Natural Treatments for Alcoholism

Alcoholics cannot resist the urge to drink alcohol, and then drink more alcohol. They are not stupid people (not always, anyway!). Most are aware of how bad excessive drink can be for the human body, but despite their knowledge they have lost their ability to control the amount of alcohol they drink. They drink beyond socially acceptable limits and are often a burden and embarrassment to their friends and family. This still does not stop them from drinking.

Ongoing alcoholism has dire effects on the body. It interferes with the normal function of all organs. It is especially hard on the liver, brain, kidneys and heart. Cirrhosis of the liver is one of the most serious effects of prolonged alcoholism. This is a scarring of the organ that is almost irreversible. It is rare that a cirrhosis-affected liver can ever be returned to full health and functionality. Alcohol interferes with digestion, which starts to starve the body of needed nutrients. Each time alcohol is imbibed it dulls a little more of the senses. Over a long period of time these sensory losses can become permanent.

There are some natural remedies and herbs that can be helpful in the treatment of alcoholism.

Herbs:

- Aloe vera helps to strengthen the liver and prevent cirrhosis, one of the first effects of alcoholism noticed by many sufferers.

- Ashwagandha helps strengthen the alcoholic through reducing vata vitiations. Vata is instrumental in the health and strength of the brain. It stimulates natural physical coordination.

- The gotu kola herb is also a brain revitalizer. It is an important ingredient to anyone suffering from alcohol withdrawal.

- Musk, or jatamansi, is also good for vata vitiation. It has a cooling effect and helps your body recover from the effects of alcoholism.

Ayurvedic Treatments:

Ayurvedic treatments come in different levels, depending on how entrenched the alcoholism is in the body.

If one has just begun to recognize alcoholic signs, methods include irrigating the head in cold water, eating only cold food, and the use of cold packs of mud for the body.

The more severe sufferer of alcoholism who may have been drinking for many years may require a more stringent treatment involving inducing vomiting, taking medicines to assist digestion, and fasting.

These are just two examples of a wide variety of Ayurvedic treatments.

Home Remedies:

Fruits are very good at lowering the negative effects of alcoholism. Juice from citrus fruit is very good at relieving hangover symptoms. Apples and bananas help remove toxins from the bloodstream.

Grapes and dates have the ability to reduce one's urge to drink alcohol. In fact, if you eat only grapes and dates and nothing else for a couple weeks, your drinking temptation will be gone.

Start drinking more and varied types on non-alcoholic beverages regularly. This, too, will reduce the need to drink alcohol. When you feel the need to drink, grab a glass of carrot juice instead. It will help remove that urge.

A hard-core drinker will undoubtedly fail when trying to completely stop drinking all at once. Instead, phase out alcohol from your diet slowly and steadily. Things that will help you on this goal are:

- Slow down with wine or beer instead of hard liquor. Eventually these, too, can be quit.

- Take an interest in a hobby or sport to take your mind of the times you would have been drinking before.

- The love and support from family and friends goes a long way to helping the sufferer rid himself of his alcoholism.

- Alcoholics Anonymous meetings give the alcoholism sufferer hope and support from others with personal experience with the same problem

Whatever you do, if you even think you might be leaning towards alcoholism, start taking action.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Alcoholism

Home Remedies For Genital Warts Treatment

Many people attempt to use home remedies for genital warts. It is important to note that most medical professionals caution against self-treatment because many of the substances used in home remedies for genital warts contain ingredients that can be very irritating to the sensitive genital area.

Following are some home remedies for genital warts that may help relieve symptoms:

* Take sitz baths. Fill a tub with a few inches of warm water and sit in it for 10-15 minutes every day.

* Squeeze warm water from a bottle over your genital area to provide comfort and cleansing.

* Use a heat lamp or a hair dryer several times a day to dry your genital area. Make sure to hold the lamp or dryer at least 18 inches from your skin.

One common home remedy for genital warts involves applying oil (vitamin E) on the infected skin and putting some raw crushed garlic over it. Cover it with adhesive tape. Some believe that this home remedy will cause the wart to fall off within a week.

Another popular remedy for genital warts is to make juice from onion slices that have been covered overnight with salt and apply three times a day until the warts disappear. You could also try applying the milky juice of fig stems two to three times per day or use apple cider vinegar to the area using a cotton ball to treat genital warts.

Aloe has been used for hundreds of years as a home remedy for genital warts. Apply the aloe externally in cream form or directly from the aloe plant. Aloe eases discomfort and may help in the removal of genital warts.

Home remedies for genital warts may include changes in the diet. Eat a diet rich in folic acid and beta carotene. Eat fruits and vegetables like radish, mango, squash and tomato which are orange, yellow and red in color. Dark green and leafy vegetables like spinach and cabbage and are also recommended. People undergoing home remedies for genital warts are encouraged to avoid cigarettes and caffeine.

After using any home remedy for genital warts, the condition can reappear in larger quantities than before. It is important that infected patients keep a close eye for future outbreaks.

Bear in mind that most medical professionals frown upon the use of home remedies for genital warts. Talk to your doctor before attempting to use home remedies for your genital warts.

Learn more about flakey skin with genital warts on our site. You'll also find other information such as low risk genital warts and getting genital warts during foreplay. TreatGenitalWarts.org is a comprehensive resource to help individuals with genital warts to identify symptoms, prevention and treatment options.

The DVD Structure

There is a single file format specified for use with all the DVD Books A - D.This file system is the UDF/ISO-9660 Bridge format. UDF (Universal Disc Format) was designed specifically for optical media and has evolved from the ISO-9660 format. The benefit of this single file system is the ability for the DVD media to be compatible across set top players and personal computers with DVD ROM players.

The top level of organisation on a DVD disc is a volume. The volume contains a single DVD Video zone which contains all the data elements for the set-top video title, and a DVD others zone which can be used for non-DVD-video data elements such as desktop computer applications. It is important to note that currently set top players cannot accss the DVD Other zones as they only know how to access the DVD video zone. Computers can access the DVD Other zones and run applications that allow for a fuller interaction with the DVD Video zone.

DVD Volume structure

At the top of the structure is the DVD as a whole with its DVD other and video zone. Within the DVD video zone is the video manager, which is a master directory for the data elements, followed by 1 to 99 video title sets which inclue the video and audio elements. The video manager usually includes an introductory clip of video such as a logo, and a menu for navigation.

Video Title sets and Video Objects

Following the video manager are the video title sets. A DVD can contain multiple title sets. A Video Title Set (VTS) is made up of a VTS Menu, and one or more video titles. Titles in turn can be broken down into Parts of Titles (PTT). The data within the video title is made up of Video Object Sets (VOBS), which are made up of one or more Video Objects (VOB). A video object is made up of the video audio, navigation data and subpictures for a programme. It is the VOB which is the fundamental media file element of the DVD disc. The lowest branch of the DVD structure is the cell. Each VOB can be broken down into one or more cells. A cell may be as large as the entire movie or as small as an MPEG GOP (Group of Pictures).

For example a movie with 5 chapters would have one video manager, one title set, one title, one VOBS made up of one VOB and 10 cells. Multiple Title Sets and VOBS become apparent when interactive titles are created.

A DVD that included an interactive music video programme with ten artists, each with five videos, artist information. In this case the disc would have: on video manager, ten Video Title Sets, multiple Titles for each video. The reason for this division is that the DVD remote control has both Title and Menu buttons. The user can click on the Title button to return to the main DVD menu to select a title, or click on the Menu button to go to the menus for the particular title being viewed.

Kevin Round is a Director of Cofiant, a video editing and dvd authoring company based in the UK.