Medicine for People!

August 2005

Contents

• Water as a Drink
• Water for Injuries
• Hot Water for Infections
• More Uses for Water

Water, Your Number One Home Remedy

In the summer we go on holidays at the beach, on the river, and by the lake. We are drawn to water. Water not only has recreational value, it is also an excellent medicine.

Water as a Drink

Who was the famous imbiber who said that water in the ocean was inspiring, water in the lakes calming, water in a waterfall sublime, but water as a drink was "a damn failure?" Whoever he was, I disagree. Not only is water a great drink, but a necessary one. Lack of water is a common nutritional deficiency. Elderly people often consume inadequate water; constipation is one consequence. Experts currently debate whether inadequate water intake predisposes to cancer. In any event, all our metabolic processes occur in our internal watery environment, and all proceed more slowly when we are slightly dehydrated. Remember the motto: "Live life fully. Drink water."

Here are just a few of the benefits:

• You don't get a hangover drinking water.
• You can make it hot in the winter and cold in the summer.
• You don't tend to gain weight. (That's right. Researchers in their never-ending quest for truth have found that women who drank fruit juice or sugar-sweetened soft drinks gained an extra 19 pounds over a period of eight years. They developed diabetes twice as often. The study compared women who consumed one or more such drink per day with those who consumed one drink or less per month, and they published in JAMA 2004;292:927-34.)
• You will thrive. Water is the medium in which all the processes of your body occur: the digestion and assimilation of nutrients, the production of energy, the construction of a continually new you, and the disposal of waste products. Every athlete knows that she performs better when she is well-hydrated. Every trauma doc knows that the first and best remedy is slightly salty water pumped right into the veins. And you, on these hot days... put a glass of water to your lips and see how you feel.

And now to answer frequently asked questions:

"What kind of filter should I use for my water?"

For those of us fortunate enough to benefit from the Port Townsend city water system, I don't suggest a filter unless you think your home plumbing might be contaminating your water. Our water comes from the Olympic Mountains; put it in a pitcher for a day and the added chlorine will disappear. You'll have the drink of the gods (pun intended).

"How much should I drink?"

I have seen some people recommend many quarts a day. This is irresponsible; you may have noticed the recent news story about a child who died when his parents, attempting to cure some illness, made him drink too much water. On a cool, quiet day, a quart or two suffices, you need more if you are working in the heat. This amount includes liquid intake in all forms.

You need also to ask yourself if you are aware of your thirst. Give yourself the benefit of the doubt if you have any question; drink more water and see how you feel.

Water for Injuries

Water is one of the most under-used treatments for illness. Cold temperatures cause blood vessels to constrict. A contusion or bruise results from trauma that breaks small blood vessels in the tissues. Once blood leaves the blood vessels, it irritates the tissues and sets off an inflammatory process. Every professional sport's trainer knows that the sooner an ice pack is applied to an injury, the more quickly that injury will improve. Next time you watch a football game, check out the players on the bench with ice packs on the various parts of their body and see water at work in professional sports. I suggest that in case of a bruising type injury you apply an ice pack immediately and repeat periodically for the first 48 hours.

Equally useful is hot water. Hot water dilates blood vessels, bringing more blood into the tissues. With a bruising injury, the bleeding ceases within the first 48 hours, so then you can start hot soaks to your injured area to help reduce the inflammation and speed cleanup of the tissues. For sore muscles or tendons, try alternating heat and ice, with 20 minutes of heat, then give five minutes of an ice pack and repeat alternating ice and heat a few times.

Hot Water For Infections

Where hot water really comes into its own, however, is with infection. By dilating blood vessels, hot water improves blood flow into an infected area. Your body is already working to accomplish this on its own, by increasing blood flow and, incidentally, turning the area red. Your body does as well as it can, given our relatively cool environment. When you apply a hot compress, however, your blood vessels are able to bring even more blood into the infected area, which means more white blood cells to chomp up those bacteria. Warmed-up, a white blood cell eats bacteria faster, whereas warmed-up bacteria don't multiply as fast. (This is the benefit of a fever.)

Before the advent of antibiotics, patients would be hospitalized for a severe infection. About the only alternative to surgical drainage or amputation was hot soaks. Nurses would apply them around the clock, sometimes so hot that they scalded the skin. Often these could turn the tide even for severe infections. I do not recommend that you try this today for severe infections, especially not with scalding water. If you have a severe infection, see your health care provider.

However, with a localized infection, hot water can be just the ticket. A few months ago a patient showed me a red spot on his thigh. It looked like a dime-sized pimple, but had been there for several months and just wasn't going away. Under my direction, he heated a washcloth under the hot water tap and placed it on the area, covered it with a plastic bag, then a dry towel. He had a coffee mug of very hot microwaved water nearby to reheat the washcloth a couple of times. He did this two or three times a day for four or five days. Two weeks later, he couldn't tell where the spot had been- a complete cure without the use of antibiotics.

Another patient had a small summer splinter buried under the skin of his finger. Fishing for it would have been painful and, perhaps, fruitless. After a day of hot soaks the splinter was surrounded by a small pus pocket just under the skin. It fell out on its own once that pocket was punctured with a sterile needle.

With severe infections we'll often prescribe antibiotics, but we'll also prescribe hot soaks. Ten minutes four times a day is much better than an hour once a day. This is your top-of-the-line treatment for abscesses.

More uses for water

• Wash that cut or abrasion right away to reduce the risk of infection. If plain water stings, make a solution of physiologic saline by mixing ¼ teaspoon salt to 8 ounces water.
• Wash your hands to reduce your risk of catching flu's and colds and your chances of giving same to others. Washing hands also reduces your risk of diarrhea while camping or traveling. (As an aside, antimicrobial hand sanitizing lotions work well for this, too.)
• Take a bath. This is good for your social life. In addition, one research team found that dogs given a bath every day lived significantly longer than unbathed dogs. (Where are those volunteer cats when you need them?)
• Swimming is a good cardiovascular workout that is easy on the joints. (Just don't forget that you also need weight-bearing exercise to build bone strength.)
• Splashed something toxic in your eye? The best thing is to immediately rinse the eye with plain tap water. Speed is important. Once you've accomplished that, you can make some physiologic saline as described above. The saline solution will irritate your eye less, but in the event of some really dangerous substance in your eye, you are far better off to rinse with tap water without delay.
• Kitchen burn? Immediately put your hand in cold or icy cold water.
• Sore throat? Gargle with warm salt water.

Finally, if you're having a stressful day, go down to the beach. Close your eyes. Listen... Enjoy that water cure.

Discount Drugs at Costco

The Never-Ending Quest continues: Patients are now reporting to us that, as of now, prices at Costco pharmacies are about 15% less than those at www.faircarerx.com. Since drug prices change frequently, we will continue to share up-to-date information with you as it becomes available.

CJK February 1, 2006

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Medicine for People! is published by Douwe Rienstra, MD at Port Townsend, Washington. Edited by Carolyn Latteier.

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