Smoker’s blues

Our Treatments

 

Any amount of treatment would be futile without cessation of smoking.

 

The world has always been biased against smokers and never gives them any good news. Every person who smokes can be assured that every "drag" is compromising on the functioning capacity of his respiratory system and causes a disease called "emphysema" or "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease" (COPD). Apart from smoking, the other causes are asthma, and industrial pollution, but, more importantly, passive smoking!

Alveoli are the powerhouses of the lungs that are lined by thin, fragile, elastic membranes or walls richly supplied by thin blood vessels where the exchange of the gases takes place. The carbon dioxide after the metabolic activities is released through the alveoli and the rich oxygen brought in with every breath is transferred into the system. In smokers, the tars, smoke and its toxic chemicals tend to destroy the elastic portion of the alveoli. There are also fine hairs like cilia, which keep away the tiny dust particles and flush out mucus from the lungs but are overwhelmed by the tobacco smoke which inhibits the activity and stop functioning.

The loss of elasticity of the alveoli and the benumbed cilia leads to accumulation of the mucus in the spaces while the trapped leads to blockage of the function and hence called the obstructive lung disease. When this appears in vast areas of the lung spaces, the heart needs to pump with increased force and pressure to get to flow through the lungs.

Common symptoms

* Breathlessness or a feeling of shortness of breath on routine physical activity like climbing stairs is a typical symptom though it is a characteristic of many other diseases too. If unattended to, it can later lead to breathlessness even at rest.

* A lingering cough called smoker's caugh, with a throat irritation and production of dark, thick phlegm and mucus.

* Streaks of blood in the sputum and weight loss are the other symptoms.

Management and treatment

Cessation of smoking is primary as any amount of treatment would be futile without it. Breathing exercises can restore lung capacity to a certain extent. Mild exercises like walking, stationary cycling are recommended.

The aim of homoeopathy would be to alleviate symptoms, prevent further degeneration in lung function.

Carbo veg helps in improving the respiratory exchanges apart from the imperfect circulation. Antim tart and Ipecac help in clearing the mucus and phlegm while Stannum met helps when portion of the lung is affected. Ars alb, Spongia, Natrum sulph and Lobelia are other remedies, which gradually help prevent further degeneration. Needless to say, only when smoking is completely refrained from.

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Slipped disc

I have a back pain, which is troublesome as the pain sometimes comes down into my right leg with numbness . I had an injury a couple of years ago and it was diagnosed as slipped disc.

Rajesh

Mag phos 30C three times a day for five days would give initial relief and a proper follow-up can be done by a homoeopath .

Cracked heels

I suffer from cracks in heels, which is worse in this weather. There is rawness of the area, thickness, roughness and peeling off of the skin on scratching.

Madhavi .

Petroleum 30C three times a day for five days would give relief initially and the same repeated next month would help you.

Dry eyes

I feel as if sand particles have entered my that causes redness and watering. It was diagnosed as "dry eyes."

Ashok

Natrum mur 30C six pills three times a day for five days and repeated the same after one month should help relieve the dry eye symptoms for now.

Alopecia aereta

There are bald spots about the size of a coin on the scalp and the number of those is increasing.

Rathi

Ac. flour 30C three times a day for five days and the same repeated a month later should help you.

 

DR. VENUGOPAL GOURI
92463 72625
drvenugopal@gmail.com