Last week I managed to catch my first summer cold – courtesy of my two daughters. But unlike in past seasonable illnesses, I decided to experiment with myself, and made a conscious decision not to take any chemical remedies. I increased my daily dosage of Vitamin C, took homeopathic tablets under my tongue, applied Eucalyptus oil to my pillow, and when things got really tough, took a honey-based cough medicine.
My cold ran its normal course, and ended more or less at the same time as it would have taken if I had used various over-the-counter cold medications. True, I functioned somewhat less effectively at work and at home; and when I attended the recent Integrative Medicine Conference in Jerusalem (more on that in my next post), I may have missed a few sessions in exchange for some fresh air. But I survived. And I got better.
[I was not taking a really wild risk here. A few years ago during a family vacation, one of the children had a sore throat, and a member of our group who happened to be a doctor told the boy’s mother that he could prescribe an antibiotic, which would cure the sore throat in about seven days, or they could just let the soreness run its course, about a week. Prescribing antibiotics for a sore throat is really to prevent streptococcus, which can have serious long-term effects. But of course, not all sore throats are strep.]
Which begs the question, why is it that every minor illness, such as a seasonal cold or flu, makes many of us turn to chemical remedies? Is it that we have zero tolerance for minor discomfort? Or that society (and the workplace) cannot accept a situation of less the 100% performance?
Today I shared my decision to run this little experiment with my Chinese doctor, and our conversation naturally ran to the discussion of more serious conditions, namely menopause. Because I have no idea when menopause will become an issue in my life, I have been debating how I will handle it when the time comes. Because of my family history of breast cancer, I cannot (and will not) take the standard hormonal treatment that is usually prescribed to menopausal women. But I also know that I am very concerned about how I will deal with the hot flashes (remember I live in a very warm country) and other natural symptoms of menopause.
I am exploring the possibility of bio-identical hormones (and eagerly attended a session given at the same conference), but my doctor had another suggestion for me. When the issue becomes relevant, he suggested, we would try to handle each symptom using Chinese medicine. According to Chinese medicine, the human body is composed of two complementary opposites energy forces – the Yin (the hidden, feminine) and the Yang (the manifest, masculine). As he explained it, Yin can be viewed as a balloon, while the Yang is the block that holds it in place. During menopause, the Yang decreases, causing the Ying to rise (remember, balance), which in turn is linked to the rise in heat and hot flashes.To treat the natural symptoms of menopause, Chinese medicine increases the Yang using acupuncture and Chinese herbs, which have been in use for thousands of years, thereby allowing the natural process of menopause to continue in a way that allows a woman to continue to function and feel good.
Now I am not precluding the option of using bio-identical hormones, but for now, I feel much happier with the knowledge that I have a plan for how to deal with this inevitable stage of life. Wish me luck with my experiment!