I’ve been sick recently. Based on my symptoms, I was pretty sure I had a sinus infection, most likely caused by a virus. No sneezing, coughing, or congestion, just a funny taste in my mouth/nose and very worn down for several days. The last time I had a virus infection it involved a throat so sore, I could barely swallow my own spit. I went to the doc for that one, and of course they couldn’t do anything for a virus and told me to just wait it out. It was pure misery.

So with this illness I didn’t think going to the doctor would really do me any good. The only thing he’d probably prescribe is rest, which I was already getting plenty of. But I figured I could probably get some help from a naturopath, so I went was saw one at the National College of Natural Medicine. This was my first visit to a naturopath, although I’ve been curious about this kind of treatment for a long time. I was impressed. First, since this is a school’s clinic, I had not one but two students working with me. I’ve never visited a doctor and had them do such a thorough health history. It took around 50 minutes, and not once did I get the idea that they were in a hurry. They probably asked me to elaborate on things more than I tended to. After a brief physical exam, they left to huddle with the doctor and come up with a treatment plan. During this time they came back a couple of times to ask me some follow up questions to try and get the treatment nailed down. Once they had it figured out, the students came back, along with the doctor, and took their time explaining to me exactly what the treatment plan was all about, allowing me to ask whatever questions I came up with.

The most impressive part happened on Tuesday though. I saw them on Friday, and on Tuesday one of the students who took me in called me up to see how I was doing! I’ve never had a doctor do that. My wife’s Chinese doctor did the same thing for her recently. These people actually care how you are doing after you leave their offices. I’m definitely going to explore naturopathy further. I’m going back in a week to start working on my allergies. I’ve tried some over the counter natural allergy treatments before with some success. Maybe something that is tailored specifically for my needs will work really well.