Aromatherapy for people in drug addiction recovery: Alternative therapies for people in recovery

Aromatherapy for people in drug addiction recovery can be a better option in finding the solution to the problem of drug addiction.

Because of the intensity of drug addiction in our communities, a lot is being done to minimize the effects of drug addiction. Even though there are significant improvement on the approaches taken today from treating addicts as people with weak morals to the realization that addiction is a disease that needs to be treated objectively, a lot more still needs to be done if we are to defeat this problem in its entirely. We spoke to the experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury (MD) and also the founder of the same and doctor Akoury is very categorical that recovering from an addiction to alcohol or drugs can pose a serious challenge, nonetheless, she acknowledges that there are many great resources available that can make the process easier. She continue to register that any minor discomforts that the individual experiences during the initial settling in period to sobriety may be challenging but all the same they are worth it owing to the accruing benefits to be gained by this new way of living. Professionally she says that it is very possible to reduce these discomforts significantly to their very minimum levels. One way of doing this is to make use of alternative therapies such as the application of aromatherapy for people in drug addiction recovery. This is what is going to form the basis of our discussion in this article and I would want to encourage you to stay on the link for more worthy health information about aromatherapy for people in drug addiction recovery.

Aromatherapy for people in drug addiction recovery: What is aromatherapy?

Aromatherapy is one of the oldest practices that we can speak of today dating back for several centuries. It has been experienced by different cultures around the world – it is believed to date back to time immemorial to say the least. Doctor Akoury says that even though aromatherapy has not been scientifically proven, it is today classified as one of the types of alternative medicine for holistic treatment. It involves using various plant materials and aromatic ingredients in order to produce scents that are believed to be beneficial to the mental, physical, and spiritual health which are commonly under attack by the prevalence of drug addiction. The individual benefits from the properties of these mixtures which are administered to the body through inhalation with essential oils forming the bugger part of the ingredients used in aromatherapy. According to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, it is important to appreciate that these essential oils are made from the oils of plants or other compounds. These oils are usually obtained by distillation which is the method of separating mixtures through boiling. The different essential oils that are created by this process are not only used for aromatherapy, but can also be useful in cosmetics and sometimes even food. It therefore means that there are very many different types of essential oils that are used for a multitude of purposes with one single essential oil being rich in up to a hundred different compounds inside it.

Aromatherapy for people in drug addiction recovery: How aromatherapy works?

The good thing about aromatherapy is that it is pocket friendly, in other words an individual can begin reaping the benefits from aromatherapy without having to spending much money. All that you will need is some essential oil and a diffuser. The purpose of the diffuser is to heat the essential oil so that it can enter the air as a vapor. There are also some aromatherapy products that can be directly inhaled or applied to the body. However, this should only be done with products designed for this purpose. If you ask me how pocket friendly are these oils then the response will surprise you because the essential oils vary in price with small quantities of 15 ml costing anywhere from $5 to $50 noting that these days it is possible to find things at much cheaper prices online. That is why it is important to only deal with a reliable supplier. Having talked about diffusers, it is important to appreciate that there are different types of diffuser available with some using candles while others will use a special electrical light bulb to heat the essential oil. It is usual to mix the oil with water in the diffuser. Doctor Akoury advices that patients must be careful enough to carry out thorough investigations about the types of products in the market to make very informed decisions on which product that will serve them better and deliver the healing.

Aromatherapy for people in drug addiction recovery: Aromatherapy benefits during recovery

Even though this is an alternative to addiction treatment, it is important to note that aromatherapy cannot cure addiction absolutely however its compounds can be of value to people recovering from an addiction. The following are some of the benefits of using these products:

Some essential oils can be effective at helping people relax. Ordinarily this can be very important for people in the early stages of recovery who often find it difficult to adjust to their new life free from the substances they were using before.
It is fairly common for people in the initial period of recovery to complain of a fuzzy brain this can occur as a result of the initial withdrawals or post-acute withdrawal symptoms (PAWS). There are some essential oils that can increase mental clarity.
Many people complain of difficulties in sleeping during the early days of recovery. Essential oils in evening will be able to relax them and put them in the mood for good and comfortable sleeping time.
Meditation can be of great benefit to those who are recovering from an addiction. Some people find that essential oils help them fall more easily into a meditative state although people need to be careful because if the aroma is too noticeable it will act as a distraction.
Some of these products can be good at lifting people’s mood.
There are oils that can help people reduce their anxiety levels.
They can also help lessen the impact of withdrawal symptoms such as body discomfort and nausea.

Finally the fight against substance abuse is never going to be over if we do not face it as it is and make efforts in its prevention. We as a society must pool together to have this scourge out of our communities and lives by engaging the experts who understand addiction squarely. For that reason I want to introduce you to the home of experts (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) under the able leadership of doctor Akoury for any concerns you may be having. If this means anything to you then you make that call today and schedule for your appointment with some of the veteran addiction experts in the medical discipline and all your concerns will be professionally addressed with lots of confidentiality.

Aromatherapy for people in drug addiction recovery: Alternative therapies for people in recovery

Drugs that can harm the Immune System

April 30, 2014

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-Their negative effects

Help indeed, drugs which affects immune system are toxic and addictive, if affected seek professional help

We have in the past articles discusses the significance of immune system to the human body. As a center for protecting the body against injuries from pathogens and substances, it is very important that we get to know some of the drugs which may injure this center (immune system) and take precautionary actions to ensure that the fabric of immunity is safe. For-instance flu is rarely deadly, but even though this is true, pneumonia which kills comes as result of flu making it a serious point of concern. It is therefore necessary that prescription and over-the-counter drugs be seriously considered on the list of things that could potentially make people more susceptible to having a flu that morphs into a deadly pneumonia. The following are some of the drugs for consideration:

Steroids these are drugs from corticosteroids to anabolic steroids, suppress the immune system that defends against bacterial and viral infections such as pneumonia.

Chronic stress creates greater susceptibility to infection because it raises cortisol levels. Cortisol is a steroid hormone released by the adrenal glands that has many side effects when it’s chronically high. One side effect is that it reduces inflammation. This may appear good but at the same time it suppresses the immune system. Chronically high cortisol also disrupts blood sugar balance, often leading to high insulin, obesity and sometimes, diabetes. With these illnesses weak immune system is disastrous.

The most common route of steroid drug use, particularly in children, is through asthma inhalers.
Most asthma inhalers contain some form of synthetic steroid. These steroids help reduce the airway inflammation associated with asthma, but at the same time can reduce the ability of the lungs to fight bacterial and viral infections.

Steroid drug abuse among high school and college athletes is common. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 1 – 6% of high school athletes use steroid drugs to enhance their performance. This amounts to potentially hundreds of thousands of teens with suppressed immune systems who are more susceptible to viral and bacterial infection.

Steroid drugs such as prednisone are widely prescribed for people with painful inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, and for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and lupus. They are also prescribed for those with organ transplants to suppress a rejection response by the immune system.

Even the regular use of cortisone creams for arthritis can raise cortisol levels enough to suppress the immune system.

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-PPI Heartburn Drugs that Suppress Stomach Acid
Proton pump inhibitors or PPIs such as Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec powerfully block the secretion of stomach acid. This has the effect of reducing heartburn and nausea, but it also blocks one of the body’s main defenses against bacteria and viruses. According to a 2004 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 70% of the hospitalized patients in the study received a PPI or other stomach acid-suppressing drug within hours of being admitted. The study showed that patients who were given PPIs had a 30% higher risk of developing pneumonia.

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-Statin Drugs to Lower Cholesterol
A medical group in Switzerland found that organ transplant patients who were taking statin drugs (e.g. Lipitor, Mevacor, Pravachol) did better than those who weren’t taking the drugs. Laboratory studies showed that statins did indeed suppress parts of the immune system, and the authors concluded, “This unexpected effect provides a scientific rationale for using statins as immune-suppressors, not only in organ transplantation but in numerous other pathologies as well.”

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-SSRI Antidepressants
The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant drugs (SSRIs) such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil increase serotonin levels and in so doing also give the immune system a boost. This boost can be the good news or the bad news. According to expert researchers this boost can push the immune system into autoimmune disease, where the body starts attacking itself. These types of immune system over-reactions are also implicated in the “cytokine storms” that can create deadly inflammation in the lungs.

Opioid Drugs
Both short term and long term use of the pain killing opioid drugs such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl, codeine and morphine block the immune system’s ability to attack viral and bacterial invaders. Some pain killers drugs such as Tramdol combine an opioid with acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol), further compromising the immune system with acetaminophen’s toxic effects on liver function.

Acetaminophen
Acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol) is very hard on the liver, the body’s major organ of detoxification. A simple dosage mix-up, such as giving a teaspoon of liquid acetaminophen vs. a dropperful can cause liver damage, particularly in children. When the body is invaded by a virus or bacteria, the debris of the battle is processed through the liver. A compromised liver cannot effectively remove toxins caused by infection.

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-Fakegrances
Fake fragrances, also known as fakegrances, such as the air fresheners, scented laundry soaps and personal care products, candles, and most perfumes are not drugs, but for many people they are certainly lung irritants and are thought to be a major cause of asthma in children.

Fakegrances often contain dozens if not hundreds of chemicals, many of them extremely toxic. Fakegrances remain unregulated in the U.S., the justification being that the toxic chemicals are present in such small amounts that they are not harmful. However, constant exposure through scented personal care products, wearing fakegranced clothing, sleeping on fakegranced sheets and living with air fresheners in the home and car, certainly has an impact on the lungs. There has been an explosion in the use of hand sanitizer gels, all of them containing fakegrances.

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-Strive for Immune Balance
The truth is this a journey you do not want to disengage in owing to the vitality of immune system. It will not be wrong to say that immune system is undisputed tool for good health and sine we both love life we have a duty to make sure that it is well maintained. I suggest that if you’re taking drugs of any kind, make a list of their brand names and generic names, and take an audit of each to a certain if they suppress the immune system. This knowledge is very important to you irrespective of whether you need to stay on an immune-suppressing drug or not, you will still need to know how it’s affecting your body.

All of us want a balanced immune system, which is best achieved by an overall healthy lifestyle which includes wholesome foods, moderate exercise, good sleep and stress management. Besides all these you will need to be inconstant touch with an expert to help you keep the promise. This is effectively available at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury. With her you will be cared for professionally while focusing on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE. Welcome to AWAREmed and experience the comfort of living life to the fullest.

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-Their negative effects

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