Expert: Ronda Snow, Ph.D. - 10/20/2004

Question
I had an infection under the edge of my index finger nail that turned into blood poisening that spread up the finger, into the top of my hand, and behind my wrist.  Oral antibiotics were tried in the earlier stages, then I was on an IV for 5 - 6 days, then I took oral antibiotics for another 7 days.  The infection has been cured if you will, (2weeks)but the middle joint of my index finger is still very swollen and sore if you squeeze it.  Ice packs, warm backs, anti imflamatories, using the finger, not using it, doesn't seem to make any difference.  When I went back to the doctor, they suggested no activity & keeping it elevated might speed things along, but to come back in a month for an Xray, if things didn't improve.  Any suggestions for herbs, supplements, etc that help the body reduce post infection inflamation?  I am 54 year old, white male with 135/90 typical blood pressure, office worker that does regular cardio vascular exercise.  

Answer
Hello Ken

Of course, I would encourage you to continue the treatment plan you've set up with your doctor, but here are some topics you may want to investigate more as they have shown to be helpful for folks with inflammation issues.

Although it is usually seen in literature with regard to arthritis, bromaline foods such as pineapple and strawberries are sometimes found to help decrease inflammation overall. It may not seem like it at first glance, but capsacian containing peppers like cayanne (when ingested to taste in the diet) can also help.  Again you see this in literature related to arthritis, but at the chemical level, inflammation at any location is fairly similar. I know the pepper thing sounds strange, but think of it in terms of the homeopathic guideline "like cures like".


Personally, I'm  a little concerned about the idea of totally no activity...naturopathic priciples tend to suggest that maintaining a light activity and maintaining full range of motion gives better long term healing results. Warm is the right temp to use in accordance with Dr. Lindlarh's naturopathic writings. You could always consult a naturopathy in person for full dietary and water theraphy suggestions to suppliment what you are doing with your mainstream doctor. A naturopath may make even more stringent dietary changes such as avoiding meat and dairy for a time as the wastes of animal protien metabolism in the body are considered to be irritating and thus worsens inflammation. Again the writings of Robert Lindlarh would be a good resource to learn more...just keep in mind they are from the early 1900's and are out of date in their information about mainstream medicine, but the naturopathic information in his books are as excellent as ever and have certainly stood the test of time.

If you are interested in pulling in evem more holistic techniques, there are other things that can help...depending on your view and interest in energy medicine. Your feelings about such things can affect the outcome, but if you are willing to give it a go, it can help.

Energy treatments like Reiki can certainly help. I would suggest hands on treatments for this type of problem rather than distance work, at least in the beginning.

Aromatherapy can help, although in your case, I would suggest just diffusing it in the air as a scent, not rubbing it on your hand at all. Intuitively, lavendar come to mind. If you don't care for the floral scent of lavendar, you may try one of the other "cooling", anti-inflammatory sort of scents like peppermint, eucalyptus, or lemon, but on a psychic/intuitive level, I'm getting lavendar for you.

Working with gemstones or crystals can be interesting. Hematite is considered to be cooling, anti-inflammatory. Crystal work like this is typically done in conjunction with meditation and visualization. For example, you might want to place a bit of hematite in the palm of the affected hand, sit or rest comfortably, breath deeply and comfortably, and visualize the hematite cleaning the blood and so restoring full movement and comfort.

Color therapy is also helpful. The colors blue, violet and purple are soothing and considered anti-inflammatory. You can wear the colors, put them in your environment, wear jewlery in that color (in this case amythist, sapphire, lapis, etc) You can even shine colored light right on it for results. Sounds bogus and way "out there", I know...but the science behind takes too long to explain here...that is why I'm going to write a book about it. Keep an eye out for that one ;) This kind of therapy is completely harmless. The only caution here is that blues and purples are SO soothing that they can be depressing in people who are prone to sadness and depression, so use you own feelings to guide you in color therapy.

I hope you find this helpful. Of course, it is all up to you how to use this purely educational information.

I hope to have some rudimentary educational services as well as the intuitive half of my practice online sometime in 2005. If I can be of service in the future, please don't hesitate to contact me at white_tiger_wellness@yahoo.com to see what is up and available.

Best wishes to you. I hope you are on the mend soon!

Baihu