Homeopathic Family Practice

The Art of Brushing           Brushing our teeth, a mindless task we unconsciously do several times a day, is often overlooked when considering the overall wellness of the body. Many leading doctors and scientists have discovered that health begins in the mouth! It has its own microbiome just as the gut does. Oral health is about so much more than just the health of the mouth, teeth, and gums. Because the mouth is a primary entryway into the body, poor oral health can have negative consequences for the entire body. Teeth that ache, gums that bleed, and breath that smells bad are all indicators of poor oral health. Bacteria from the mouth can easily get into the bloodstream and cause infection and inflammation to wherever they spread.  Oral conditions like dental decay aren’t simply the presence of harmful bacteria, but microbial imbalance of the oral microbiome. With between 500-700 common species, the oral environment is a separate but not comp...

The common cold is caused by a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. Symptoms typically appear one to two days after infection and last around a week, varying in type and severity but generally including sneezing, sore throat, runny or blocked nose, cough, headache and sometimes, especially in children, fever. The symptoms will generally resolve themselves and it is usually possible to continue with one’s daily business.  Influenza is also a viral infection. It is characterised by sudden onset with fever, extreme fatigue, muscle soreness as well as some or all of the symptoms of a cold. These symptoms can last up to two weeks and usually require the patient to rest completely for several days.  Colds and flu spread more easily in the winter months due to the cold weather; we tend to spend less time outdoors and turn the heating up indoors. This, together with close contact with others in the home, at school, at work or on public transport creates a p...

Sesamum indicum  (Pedaliaceae) is an annual flowering plant with fuzzy, slender, oblong leaves that reaches an average of two to four feet (0.6-1.2 meters) in height and produces small, bell-shaped pink, violet, or white flowers. It produces oblong seed pods containing many small oval-shaped seeds in three color varieties: black, white, and red/brown which burst open when ripe. This is said to be the basis of the magic phrase "open sesame" in the Arabian Nights. Sesamum indicum is a robust plant which prefers to  grow in well-drained soil in warm or hot climates but will also grow in poor soil, drought, and high heat conditions where most other crops will not. The leaves of the plant are edible but the sesame plant is grown primarily for its seeds. The oil pressed from the seeds is an important commercial and medicinal product.  Sesame seeds are possibly one of the oldest seed crops known to humankind. It is believed that sesame originated in Af...