American consumers spent an estimated $34 billion on alternative medicine in 2007. In fact, alternative medicine accounts for over 11 percent of out-of-pocket spending on health care in the United States. This surprising information comes from the first national estimate of dollars spent on alternative medicine in over ten years. The last government estimate of spending on alternative medicine was reported based on a 1997 survey that found spending to be at about $27 billion.

Alternative medicine includes any healing practice not falling within the realm of conventional medicine. Many such practicies include herbalism, homeopathy, hypnosis, naturopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga, biofeedback, diet-based therapies, Unani and traditional Chinese medicine. These practices are very diverse and may be based upon traditional medicine, folk knowledge, spiritual beliefs, newly conceived approaches to healing or a combination thereof.

Briggs also noted that as the number of uninsured Americans increases, the use of these therapies may grow even more as some of them are relatively inexpensive. Because the data gathered for the estimate was collected prior to the current recession, it is not know if the economy played a role in jump in alternative medicine spending.

Findings concluded that 38 million adults visited alternative medicine practitioners for which they paid less than $50 on average per visit, and the average annual spending per person was about $122. For services such as acupuncture, homeopathy and hypnosis, the average was a higher at $75 plus. The average spending for products was $177.

Imagine enjoying a regular day’s routine full of dog walking, carpooling, and playing with your kids until you are suddenly crippled with pain. Now imagine not knowing when this can happen and that it can affect major joints required for walking and doing normal activities. This is a day in the life of someone who suffers from a disease called gout. This is a disease that concentrates arthritic attacks in specific parts of the body and it is like living with the unknown, and require staing away from certain trigger foods and beverages, and adopting a lifestyle change.

Gout is primarily a man’s disease with 90 percent of the diagnoses being men over the age of thirty. To date, there are over 2 million sufferers throughout the United States. Gout, as a form of acute arthritis, comes about suddenly caused by an increase of uric acid in the blood. Gout can be spurred on by an excess of alcohol, causing the spike in uric acid  prescription drugs or post-surgery complications can also invite a case of gout. Some gout sufferers go asymptomatic for years between attacks, others have a harder time getting rid of it and multiple attacks over time can create chronic pain or disfigurement.

During the summer when kids would rather chase the ice cream man down the street than eat the GoGurt (portable squeezable yogurt) that they may be used to in their lunch bags, there may be a new reason to keep yogurt on the menu…even during the summer months. It seems that probiotics—the healthy bacteria found in food and dairy products like yogurt—may be able to prevent the flu.

The journal Pediatrics, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, just released new information regarding probiotics. Professionally known as T-probiotics, these live cultures are a type of “good” bacteria added to foods that are helpful for keeping the digestive system on track as well as boosting your immune system.

The former head of research and development at Danisco in Wisconsin, Gregory Leyer, the author of the study touts the positive influence of his results, “There was definitely a need to show a prophylactic benefit of probiotic consumption, especially in children…. About 60 to 80 percent of our immune cells are associated with gut [cells]. Hitting the immune system through the gut makes sense,” Leyer continues by saying, “I’m assuming that’s how this product works. That kid’s immune system is in a better state to fight off infections or reduce the symptoms quicker.”

Having researched a lot of medical conditions for HealthNews and having dealt with an innumerable amount amongst my family members and loved ones, I had never heard of a case of whooping cough until yesterday.

When my doctor suggested I run a course of antibiotics for my whooping cough, I almost laughed. Whooping cough? The name alone makes me think of an archaic affliction like typhoid or the plague. However, my ongoing “death rattle” cough obliges me to seek out natural help for my apparent diagnosis.

Whooping cough spreads through the air and is sensitive as it can be caught by coughing, sneezing, or innocent conversation between people.

Children usually are vaccinated against whooping cough as infants a few times and then again before starting school so they are not high-risk in a large population of children.

While seeming like a normal, dry cough accompanying a cold, within the first week it turns into a wheezing cough where the patient suffers attacks of coughing that last beyond breath.

After gasping for air and coughing up little mucous, these symptoms can occur and become worse over time for up to eight weeks if not treated properly. Extensive cases require hospitalization as the ability to breathe needs to be watched carefully with these symptoms.

These home remedies can help soothe your insides while coping with the ongoing stress of treating whooping cough:

• Orange juice mixed with water
• Diet rich in fruit
• spending time outdoors with fresh air balanced with lots of rest and relaxation
• Five drops of garlic juice 2 to 3 times a day may help the severity of the cough
• Almond oil in tea
• Ginger juice with honey and fenugreek
• Epsom salt baths with cold compresses against the throat to soothe the body and relieve pain and agitation