Health and We - Our tongue

Health is Wealth! We have heard this since ages and yet we take so little care! And we go after medicines and medicines when we could know the symptoms ourselves.

The tongue is often called the mirror of the stomach. A healthy tongue is free of any discomfort, such as pain, stinging, burning, swelling, excrescences or numbness. It is moist, with a rough surface, and has an evenly colored pink surface overlaying pale red.

If the tip of the tongue is very red, it could mean that the acid intake is more. It should be neutralized by consuming enough fruits.

Coating is a sign of toxification. Water intake should be increased.

Everyone should check their tongue on a daily basis when they brush their teeth and tongue. Any discoloration, lumps, sores or pain should be monitored and evaluated.

It's perfectly OK to talk

I was talking to this young girl whom I have known since she was a kid. I did not see her much during her growing up years however when she told me she was suffering from depression I was left speechless and though I did not say anything on her face, in my heart I had questions like why, how, what...

I didn't ask her why or since when but from what she told me spontaneously I could figure out that it was pressure, pressure to perform at her studies, pressure to be like her classmates or outshine them and most importantly the comparisons between her and her elder sibling. And that came from all corners - relatives, cousins. Thankfully her parents were supportive and she is well on her way to lead a normal life.

And this incident reminded of someone else who unable to deal with the pressures of his professional course and started behaving different and it took some time for his family to deal with it and get him out of it.

What I don't understand or know is whether such symptoms are on the rise today considering the rat race for which we are prepared for right from our childhood! Dance class, music class, swimming class, foreign language class and what not! Give it a break please, dear parents! Don't let your child do everything that you wanted to do and could not do whatever might have been the circumstances then! Let her choose whatever she is interested in!

And to everyone, young or not-so-young, please talk! It does not do any good keeping things to yourselves and trying to solving it all by yourself! Don't do that! Talk to friends, cry if you must but don't think you are alone! Every one goes through ups and downs in life and there is no magic available to come out of it. It takes time, patience, family and friends to help one out of a situation. Speak, get some advise and walk ahead! Don't compare your journey with anyone else's.

Blocked Nose/Stuffed Nose/Running Nose

hmmm...Winters! And this year the temperature seems to be below than that on other years. And I am getting these strange problems. When I wake up, my nose seems to be blocked and the other running and this happens irrespective of the time I sleep! I was never much an afternoon sleeper but these days I seem to doze off and when I wake up the same problem persists. I suddenly feel cold and then my throat and nose both seem itchy too. It gets better after a while though. I can also sleep peacefully inspite of a little wheezing sound I hear when I wake up.

I hate to go to a doctor and wondering which homoeo remedy would best suit me. My dad has been prescribing a medicine but I am too lazy to take that and decided on my own. Seems to have initially worked but if I am irregular who is to blame.

I am also on the lookout for natural remedies and ginger and garlic seem to the obvious choices but here too it is not working or may be I am not regular. I also made the greatest of homoeo mistakes and that is to take garlic when homeo medicines are on. Strong spices, tomato, coffee all destroy the homeo medicine's effect. I must be here or there and can't be at both the places.

I am too lazy to try steam therapy; may be today :-) And may be today I will try out another homoeo medicine and see if it has any positive effect. Or is it allergy? Well...Wish me luck!!!
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Day 3: Well, I tried Nux Vomica since my nose is alternately stuffed up and running. I took the medicine for 2 days and just one dose before sleeping. I did feel slightly better as the stuffiness slightly reduced but I think I should increase the dosage. I will update the blog when I see some remarkable improvement. I thought Nux would be good because I am having little problem with bowels as well. But honestly I had never known that Nux could be a cure.
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Day 5: Nux seems to be working. Slowly. At least the stuffed nose seems to be getting better and it's the running one that I have to take care of now! That's because I am lazy with the doses I guess! A friend advised me the following: Boil water and add ajwain and saunf and bring it to half. When it has cooled down, drink it before sleeping.  I did that last night and felt slightly better on waking up this morning.
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Day 7: I am feeling better, not sure its the medicine that is working or the weather. May be both!

Doctors and the Medical profession

When I was in my growing up years, I loved playing doctor-doctor and treating my playmates - my brother and my grandfather with some imaginary pills, checking their heart-beat and the like. No wonder till a certain point in my life, I wanted to choose medical science as my profession. This did not happen for a few reasons however I am glad I am not one among today's many doctors who are so professional that they don't care much about the lot of the patient as long as their purse is happy.

Though I have severe tonsilitis inflammation since the last two days, I will not visit a  doctor. I will have the homoeopathic remedies my dad prescribes or stick to home made ones like a ginger tea, or some jaggery to keep my throat in some shape to sustain the 1 week period that a normal cold/cough takes to vanish.

I know of doctors who won't even check you properly and prescribe medicines. Also in Delhi, I know of so many doctors who give you some colourful pills in small envelopes and no prescription. What does the poor patient know what medicine he is taking and if he needs to consult any other doctor in the future, how will the other doctor know what was the previous treatment undertaken by the patient?

Doctors should not only ask the patient of his medical history but also should be aware of the physical condition of the patient before prescribing any medicine. My mother was prescribed some medicines and since she has a weak constitution, her body could not take those and that resulted in severe vomitting and her being admitted to a hospital.

It is indeed sad that the profession which deserves so much respect is being looked down with disguise. The doctors today are only interested in earning commissions. They will tell you to undergo the same tests in a matter of a couple of days. I never understand this logic. And they will tell you to get it done from a certain clinic only.

What I do and tell the people around me to do is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, eat the right food, sleep well and then diseases would not be so near to you. Avoid the doctors as much as you can. If you are fearing that something is not right with you, do seek advise but don't blindly follow what the first doctors tell you . Today's doctors are doctors because they have passed some exams by some means including swallowing the names of the medicines. When prescribing these medicines, they don't think about the possible reactions becuase medical books cannot have eveything in such minute details. The physical condition of each human being is unique and how they react to the same medicine may be different. Good doctors are those who think, analyse and remember if they have treated a similar case before. So, please understand what your doctor is telling you to do and why? Take second opinion, take third opinion.

Having said all these, I still hope the faith in the profession is restored.