Microbes

Over the past month we have seen quite a few cases of diarrhea and cramping.

The Iowa Department of Public Health says that symptoms that started after July 1 are NOT cyclospora. However, we have heard that there are several “gut bugs” going around in our area. Regardless of the cause, we can help.

At Acupuncture of Iowa we have herbal remedies that can immediately relieve your cramps and diarrhea. We use anti-viral, anti-biotic, and anti-fungal herb formulas in time-tested recipes to help your gut get back to normal. We might follow with a course of probiotics as well, to restore your intestinal flora.

One of the advantages of herbal treatment for these “bugs” is that very few microbes have become resistant to the chemical components of herbs, like they have with Western drugs. We also have anti-viral herbs, which Western medicine cannot match.

Acupuncture can also help to alleviate pain and cramping, as well as reducing general malaise and the immune challenges of this infection.

As a last note, be sure to thoroughly wash all fruits, vegetables, and meats before cooking. Even if lettuce is “prewashed” you should wash it again. I like to fill the sink with water and a little splash of vinegar or bleach, and dump all my fruits and veges in when I get home from the grocery. You can also use a vege wash product, but for my money, vinegar is the best. Just soak and swish a few minutes, then put them in the dish drainer to drip dry. Do not put them back into their original plastic bags, use new ones for storage in the fridge, in case there was contamination on the plastic bags they came home in. For meat, dry with paper towels and wrap well before refrigerating or freezing.

And of course, wash your hands all the time. Consider using hand sanitizer on your way out of the grocery store or when you get to your car.

Let us know if we can help, we have lots of tools for these illnesses and many other summer ailments.