Robert McDowell's Herbal Treatments
12 May 2004
Herbal Help for Humans and their Companions
Just this week I was giving some thought to and reseaching into the problem of burn out, a very common and debilitating condition of the 21st century .It is particularly common in people who are intelligent, sensitive and undertake very caring or nurturing work! Burn-out can also be a reflection of leading a too constricted life - not balancing our reponsibilites and work with nurturing relationships, play and relaxation. I was thinking these people who are stretched to their limits often resort to coffee as a "pick me up", maybe many cups of coffee! In fact it is the world's most popular drink with over 400 billion cups consumed each day.
Coffee has an amazing history , it began in Ethiopia when a goat herdsman noticed that his goats became more frisky after eating from a particular bush. The actually brewing of it probably began in 1000AD but it wasn't until 1475 when the first coffee shop opened in Constantinople.
Initially coffee was zeolously guarded, the first exports were sent from Mecca strapped to the belly of the courier.
Why do we reach for a cup of coffee?
A cup of coffee can stimulate the imagination and keep it active, which brings things to life, gives us time to rebalance and get a vision of the future. I think coffee may have a link to the adrenals.
But no I don't mean you to go out and have unlimited cups of coffee, because coffee can cause some serious diseases, I mean using it in medicinal doses might be the way to go .
You'll have to wait for me to do more research .
By the way in Turkey a Turk who does not give his wife enough coffee can be divorced by her.
Some one once wrote "COFFEE - Black as hell, strong as death, sweet as love."
This week we feature:-
- Canine - Incontinence / Seisamoiditis
- Equine - Travel Trouble
- Human - Throat Infections
- Home Remedies - Sore throats, an old fashioned remedy.
- Reader Feedback
Canine Sesamoiditis
This is an not uncommon affliction in retired greyhounds as they have experienced excessive and regular pressure on their feet and legs.
Sesamoiditis is a painful inflammation of the region surrounding the sesamoid apparatus. Sesamoiditis causes pain in the ball of the foot, especially on the medial (inner) side. It may be accompanied by swelling (edema) throughout the bottom (plantar aspect) of the forefoot.
Sesamoiditis is usually caused by repetitive, excessive pressure on the forefoot. It typically develops when the structures of the first metatarsophalangeal joint are subjected to chronic pressure and tension. The surrounding tissues respond by becoming irritated and inflamed.
Robert recommends his Herbal Bone Healing Mix and the addition of ground Millet and Linseed in your dog's diet. The Bone healer is described on the website below:
http://www.herbal-dogkeeping.com/dog_bone_healing_maturity.html
Millet and Linseed can be provided by Robert or obtained from your health food shop.
If your dog is not in much pain, only favouring the one leg Robert recommends that you do not treat the pain but just watch for improvement and the limp to reduce. This is a good indication of healing and the pain will dictate how much load your dog puts on the joint while it is healing.
If your dog is in more severe pain you can use my anti-inflammatory formulation to reduce it without the side effects of orthodox pain killers:
http://www.herbal-dogkeeping.com/dog_anti_inflammatory.html
Equine Travel Trouble
I would recommend the following:
- Start your horses on the Travel Mix 3 or 4 days before they are loaded and supply the Truckie with a bottle to be added to all drinking water. Presumably he carries his own drinking water supplies and the instruction could be to add directly into his tank.
- Take a second bottle with you so that when you meet the horses you can administer a dose directly each time you meet up with them. This is given directly and it already contains Rescue Remedy and you wont need to use extra RR although it is always good to have on hand anyway.
- Take a bottle of Travel Trauma with you so you have something in hand if one of them does go down for any reason.
Mix Chamomile Flowers and Rosehips Granules in with the calf as you planned in with the chaff.
The granules will settle to the bottom and are a little slowly digested without the added water but they will still be good. If the truckie is able to dampen down the feed with a little extra water then the rosehips will be softened and the extra water improves hydration anyway.
These instructions should be simple enough for the truckie and if he is not happy to add the travel mix into the drinking water insist that he adds it into the water he uses to dampen feed:
http://www.herbal-horsekeeping.com/horse_travel_trouble.html
Throat Infections
In the southern hemisphere with the weather now starting to change and temperatures dropping its time to look at the health of our respiratory system. The mixes to heal the conditions in this area are really designed to boost your own immunity as well as just kill the bugs as is the medical approach with antibiotics.
All the old remedies like hot lemon drinks and gargles of various sorts were all aimed at the same thing.
There are some of us that wake up each morning with a dry or scratchy throat that goes away with the first hot drink of the morning, when this does not go away but continues to bother you all day and the next day and becomes a full on very sore throat I recommend a chronic throat infection mix which Robert makes up out of a dozen or so specific herbs. This mix will not only clear any current infection in the first two weeks or so but build your immunity up to the point where you should not have a recurrence of this sort of problem for a couple of years or more at least:
http://www.herbal-treatment.net/herbs_throat_infection.html
For those who need to rely and use their voices many times a day such as singers, preachers, teachers and speakers Robert also make a throat irritation mix to use as a preventative and soother for such occasions:
http://www.herbal-treatment.net/herbs_throat_irritation.html
See below for more information about gargles and magic hot tea mixes for colds and flu.
Home Remedies - Wonder Juice
Take Fresh Sage, Thyme, Fresh Garlic, Ginger, Lemon , Honey and Fenugreek Seeds.Soak a tablespoon of Fenugreek seeds in 1 1/2 cups of hot water for 10 min. then bring to simmer for 5min.
Pour fenugreek tea over a crushed clove of garlic, chopped tablespoon of fresh sage and thyme with a few slices of fresh ginger. You can make this tea even if you don't have fresh Sage or Thyme.
Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the mix and add honey to taste.
A few drops of Echinacea Extract (if you have it) in addition reduces any infections.
Drink hot or cold three times per day.
The addition of fenugreek is wonderful when fighting a fever. It doesn't block the fever it brings it out faster and activates the lymph and therefore the skin.
Fenugreek is a wonderful cleanser , clearing and eliminating fluids and fats, activating the lymph glands -- be wary though if you fast on say Fenugreek and apples for a weekend it may produce a perspiration that you don't want to own!
Reader Feed Back
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Wishing you and your companions the best of health and happiness.
Yours Truly,
Judith Burton for
Robert McDowell