"WHAT SUNSHINE IS TO FLOWERS, SMILES ARE TO HUMANITY." - joseph addison
"WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE WITHOUT A SMILE, GIVE HIM ONE OF YOURS."
"IF YOU DIDN'T START OUT THE DAY WITH A SMILE, IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO START PRACTICING FOR TOMORROW---OR STARTING YOUR DAY OVER WITH A SMILE IS A GOOD IDEA."
A smile costs you absolutely nothing. Anatomically it takes 17 muscles to smile whereas it takes 43 muscles to frown. Which makes better sense? A smile takes a moment but leaves a lasting impression and memory that will last forever. A smile will create happiness in the home and foster good will in any business. It is the countersign of friendship.
A smile brings rest to the weary, good cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad and definitely without a doubt it is nature's best antidote for trouble. There is something I love about smiling - it is my own - My smile cannot be bought, borrowed, stolen or given away . It is my smile and only my smile. I love to smile. If I see that someone is down, I will try to give them one of my white teeth smiles.
What makes you smile?
After reading this blog, make a smile.
I do know if a patient has a headache he/she cannot smile. Headaches are overlooked by some internists. I am grateful never to have a headache. I cannot personally relate, but I feel the headache when one of my patients has one. There are many types of headaches - cluster, tension, and migraines to name a few.
In my clinical years I have seen some odd remedies that I would never dream would work. One is using Cayenne pepper. A dry cayenne is allowed to settle and applied to the nostrils for relief of the headache. Some use tincture of cayenne pepper. Another patient uses a mustard foot bath for his headaches. I find this odd but it works for him. The trick is having the feet in the warm mustard powder bath while applying ice to the neck.
The remedies differ depending on the type of headache. I feel that any time there is a headache irregardless of the the type an anti inflammatory herb will work. Sure there are the Over The Counter (OTC) remedies as well as the conventional pain killers, but have you ever tried the following herbs for your headache?
This is where the salicylate enriched herbs lend a hand. These are three trees- the willow, the aspen and the birch. The most common is the Salix species or the Willow. I find Wilow effective in the prevention and decrease of a headache but not effective for the recurring type that some patients get.
There is one herb that I have seen patients use for headache on a regular basis: Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium). I have recommended Feverfew because there are studies and research to back its use. It differs on the number of fresh flowers. The dose for the freeze dried encapsulated lead is 500-1000 mg three times a day. I have never recommended above 2000 mg per day. There is another trial which uses Feverfew and Wilow, 300 mg of each twice a day. There is another study with Feverfew with a B vitamin, riboflavin and magnesium at 300 mg.
I often use Ginger and ginkgo for headaches sufferers. A headache should not be ignored in any patient. If the source of the headache cannot be found, I usually refer the patient to a local Headache clinic as well as a neurologist.
In 1982, my mother had the worst headache of her life. It resulted in her death from a ruptured aneurysm (a sub arachnoid bleed into the brain). Today, this type of headache might have been avoided with CT or MRI of the brain and surgery. When a patient states it is the worst headache of their life, I take it very seriously as it might be an aneurysm.
Until tomorrow...
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