​Infertility refers to an inability to have children or conceive after having regular unprotected sex.Infertilityhas an intense psychological effect leading todepression,anxietyandstress. Stigma of being unable to conceive is an added stress factor. Infertility may have a single cause in one of the partners, or it could be the result of a combination of factors.
In women factors which affect the ability to ovulate, conceive, or deliver a child successfully include the following: women in their late 30s and older, endometriosis, chronic diseases likes diabetes, hormonal imbalance, lifestyle habits like: smoking, alcohol consumption, or exposure to workplace hazards or toxins, excessive or very low body fat, sexually transmitted diseases, fallopian tube disease, multiple miscarriages, fibroids.
In men any history of prostatitis, genital infection, or sexually transmitted diseases, exposure to hazards on the job or toxic substances, such as radiation, radioactivity, welding, and many chemicals, cigarette or marijuana smoke, heavy alcohol consumption, exposure of the genitals to high temperatures, hernia repair, undescended testicles, mumps after puberty.
Homeopathyis a holistic medicine, it focuses on the person as a whole. Homeopaths believe the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical factors are interconnected, and no single factor is taken in isolation while determining the treating infertility. It rectifies the cause of infertility by going to the root of the problem. Some of the remedies like Lycopodium, Natrum Muriaticum, Oophorinum, Medorrhinum, Sulphur are useful. In cases of infertility homoeopathy helps in improving ovulation cycles, increasingsperm countand improving sperm mobility, getting rid of emotional blockages and negative thought processes that may affect fertility, reducingstress, helping to deal with depression and anxiety, curing the side effects of conventional therapy, such a approach will definitely improve your wellbeing and you will be more likely to conceive naturally.

By SiliconIndia  


A hot cup of tea made with herbs and spices at home are considered as the best remedy for common cold and flu. India and Indians have a long history and preference towards traditional medicinal practices. In fact, the reliance on alternative medicine to manage health is a very popular in this country. For instance, as per a survey conducted by NSSO or National Sample Survey Organization, nearly 335 million Indians trust alternative medicinal practices.


However, this trend is not just restricted to India anymore. Western medical practitioners also recommend patients to adopt alternative medicine for pain management and after surgery care. As a matter of fact, homeopathic medicine is used by medical professionals to control and manage the symptoms of cancer.


This is evident from a study conducted at Johns Hopkins University. The excerpt from the study published at Livestrong.com suggested that nearly “40% of American report using alternative medicine therapies for pain control when prescribed medications prove to be ineffective.”


What is Alternative Medicine?


Alternative medicine is a comprehensive spectrum of health care management. It includes pain and health care through massage, therapy, acupuncture, Ayurveda, and reflexology. Many mainstream doctors have now started recommending alternative medicine to theterminally ill patient to relieve pain and improve thequality of life.


To further promote the concept of alternative medicines, the Government of India revamped the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy to AYUSH in 2014. Short for Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha & Homeopathy, the department is set up to endorse the education and awareness about this formidable form of medical care.


Types of Alternative Medicine


To understand different types of alternative medicine, let’sget an understanding of AYUSH.  Derivative from Sanskrit word, AYUSH, meaning life, this healing methodologyis quite helpful in managing pain, controlling lifestyle diseases as well as rehabilitation after a major accident or surgery. Let’s turn our focus on each of these components –


# 1 Ayurveda


In the past, the human civilization relied on natural herbs and plants to cure various illnesses. According to the Ayurvedic philosophy, diseases are caused due to the imbalance of three energies - Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.


In modern day Ayurvedic practice, the discipline focuses on ahealthy lifestyle by consuming Sattvic diet, meditation and concentrate on improving digestive health. Ayurvedic medicines are prepared from natural plant products, herbs and traditional spices that are known to be bestowed with natural benefits. These medications are readily available from online platforms like 1mg.


Recommended for - Ayurvedic treatment and medicineis recommended for the treatment of common cold, flu, kidney stone diseases, hypertension, diabetes and diarrhea.


# 2 Yoga


The discipline of Yoga has taken the world health industry by storm. It is a popular form of exercise that is known to improve flexibility, body posture, immune system, mental health. The practice of meditation which is an integral component of Yoga also bestows calmness and purity. Yoga is an excellent way to accomplish a healthy lifestyle.


Recommended for – Yoga is highly recommended for weight loss, relieve stress, to gain physical strengths (especially after surgery or post-accident recovery).


# 3 Unani


As the name suggest, Unani medicinal practices have roots in Persia or the present-day Iran and the Arabs. This practice was brought to the Indian sub-continent by the Mughals. The principles of Unani medicine is based on four senses of humor Phlegm (Balgham), Blood (Dam), Yellow bile (?afr?') and Black bile (Saud?').


Recommended for - Several medical doctors prescribe Unani medicine to patients suffering arthritis, cataract and even cognitive impairment. It should be although noted that no form of treatment should be taken without consulting a physician or doctor.


# 4 Siddha


The roots of this ancientmedical care can be traced to the Tamil region. The tenants of Siddha treatment primarily focus on lifestyle and diet. Treatment of Siddha revolves around the restoration of three senses of humor — Vaadham, Pittham, and Kabam


Recommended for – Siddha medicinal practice is considered useful to treat ailments like a cough, cold, skin condition, joint pain, fever and even digestive disorders.


# 5 Homeopathy


We are all familiar with the use of homeopathic medicines for ailments like cold, flu, diarrhea, migraine and constipation. However,in recent times some evidencehas indicated the role of homeopathic medicines in cancer cure. For instance, research review1 entitled The Evidence: Scientific Studies on Homeopathic Cancer Treatment published in The American Homeopath concluded – “homeopathic drugs have proven biological action in cancer; in vitro and in vivo; in animals and humans; in the lower, as well as in the higher potencies.”


Recommended for – Homeopathic treatment provides relief for different ailments ranging from alung infection, arthritis, psoriasis, hair loss, PCOD, allergies,etc. although considered safe, it is always recommended to consult a physician or doctor before taking any forms of medicine, including homeopathy.


Conclusion


Alternative medicine is mostly treated as a supplement to mainstream treatment. The effects and benefits of this therapeutic technique vary from person to person. It is a good way to adopt a healthy lifestyle. However, any transition or treatment should be taken under the supervision of health practitioners and experts. 

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by John Weeks, Publisher/Editor of The Integrator Blog News and Reports
Bob Twillman, PhD, has quietly become the most visible activist for integrative strategy in the nation’s policy debates over optimal care of people in pain. For seven years, Twillman has served as a policy lead for an interprofessional organization formed by a psychologist and a medical doctor in 1988. Originally called the American Academy of Pain Management, two and a half years ago, the organization changed its name to the Academy of Integrative Pain Management (AIPM) under Twillman’s leadership.


“We felt the push now to talk about integrative as the approach we need to pain,” said Twillman. “It’s what we’ve been about since our founding. We thought we’d stake our claim.”
Twillman carries additional influential organizational affiliations into his work. A trained clinical psychologist and  former associate professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Twillman now oversees the work of AIPM’s network of state-based consumer groups on pain issues, the State Pain Policy Advocacy NetworK (SPPAN), led by his colleague Amy Goldstein. Via AIPM’s partner status with the Integrative Health Policy Consortium (IHPC), Twillman serves as co-chair of IHPC’s activist integrative pain committee.
In this vortex of interest, Twillman is involved in a growing number of educational and policy collaborations that link the AIPM and the IHPC. One joint initiative is the educational resource in development on integrative strategies for pain, which he is working closely with former NCCIH deputy director Margaret Chesney, PhD. The Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health and the interprofessional Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health are collaborators on this.
I asked Twillman what he considered the most exciting recent news in the integrative pain arena. He shared that he was recently invited by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to come to a meeting regarding CMS’ Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative. The CMS project is designed to help clinicians achieve large-scale health transformation. CMS will create educational programs to shift practices of 140,000 clinicians. Pain, specifically integrative pain treatment, “will be used as an exemplar,” Twillman said. The practice model is “being built off the integrative pain work in the [Veterans Administration] and the [Department of Defense].”
In regards to the Food and Drug Administration’s new education blueprint on pain and opioids, Twillman says it is a big improvement from what the organization put forth originally. For the first time, the draft document does “bring in non-pharma” and complementary medicine, he said. “What we are waiting for is whether the education recommended will be required or recommended.”
Twillman says he’s experienced frustration in seeking to create a more whole-person approach to pain care in collaboration with medical doctors. He acknowledged the paradox presented by his frustration, on the one hand, when medical doctors dismissively refer patients with the message that their pain “is all in their head” amidst the ascendance of the clinical strategy to “change the brain to change the pain.”
In addition, Twillman feels that the time has never been this good for integrative practitioners.  “Every day I look around and see a huge opportunity to solve two problems – preventing drug abuse and shifting the inadequate treatment of chronic pain,” he said.
This is a time for integrative practitioners to forge relationship with providers who are locked in the dominant methods of treatment – while acknowledging that a resource infrastructure to support individual practitioners in forging these relationships is not yet in place, according to Twillman.
Members of the media are increasingly looking to Twillman as the go-to integrative pain policy voice. He was recently interviewed for a story at Medscape, Opioid Makers May Have to Teach Physicians About Yoga, in which he again hammered on the problem of non-payment for non-pharma approaches. “We have to go beyond education and get into advocacy to get these things covered,” he said in the article. “Without re-education of conventional practitioners and shifts in payment, telling people to treat their pain without drugs is like telling them to “pet a unicorn.””
The position Twillman and the AIPM take is not anti-opioids. In fact, the organization staunchly supports the right use of these agents and of other pharmacological options. A transcript of some May 2017 testimony available here makes clear his ability to dive deeply into the ins-and-outs of pharmaceutical options. The organization’s Corporate Council Members include Lilly, Pfizer, Purdue, and others.
Still, Twillman believes that as the dominant medical culture becomes more accustomed to the non-pharma first, integrative approach to pain, that this model will spread not only in pain, but to other conditions. He foresees that this re-prioritized clinical order will stimulate parallel re-ordering of treatment: “I think we will see it soon. It will be generizable into other areas. It makes a lot of sense with our most chronic and most expensive health problems.”
Comment: In a move a decade ago that spoke to AIPM’s almost shocking level of interprofessional respect, the organization elected a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist as its president, Rick Marinelli, ND, MSOM. Marinelli, now deceased. He subsequently was instrumental in putting an integrative mark on a policy document that kicked off the modern policy era for pain treatment, the IOM’s 2011 Relieving Pain in America, prompted by the Affordable Care Act.
Twillman, with his understanding of the ins-and-outs of policy and pharma management, and now with his extensive collaborative reach into the integrative care organizations, is the right person for this moment. He is moving forward the mission of AIPM’S founders—from mere vision and obscurity 30 years ago to national pain policy—as the front end of the necessarily transformative shift of the nation’s therapeutic order for other conditions.

Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. If you have had chickenpox, this virus stays dormant in the body. Sometimes this virus can become active later in life, causing shingles. As you grow older the risk increases and about half the patients of shingles are 60 years or older. It is known to appear when your immunity has dipped due to any reason.
It causes a painful rash that develops on one side of the face or body. The rash forms blisters that typically scab over in 7 to 10 days. It may take up to 2 to 4 weeks to clear up. The rash is due to the infection of the superficial nerve by the virus.
About 1 to 5 days before the rash appears, people often have pain, itching, or tingling in the area where the rash will develop. We have seen patients who went to the emergency room for severe pain in the chest region and they were thoroughly investigated for cardiac problems. It was only later that they realized their folly after we told the patient that she could be suffering from shingles.
A person with active shingles can spread the virus when the rash is in the blister-phase. A person is not infectious before the blisters appear. Once the rash has developed crusts, the person is no longer contagious.
The most common complication of shingles is a condition called post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). The pain from PHN may be severe and debilitating, but it usually resolves in a few weeks or months in most patients. Some people can have pain from PHN for many years.
Shingles may lead to serious complications involving the eye. Very rarely, shingles can also lead to pneumonia, hearing problems, blindness, brain inflammation (encephalitis) or death.
As usual, viral diseases do not have specific treatment in conventional medicine. Anti-viral therapy with its concomitant side-effects is usually given to the person who has shingles. Post-herpetic neuralgia does not usually respond well to the usual pain-killers. This is because of the damage cause to the nerves carrying the sensory impulses. This is where homeopathy steps in. We have been able to help people with the PHN with our safe and simple homeopathic remedies.
Though the treatment of every person is individualized in homeopathy, we list some of the remedies that we have found very useful in managing shingles.
Mezereum: There is great itching, which is worse when the patient is warm or wrapped up. At the same time there is chilliness and sensitiveness to cold air with the itching. There are small vesicles with terrible itching, and the great characteristic is that the secretion dries quickly, producing scabs from beneath which an acrid thick pus oozes. Herpes zoster, with neuralgic pains along the nerves.
Rhus toxicodendron: It is useful in left-sided zoster with extensive vesication and perhaps accompanied with rheumatic pains. The skin is covered with numerous vesicles, there is great itching and tingling, the skin is often swollen and oedematous and these vesicles have a red areola around them. The symptoms are all worse at night, in damp weather and in winter. Rapid vesication and angry- looking skin are characteristics. There is a lot of relief from warm applications.
Ars alb: The sensations are itching, burning and swelling. Burning sensitive eruptions with offensive discharges. The intense burning is relief by local warmth.
Ranunculus bulbosus: There are vesicular eruptions along the course of the nerve; vesicles filled with serum and burn greatly; large blisters form on a raw surface. These blisters have a bluish appearance. If the shingles affects the chest region, there is a sore bruised sensation and muscular pains along the lower margin of the shoulder blade.They may complain of stitching pains between the should blades when moving or breathing in.
Lachesis: is a remedy that we have found very useful when the shingles affects the left side and there is a hypersensitivity of the skin. They cannot bear even the touch of the clothes to the affected area. The local symptoms are made worse in a hot room and from warmth and are relieved by cold applications. the eruptions are dark and almost have a bluish or purplish appearance.
Apis: has more burning and stinging and more edema. The skin appears rosy red in color and can be blistered as if burnt. There is a lot of relief from local cold applications. Ice packs relieve the stinging pains.
Cantharis: Large blisters with smarting and burning. There are blebs on the skin that burn and are relieved by cold applications. These persons may also develop a concomitant urinary infection with a lot of burning and smarting and the urine is passed out drop by drop.
Anacardium: There are small blisters with an umbilicated center. The eruption itches excessively and burns and is worse when washed with warm water. A peculiar feature is that the itching is relieved by eating or rubbing the parts.
Note: A detailed history followed by constitutional treatment by a good and qualified  and the best homeopathic doctor is necessary to treat the complaints that appear. The above mentioned remedies are mentioned solely to create awareness homeopathic medicines in dealing with disease conditions. It is not advisable to resort to self-medication for any disease. For homeopathic consultation for your symptoms you may visit Homeopathic Healing or send an e-mail to office@drvaishnav.com to meet the Homeopathic Specialists.