When dealing with tonsillitis and adenoiditis with natural treatments, two steps should be done before the final third step. First, the channels of elimination (skin, liver, kidneys, and intestines) must be clean and working well to eliminate toxins. Second, pain and swelling need to be controlled, and third, any infection needs to be stopped. In the case of tonsillitis and adenoiditis, infections are actually the end process, not the beginning. Perhaps that is why antibiotics have so little effect on the disease.
The third step in natural treatment is to discover which opportunistic infectious organisms have taken up residence in the tonsillar crypts, tongue tissue, or palate of the tongue…or beyond, such as in the ears, sinuses, throat, or lungs. . There are some really good antibacterials that are natural, such as goldenseal root, grapefruit seed extract, and vitamin C. Some of the botanicals one might choose to treat tonsillitis are also antiviral, and some are antifungal. Viral infections are best treated with something like lomatium and sambucus nigra (desert parsley and black elderberry). Colloidal silver also has antibacterial and antiviral capabilities. Pau d’Arco is antifungal, as are garlic, neem, black walnut, calendula, and goldenseal.
A clue as to which organisms are infecting the tonsils and adenoids comes from the color of the exudates (pus)…yellow, green, or rust-colored are usually bacterial. The viral is usually transparent and the fungal is usually white, black or green-black. It is best to obtain a culture and analyze it in a laboratory, to be sure that the treatment is appropriate for the organism. This is usually more of a problem with a pharmaceutical antibiotic than a natural one, due to the specificity of the drugs.
The key to treatment in step three is to identify the best botanical or blend to treat infectious organisms while simultaneously boosting the immune system. Immune boosters include CoQ10, Ashwaganda, Garlic, Black Elderberry, Vitamin C, Licorice, and many more. Some of the immune boosters are ‘tonic’, meaning they should not be given during illness, such as echinacea. A tonic herb will make the severity of the disease less but it will also tone the disease, making the duration longer.
Another area of treatment that is often overlooked is supplying the right mix of beneficial flora (bacteria) to the intestine. A good mix would be one that contains something other than acidophilus; eight of the flora found in the intestines of babies is generally recommended. The best type of probiotic is human, which colonizes the intestines after about two weeks. Bovine bacteria are shed with each bowel movement and must be constantly replenished.
The last step is all about prevention, which would hopefully happen before step one, but not always. Sometimes people have to get sick to realize that more care should have been taken in the beginning. Keep the immune system strong, emunctories clean and get adequate rest and the probability of tonsillitis or adenoiditis is avoidable.
©2010 Dr. Valerie Olmsted All Rights Reserved