Mycoplasma pneumonia
I am recovering from mycoplasma pneumonia. I was treated with antibiotics which I have now finished. What can you recommend to speed my recovery. I want to use natural remedies and vitamins. I am 47 and do not smoke.
Mycoplasma pneumonia is the most common type of pneumonia in those aged between five and 35. It normally strikes in the Spring and tends to break out in confined groups such as students, military personnel, and family members. Starting with fatigue, a sore throat and a dry cough, up to 20% of sufferers may also develop a rash.
Although most of the symptoms should be gone within a fortnight, an attack can leave you feeling depressed and debilitated for weeks, warns Dr George Lewith, co-founder of The Centre for The Study of Complementary Medicine. He says you will need to boost your nutritional profile, starting with at least 15mg of zinc per day. You should also be taking a good vitamin B complex and a supplement which provides 400mg of absorbable magnesium. Take all three nutrients every day for at least eight weeks.
Dr Lewith also recommends a homeopathic remedy called Ferrum Phos. to help tackle the lingering tiredness. You can take this either as 6c potency, four times a day, or 30c potency, twice a day for the next month. Echinacea is an excellent herbal stimulant for the immune system. You need a product which provides up to 400mg of the active ingredient a day. Although it will lose it potency through over-use, in this case, Dr Lewith recommends you take it for up to six weeks.
Hypericum or St John’s Wort will help alleviate the depression, but do not take this without consulting your doctor if you are already on medication since it will interfere with the action of other drugs. If you get the go ahead, take 350-700mg of herbal extract every day for six weeks. Rest is crucial to your recovery so do not rush back into a busy life.
The antibiotics you have taken will have wiped out many of the good gut bacteria which help with digestion. Replace these with a probiotic. I recommend Seven Seas’ new Multibionta, which not only provides the right strain in the right dosage but comes in an enteric coated capsule which stops the replacement bacteria from being destroyed in the stomach, allowing them to where they are needed - the colon. These cost £4.49 for 30 tablets and are available from most health retailers.
*Dr George Lewith can be contacted on 01703-334752 or 0171-935 7848.