As I lay near death, certain of my impending demise from either the consumption, the plague, Tuberculosis or some other dreaded disease which causes one to believe the end is near, I wondered how I would get myself out of my predicament. There was still much more life to live. I had a child to raise and waves to surf. How did it come to this?
Okay, I wasn’t dying. But have you ever been so ill that you felt like you were? Remember how I talked about surfing against my better judgment? Well, I was right to have questioned my own sanity when I surfed knowing I was getting sick. Things gradually went from bad to worse. It’s taken over two weeks for me to start feeling better.
I didn’t and couldn’t go to the doctor. In this country, your medical coverage is usually obtained through your job. We Americans are in the middle of a recession. Many of us either don’t have jobs or, like me, work part-time and are, therefore, not given medical insurance.
So what’s a sick surfer to do?
Well, my ailment was completely related to my sinuses. I don’t think surfing caused the problem. I do believe surfing in possibly dirty water exacerbated the problem. My sinuses expressed their discontent initially. Then, they mounted an all out war, a very nasty war that I seemed to be losing with each passing day.
Thankfully, a previous bout with sinus issues prompted me to turn to the neti pot at the first sign of trouble. Ah, the neti pot. If you surf, a neti pot is a must-have. Those of us who surf in waters that aren’t pristine—and I’m inclined to think that the majority of us are exposed to dirty water when we surf—will often end up with sinus ailments as a result. One way to help maintain the health of our nasal passages is to “irrigate” them on a regular basis with a saline solution. Because I began using the neti pot soon after this sinus thing began, my symptoms weren’t as bad as they had been in the past. The last time I dealt with a serious sinus issue, I spent days almost unable to breathe out of my nose. This time, my sinuses stayed open because I used the neti pot each day.
The neti pot helped, yes, but I was also plagued with a sore throat that made me feel like I was swallowing razor blades. It wasn’t strep. I had no fever or nausea. I just felt like my throat was on fire. I tried throat lozenges for about a day. They were worthless. So, I went onto the internet to search for a homeopathic treatment for my sore throat. What did I find? Cayenne pepper. Several sites directed me to put it in warm water and gargle. Guess what? It worked! By the second day of using the cayenne pepper, my sore throat was gone for good. I have no idea why a simple spice was able to do the thing expensive over-the counter medications could not. All I know is that I will keep cayenne pepper in the house from now on.
Okay, my sinuses were open and my sore throat was gone, but I was still miserable. I was continuously blowing my nose. I could still feel that odd pressure in my forehead. That pressure told me that my sinuses were still under attack. Obviously, the neti pot wasn’t enough. And I was desperate. I’d stopped surfing. I’d stopped skating. All I was doing was suffering. Once again, I turned to the internet for help. That’s where I found what I consider the three most beautiful words in the English language.
Grapefruit seed extract.
People raved about how well the stuff worked on sinus infections and the like. Raved, I tell you! Mind you, by this time, I was so sick of being sick that I’d almost given up hope, believing I might be sick and miserable for a long time. Nevertheless, I found a nasal spray with grapefruit seed extract. And I tried it immediately.
Holy $#%! This stuff works!!
I can’t even begin to discuss how much I love this stuff. I don’t know how it works. I don’t know why it works. I just know that once I began using it, I began to feel better. My symptoms were lessening and the infection seemed to be unable to hang tough any longer. The pressure in my forehead abated. With that, the dizzy spells disappeared.
I’m now completely sold on homeopathic/home remedies. They are the reason why I’m back on my surfboard and feeling relatively strong at this point. I’ve even started skating again.
If you have sinus troubles and you surf, try using the neti pot and some grapefruit seed extract. I do believe both will help. If nothing else, using them couldn’t hurt.
Surf sinus troubles
So homeopathy 'worked' for your sinus problem. Would you recommend women use it for contraception? Or people use it to prevent malaria? Or use it to treat cancer?
Obviously no…….
If it worked they wouldn't call it alternative medicine. They'd call it medicine.
Love the way you have to believe in homeopathy. Do you believe in asprin? You don't need to believe in asprin. It's fact……and homeopathy is bullshit. Actually sorry it's not bullshit…it's just water.
Dave,
I’m a scientist as well, but you, sir, are a douchebag with a hate-on for something with centuries of documented history supporting the -fact- that it is not “bullshit”.
Keep trolling, bro. But stop doing a disservice to your fellow doctorates by trying to justify it with “I’m a scientist”.
Classic over the top reaction. Where in the above did Mary even venture the idea of using homeopathy to treat cancer? She's just saying it worked on this one minor ailment she had. I don't take that to mean she is now the new poster girl for homeopathy. Maybe it was just coincidence, who knows, but Mary is saying it worked and she's glad for it.
I'm suspecting Dave that maybe you have stock in one of the major pharmacutical companies such is your reactionary passion. That or you just like to close your eyes, stick your fingers in your ears and shout 'I am not listening to you, I am not listening to you, LA LA LA LA.'
Good rant though. I enjoy your passion for picking a fight where there is none.
Thankyou for your kind comments,
However, this post recommends people use homeopathy and I think that is dangerous. Because there's no good evidence it works beyond placebo.
Mary did not venture the idea of using homeopathy to treat cancer. She said it worked for this one minor ailment she had. But, if it 'works' for sinus problems, why can't it work for cancer, malaria or cancer?
Medicine works for all four. It has peer reviewed, randomised, double blind, controlled studies and metastudies to prove it works beyond placebo.
I have no 'stock in one of the major pharmaceutical companies'. I take my position because adverts for homeopathy can lead to people trying to treat serious health conditions with homeopathy. This could lead to people becoming sick and dying.
This post was one big logical fallacy and I felt the need to comment.
I'm not 'sticking my fingers in my ears' I just need proof and evidence behind my medicine. Not an anecdote and an ergo post propter hoc logical fallacy argument to back it up.
If I claimed big macs 'cured' my sinus problems because when i started eating them they 'stopped two days later' you would rightly call bullshit.
I called bullshit but replaced the big macs with homeopathy.
Sorry if you're offended but I'm a scientist and this stuff both interests me and annoys me.
Good argument though, I enjoy your passion for picking a fight where there is one.
Quality, you've made me chuckle at the end of a long day. Did I chuckle because I read your response though or was it an involuntary spasm which occurred at precisely the moment I read your concluding sentence? I guess we'll never know unless I'm peer reviewed under a microscope.
Seriously though I still think you're reading too much into this but let's agree to disagree. The above is not an advert to trust in homeopathy, just a story of something that happened. Most people are intelligent enough to decide for themselves whether it was just random timing or not. I don't doubt it was just that.
I'm thinking of reading too much into things and am planning to eat a big mac to see if it will cure my innate inability to surf well on a hangover. You're the doc, do you think it will work?
P.S. where's the next fight where there isn't one?
I think Homeopathic remedies are great. YOU should try something like this first before spending $$ on over the counter meds. For on thing.. the price they charge for OTC meds is getting ridiculous.. Honestly the natural stuff is usually a lot cheaper, has less side effects than the chemicals we put in our body that they call "medicine". THAT can and sometimes do cause more medical problems. AND THEY usually work a lot better. OF COURSE if it gets too bad, YES go to the Doctors if you can. But as Mary pointed out almost every American here is affected by this recession and health care is more of a luxury these days. WHICH IS WRONG.. but any way. If you can go to the Drs. Even sometimes they direct you to more holistic or homeopathic ways of treating ailments. I like my Doctor, she knows I would rather try a natural route and we discuss it.. a lot of the homeopathic stuff is age old tried and true.. and has been used in medicine for ages. Herbs and other holistic care has been proven to help for centuries…and the pharmaceutical companies have been leaning more toward the natural side as well. Just walk into a drug store and or groceries store and see for yourself. I myself have tried sugary over the counter cough syrups and they just upset my stomach,, and did not do anything for the cough and are loaded with sugar and alcohol.. I went to the internet and tried 2 remedies.. milk and honey.. and also tried milk and basil, which was my friends family way of treating a cough.. was past down generations in her hispanic family..and it works..I don't know why one would be so closed minded to trying a more natural approach than poisoning your body!. Makes no sense to me at all.