8 Acute and 4 Chronic Management Methods to Reduce IC Flares

 

 

 

 

The accompanying graph depicts what happens in the formation of any disease process of imbalance   There is a gradual buildup of excess qualities such as the hot quality in IC   This can occur over years of unconscious choice making that leads to at first GI tract symptoms that then eventuate in dissemination of the quality(ies) to various parts of the body

In the case of IC the dissemination of the qualities of hot, light, mobile, dry, rough, and subtle to the urinary tract leads to the early symptoms of bladder wall irritability and pain that takes you to the doctor thinking you have a UTI

As the hot quality along with others  progresses over further time the symptoms become flares that become unpredictable and ever more painful to the point of incapacitation   At this point the disease is in its full manifestation and as depicted in the left hand side of the graph these qualities are most often delivered in the foods that are eaten

Chronic Management of IC Flares

From the above you can see that if you don’t do anything with the nutrition that you have been unconsciously taking then all bets are off that you will have any success long term   So the fundamental shift in food choices is important and probably the most difficult for IC patients since the shift requires giving up comfort foods and “friends”

1  As you can see once you stop the aggravating foods that are delivering the qualities that are responsible for your symptoms the ceiling begins to be lowered and instead of the spikes off the top of the chart they begin to come down to lower horizontal lines   The ceiling for symptoms is lowered and so are the symptoms themselves

2  Next avoiding food incompatibilities that overproduce acidic loading can again reduce the chances for flares in the future

3  The third chronic thing to do is help the body eliminate the qualities from the urinary tract by using aloe vera gel on a regular basis   I have written about that earlier

4  Using CCF tea to bathe the urinary tract mucosal lining with these herbs on a regular basis helps calm and soothe the irritated bladder muscle leading to again a reduced ceiling   When you drink this CCF tea on a regular daily basis this goes a long way toward medicinally medicating the bladder

The Acute Flare Management Tips

The ground state is now established with the above chronic work but as you can see we’re not out of the woods yet because there will still be more releasing to go which will mean flares but gratefully not as severe as the ones before you began doing the chronic maintenance work as described above

1  The castor oil pack placed over the two large pelvic and bladder marma(accupuncture) points help cool off the pelvis and bladder   Adding a cooling aroma such as jasmine, sandalwood, or peppermint can be beneficial as well    Ani marma can also be effectively treated with cooling aromas    Ani is located at the inside of the elbow at its crease and massaging for a minute or two can help with pain

2  Eating foods that are cooling and trying cucumber milk or other recipes to cool off is good to do and you can try these recipes:

Coconut Milk Smoothie                                                                                   

1cup coconut milk

1cup sweet strawberries, cherries, or other berries available in season

0.5 tsp sucanat

1 Tablespoon coconut flakes

Blenderize and add water to change consistency

Cucumber Milk

Cut up a half of a cucumber and blenderize it with a cup of room temperature cow’s milk with a 0.5 teaspoon of cumin or turmeric.  Milk acts as a taxi cab to take the cooling qualities of the cucumber to the urinary tract.

Cilantro Smoothie

2cups of cilantro(this is the leafy part of the coriander plant and cooling)

1cup of kale

1cup of carrot

0.5 teaspoon of cumin

Blenderize to pleasing consistency

Add water as needed

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3  Sipping on freshly grated ginger that has been steeped in hot water can be cleansing to the GI tract and help bring the hot quality back to the GI tract where it can be eliminated

4 Getting plenty of rest during these energy draining times is very valuable and avoiding any exercise.

5 If you live in a hot climate such as Florida, Texas or the Southwest, it’s important to stay out of the heat   Use sunglasses as often as possible.

6  If it can be tolerated using targeted herbal therapy instillations to the bladder lining can be therapeutic as well

7  Lastly take time during an acute flare to nourish yourself   Try not to be impatient but compassionate with the body as it sheds this unwanted hot quality

8 Continue to do the maintenance work as above

All the best                  To Health as a Skill   Love DrBill