Information on popular complementary and alternative medical topics

M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), Malingerer’s Disease or Royal Free Disease
People with M.E. are often diagnosed as having the Irritable Bowel Syndrome – which in effect they have and need to be treated for -but they also need help with other problems. M.E. is a chronic illness which produces bouts of extreme tiredness in the muscles and brain. It can start with an illness like glandular fever or flu; sometimes it is so severe people have to give up work for a time. Sufferers from this condition have been classed as malingerers or hypochondriacs for decades. M.E. was first recorded about fifty years ago, but it has only been in the past few years that there has been a sharing of information among sufferers and doctors. M.E. is often mistaken for nervous illness because the symptoms include anxiety, depression and lethargy. The immune system is also affected and multiple allergies and Candida can be present.
Research into M.E. is being carried out at St Mary’s Hospital, London and elsewhere, but as yet, there are few answers in conventional medicine. However the approach of some complementary therapies has helped many people to recover
completely. The important aspects of treatment are rest, a healthy diet, supplements, fresh air, daylight, and keeping the bowel as clean as possible by preventing constipation, restoring the normal balance to the gut bacteria. Any therapy which promotes relaxation and natural healing is also recommended. Tranquillizers rarely help this condition, they merely add more poisons to a body already struggling hard to excrete the poisons caused by the virus. Sometimes a night-time dose of a sedative anti-depressant is helpful where insomnia is severe and where normal sleep-wake cycles are trying to be established.
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Negative Ions
Negative ions have a tonic effect on the nervous system and reduce histamine levels in the blood. As any allergy sufferer knows, histamine is strongly associated with unpleasant feelings. The benefits of negative ionization are becoming widely known, not only for cleaning the air, killing bacteria and viruses, but also as a treatment for asthma, bronchitis, migraine, burns, scalds and wounds. Sufferers from the Irritable Bowel Syndrome could also benefit from negatively charged air. An interesting book called The Ion Effect (Fred Soyka, Bantam, 1978) describes the effect of positive ions on the bowel.
Sunlight
While it is foolish to risk skin cancer or ageing the skin prematurely by baking in the sun for hours, it is equally foolish to be always covered in sun block and never allow the sun to reach the skin. Frequent exposure for short periods has many beneficial effects, including the production of Vitamin D. We look healthier after a little sun and this increases feelings of well-being, and sunlight also kills bacteria and fungus.
Fresh Air
Unless they actually have chest problems, it is often difficult to convince people of the benefits of good breathing habits, and even harder to impress upon them the dangers of continually filling the lungs with stale air. Air that is contaminated by smoke and fumes is recognized as being harmful; but there can be other causes of stale air that are not so well known.
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