Making Simple Ear Oil

There are many ways to prepare ear oil. Here I will describe simple garlic ear oil you can make in a pinch....

To make a small amount of oil, use 3-5 cloves and a few tablespoons of olive oil. You can also make larger batches with a large head of garlic and a cup of oil.

Chop garlic coarsely - no need to peel.... it's okay to keep on the outer husk. This can also be done with a garlic press or a food processor. The finer the garlic is chopped, the more quickly it is incorporated into the oil but more careful straining is needed.

Place the garlic in a non aluminum pan (stainless, enamel, cast iron) on the lowest possible heat and add olive oil. Other liquid oils can be used but olive is preferred. No coconut please. The longer the better but simmer softly for at least an hour. If no rush leave the oil to simmer longer or turn off the heat and let garlic sit over night (I use cast iron and make this in the oven. Then it sits warm all night and is protected from dust.)

When done strain and squeeze out garlic by filtering it through a cloth. Pre-moisten cloth with oil if you make only a tiny batch to maximize your yield. Pour it into a dropper bottle ( if you strain directly into a measuring cup its easy to pour).

You may add other oils (hypericum, calendula) or essential oils (thuja, lavender, tea tree - just a drop).

Store in refrigerator when not in use and it will last over a year. To use place bottle in a mug of hot water shaking periodically to warm. Test on your arm as you would a baby bottle prior to use. It should be warm not hot. Lie the head of the patient down with ear facing up. Place 1-3 drops in ear being careful not to touch dropper to ear. You can plug with cotton if desired after letting it sit in the ear a few minutes. Treat both ears even if only one hurts.

Note: NEVER place anything in ear if you see blood, pus, discharge or suspect rupture.

Other uses (besides salads): place in ears prior to swimming to avoid swimmers ear or water in ears; or use on cuts or scrapes.

First Foods Class

We will be teaching First Foods in several venues over the summer. Here is a basic description of the class. Registration information, dates and location will be posted in May 2014 for classes running June-August.

Class Description: First Foods is a class about food introduction to infants but the class has applications to a much broader range of issues that apply to effect of food on our general health and wellbeing. Food introduction has an impact on immunity, long term health, and the avoidance of specific diseases. 

The unique feature of our philosophy is the emphasis on an individualized approach to healthcare. What and when you feed your children should be determined by the unique factors relating to your family and your child's health. Providing information and teaching simple tools is a much more effective approach than handing someone a 'one size fits all schedule'.

The point of the class is to offer something for all attendees. While infant food introduction is the metaphor, the class is appropriate for all parents, anyone interested in learning about the development and impact of food allergies, or people concerned about the impact of food on immunity.

Dates, Times and Locations: To be announced in May 2014

Instructor Information: Everything I learned about this topic was taught to me by my amazing children who survived and thrived using this approach. Over the years I have had the opportunity to modify this approach for literally thousands of children and adults with great benefit. My formal background include my Medical Degree - Naturopathic Physicians have the equivalent of a Masters in Nutrition as part of the accredited training. I have taught nutrition in several university and graduate school programs and utilize nutrition as a primary modality in healing within my practice.

Policy on Classes:
Genuine Health only exists in partnership with education. We promote educational classes as a way to serve the community and provide cost effective opportunities for people to make good decisions with respect to their own health.

Our community has expanded from a small rural practice to an international community over the twenty years it has existed. We will make an effort to accommodate people in distant locations or with other issues of access by offering Skype or teleconferencing for classes.

All classes require pre-registration in order for us to compile class materials and organize the event. We gladly take requests for class topics and frequently travel to provide opportunities to people who are underserved by Naturopathic Medicine.

Feeding our Children

There are few choices you make that have a greater impact on the long term health of your child than what they eat. A child's blueprint is set and food is the fuel that allows a child to reach their genetic potential with respect to health and overall well being. Obviously we know the importance of quality food on these little growing bodies...yet somehow putting it into practice seems daunting. Here are a few small pearls of wisdom I hope encourage you :-).

1. How when and what you introduce as first foods has a phenomenal effect on the development of

the immune system, the likelihood of various diseases ( especially atopic disorders like asthma and eczema), and a lifetime of healthy choices. Be informed before you decide. See First Foods Class for more information.

2. Know that the biggest factor in making poor choices in food is caving to pressure.... Pressure by family, pressure by friends, and pressure by your child. Most moms really do know what is best. Yet establishing healthy choices for your child should be about developing character for your child and not be based on your own willpower. Stand your ground. Your time of total control over food is limited so make the most of it. This is a battle that you eventually pass on to your children who make their own healthy choices as they get older. Make sure you equip your child with the tools for a lifetime of healthy choices.

3. Lead by example. Our kids do what we do more than just what we say. Put the time when you are modeling healthy habits to good use and let your care for your children improve nutrition for the whole family. Remember that if good food is not a value to you, it will not likely be followed by your children.

4. As always I promote an individualized approach to healthy eating based on the unique health and circumstances of your family. There is not one 'best diet' for all people. Trust your intuition, study, experiment, and watch closely for clues that provide an opportunity to change. Be tolerant of other nutritional approaches, you are not THEIR mother, and be UNSWAYED by the outspoken advocate of an extreme new approach to eating that is THE best way for everyone. All diets have some merit. Focus on small gradual changes that can be maintained as family habits.

5. I have never been a pill pusher or vitamin advocate. While there is a time and place....in my practice I encourage education around nutrition and healthy habits over the use of pills for nutrition. Learn to eat well first and count on that to provide the bulk of your nutrition. Then a vitamin pill makes sense to add that little extra balance of trace nutrients.

The Immunization Decision Class

We will be teaching The Immunization Decision in several venues over the summer. Here is a basic description of the class.

Class Description: The Immunization Decision is the 'thinking parents' guide to vaccine decisions. The goal of the class is to educate you about a wide range of considerations that affect your choices with respect to vaccinations. Because our children are unique, the class will focus on an individualized approach to vaccines rather than promoting a single philosophy. We will stress options, safety, long term considerations, and review the factors around us that influence our choices about immunizations.

Dates, Times and Locations: Friday May 30, 2014 Jackson Hole Wyoming. The class is FREE but requires preregistration since we are limiting the class size.

Instructor Information: I feel that my collective experience has provided me with a great deal of perspective on vaccine issues as they relate to different populations and different individuals around the world. I am neither for or against vaccines; but believe that medications should be prescribed on the basis of individual need with respect to the unique concerns of the individual patient. I am a huge advocate of parental rights and believe that when parents are armed with good information they make exceptional decisions for their children. My goal in teaching about vaccines is to offer factual information, provide options to parents, and introduce the wide range of considerations that decisions about vaccines embody.

I am the proud mother of three unimmunized children. My practice, which focuses on family health with an emphasis on pediatrics and woman's healthcare, is very diverse. Accordingly I serve populations at all places along the continuum of the vaccine choice. As a physician it is not my job to tell you what to do or make decisions for you; it is my job to provide you with the best information available, support you in the decisions you make, and provide ongoing care and medical support to your family.

Policy on Classes:
Genuine Health only exists in partnership with education. We promote educational classes as a way to serve the community and provide cost effective opportunities for people to make good decisions with respect to their own health.

Our community has expanded from a small rural practice to an international community over the twenty years it has existed. We will make an effort to accommodate people in distant locations or with other issues of access by offering Skype or teleconferencing for classes.

All classes require pre-registration in order for us to compile class materials and organize the event. We gladly take requests for class topics and frequently travel to provide opportunities to people who are underserved by Naturopathic Medicine.

Vaccines and the Media

Media is a powerful tool. I remember seeing an ad for vaccines on TV. A small child was playing in the middle of a busy street. And me, with my unimmunized children, I was compared to the mother...irresponsible and putting my kids in unnecessary danger.

The irony was that I had researched vaccines for about 7 years, reviewing medical journals, popular literature and interviewing experts before I made my well informed choices. Yet the women I saw who simply did as they were told and followed the schedule blindly....THEY were good parents.

I think as a parent the most frustrating thing about this whole issue is that it is so purposely misleading. If vaccines are such a universally good thing, it would be easy to simply show the clear scientific evidence of benefit.... And everyone would comply, right?  So why use media scare tactics over reason and clear information? Issues related to the safety, efficacy, and promotion of vaccines are complicated.... and ambiguous. Not because there are not clear benefits to certain populations.... But because promoting the same prescription drug to all people without consideration of need or circumstances is simply bad medicine.

I think if all the risks and the level of effectiveness were clearly disclosed for each vaccine, it would be very obvious to people that these are drugs that do not apply to all our children but need to be considered, like all other prescription drugs, on a case by case basis with a professional. Why are vaccines advertised like a commodity? I think the lack of clear information makes it difficult to make an informed decision about an issue that feels really significant to how I will approach healthcare for my children all of their lives. This seems very counterintuitive to me as a mother and as a physician. I think that this type of media campaign is insulting to an intelligent parent seeking factual information and unbiased advice to make healthcare choices.

MLM and Vaccine Promotion

The campaign to promote vaccinations reminds me of a multi-level marketing plan. Although there are a few 'big names' promoting the practice.... The majority of sales are being done by non-medical 'consultants' such as school faculty and administration, public health employees, and medical office personnel  unqualified to write the prescription for the drugs they promote.

And although the 'scientific literature' is clearly alluded to; sales are promoted by 'testimonials' appealing to consumer emotions rather than providing clear factual documentation.

The company media provided to 'consultants' is well funded, glossy photos, billboards, tv adds designed to promote sales and make it clear how much risk you take by not 'buying in'.

The most effective part of this campaign is the down line.... Other consumers such as your Mother in Law, next door neighbor, and daughters best friends mother all work together to promote more sales and stress the clear danger of not being part of this great 'opportunity'.

I applaud the brainpower behind this campaign. It's pretty clear to me that vaccines had to be taken out of the realm of legitimate medicine and marketed in this way because of the liability issues associated promoting these drugs across the board to a population as vulnerable as children (vaccine injury act). Pharmaceutical companies remove themselves from liability and the government takes over marketing and deals with all the problems. So now, if your child does suffer a reaction from the prescription drug that was administered to them by a health professional; the government - not the physician - deals with the liability. Of course it's not called malpractice because vaccines are being administered 'outside' of the flow of legitimate medicine. When the government stepped in, both physicians and the pharmaceutical companies themselves were freed of any liability issues associated with vaccines.

Sometimes I think we get so bogged down by details that we fail to notice the big picture. When I step back and see it, I understand that the wellbeing of my child is not really the issue. Vaccinations are more about politics, big business, and the media.... But the well being of my children is MY primary issue. And the health and ability of my patients to make informed choices is MY great concern.

Help Unravelling Immunization Questions

Probably the first thing you will notice if you take the time to study issues surrounding vaccines is that there is very little middle ground. Most people are passionate and opinionated and fall neatly on one side or the other. Both sides have harnessed the fear factor by promoting the dangers of the oppositions point of view. Making decisions about vaccines feels more like politics than healthcare.

How do you balance out all this conflicting information about immunizations to get accurate information from a reliable source? I have been supporting parents in making choices with respect to healthcare for many years now and decisions regarding vaccinations are among the hardest. Here are a few insights about the process of making this challenging decision.

Part of the reason this choice is so hard is that there ARE very real risks no matter what you decide to do. Because of this it is important to realize that the weighing of risk to benefit is very individualized. Vaccines are probably the only prescription drug whose dose, schedule and administration is promoted by non medical personnel who are not trained to make healthcare decisions. Make sure you work with someone who is familiar with your child, knows personal and family medical history, and can advise you about the risk to benefit ratio of each vaccine vs. the natural disease. It is not appropriate to take medical advice about prescription medications for your child from non-medical personnel.

Secondly seek council from someone who can offer you a range of options. These may include alternatives to specific vaccines, delayed schedule, administration of limited or single vaccines, specific immune enhancement, etc. Providers who promote only 1 protocol are more likely to influence you to adopt their opinions and be unable to offer practical information about your range of options.

Lastly consider the worst scenario. If you DO have a problem, can your provider support you and offer appropriate care? Many people who experience vaccine reactions find that most physicians do not recognize vaccinosis and have no ability to treat it. Since many childhood diseases exist even in the vaccinated populations, vaccinated children who contract the diseases of childhood often go undiagnosed and without correct care. Similarly unvaccinated children are often misdiagnosed due to the assumption that only unimmunized children are vulnerable to these illnesses.

The word doctor comes from the Latin root 'to teach'. Successful healers trust that providing good information and supporting their patients in making good decisions about their family creates excellent health. When people ask me if I am for or against vaccines I reply that I am pro-education. Teaching about vaccines, health and the options available allow parents to feel empowered and confident about their choices. They also become fellow converts to a pro education stance that supports all parents in making excellent decisions based on the unique character of their individual child.

Transitional Formulas

(Article reposted from 2013 blog)

Babies are designed to thrive on a predominately liquid diet for the first several years of life. Yet our culture does not support the promotion of prolonged breast feeding or even long term use of formula for infants. The reasons for this are interesting and addressed in the article, Need to Feed (will repost and provide a link in the future).

Transitional formulas are a concept of providing a nutrient rich liquid diet at a time when solid foods would generally be introduced, often while continuing breastfeeding. Transitional formulas follow the principles of appropriate food introduction and developmental readiness for food. They allow a child a more gradual transition between a liquid and solid diet by solving many of the problems faced by strictly breast feeding  (or formula feeding) or an abrupt change to solids.

Transitional formulas may truly transition a healthy child to a solid diet, or may be used

therapeutically to deal with medical issues such as weight gain issues, food allergies (or allergy prevention), nutrition related issues, or sometimes even to resolve family or social issues. Whatever the reason, transitional formulas require careful assessment and monitoring to assure correct nutritional standards are met, weight gain is appropriate, and early symptoms of nutritional illness are identified and corrected. Since all children are different, transitional formulas allow a practitioner to improve nutrient and calorie intake while individualizing solid food introduction based on the unique needs of the child.

For more information on food introduction, plan to attend our class, First Foods. Consider this article in the context of that class which discusses the appropriateness of transitional formulas for individual children.

Acute Care

Naturopathic Medicine is excellent for an acute crisis and trauma. However it is not easy to bring a new patient up to speed in the middle of an emergency, so crisis care is more appropriate for existing patients. Think ahead!

Many people think that Naturopathic Medicine is not strong enough or fast enough to manage severe conditions. Living in Idaho, where the Laws are restrictive and unfavorable for trained Naturopathic Physicians, has given me the opportunity to provide emergency care in a wide variety of  situations - often beyond the line of what I have been trained to do (again why we 'practice' medicine and keep learning from our patients). Even though I believe in this type of care to my core... I still feel awe when it works so well.

Although I was trained in appropriate medical technology, which included the appropriate use of ALL medical tools including antibiotics, drugs and surgery.... in Idaho my access is restricted and I have often encountered patients who were unwilling to utilize those forms of medicine due to religious beliefs or philosophical orientation. As a result I have had the opporunity to TEST Naturopathic Medicine in the field under extreme conditions... and IT WORKS!

Since Naturopathic Medicine treats people not diseases, the appropriate course of care for one condition can take an infinite variety of forms.... part of providing individualized care requires looking at the unique needs of the individual, their family, their community, and their environment in light of the existing crisis. What are their beliefs (religious and cultural), what are their resources (internal, family, financial, etc), what is their objective (getting well before a trip, resolving a chronic disease that flares up repeatedly, etc), and perhaps most importantly - what is the vitality of  health and the commitment to fixing the problem?

Here are a few thoughts when considering Naturopathic Care for Acute situations.

Prevention, prevention, PREVENTION! How do you prevent acute crisis? Three ways: 1 stop it in it's tracks! By having a home dispensary and attending classes you can usually intervene and prevent a small issue from becoming serious just as it is starting; 2 By increasing general health you are better able to successfully manage a crisis.  That is the advantage of having a physician who promotes wellness. 3. It's who you know! Having a relationship with a physician you can reach immediately during crisis is essential. Without support and advice, you are left making decisions on your own when you are least able to be thinking clearly.

When you start to recognize the strengths and weaknses of you health, it is easy to predict what conditions combine to create a crisis and what it will be. It doesn't take a crystal ball to figure out the weakest link in a person's constitution. In Western medicine, symptoms are suppressed with drugs...anti-histamines, pain medications, cough suppressants, antibiotics.... so we fail to recognize the VALUE of symptoms and the clues they give us about how the body is reacting....symptoms are like the early warning fire alarm of a bigger problem! When we stop ignoring or covering up the warning, we access the protective mechanisms that God put in our body to KEEP US HEALTHY! Instead of waiting for the house to catch fire to act, symptoms (fire alarms) allow us to see risk, make predictions and make choices that change your health destiny. If you don't understand this, disease seems like a random occurrance that is inconvenient and innevitable and disempowering.

Who do you know? I grew up with a father that was a physician who DID housecalls. As a kid I went along with him and played with the kids in the family while my Dad worked. My kids have grown up the same way. Illness is best managed at home with the physician going to you. Why get a really sick kid with a ruptured eardrum UP to wait in line with a bunch of sick people in an ER at 3 AM? Is that healthcare? Acute care at Healthy by Nature includes a high level of accessibility. Patients access me in a variety of ways to get their needs met, but ACCESS is the key. When you are scared, sick, and uncertain; regardless of your orientation or health goals.... you need an advocate, someone who knows you, to reassure and give advice and remind you that have what you need to minister to yourself or your family providing EXCEPTIONAL healthcare.