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The deadly threat that's being ignored
14th March 2008
If you walked into my office right now, there's a
fair chance you'd mistake it for one of those
Christmas snowstorm things...
You know, one of those little plastic trinkets that
you shake to create a snow scene.
I have so many articles, snippets and quotes torn
out of papers and magazines that if Lara wandered
in here with her hairdryer... WHOOSH! There'd be
bits of paper floating around everywhere, with me
standing in the middle like a Santa figure...
Red face check.
Slightly rotund figure check.
Dressing gown and slippers hmmmm...
Well, maybe Santa on his day off, going through
the bills.
Anyway, I've been scrabbling round the house for
the past hour trying to find something I ripped out
of the paper the other day, and after an hour of
lurching around the room like a mad scientist's
assist, I've found it.
And I'm glad I did, because this is something that
could affect us all...
A bigger threat than breast cancer,
prostate cancer, HIV and road deaths put
together!
According to an editorial snippet I read in one of
the major papers, blood clots kill around 25,000
people in this country every year.
That 20 times the number of people who die from
MRSA the deadly 'dirty hospital' bug that's hit
the headlines recently.
Beverly Hunt, the medical director of Lifeblood (a
thrombosis charity) said 'it's nothing short of a
public health emergency.'
The major problem seems to be a scary one...
blood clots are not seen as a primary concern.
Hospital staff are practically bent double under the
weight of work they have, so they simply don't
have the time to check for the presence of blood
clots.
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Even though 25,000 people a year die from this
ailment.
Of course, that number will never be completely
eradicated. Blood clots will take lives even if
doctors stopped everything else and gave each
patient the best medical care possible.
But according to this report, the number of deaths
could fall significantly if more time was dedicated
to the problem.
And there's another factor that's making the
number scarily high...
At present, the drugs used to treat blood clots aren't
that reliable. In fact, they can cause additional
problems.
And is it any wonder, when you see what they're
using...
A prescription of rat poison...?
Warfarin is a drug that's often used to treat blood
clots.
You and I know it better as rat poison.
Now, I don't care how many spoonfuls of sugar
Mary Poppins gave me, this particular medicine
would never go down a treat.
I could look up the side effects of warfarin; I'm
sure there's a list as long as my arm. And my nick
name at school was 'Long Arms'. But I'm sure
you're happy to accept that rat poison probably
isn't the best thing in the world for us to take.
But aside from the skull and crossbones on the
bottle, there's another - more alarming - problem
with warfarin...
It may indeed break up the blood clot, but the effect
of warfarin goes too far the other way. In fact it
thins the blood so much that patients can suffer
dangerous haemorrhages.
What a brilliant state of affairs.
So what can the likes of you and me do to
protect against this threat?
Unfortunately, nothing is foolproof. Like I said
earlier, blood clots can crop up alarmingly quickly
in some people, and no amount of medical care or
treatment can help.
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But I feel that Mother Nature ALWAYS has
provided something to help combat any ailment,
and as per usual, she hasn't let me down:
- Ginger tea - the properties of ginger seems to
reduce the risk of heart attack by preventing
internal blood clots, and the easiest way to get
into the routine of taking ginger is to put the
kettle on and make some tea. Just add 2
teaspoons of grated or powdered ginger in a
cup of hot water. Let it stand for 10 minutes
before you drink. Have up to 3 cups daily.
- Healthy worms - Chinese people have used
earthworms for thousands of years in their
medicines to invigorate blood circulation,
dissolve stasis, open up channels, and cure
stroke, hemiplegia and infantile convulsion.
And this use is backed up by science, which
identified three clot-busting enzymes in the
earthworm: fibrinolysin (plasmin),
profibrinolysin activator and collagenase.
When taken, these 3 enzymes work together to
beat the clot. The plasmin is attracted to the
clot and attaches itself to the surface. The
collagenase then breaks down the surface of
the clot, leaving the plasmin and the activator
to enter the clot and break it down. As the clot
dissolves, the blood vessel opens up and the
build up of pressure drains away.
Apparently this treatment is used extensively in
China, and with great success - and no side
effects. But before you go out searching for
earthworm supplements, check this out with
your doctor first.
- Bilberry - one of my all time favourite
remedies (it can be made into jam, which is far
tastier than rat poison in my opinion), bilberry
has so many powerful health benefits I could
take up the next four letters listing them all.
Suffice to say that bilberry can help improve
blood circulation and keep clots at bay.
- Garlic - another all round good guy, garlic
helps keep the blood thin and active, making it
more difficult for clots to... well... clot! |
Talking of clots, has anyone seen my cup of tea?
It's here somewhere under my snow mountain of
paperwork.
That's all for today. I'll be back with you on
Sunday with more tips and info on leading the good
life. |
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