Complementary, Alternative Medicine, and Children

Posted on13. Oct, 2011 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

CAM for Children Many of us seek complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) remedies. But how many of us look to CAM remedies for our children? It was recently reported that nearly 12% of all children in the United States have used some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Based on the National Health Interview [...]

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Reflux in Children – Causes and Treatments

Posted on18. Nov, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

So, my last post discussed the role of reflux in asthma. Note that medical research shows that reflux plays a big role in rhinitis, sinusitis, and otitis also. This article discusses causes and treatments for reflux. What Causes Reflux? Let’s start the answer by saying “we don’t know”. The rest is mostly speculation, educated guessing. [...]

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Honey – Nature’s Antibiotic

Posted on24. Jun, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

You may have noticed that your honey never seems to develop mold or bacterial contamination, even when it isn’t refrigerated after opening.  We now know why this is: honey has innate anti-microbial activity. Honey is a natural antibiotic !!  Who knew? Well, it seems that ancient humans knew:  For over 2 thousand years humans have [...]

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The 8 Basic Principles to Control Your Child’s Sinusitis

Posted on10. Jun, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

For most of my sinusitis patients, the doctors have tried everything to treat their sinus troubles. Their parents feel like their kids are an ongoing experiment for those docs. Chronic sinusitis is a challenge. Everyone is frustrated: the child, the parents, the docs. There is no easy answer. No quick cure. Even so, you CAN make things better with a few simple rules. Here are the 8 basic tips that you can follow to improve the quality of life for YOUR little boogor-head.

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Thanks ShoutOut

Posted on07. Jun, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

I want to thank “Dr. Hana” for helping put a check mark next to one of my BIG to-do’s. It isn’t often that one of the BIG items on my long (way too long) to-do list gets a check-mark. It is truly remarkable when someone else takes care of the check-mark, with no effort on my part.

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Definitions: Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Osteopathy, Chiropractic, Ayurveda

Posted on27. May, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Cruising the internet for health-related information, you will encounter all sorts of terms and claims. These terms are often used to imply superiority of method or approach by whoever is using them. For example, a site might claim that their remedies are homeopathic, or naturopathic, or “natural,” claiming superior results. With no judgment regarding which is superior, here is a description of each.

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Saline Sinus Rinse Poll Results

Posted on25. May, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

We had 66 votes total – not a huge number, and probably not enough to do statistical analysis (thank goodness), but interesting results nonetheless. Here are the results, and some recommendations:

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Saline Sinus Rinses: What Good Are They? 4/4

Posted on13. May, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

If you insist on making your own saline solution …

Before I switched over to the store-bought, Nasopure saline rinse system, this is the recipe I used for years:

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Saline Sinus Rinses: What Good Are They? 3/4

Posted on06. May, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

It’s one thing to have someone suggest that you should do saline sinus rinses. They usually won’t tell you how to do them, like it’s something too indelicate to discuss. Well, let’s discuss it now …

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Saline Sinus Rinses: What Good Are They? 2/4

Posted on29. Apr, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Medical Evidence to Support Sinus Irrigations: A study from the University of Michigan (well-designed, and executed as a randomized, controlled trial of over 100 people with chronic rhinosinusitis) found that symptom severity and symptom frequency were significantly reduced in those who used sinus rinses on a daily basis compared to those who did not. Similar [...]

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Saline Sinus Rinses: What Good Are They? 1/4

Posted on22. Apr, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

I have been personally coping with allergic rhinitis from the age of 6 or so, and with recurrent and chronic sinusitis for at least 20 years now. Although I was fortunate that allergy desensitization (allergy shots), gave me great relief, somewhere around age 8, I am not completely symptom free. Antihistamines, the standard conventional treatment, were not much benefit. And I hate the side effects. So, about 10 years ago I began using the home remedy of nasal-sinus irrigation using a weak salt water (saline) concoction. This is a method of cleansing the nasal and sinus cavities.

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3 Year Old Boy Hospitalized For Severe Sinusitis: Simple Cure

Posted on08. Apr, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

There are good scientific studies that have evaluated the efficacy of saline sinus rinses. But seeing is believing. At a time when I was only sporadically doing my own sinus rinses (have I mentioned how I detest doing them?), a distant children’s hospital asked me to help them treat a seriously ill little boy, who was hospitalized with sinusitis. Here is what I recommended. Here is how it turned out …

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8 Reasons To See a Physician For Your Child’s Nose Bleeds

Posted on25. Mar, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

You should take your child to a physician ANY time you are concerned about their health. For their nose bleeds, the following are possible red flags to see a physician about …

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8 Things You Can Do To Reduce Your Child’s Nose Bleeds

Posted on18. Mar, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

We know that picking is the #1 cause of nose bleeds in children.
Short of sewing mittens on their hands so they can”t pick their noses, here are the things that you CAN do …

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Your Child’s Nose is Bleeding: What To Do Right Now?

Posted on11. Mar, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Don’t panic. You can handle this. Take a deep breath. Here’s what to do …

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Allergic Rhinitis CAN Be Controlled – Here’s How

Posted on04. Mar, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Allergic rhinitis – usually simply called “allergies” – is a chronic illness resulting in stuffy, runny nose. Itchy, burning eyes and general low energy are often associated. It is estimated that allergic rhinitis affects nearly 50 Million Americans. Over half of those with sinus disease have a history of allergic rhinitis, and it is estimated that close to 95% of those with asthma have rhinitis. Your child may have both too. How to ‘freeze’ those allergens?

The good news – allergies CAN be controlled.

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