Hodgkin’s Disease

Hodgkin’s disease, also called Hodgkin’s lymphoma, is a type of cancer involving tissues of the lymphatic system, or lymph nodes. Its cause is unknown, although some interaction between individual genetic makeup, family history, environmental exposures, and infectious agents is suspected.

Hodgkin’s lymphoma can occur at any age, although the majority of these lymphomas occur in people aged 15–34, and over the age of 60. Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system. Depending on the specific type, a lymphoma can have any or all of the characteristics of cancer: rapid multiplication of cells, abnormal cell types, loss of normal arrangement of cells with respect to one another, and invasive ability.

Causes and symptoms

Hodgkin’s lymphoma usually begins in a lymph node. The node enlarges and—similar to enlarged lymph nodes due to infectious causes—may or may not cause any pain. Hodgkin’s lymphoma progresses in a fairly predictable way, traveling from one group of lymph nodes to another unless it is treated. More advanced cases of Hodgkin’s involve the spleen, liver, and bone marrow.

Holistic Dentistry

Holistic Dentistry

Holistic dentistry, also referred to as biologic dentistry, is an alternative approach that focuses on the use of non-toxic restorative materials for dental work, and emphasizes the unrecognized impact that dental toxins and dental infections may have on a person’s overall health.

While traditional dentistry focuses only on the areas above the neck, holistic dentistry looks at the patient as a whole system and how the mouth relates to the rest of the body.

Origins

Applying a biological concept to the practice of dentistry began in the late 1800s, when the National Dental Association recognized the harmful effects of mercury (amalgam) fillings, and mandated that members of the association not use these on their patients.

As of 1997, this warning has been recognized and acted upon by several foreign countries that have either banned the use of mercury in fillings or are in the process of doing so. Supporters of holistic dentistry state that mercury in amalgam fillings causes ill effects when placed as an implant in the body.

Holistic Medicine

Holistic medicine is a term used to describe therapies that attempt to treat the patient as a whole person. That is, instead of treating an illness, as in orthodox allopathy, holistic medicine looks at an individual’s overall physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being before recommending treatment.

A practitioner with a holistic approach treats the symptoms of illness as well as looking for the underlying cause of the illness. Holistic medicine also attempts to prevent illness by placing a greater emphasis on optimizing health.

The body’s systems are seen as interdependent parts of the person’s whole being. The body’s natural state is one of health, and an illness or disease is an imbalance in the body’s systems. Holistic therapies tend to emphasize proper nutrition and avoidance of substances—such as chemicals—that pollute the body. Their techniques are noninvasive.

Homeopathy

Homeopathy

Homeopathy, or homeopathic medicine, is a holistic system of treatment that originated in the late eighteenth century. The name homeopathy is derived from two Greek words that mean “like disease.”

The system is based on the idea that substances that produce symptoms of sickness in healthy people will have a curative effect when given in very dilute quantities to sick people who exhibit those same symptoms.

Homeopathic remedies are believed to stimulate the body’s own healing processes. Homeopaths use the term “allopathy,” or “different disease,” to describe the use of drugs used in conventional medicine to oppose or counteract the symptom being treated.

Acute Homeopathic Prescribing

Acute Homeopathic Prescribing

Acute homeopathic prescribing is that part of homeopathy that treats illness of abrupt onset requiring immediate attention. In homeopathic medicine, acute refers primarily to the speed of onset and selflimiting character of the disorder rather than its seriousness.

Colds, influenza, sore throats, insect stings, cuts, bruises, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, muscle aches, and short-term insomnia are all examples of conditions that are treated by acute prescribing. The remedies given in acute homeopathic prescribing are intended to stimulate the body’s internal ability to heal itself; they do not kill germs or suppress symptoms.

Acute prescribing can be done—within limits—by patients at home, as well as by homeopathic practitioners. Study courses, self-treatment guides, and homeopathic home medicine kits are now available by mail order from homeopathic pharmacies and educational services.

Constitutional Homeopathic Prescribing

Constitutional Homeopathic Prescribing

Constitutional homeopathic prescribing, also called classical prescribing, is a holistic system of medicine that has been practiced for more than 200 years. Unlike acute homeopathic prescribing, constitutional prescribing refers to the selection and administration of homeopathic preparations over a period of time for treatment related to what practitioners call miasmic disorders, those caused by an inherited predisposition to a disease.

The term miasm comes from a Greek word meaning stain or pollution. As in acute prescribing, constitutional prescribing is holistic in that it is intended to treat the patient on the emotional and spiritual levels of his or her being as well as the physical. Constitutional prescribing is also aimed at eventual cure of the patient, not just suppression or relief of immediate symptoms.

Homeopathy was developed during the 1790s by Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician. Experimenting on himself with the anti-malarial drug quinine, Hahnemann noticed that large doses of the medicine actually caused malaria-like symptoms, while smaller doses cured the symptoms.

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle is a large, volubilate shrub of the genus Lonicera. There are over 300 species of honeysuckle in the Caprifoliaceae family, found from Asia to North America. The shrub reaches heights of 20–30 ft (6–9 m), with thin, hairy branches. It has ovoid leaves that range 1.2–3.2 in (3–8 cm) long by 0.6–1.6 in (1.5–4.0 cm) wide. The plant flowers in late spring or early summer, depending on the species.

Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) blooms in the spring from April to May, with fragrant white flowers touched with a shade of purple that fade to yellow as they mature. The species of honeysuckle that is found in North America, the United Kingdom, and western Asia, Lonicera caprifolium, flowers in June.

Generally, honeysuckle flowers are 1.2–1.6 in (3–4) cm long, with an inner tube of approximately the same length. All varieties of honeysuckle are famous for this tube, which is extracted and sucked for its sweet nectar.