secrete intrinsic factor. Many people with PA have both chronic inflammation of the stomach lining, called atrophic gastritis, and antibodies that fight their intrinsic factor-secreting cells.

The term pernicious anemia is sometimes used colloquially to refer to any anemia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 deficiency can be due to malabsorption of dietary B12 despite normal levels of intrinsic factor. For example, celiac disease and Crohn’s disease may cause B12 malabsorption, which can lead to anemia. Less common causes of B12 deficiency include gastrointestinal surgery, pancreatic disease, intestinal parasites, and certain drugs. Pregnancy, hyperthyroidism, and advanced stages of cancer may increase the body’s requirement for B12, sometimes leading to a deficiency state.

Low stomach acid, known as hypochlorhydria, interferes with the absorption of B12 from food but not from supplements. Aging is associated with a decrease in the normal secretion of stomach acid. As a result, some older people with normal levels of intrinsic factor and with no clear cause for malabsorption will become vitamin B12-deficient unless they take at least a few micrograms per day of vitamin B12 from supplements.

Caution: Pernicious anemia is a serious medical condition. When fatigue, often the first symptom of PA, is present, a qualified healthcare practitioner should be consulted. Symptoms of PA can be caused by other conditions, none of which would respond to vitamin B12 supplementation. Moreover, if true vitamin B12 deficiency exists, the cause—lack of intrinsic factor, general malabsorption conditions, lack of stomach acidity, or dietary deficiency—must also be properly diagnosed by examination and blood tests before the appropriate treatment can be determined.

Symptoms

Symptoms of severe vitamin B12 deficiency (regardless of the cause) may include burning of the tongue, fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite, intermittent constipation and diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, menstrual symptoms, psychological symptoms, and nervous system problems, such as numbness and tingling in the feet and hands. Most symptoms can occur before the deficiency is severe enough to cause anemia. Healthcare professionals have a series of laboratory tests that can determine B12 deficiency at earlier stages that are not accompanied by anemia.

Healthy Lifestyle Tips

Alcohol abuse can lead to gastritis and damage to the lining of the intestines, both of which can interfere with vitamin B12 absorption. If B12 deficiency is due to alcoholism, abstinence may prevent further impairment of B12 absorption

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Bronchitis–What is it?

Bronchitis occurs when the mucous membranes that line the upper breathing tubes become inflamed. Acute bronchitis often follows a viral illness such as a cold or flu, and can last for several weeks. Chronic bronchitis may develop if a person has repeated bouts of illness that are not well cared for, or if other factors such as smoking, exposure to polluted air, and allergies have lowered the person’s resistance and made the lungs susceptible. Homeopathic remedies may help relieve discomfort caused by coughing and help the body overcome infection. Serious or prolonged bronchitis requires a physician’s attention.

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Acne Vulgaris-Primary Remedies

Although most common during adolescence, acne can occur at other times in life, especially during times of hormonal shifts. Blackheads or pimples may be a problem on the face, neck, chest and back when pores become infected or clogged with oil. The bacteria involved is always present on normal skin. Therefore, improving the skin’s resistance to infection is important. Most cases of acne can be resolved through hygiene and nutrition. Homeopathic medicines may be helpful during flare-ups, but a chronic treatment, prescribed by an experienced homeopathic physician, is the most appropriate way to deal with severe or persistent skin problems.

Primary Remedies

Pulsatilla
This remedy can be helpful if acne is worse from eating rich or fatty foods, and aggravated by warmth or heat. It is indicated especially around the time of puberty, or when acne breaks out near menstrual periods. The person often has a fair complexion and is inclined toward soft emotions and moodiness, feeling worse in warm or stuffy rooms and better in fresh air.
Silicea (also called Silica)
A person with deep-seated acne along with a general low immune resistance, swollen lymph nodes, and a tendency toward fatigue and nervousness may benefit from this remedy. Infected spots are slow to come to a head, and also slow to resolve, so may result in scarring. A person who needs this remedy is generally very chilly, but inclined to sweat at night.
Sulphur iodatum
relieves acne located on the forehead and the back, aggravated by heat, and occurring periodically.

Other Remedies

Antimonium tartaricum
This remedy may be helpful for acne with large pustules that are tender to touch, with bluish-red marks that remain on the skin after active infection has passed. The person may be irritable, with low resistance to illness.
Calcarea carbonica
If a person with frequent pimples and skin eruptions is chilly with clammy hands and feet, easily tired by exertion, and flabby or overweight, this remedy may help improve the skin’s resistance to infection. People who need this remedy are often very anxious when overworked, and have cravings for sweets and eggs.
Calcarea sulphurica
Is a medicine appropriate for juvenile acne that suppurates and causes boils.
Calendula Gel
Applied locally stimulates the healing of pustules and limits the risk of superinfection.
Hepar sulphuris calcareum
Relieves pustular acne aggravated by cold weather, with a foul-smelling pus.
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Acne Vulgaris-Primary Remedies

Although most common during adolescence, acne can occur at other times in life, especially during times of hormonal shifts. Blackheads or pimples may be a problem on the face, neck, chest and back when pores become infected or clogged with oil. The bacteria involved is always present on normal skin. Therefore, improving the skin’s resistance to infection is important. Most cases of acne can be resolved through hygiene and nutrition. Homeopathic medicines may be helpful during flare-ups, but a chronic treatment, prescribed by an experienced homeopathic physician, is the most appropriate way to deal with severe or persistent skin problems.

Primary Remedies

Pulsatilla
This remedy can be helpful if acne is worse from eating rich or fatty foods, and aggravated by warmth or heat. It is indicated especially around the time of puberty, or when acne breaks out near menstrual periods. The person often has a fair complexion and is inclined toward soft emotions and moodiness, feeling worse in warm or stuffy rooms and better in fresh air.

Silicea (also called Silica)
A person with deep-seated acne along with a general low immune resistance, swollen lymph nodes, and a tendency toward fatigue and nervousness may benefit from this remedy. Infected spots are slow to come to a head, and also slow to resolve, so may result in scarring. A person who needs this remedy is generally very chilly, but inclined to sweat at night.

Sulphur iodatum
relieves acne located on the forehead and the back, aggravated by heat, and occurring periodically.

Other Remedies

Antimonium tartaricum
This remedy may be helpful for acne with large pustules that are tender to touch, with bluish-red marks that remain on the skin after active infection has passed. The person may be irritable, with low resistance to illness.

Calcarea carbonica
If a person with frequent pimples and skin eruptions is chilly with clammy hands and feet, easily tired by exertion, and flabby or overweight, this remedy may help improve the skin’s resistance to infection. People who need this remedy are often very anxious when overworked, and have cravings for sweets and eggs.

Calcarea sulphurica
Is a medicine appropriate for juvenile acne that suppurates and causes boils.

Calendula Gel
Applied locally stimulates the healing of pustules and limits the risk of superinfection.

Hepar sulphuris calcareum
Relieves pustular acne aggravated by cold weather, with a foul-smelling pus.

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