Natural Herbal Beauty

Symptoms

Aching or sharp pain in tooth when biting or chewing.

Soreness in teeth, gums, or jaw.

Call Your Dentist If

• your gums are painful, red, and swollen; you may have an impacted tooth or a gum disease.
• you experience continuous bouts of throbbing pain in a tooth, or the tooth is extremely sensitive to heat or cold; you may have tooth decay (a cavity) that requires a new or replacement filling. If the decay is advanced, you may need root canal work. You may also have a tooth abscess, a serious infection requiring emergency treatment. (more…)
   

Throat problems are often an indication of infection, so prompt action early on can help prevent it developing more seriously.

Sore Throat

A sore throat (pharyngitis) is inflammation of the pharynx, the area at the back of the mouth. The term is also used to cover inflammation of the adenoids, tonsils (tonsillitis), and the voice box or larynx (laryngitis). Laryngitis is characterized by hoarseness and loss of voice. If the soreness is not obviously caused by shouting too loudly, it may be a sign of infection. (more…)

Problems such as earache are particularly common in children, and they may be linked to infections in other areas, for example tonsillitis.

Earache (Otitis)

Pain in the ears can be caused simply by loud noise and exposure to cold, windy conditions, or, more seriously, by infection. A heating pad or wrapped hot-water bottle held over the ear will ease the pain. (more…)

Coughing is the body’s natural response to any blockage of the airway which may be due to dust and traffic fumes or mucous resulting from infection. Coughing can also be a symptom of a number of more serious illnesses, so professional medical attention is needed for any cough which persists for more than a few days or for which there is no obvious cause.

Coughs can be dry and irritating or “productive” with phlegm which can vary in shade from white to green — darker colours generally indicating an infection. Dry coughs can often linger for weeks following a cold and in some cases coughing can become a nervous habit. (more…)

Sore throats can be the first sign of a developing cold, although a tendency to “streptococcal throats” — as they are sometimes labelled — can be associated with underlying food allergy and candidiasis. Sore throats can also herald pharyngitis, tonsillitis or German measles with inflammations caused by viral or bacterial infection. As always, if the problem is recurrent, then the cause may be associated with stress (caused by overwork or food intolerance) or a reduced resistance to infection.

This can be especially true with tonsil problems, since these organs are simply small packs of lymphatic tissue at the back of the throat which help protect the body from infection. With children prone to tonsillitis, cutting out milk and milk products and using soya substitutes can often solve otherwise intractable problems. In severe cases the tonsil can become filled with pus, causing an abscess or quinsy which can need urgent surgical treatment, so do not delay in seeking professional help if the problem does not show signs of improvement within 24 hours. (more…)

Herbs have a long history of use in treating eye and ear problems: before the days of universally available hearing aids and spectacles, itinerant herb doctors would often specialise in eyes or ears and travel the countryside treating patients with brews designed to improve sight or hearing rather than simply alleviate the sort of minor ailments we would treat in this way today.

Old herbals are full of remedies — the vast majority unproven — for restoring sight to the blind and curing tinnitus or deafness. Some, such as the legend about greater celandine seeds restoring sight to blind swallows, go back to ancient times and were once very widely used. Other remedies we now know do have a relevance: eating carrots certainly has a role in improving night vision, since Vitamin A is needed to maintain the relevant components in the retina. (more…)

The skin is always contaminated by a large number of micro-organisms which generally cause us few problems. Stress, exhaustion or a weak immune system usually gives them the opportunity they need.

Athlete’s foot (Tinea pedis) is a very common fungal infection affecting the space between the toes and toenails. Depending on the infecting fungus it can either involve inflammation and itching or may simply result in scaling skin and general discomfort. Like all their species, the yeasts causing athlete’s foot thrive in warm, damp places, so good, sensible foot care — making sure the toes are well dried after bathing and that shoes are comfortable — is important. Using creams based on anti-fungal herbs, such as tea tree, marigold and echinacea, can help. (more…)