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Host: Now let's talk about some of the more common conditions you see in your practice. Interestingly enough, you can see anything from acute conditions to chronic conditions, and you've treated the gamut of them, which is wonderful because you've been in practice for so long. So let's start with an acute condition — someone comes in with a high fever, an ear infection. How can natural medicine help that person?
Dr. Stengler: Sure. With infections, we have many different treatments to bolster their immune system, whether it's immune-enhancing herbs and supplements, or things like hydrotherapy — alternating hot and cold applications to stimulate the body's own immune system. What I typically do with patients, and most doctors in my field do, is if we can treat the patient naturally for an acute infection — things like earaches, the common cold, bronchitis, a lot of the common conditions — using natural medicine, and we can treat them effectively enough that they don't need pharmaceutical medications. Now, if they're so severe they need them, we'll use them, but in the vast majority of cases, we don't. So don't underrate natural therapies when used properly with trained naturopathic doctors — we do treat even acute infections.
Host: Now what about something more long-term, like arthritis?
Dr. Stengler: There are different types of arthritis. Typically we see patients with osteoarthritis, where you get degeneration of your joints, and we work with them on diet, getting the nutrients they need for tissue and joint healing, working with them on things like even digestion — you wouldn't think about that, but the better you digest your food, the fewer toxins you have in the body and the better nutrients get to your joints. We use joint-specific supplements which help the cartilage, reduce inflammation, build the cartilage up to a minor degree, help with mobility and stiffness, and really help with the chronic inflammation you find with most types of arthritis. With things like rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune condition, we're still working those areas but balancing the immune system — not necessarily stimulating it, but balancing it — and again taking a natural anti-inflammatory approach.
Naturopathic doctors treat patients with natural methods before moving on to more traditional medicine. Used properly by a trained and experienced naturopathic doctor, natural medicine can effectively help people with infections, viruses, and even long-term conditions like arthritis. Watch this two-minute video describing just how natural medicine can help.
