Osteopathy and a Flu Pandemic

A couple of years ago I attended an Osteopathic Manipulation Conference in which David Teitelbaum, DO, was lecturing about the history of the Spanish Flu of 1917-1918.  Did you know that 6% of all people who contracted the Spanish Flu died, but only 1/4 of 1% (0.25%) of those treated with Osteopathic Manipulation died?  During the lecture Dr. Teitelbaum refreshed our memories of the Osteopathic Manipulative techniques utilized almost 100 years ago. 

Many of you will recognize these techniques as ones I've used on you and your loved ones. I often use them with respiratory infections, it works for all of them.  Some of you will recognize that I have taught you these techniques to use if necessary. For you, this is a refresher!  I decided that adding Dr. Teitelbaum's introduction and a link to his teaching videos are now important and timely.

Below is Dr. Teitelbaum's introduction page.  Click on the title to the introduction for the link to his teaching videos.  I strongly recommend that you become very familiar with these techniques NOW as his website may become overloaded when the next influenza pandemic comes.  (Please note, the videos were created as the Bird Flu Pandemic was of utmost concern, but the information is very timely with the current concern for the H1N1 flu.)

If your family or friends are hit with the flu during a pandemic, you may be the ONLY person available to help them.  By learning these Osteopathic Manipulation techniques, you may be the reason they survive.

- Eva Shay, DO

“Survive the Bird Flu Pandemic With Osteopathy”

Medical experts agree that the world is due for a Flu Pandemic. The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1917 killed 500,000 people in the United States and over 50 million worldwide. Yet, during that pandemic, those treated with Osteopathic manipulation were 25 times more likely to survive than those treated by conventional means alone.

The reason for the difference concerns mechanical ventilation. Patients with Flu often have their lungs fill up with fluid. When this occurs, mechanical breathing support may be necessary. Current medical practice provides this mechanical support by employing ventilating machines (“ventilators”). In the event of a Bird Flu Pandemic, there would not be enough of these ventilators available.

Before the invention of ventilators, Osteopathic manipulation successfully provided similar breathing support. Faced with a shortage of ventilators, these treatments could be employed just as they were in 1917. In this video, Dr. Teitelbaum demonstrates the treatment methods used successfully by Osteopathic Physicians during that pandemic.

Warning: Although these treatment methods are generally safe and easy to use, they are normally employed only by physicians with years of special training. The treatments should be employed by non-physicians only in emergency conditions, such as in the event of a pandemic when such specialized care is simply not available.

Fall Cleaning

Traditionally there is Spring and Fall cleaning, right?  Well, today has been a major Fall cleaning for our WSHC website.  I've spent most of today adding to, deleting and generally cleaning up the Reading Material and Educational Material folders and pages.  There are new links, new books, and new pages for searching.  Take a look around.  Let us know if you have any suggestions or comments on how we can improve our site so that it is of better use and education for you.

Eva Shay, DO

Rooted Health Acupuncture at the WSHC

Chris Mayer, MS, LAcMy name is Christopher Mayer, and I am a licensed acupuncturist.  I started my acupuncture practice at Presque Isle, Maine, after I obtained my masters degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from NYCC (New York Chiropractic College).  Prior to that, I have been a Certified Massage Therapist and Personal Trainer.  I have also served as an EMT and a Certified Nursing Assistant, all of which have nurtured my passion for and enriched my knowledge of health and wellness. 

I will be posting more comments with respect to acupuncture. I welcome any insights from you.   

Improving Your Mental Health Through Photography

First SnowIt has been years since I've picked up a camera and taken pictures of whatever caught my eye, but over the past year, our family has gotten back into photography.  And in doing so, I could only see beauty each time I looked through the camera.  The process of taking a picture takes you down that path... a path that can't help but be uplifting.

I've been suggesting this to Joel, our son, that he ought to remember that the camera can give you a different perspective on the world around you.  The camera is a wonderful tool to help heal.  The examples in the galleClimbing Fastry above are what we've seen this past year.

 And with this idea in hand, the “Well Spring Health Center” would like to announce that it will be supporting the formation of a photography club here in Aroostook County called The Aroostook F-Stops.  The focus will be more on the artistry of taking pictures and not particularly on the equipment.  Some of the best and most memorable photographs we have in our family were taking with very cheap and simple cameras.

Grateful SunWe'll be inviting the most experienced photographers in the area to talk about their work, as well as introducing educational material that is available on the web and exchanging ideas and techniques.  We've got the space for a pretty good sized group of people and since we are in the mall, it should be pretty central to most everyone that would like to attend.  We are planning the first meeting in mid-September, so keep an eye on on this blog for more information.

Welcome to Our New Site

As the site supervisor I'd like to take a few minutes to welcome you to our new site.  We are excited about this new setup as it will allow us to more easily keep it up to date.  PLUS it will allow us to integrate our blog right into the site which was impossible before.

Remember this is under construction and it's looks will be changing through time.  Also some of the pages have not yet been ironed out after moving them from the other site.

To navigate the site use the navigation menu.  Any entry with a plus sign next to it will expand displaying other options.

Thanks, Tom Shay