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Robert McDowell's Herbal Treatments 25 February 2004 Herbal Help for Humans and their CompanionsRight now in my region of Australia we are experiencing heat wave conditions with local towns recording extreme top temperatures.The elderly and young especially but anyone suseptible to it are suffering from heat stress or exhaustion. Under heat stress our bodies sweat in an effort to cool blood temperatures. They also experience symptoms of fatigue, weakness, anxiety and a faint feeling. While sweating our bodies lose salt (electrolytes) and water which must be replaced ideally by slightly salty drinks such as tomato juice or cool soups . At the very least keep up the drinks of water. It also gives relief to mist our skin with a fine spray bottle of water . As a family with young children and a car with no air conditioner we found that the mister bottle was life saving on many occasions. I've seen people walking around town with a wet towel around their neck --another good trick! We may also suffer from prickly heat which results from trapped sweat.. The best way to reduce this is to keep the skin cool and dry as much as possible, soothing relief may be gained from the product below. http://www.herbal-treatment.net/herbs_skin_allergy_irritation_acute.html Heat cramps may also occur in manual workers under extreme heat. Have a read of the site below. http://www.herbal-treatment.net/herbs_nighttime_muscle_cramping.html This week we feature:-
Home Remedies - More On Castor Oil For all nursing mothers to know . If castor oil is rubbed on the front of the breast it helps to draw the milk down. On the other hand if you are weaning your child and want the breast milk to lessen in flow and dry up then the castor oil needs to be rubbed on the back. So Simple. The Pain Of Arthritis for Dogs and Their Owners. It really hurts to see our dearest companions limping and suffering with every step a painful one. Arthritis is a very general term but probably denotes changes in the bones of the joints which are either degenerative or have resulted in roughness or spurs growing within the joint itself. These processes will cause pain, inflammation and stiffness. Many companion dogs are more and more subject to this and in my opinion it is really due to the poor nutrition which commercial dog foods provide. Step No 1 therefore is to put your dog on a raw meat and bones diet and get rid of the dog food altogether. There is a book review on my website on http://www.herbal-dogkeeping.com/herbal_treatment_articles.html which further describes such a diet. Step No 2 is to provide your dog with a bone healing tonic which will reverse the processes of change in this animal. Degenerative bone processes are one of the most common conditions I treat nowadays and I have a Herbal Bone healing formulation which quickly shows positive results. This may be found on the website at; http://www.herbal-dogkeeping.com/dog_bone_healing_maturity.html This tonic will start work immediately to reverse the degenerative changes and with the support of a diet with lots of raw bones will speedily produce signs of healing in terms of less stiffness and pain on its own without any sorts of pain killers This is all I would do in the first instance if your dog is not too uncomfortable as by not using pain killers you will be able to more quickly verify the efficacy of the treatment. If your animal is too uncomfortable at present, I have a safe (and side effect free) herbal Anti-Inflammatory formulation which uses the herbs traditionally used for Arthritis and Rheumatism and which will offer some support to comfort levels during the initial stages of healing. This is to be found on the website at http://www.herbal-dogkeeping.com/dog_bone_healing_maturity.html Horses Who Eat Meat and Other Strange Substances As a matter of fact, horses will eat meat, and a number of things that we think they shouldn't be eating. This is mostly due to a lack of needed minerals in their diet, or in some cases it can be a habit formed out of boredom. One of my mares was a prolific dirt clod eater, that was until I introduced a mineral lick into her diet. Horses need to have a salt/mineral lick available to them as in the wild, salt licks occur naturally and the horses will consume as much as they need, which will vary day to day. A salt lick is a more natural approach for the horses digestion and constitution rather than being force fed man made mineral substitutes. Read the following articles for more information. http://herbal-treatments.com.au/articles_my_horse_eats_dirt.html http://herbal-treatments.com.au/articles_herbalists_view.html Just to reiterate from one of the articles I can't emphasize enough the value of basic nutrition found in a variety of simple foods. Vitamin A: Is found in Carrots and Leafy Green Vegetables and is therefore much better supplied in feed, rather than in processed supplements. Vitamin B: Is found in all grains and the idea of giving Vitamin B supplements to animals which have grain in their diet is complete nonsense. Vitamin B12 is a little harder to get and is best found in the herb Comfrey which can be offered OCASIONALLY AND IN SMALL QUANTITES and in these doses is a valuable supplement. Bioflavinoids: Can be supplied with a little Buckwheat to provide for Rutin especially for healthy blood vessels. Vitamin C: Is found in fresh greens in abundance and it is a poor horse which has no access to green pick. If a horse is kept away from greens for a time half a cup of of whole dried Rosehips in boiling water and allowed to cool will provide all Vitamin C and Iron that is missing. Choline: Is found in bitter vegetables and the leaves of Dandelions and a few fresh leaves can be offered a stabled horse from time to time. Otherwise let a few dandelions grow around the yard and the Horse will chose them for itself. Vitamin D: Is synthesized by the action of Sunlight on Skin and found in Fish Oils. Not needed as a supplement for grazing animals. Vitamin E: Is found in fresh wheat germ along with the whole range of Vitamin B's and is the commercial source of both E's and B's. A little fresh wheat germ for those horses not on grains is all that is required. Anything more expensive or more processed is a nonsense. Calcium: Is found in Leafy Greens and in Molasses (along with Sulfur) Iron: Is found in Wheat Germ, in Green Feed and in Molasses. Silica: Is found in Dried Feed in abundance. Trace Elements: Are all found in Kelp. It all boils down to Grains, Green Feed, Wheat Germ, Molasses, Carrots and Kelp. To this I would add Garlic as a protection against infection and access to the odd weed like Dandelion and Comfrey. New Topics of Interest Deep Vein Thrombosis and Embolism Herbal Treatment: http://www.herbal-treatment.net/herbs_embolism_thrombosis.html Arteriosclerosis and Atherosclerosis Herbal Treatment: http://www.herbal-treatment.net/herbs_arteriosclerosis_atherosclerosis.html The Human Athlete We often recieve requests from all manner of athletes for suggestions about herbal assistance in their training programmes and recovery from strains or injuries. Generally serious athletes would benefit from both the Maritime Pine Bark and the Athletes Oil (actually my Equine Hoof Oil with a different label) http://www.herbal-treatment.net/maritime_pine_bark_extract_pycnogenol.html The effects of the Maritime Pine will show immediately in less training muscular soreness and the Hoof Oil is a wonderful protector and restorer of ligament elasticity and health. I would recommend both of these plus three or four cups of Rosehips tea as routine parts of your health and training program and once you start you will never be without them. The rosehips is a very high Vitamin C source so eliminates the need for other supplements. It is also a high source of Iron and a Major Kidney, Adrenal and Blood Tonic. The benefits of Rosehips is further described in an article on the website to be found at; http://www.herbal-treatment.net/article_understanding_athletes_flu.html If you want to go further into my approach to athletic support you could also read the article on the Basketball Player. http://www.herbal-treatment.net/article_understanding_basketball_player.html This information should be helpful to anyone doing regular training for any sport or considering taking part in fun runs and marathons. FeedBack We value your feedback so much that we are making it easier for you to send us a sentence or two. Please fill in the form below and click 'Send' All the best in health and happiness to all readers and their companions. Yours Truly, Robert McDowell |