EDmedblog. Health News and Information

There are some very moving case histories in from the files of the Hyperactive Children’s Support Group.

‘Anthony’s improved with evening primrose oil. If this is so effective, why oh why can’t doctors use it?

‘Anthony sat on my knee and watched television, cuddled up. This is the first time since he was born and he is four in September . . .’

‘Anastasia is greatly changed: aged 5% when she started Efamol etc. She learned to read and swim, to tie her laces, began judo, ballet and gymnastics and wets the bed far less often. She is a far happier child now.’

‘There has indubitably been a dramatic improvement in Gerald’s school results, such improvement coinciding exactly with the commencement of the treatment (supplements). The school assesses children fortnightly on a scale which ranges from -7 to +7 for the total work. Prior to the treatment Gerald had never achieved a mark above 0 and was normally around -4 to -5. After starting the treatment his first assessment was +2 and subsequent assessments have been +3 or +З 1/2. He has even for the first time been picked for school sports teams and a solo in a musical concert. Gerald received a prize for the “most improved” child in the school this term.’

Jonathan is the son of a single mother, who ran out of evening primrose oil partly due to the cost. This is her story of what happened when Jonathan stopped taking his supplements:

‘For those 10 days (when he was without his oil etc.) I had noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes, the old white complexion, hyperactivity, stupid, cheeky activity, distress, fighting for nothing – tears – and on Saturday ALL DAY, I lived through the nightmare which I haven’t experienced for 2 years or more. I got it all. He ran away twice, total non-compliance, “he is going to burn the house down” hysteria, crying, tormenting me – all day . . .’

This mother then put her son back on evening primrose oil and the other supplements. Her letter goes on:

‘Jonathan is manageable again for the moment as I have now increased his dose – but it will take time again . . .’

Mother of four children Nikolette Bennett wrote this success story about her hyperactive son Christopher in Alive magazine in Canada:

At the end of a particularly disastrous day, I decided to try Efamol of which I had read positive reports. I began by rubbing a capsule of oil onto his wrists, every day. Within a week, a truly remarkable change took place. Christopher’s speech modulated, the door ceased slamming, and for the first time, he sat through and ate up all of his dinner. He stopped demanding dessert, and ate his breakfast cereal without sugar!

‘I find that I don’t have to use Efamol every day, now. In fact, Christopher knows himself when he needs it. His voracious appetite for sugared foods has disappeared . . .

The most wonderful aspect of being able to meet and overcome the challenge of Christopher’s hyperactivity is that at last we are able to express positive love for our delightful son. Christopher is happier within himself and about himself and our family lives in harmony again.’

*24/60/5*

When a bronchus is inflamed, swollen and partially obstructed with mucopus, air passing through it makes a characteristic wheezing noise. Along with a cough and the copious production of mucopurulent sputum, this wheeze is sufficient to constitute the diagnosis of Bronchitis. It is sad to say that in many cases this diagnosis is one of convenience. It allows an attending general practitioner to prescribe antibiotics, which they think are in line with patient expectations. Having removed the pressure to perform, G.P.s have deliberately missed the chance of a proper diagnosis: which in many cases was asthma all along.

Even if bronchitis is the diagnosis, 50 per cent of the time antibiotics are inappropriate because the condition is viral in origin and not bacterial at all. In most cases, doctors can take a specimen of infected mucus and wait for a laboratory to come back with findings that make the use of antibiotics justified. In cases of Acute Bacterial Bronchitis, Amoxycillin is the antibiotic of choice.

Chronic bronchitis usually occurs in smokers or people with lung damage from other causes. The clinical definition of chronic bronchitis requires the presence of a chronic, productive cough for at least three successive months in two successive years. The aforementioned definition excludes chronic coughs by other causes such as cancer of the lung, heart failure; or the presence of an inhaled foreign body. Bean bag balls are an ever present worry in the airways of young children with a chronic cough.

Examination of the sputum before the prescription of antibiotics is even more important in chronic bronchitis than it is with acute bronchitis, because extensive prior use of antibiotics produces strains of bacteria that subsequent antibiotics just can’t kill. Sometimes bronchodilators such as Theodur and Nuelin are helpful in the management of chronic bronchitis, as well as steroid hormones such as Prednisone and Hydrocortisone.

Home Remedies

When a person with a productive cough is otherwise well and coping adequately with work and play it is unnecessary to present for a medical opinion; unless such a cough has not markedly abated after seven or eight days. Over the counter cough suppressants containing opiates such as codeine or dextromethorphan are adequate cough suppressants. So called expectorants or mucolytics don’t work. They are a waste of time and money.

Paracetamol and a high fluid intake act to reduce upper airway irritability and appear to reduce the frequency of a cough. The old fashioned steam inhalation with menthol and eucalyptus is still a stand by. It assists with mobilization of mucus by stimulating the activity of cilliated epithelial cells lining the inside of airway walls.

*23/131/5*