Study Shows Antibiotics Do Not Work For Most Sinus Infections

This article recently came out and discussed how ineffective antibiotics are in treating most sinus infections and encourages a wait and watch approach and management of symptoms.

I believe this is critical information to make known to the general public.  We live in a quick fix society; people want to pop a pill and be back to work the next day.  But, that is just not how our bodies are made.  They need rest, care, and often the right medley of natural remedies in order to heal properly.

Echinacea  (Photo credit: altmedicinezone.com)

Sadly, most "management of symptoms" includes over the counter drugs that often don't do much to help the body heal and can sometimes end up causing harm instead.  I watched (and experienced) this happen time after time during the years I was a nurse.  This is one of the reasons I am back in school to become an herbalist and aromatherapist; I LOVE how gentle and healing natural remedies can be.  Herbs and essential oils, when used correctly, are powerful healing tools; far more complex that our standard pharmaceuticals.  Because of this complexity, they are often better at treating illnesses and bringing about healing in the body.

There is a time and place for modern medicine.  But, I think most common illnesses and sicknesses can be managed much better by holistic medicine (herbs, essential oils, homeopathy, accu-puncture, etc).

Elderberry (Photo credit: natures-health-foods.com)

If you are a reader who is interested in learning about antibiotic alternatives and other ways to gently heal the body, there are a few things I would recommend:

1) Start to create your own holistic network.
Find a local herbalist, aromatherapist, homeopath, accu-puncturist, and naturopath.  It can take a while to build up a holistic network, but it's worth the wait.  I have personally found that I need different types of holistic care at different times.  Sometimes homeopathy works great but other times I feel myself really needed a good accu-puncture treatment or  a particular herbal remedy.

2) Start to educate yourself.
There are two books that I recommend you read (just click the title and I have linked it to the books so you can read more about them): Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Buhner and Natural Alternatives to Herbal Antibiotics by John McKenna.  Both these books are easy to read and very informative.

3) Consider taking an on-line course.
There are many courses that you can take.  For beginners looking for some basic health and herbal knowledge, try Vintage Remedies The Family Herbalist.  This course can be done on your schedule and will be a great starting point to learn how to treat you and your family from a more natural approach.
If you are interested in aromatherapy, then I highly recommend Aromatherapy 101 through the East West School of Herbal and Aromatic Studies.  This course will give you a basic knowledge platform to learn how to treat your family with essential oils.  I think you will be amazed at the healing properties of these oils.

Garlic (Photo credit: en.wikipedia.org)