What Ails You: Pneumonia

I have heard of so many people getting pneumonia this year and with the rise of antibiotic resistant drugs, I felt a blog post was in order for how you can treat this condition at home. When dealing with serious illness, always seek help from a competent physician, I recommend a Functional Medical Practitioner. 

Pneumonia is an infection of the lung caused by bacteria, fungus, or viruses that enter the lungs, leading to inflammation of the lung tissue.  It is a general term used to describe any infection that is deep in the lungs.  Those at higher risk of developing pneumonia are the elderly, those with weakened or compromised immune systems, those that are hospitalized, alcoholics, those that smoke and those suffering with other health conditions.  

Symptoms:  Rapid, shallow breathing, shortness of breath, chest pain, sore throat and headache, cough with mucus and possibly blood, fever, sweat, shivering attacks, fatigue and exhaustion.  

First thing to do when treating any illness is to make sure only nutrient rich food goes into your body.  Avoid meat, dairy, sweets and any processed or fast food.  Feed your body nourishing foods such as homemade soups with bone broth, easily digestible foods, vegetables, fruits and lots of herbal tea and juices.  Many times your body will send you craving signals for exactly what your body may need.  Incorporate lots of fluids and get plenty of rest.  Frequent warm baths may also be very healing. Keep in mind that coughing is a good thing when dealing with a respiratory infection, so do not take cough suppressants.  It may be a nuisance but this is the body's way of expelling the built up mucus (and bacteria) out of the body.

• Ginger tea with raw honey and a squirt of lime - ginger is warming and drying which can help the wet condition of the lungs. 
• Herbal baths: Soak in an herbal bath as often as your body feels. It is also good for this condition to dip in cold water, right after a hot bath or do Dr. Christopher’s cold sheet treatment. Yarrow baths are a go to healing remedy for whatever may ail you, it just knows what to do in a body to bring about balance and healing.  Thyme is specific for the lungs and antiviral/antibacterial. Soak for at least a half hour and drink plenty of fluids.
• Incorporate plenty of garlic and onions in the diet.  Not only do these foods have antibiotic properties that will aid the body in killing the bacteria or virus, they also help to expel phlegm.
• Hot Chest packs.  These can be made using a poultice, compress or hot pad.  You can use food such as onions, garlic, ginger and or mustard, herbs or essential oils.
• Alternating hot and cold packs.  If you are dealing with a stagnate condition alternating hot and cold over the area - in this case the lungs - will get the lymph and blood moving.  Chest claps are another way to help break up mucus so it can be expelled.   
• Castor oil massage: massage into the chest and on the back every morning and evening before bed.  Castor oil applied to the skin will increase the blood supply to that area for focused attention.  It also can stimulate the immune system.
• Catnip enema with cold water.
• Exercise like jogging or jumping.
• Using aromatic spices as a tea or in your foods.   Those such as cloves, cinnamon, and allspice have microbial action that can help the body kill off harmful viruses and bacteria.  They are also more drying so will help with the wet condition in the lungs.  Autumn Spice Tea would be a good one to add a little raw honey to and sip on throughout the day.  
• ​Dr. Christopher's Immucalm: Sometimes the immune system can get in overload mode and sends so many blood cells to take care of the lung problem that too much mucus builds up too quickly.  This formula helps to calm the immune response while also strengthening and stimulating the body's ability to fight off infection.  Combine equal parts: marshmallow root and astragalus. 
• Try to take deep breaths throughout this process. The body needs oxygen, and it needs to fight to breath. Many times, when people are placed on machines that breathe for them, the body stops fighting to breathe and they go downhill. Intentionally work to breathe deep to keep the lungs working.  Inhaling peppermint essential oil while deep breathing helps bring more oxygen to the lungs and blood.
• Dr. Christopher's Cold Sheet Treatment - I also reference this in my post on Hot and Cold Therapy.

Pneumonia Formulas

Annie's Pneumonia Blend
This blend contains a combination of herbs that will fight infection, tend to be more drying for the wet condition in the lungs, aids the elimination of mucus, reduces inflammation and relives pain and swelling.  Take in small frequent doses throughout the day.
Combine the following herbs:

• 1/2 part birch bark
• 1/2 part oak bark
• 1/2 part Oregon grape root
• 1 part yarrow
• 1 part elder flowers

Healing Plants of the Rocky Mountains Immune System Formula by Darcy Williamson
This is a powerful herbal antibiotic formula. She suggests taking in small frequent doses several times throughout the day. All of these herbs are found all over the Rocky Mountain area as foraging plants. 

• 4 parts arrowleaf balsamroot
• 2 parts lomatium
• 2 parts gumweed
• 1 part red clover

Expectorant Cough Syrup - The Herbal Drugstore​
Combine the following in a pot over medium heat:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup honey

All herbs are in the dried form, if using fresh double the amounts

• 2 teaspoons mullein leaves
• 2 teaspoons horehound
• 2  teaspoons rosemary
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ginger
• pinch of cayenne

Simmer, uncovered, until the mixture has reduced by half.  Remove from heat and strain.  Take 1/2 to 1 teaspoon as often as every two hours.  Keep stored in the fridge. 

Dr. Christopher's Immucalm
Sometimes the immune system can get in overload mode and sends so many blood cells to take care of the lung problem that too much mucus builds up too quickly.  This formula helps to calm the immune response while also strengthening and stimulating the body's ability to fight off infection.  

​Combine equal parts:

• Marshmallow Root
• Astragalus 

These are our most important allies in the modern day battle with antibiotic resistant bacteria.  Because of how complex herbs are the bacteria cannot figure out the formula for breaking their resistance to these powerful bacteria fighters.  Herbs are not really antibiotic because that word means "anti-life" and herbs are not anti-life, they are anti harmful bacteria.  They know the difference between the beneficial bacteria in your body and the ones causing harm and those are the guys they target with the help of the immune system and beneficial bacteria. Take these frequently, as often as the body desires, alone or part of a formula. 

• echinacea - stimulates the immune system 
• goldenseal 
• Oregon graperoot 
• garlic - 4 cloves is equal to one dose of antibiotics
• usnea - best used in tincture form 
• wormwood - strong antibiotic 
• astragalus - immune builder and strengthener, take as a tonic daily
• sage
• oak bark​

​Expectorant herbs:  These will help the body to expel mucus from the lungs, most likely in the form of coughing it up.   As I mentioned above, this a good thing.

• horehound
• coltsfoot
• boneset
• elder flowers
• licorice root
• nettles
• parsely
• thyme
• yarrow

These can be massaged into the chest, back and the bottoms of the feet.  I also like to apply an immune boosting blend to the spine - my favorite is Thieves (clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus and rosemary).  You could also put these in hot water and use as a compress on the chest and diffuse them as an inhalation. 

• thyme
• cinnamon
• oregano
• ravensara
• eucalyptus
• tea tree
• ​frankincense 
• lemon 
• Young Living has a wonderful blend called RC that I have had great success using for croup.  Butterfly Express has a similar but no where as potent blend called Aspire.

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