TICK BORNE DISEASES

See PARASITE INFESTATIONS

THRUSH

See CANDIDA INFECTIONS

TOOTHACHE

Medical Definition
Toothache is almost always caused by an infection. An infection can be easily treated with allicin powder or liquid. In ancient times people used to cut up a clove of garlic and place it in or around the tooth abscess. Pain relief was usually immediate.

TreatmentOpen up a capsule and rub a little allicin powder over the infected area.

TRAVELLER’S TUMMY

Medical Definition
Those who travel to different parts of the world are at increased risk of infection from organisms in the locality as well as from alterations to their diet. Traveller’s tummy is a result of coming into contact with a strain of E. coli with which the gut is unfamiliar. Symptoms can vary; though normally include abdominal pain and diarrhoea.
The maxim that travel broadens the mind but loosens the bowels is all too true for up to half of us travelling to ”high risk” areas such as South America, Asia, Africa and parts of the Middle East (Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin, June 2002). The familiar symptoms of ”the runs”and cramps, accompanied by nausea and/or vomiting, can be both embarrassing and distressing. Consuming food or drink contaminated with bacteria, viruses, or parasites is usually to blame for travellers’ diarrhoea. Most cases are bacterial, with E. coli the prime suspect.

There are three approaches to coping with travellers’ diarrhoea: prevention (for instance by taking allicin powder and probiotics before you go to ward off infection); self-treatment (taking a self-treatment kit with you this would also include a fluid replacement); and letting it take its course. The choice depends largely on your age, your general health, and the type of holiday envisaged. Most bouts of travellers’ diarrhoea clear up spontaneously in two to three days. But it’s important to replace the fluid lost as dehydration can be dangerous, especially in the elderly and very young.

Aim for prevention if you have a condition that makes you prone to infection, for instance low immunity, diabetes, or an ailment that requires drugs to suppress stomach acid. In such cases it’s probably worth discussing travel plans and the need for prophylactic antibiotics with your doctor but for most people, the US National Institutes of Health and the Centres for Disease Control advise against taking antibiotics for prevention of traveller’s diarrhoea.

An alternative preventative approach is to take allicin powder and a probiotic for a week before travelling. Trials have shown that probiotics can help restore the colonies of ”friendly” bacteria that have been flushed out by infection and treatment and that allicin can both prevent bacterial infections and get rid of them quickly if you do pick one up.

If you choose the second option, self-treatment, there are several alternatives. Taking antibiotics after infection will usually shorten the duration of symptoms. Ciprofloxacin will deal with many of the culprit bugs but by adding allicin you get an extra benefit since the duration of the symptoms can be reduced to less than 6 hours, resistance won’t be a problem as the allicin can wipe our resistant cipro bugs and of course the allicin has another advantage of being able to work against viral or parasitic infections as well.

You should consult a doctor if there’s any visible blood or mucous in your stool, or if the diarrhoea persists for more than five days – diarrhoea can be the signal for several serious conditions such as cholera, typhoid and parasitic infections.

TreatmentAs well as following the usual safe practices appropriate to your destinations, start your course of allicin powder and a probiotic 7 days before you travel, maintain it throughout your holiday and continue the course for 7 days after you return.