D-Mannose, an effective treatment for UTI?

Hi there my small group of healers,

I have recently (re)discovered the Holy Grail of UTI infection treatments.

Basically, UTI's (Urinary Tract Infections ) are caused by E-Coli. E-Coli lives naturally in our bodies and the majority of your feces is made up of them. Normally your urinary tract is free from E-Coli, however there are a few ways that they can get inside the UT, one being poor hygiene and two sexual activity. Some people are more prone to them than others and luckily most men will never experience them (trust me your lucky). Basically E-Coli sticks like Velcro to our insides and like to live on the mucus membranes that are the fine lining of our insides. Our colon has a certain level of protection from them and the cell walls are sloughed off frequently. But in the UT there are no natural defenses and since E-Coli just love to stick and climb as well as multiply we can be in trouble rather quickly if they infest the UT, a small sensitive tube.

If your a woman, you know and dread this feeling... I felt one the UTI coming at 3 AM when it woke me with that all too familiar feeling. I promptly called the doctors office to try to get an appointment, and since I could not sleep I spent an hour online looking for relief. After work I drove to the store and purchased the products. I have had several of these infection in my life and have had some that were self treatable and some that went straight to my bladder and kidneys. I recommended only using this product if you have caught the infection early enough that you re not peeing blood. Based on my self assessment, the UTI that I was suffering from was just a day in, though annoying, it only really hurt during urination and created the sensation that you need to do even when you don't. (Disclaimer: go to the doctor if your peeing blood, and go quick if you like having kidneys, once you feel pain in your back you are in for a shot of penicillin and a lecture from your Dr.) Once I tell you how it works you will get the significance of when to use it.

Here is the solution, D-Mannose is a simple sugar found in berries like black, blue and strawberries. It is synthetically reproduced and sold in only a few select health food stores. I live in San Diego, and I had to drive an hour to get to a store that sold it. I bought two products that were offered, one was a natural remedy that included Cranberry extracts and other herbs, the other was a product called Cleartrack. They ranged in price between 28 and 38 dollars so I spent approximately $70 but trust me it was worth every penny. If you plan ahead you can get this product online for somewhere around $18 dollars. What a deal, I am ordering more before I post this so I never run out.

So how does D-Mannose help? Basically D-Mannose loves E-coli and sticks to it better than the E-Coli can stick to our mucus membranes, so when we drink a lot of it it tends coat the outside of the E-Coli and we are able to flush the E-Coli out of our system.

Treatment, as described on the bottle, Take one scoop (approximately 3/4 of a teaspoon) in a cup of room temperature water every 3 hours. I drank plenty of fluids along with it just in case.

The first product, contained (30 scoops) was a mixture as described above, and was grainy, stuck to the inside of the glass and was not palatable. So I tried the second, the ClearTrack, (comes with 50 scoops per bottle) which I think is the best, not only because you get more treatments out of it, but it completely dissolves in room temperature water, I felt it had little to no taste, but when I drank it in a concentrated dose it did not taste great.

The infection was still painful, so it does not take the edge off, and it took approximately 3 days to feel back to normal, although I took it two more days just in case. But it saved me from another round of antibiotics. Which by the way the last kind I got has the side effect of weakening your tendons and I did not notice until round three in one year. Nice, now my tendons crack every time I go down the stairs. (Thanks Big Pharma!)

Checking back, I have been UTI free for over a year and am grateful for D-Mannose.  No turning back for me.

Nail Fungus Among Us

Well, how do we start... I guess I would like to share a cure I used to get rid of a fungus, specifically a toe nail fungus. I know there are a lot of people out there that swear by prescribed drugs, and then there are others that swear by natural means of treatment, I like to swear by what really works in my own experience and the experiences of those around me. If you'll indulge me...

Nail fungus is a nasty little microbe that likes to live and breath under our nails and skin. It is unsightly and can stay with us for years. Yes ladies and gents, this bad boy is here to stay unless you do something about it. And it can spread to your hands, feet and then to your loved ones by living in your carpets or through regular human contact. Grant it it is not as scary as I might portray it, you don't have anything to fear by shaking hands or walking around in your stalking feet, I give it a 3 on the transferability scale. If you have been on this planet for a few years as I have, I am sure a you have either experienced or know someone who has experienced a nail fungus at some time in your lives, well here is some food for thought

The Problem:

Nail fungus is described quite well here if you have not been officially diagnosed or are not able to go to a doctor due to financial reasons. http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/toenail-fungus/

Western remedies... still a bit of a problem...

Now if you have gone to your doctor for this, you are probably given an option of a few drugs to cure the issue one starts with Lam.... If enjoy a good giggle, as I do, you should read all of the complications that can occur due to these drugs you will probably also know that these drugs can wreak havoc on your liver. I don't know about you but I need mine to help me process a little habit I call social drinking (thank god that is still legal without prescription!). My also informed me that it often takes 2 month long prescriptions to actually clear it the infection. Why would this take so long? Slow toenail growth, slow only because we often have lower circulation in our extremities. (especially you women out there... to be continued later.) If you would like to see these side effects I googled them and here are the most common diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, and stomach pain, while this sounds fun, the long term side effects could be liver damage. So needless to say, those suffering from liver ailments, pregnancy and childhood need not apply.

The Remedy...

So, now as we all know doctors are legally not aloud to prescribe a cure to a disease unless it is a FDA approved pharmaceutical. However, I had a GOOD doctor at the time and she recommended this cure which I have been sharing with whomever will listen for years now. (ABC Homeopathy site: http://www.abchomeopathy.com/forum2.php/101906/1)

It is called Vicks Vaporub , (note: if your Spanish speaking it sounds a lot cooler. ;)

Ok, now why does this work? Well lets take a look at the ingredients.

MEDICINAL INGREDIENTS:

Camphor 4.73% w/w
Menthol 2.6% w/w
Eucalyptus Oil 1.2% w/w

NON-MEDICINAL INGREDIENTS:
Cedarleaf oil, myristica oil, special petrolatum, thymol, turpentine oil

Camphor, Menthol, Eucalyptus and cedar leaf, hell,this reads like a hippy medicine book, but there is science behind it. Volatile oils like tea tree, Oregano, and menthol that contain antimicrobial properties which for microbials like fungus this is bad news. In fact on specific study concluded:

In vitro antagonistic activity of monoterpenes and their mixtures against toe nail fungus pathogens by RS Ramsewak, MG Nair, M Stommel and L Selanders; Quote"The zones of inhibition data revealed that camphor (1), menthol (2), thymol (3) and oil of Eucalyptus citriodora were the most efficacious components against the tested organisms" http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/104525317/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Now if your infection is very severe or not accessible, (i.e under the nail and not erupted yet) you may want to consider taking the 1st coarse of prescribed drugs in addition to this treatment. Please note I did take Lam..., but I used this remedy to help clear the rest of the infection as the nail grew out and I cleared the infection that had been with me for 5 years in 3 months.

Anyone? thoughts on this...