Ask the Practitioner

Cold and Flu Season DO’s

By Shereen Saiki, Licensed Acupuncturist

In Hawaii, cold and flu epidemics happen year round. Ideally, the best defense would be to strengthen the immune system every day regardless of symptoms. For many of us who live a modern on-the-go lifestyle, however, this message gets lost in a sea of bombardment to the senses by the internet, television, media, traffic, and other people. So when the body can no longer tolerate the stresses of marathon-ing through each day, whether at work or at play, it becomes necessary to learn the best reactive measures.

Know this: the first twenty four hours after you begin to experience that tickle in your throat or post nasal drip are the most advantageous for you in your struggle against upper respiratory infection. Underestimating, deferring or outright avoiding your initial symptoms can ultimately cost you days, weeks or months of lost work, recreation, and happiness.

Do rest but keep in mind that quarantining yourself from everyone keeps the health care professionals away as well- the very people that devote their practices toward helping you ward off disease. Being treated within that initial twenty-four hour period can effectively quell an infection and prevent others who share a living space with you from being infected. Check with your health care provider to see if they offer treatment options for the acute stage of an upper respiratory infection other than the typical advice of fluids, Tylenol, and rest. If you must go it alone then you’ll want to read on for more information.

Before you do anything you should have an informed perspective that will guide you in your therapeutic strategy and choice of remedies. First, begin with yourself. How strong is your body compared to the strength of the pathogen? Generally, the stronger you are the more severe and dramatic your acute symptoms will be and the quicker your immune system will defeat the pathogen. Note that in cases where the pathogen is simply too strong the body will succumb quickly even in strong individuals. Weaker individuals will tend to have less dramatic acute symptoms but decline more rapidly and require more recovery time. Knowing your relative strength compared to the strength of the pathogen will help you respond as aggressively or gently as necessary.

Knowing how the body functions in response to cold or flu pathogens and how to boost those functions can help you to distinguish between a healing reaction and symptom of exacerbation or worsening of your condition. Healing reactions are often mistaken for signs of deterioration or the progression of the disease. From a Chinese medical perspective, the location of the cold & flu battle occurs in the “Exterior” of the body which comprises the skin, mucous membranes, and muscle layer. At this level, the body can do a number of things in response to the disease agent or pathogen. The most primal response is for the body to increase its temperature to kill off or suppress the activity of the pathogen. The body can also try to push out the pathogen through the pores in the skin through diaphoresis, or sweating. Diaphoresis can naturally occur along with fever if the immune system is stronger than the pathogen. Another body response that often goes unheeded is muscular tension in the head, neck and shoulder areas. This locking of the muscular layer, especially when it occurs without any apparent stressors, is a defense mechanism and a surefire indication that an infectious pathogen is knocking on your door.
Next, determine the nature of the pathogen- whether it creates conditions of cold or heat in the body. Knowing the nature of the pathogen can clue you in to the appropriate strategy for either cooling down or warming up the body. Signs of cold include the absence of sweat & thirst, headaches & muscular tension, chills that do not improve by covering up, runny or watery mucus, and sneezing. Signs of heat include fever, sweating & thirst, sore throat, cough, thick & colored mucus.
There are several key foods/herbs that are cooling or warming in nature and most of them induce sweating (see table below). Be sure to try these only within the first twenty four hours of initial symptoms and if the pathogen is only moderate in strength. Strong pathogens require more aggressive and customized preparations of medicinal herbs which an experienced herbal practitioner can formulate.
Some key points to remember with sweating is that you may need to additionally cover up while consuming beverages at a warm or hot temperature to induce sweating. Sweating should be generalized throughout the body and not just in certain areas. Once sweating is achieved be sure to change out of sweaty clothing and linens. Changing your linens immediately after recovering from any illness is a good practice.

COOLING	WARMING
Mint Tea	Cinnamon (stick, bark)
Chrysanthemum Tea	Shiso Leaf, Perilla
Fermented Soybeans (black, dried, unsalted)	Ginger Root
Kudzu Root (starch)	Green Onion, Scallion (white bulb)
Mulberry Leaf

Natural Baby Savings!

by Fang Cai

Have you ever read the back of a baby wipes package?  It’s full of chemicals that most of us wouldn’t put on ourselves, much less our babies’ tender skin.  The skin is our largest organ; it absorbs just about everything you put on there.  Most baby wipes are also made from a blend of petrochemicals or plastics, which then are buried in landfills along with the toxic chemicals that they exude.  Somehow, we’ve developed the notion that baby wipes are a necessary part of the diaper change.  Not so!  There are many alternatives.

One option is to keep a pile of washcloths (or cut-up old t-shirts) and a spray bottle by the changing table.  Make your own baby wipe solution with water and a few drops of lavender or tea tree essential oils (they have antimicrobial properties).  To give the solution more moisturizing properties, you can also add 1 part olive oil to 4 parts water.  Shake up the bottle before each use, spray it onto the cloth, and you’ve got an environmentally-friendly baby wipe that is easy to use, economical, and good smelling to boot.

Alternatively, you can just set up your changing station in your bathroom, and wipe down baby’s bottom with water when necessary.  Make sure you dry the skin well before putting on the next diaper, as moist skin is more prone to getting diaper rash.

“MY WIFE DOESN’T LIKE TO GIVE MASSAGES. WHY DOESN’T

Mutual massage is the answer

SHE AND HOW CAN I GET HER TO WANT TO?”
by Brian S. Tow, LMT

People ask me why I became a massage therapist. I want to say it is because I like to help people, or because I want to make people feel good, and I like working with the body…but even though that is all true now, the real reason I originally decided to become one was because I liked to get massages! And in school, you get a lot of free ones! Over time, the other reasons came into play but I still do enjoy getting them. I think that is what makes a good LMT because if you love getting them, you pay attention to what feels good. With that being said, it is no wonder I met and married the one person who DOES NOT like to give massages. She admits it. But the main reason she doesn’t like it is because she falls asleep 5 minutes into it. So even if she agrees to give me one after hours of hinting around , or sitting in front of her, while clutching my lower back moaning and groaning, she is usually snoring after 5 minutes. I knew if I was ever going to be able to get a decent back rub from her, I was going to have to come up with something fast. One day, we were lieing down facing eachother talking and I had my arms around her, working on her lower back. While talking to me, she began working on me, mimicing the same things I was doing to her. Before I knew it, 1 hour later, I actually gave and got a great massage at the same time! And she actually liked it. We call it mutual massage. The greatest thing about mutual massage is that you get exactley what you give. Most people who don’t like to give massages, dont’ enjoy putting effort into something they don’t feel they are getting anything out of. For an LMT, we enjoy making people feel good. But not everone feels that way. So this is a great way of getting that person to want to work on you. It also feel remarkable. When you want a little more pressure, you press harder on them. And vice versa. When you feel something that feels good, you mimic it. Soon, both of you are getting a great massage. Try it, you will see it works!

How do I keep my Keiki Healthy During the Holidays?

Axle Cai

by Fang Cai (Acupuncturist)

If you’re going to a party that will have a lot of processed foods, give your keiki a light meal or snack of healthier foods beforehand. This usually prevents children from overdosing on sweets or junk food, and avoid the subsequent sugar crash or stomachache.

Fill your keiki’s cup or sippycup with water rather than juice. Even if the juice is diluted, drinking that constantly on a daily basis give too much sugar to the children’s bloodstream. The high fructose corn syrup found in most juices is also an excellent accelerator for tooth decay.

Warm breakfasts, with a good source of protein, complex carbohydrates, and fat, are key for helping keiki build a strong digestive system. Cold breakfast cereals (especially with cold milk) are not recommended for children or adults–EVER.

Some examples of good breakfasts:
Whole wheat toast with butter and a fried egg;
Oatmeal with butter or coconut oil stirred in; Organic/hormone-free chicken or pork sausage and a banana, lightly pan-fried;
Toasted whole wheat pita bread with avocado and hormone-free cheddar.

Is your purse the culprit?

NECK PAIN?

IT COULD BE YOUR PURSE.

by Daniela Stolfi-Tow

We are known to throw everything but the kitchen sink into their purses, and we all know they can get quite heavy… “There seems to be an epidemic of sore shoulders and necks coming into the clinic lately.” Massage Therapist Brian Tow said, “The first thing I look at is their purse. I would say most of the women who come in with neck or shoulder pain is due to their purse. Of course regular massage therapy helps with the pain. But my goal is prevention not managing symptoms.”
Women report feeling like there is a vice grip around their neck and a lot of weight on their shoulders, even after they take the bag off. So before you buy a bag, try it out first. Put it on and walk around with it a bit. Try and put something with weight in there. Pay attention to the lengths of the straps, the width, the material and stitching even can cause irritation to the skin. Compartment size and strap location is important for distribution.
And most importantly, try to edit what you put into you bag. At least 40% of what women carry in their purses could be left at home. Try leaving a set of makeup at the office so you don’t have to tote it all around. Make sure to alternate shoulders.