Pack up your troubles
Holiday planning should also include putting together an essential first-aid kit
NO MATTER where you go on holiday, there are items from your domestic medicine chest that should go with you. Making a list helps starting with, of course, sensible stocks of any personal medication and sunscreen. Plasters, tweezers, an eyebath and sharp scissors are obviously also a must.
Our family’s well-travelled First Aid Kit is stored in an airtight plastic box, although I can understand people who say loose products take up less room. I believe if the Kit has its own recognisable container, your chances are high that the plasters will be where you expect them, and not balled up with the dirty socks.
What are the most common vacation accidents/emergencies? Food poisoning/ diahorrea, severe bites from alien insects, infected cuts/blisters, strains and bruises from unaccustomed activity and, of course, colds and sore throats caught en voyage.
A decade ago, I recommended everyone dose up on Garlic and Echinacea before flying (Gerard House make an excellent combination); now my first choice is medicinal quality Oil of Oregano in two forms – a liquid aqueous spray – Germaclenz – that can also be taken orally and Oil of Oregano in an olive oil base. Use Germaclenz in the airplane or ferry to kill airborne germs. Clean cutlery and crockery with it; spray it about when someone sneezes. A few drops of neat oil under the tongue routs any self-respecting sore throat bug or the oil can be rubbed on the feet or chests of babies for a similar effect. Helps snuffly sleepers wonderfully.
Oil of oregano can be used topically for fungal toenails, athletes foot, any abrasion or bug bite; my favourite for bites is P73 Cream from the same manufacturer – also wonderful for prickly heat, sunburn and scar prevention. Food poisoning or gippy tummy responds well to three or four drops of oil in warm water three times a day. If taking oregano internally, you should take Acidophilus to replace good bacteria in your gut. Oregano is nature’s antibiotic – clears everything in its path, good or bad. So take Acidophilus mid-meal three times a day, particularly if you get diahorrea (best brand Lifeplan Culturecare sachets which need no refrigeration).
Two MUST-HAVE homoeopathics are arnica – for swelling, bumps, bruises and sprains – and Apis Mel for insect bites with severe swelling. Homoeopathics work best away from coffee or peppermint and tablets must be shaken into the cap and transferred, not handled. Take two tablets of 30 concentration every three hours for two days and then four times a day thereafter until improvement is seen.
We keep Bach Rescue Remedy in the car in case of accidents, panic attacks or sudden pain, so obviously it’s in the Kit too. It’s safe for children’s tantrums, works for toothache (as does Oil of Oregano) direct onto the tooth, also aids sleep.
Aromatherapy Lavender oil on the pillow helps calm restless children: start using it at home to create a comforting bedtime atmosphere you can replicate abroad.
Finally, Visualize herbal eyedrops. I got a trace of Oregano oil in my eye recently and blessed the Visualize. Particularly after my husband had thrown several buckets of water over my head as I lay on the bathroom floor! Hence the eyebath, dear readers. Incidentally, oregano isn’t poisonous, but it smarts, so be careful to wash hands etc after use.
A Kit as above may save you a small fortune in doctors’ bills and prescription charges, so ‘Bon voyage’ – have a wonderful healthy holiday!
Available from: Lavender oil and Bach Rescue Remedy available locally from health food shops. Germaclenz, Oil of Oregano and P73 Cream mail-order from www.nutriglow.com. Everything else: mail-order from Tigon (UK) Ltd www.oliveleaf.co.uk or call Derek on 00 44 116 235 5020
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
I have fungal toenails and lesions on the soles of my feet. Could this be Candidiasis as you mentioned before?
Mr BL Limassol
I promised to return to Candidiasis and, yes! your symptoms could denote candida overgrowth, as can a mucus-coated throat/mouth (oral thrush) and cystitis/thrush. Treat fungal nails and soles topically with Oil of Oregano (see main article) working the oil in well. Spray inside your shoes with Germaclenz regularly.
Last column I suggested treatment with Eden Olive Leaf Extract. It’s important to ensure you take the capsules every six hours (different from four times a day!) and keep the blood constantly saturated. For chronic conditions, add two gelcaps of Oreganol four times a day. When the symptoms seem under control, halve the dose of both supplements for a further 10 days.
Throughout this treatment, take an Acidophilus capsule with every meal (Best brands Quest or Viridian Nutrition). You may experience ‘die-off’, which leaves your system feeling battered as the infestation comes under control. Candida overgrowth is hard to kill and one could say it dies kicking and screaming all the way.
Higher Nature Citricidal – a grapefruit compound, I believe – and Capryllic Acid are also recommended by some practitioners but I have no evidence either way.
Nikki’s column appears every four weeks. Please address your questions to [email protected], PO Box 21144, Nicosia. Tel: 22 818585
