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Robert McDowell's Herbal Treatments 01 September 2004 Herbal Help for Humans and their CompanionsDo you realize how important your liver is?The liver performs 39 different metabolic tasks in your body. A good dietary base and emotional stability assists the liver to balance all these chemical equations. Our liver responds to emotional nourishment and contentment. In particular the liver suffers from unexpressed or suppressed emotions. The liver truly appreciates your emotional honesty when you face up to difficult situations so it can do its metabolic jobs freely rather than regulate your emotions. To be perfectly honest the bodies chemical balance is more disturbed by shock, greed, fear, jeolousy, depression, resentment and grief than by the occasional cream cake, red meat and wine. Take some time to reflect, how much do you edit or suppress yourself? As for the diet that your liver benefits from, in reality the foods that cause our body's metabolic harmony the most problems are those that have been manufactured to look and smell like "real" authentic food but are in fact pseudo foods. Our liver is the organ that recognises the substitution and in many cases results in an allergic response or residues that can't be broken down. Ideally, if we are caring for our selves and our liver we need to eat original, natural, fresh and simple foods. This week we feature:-
Canine - Recurrent Ear Infections Recurrent ear infections are not primarily bacterial at all. The ear canal is a nice warm moist environment which is an ideal host for a fungal (yeast) infection of. In most dogs the ear canal has a bend in it which inhibits draining as well. Any infection is a secondary one which can take hold when the fungus has damaged and inflamed the tissue and this explains why all these expensive antibiotics are doing no good. I have a great little mix which is very effective in treating and clearing ear infections, this mix can be found at: http://www.herbal-dogkeeping.com/dog_chronic_ear_infection.html Recently a patient wrote asking a few questions about the actual use of the drops. 1. Our dogs ear flap has a red spot where puss collects at the fold. Is it okay to place a few drops there as well as in the canal? Yes the drops may be used on the red spot as well. 2. We have been washing her ear with ear wash and then peroxide every other day to try to keep the infection under control. Should we continue to wash the ear out before we put the drops in? I would stop washing the ear so frequently and just leave the drops to do the job. Maybe one week into the program given them a good wash just the once and then let it run again interrupted. The drops depend on evaporating and leaving a residue behind and frequent washing will interrupt this process. 3. Also, we thought if we put a piece of gauze over our dogs ear she may not be able to scratch it so much as she seems to be constantly irritating it. If the gauze stops her scratching then this is fine. Most dogs will try to scratch something like this out of the way. As the itchyness abates this will not be necessary. Equine - Rain Scald or Rain Rot Rain scald or Rain Rot is a condition of the skin where the animal is exposed to quite a lot of damp and warm weather and over time the skin becomes softened leaving way for bacteria to find its way into the cracked areas of the skin in turn causing infection. Streptothricosis causes the problem which acts like both a fungi and a bacteria, horses can carry this but may or may not be effected by it. Any equipment such as saddles and rugs can rub and irritate the affected skin. It appears mostly along the back and shoulders, and can appear as minor crusty lumps through to large encrusted areas with lesions that weep and may ooze pus. It can be difficult to differentiate this condition from other skin problems. We always recommend the standard Blood Cleanser in this situation. The blood cleanser will assist to clear the scald altogether: http://www.herbal-horsekeeping.com/horse_blood_cleanser.html Depending on how severe the problem is we may also recommend the Skin Healing Cream. It is also a good idea to wash your horse with a natural Sulphate Free, oatmeal based shampoo, and keep the horse rugged, with a light sheet that breathes, but can also protect from the weather. Adding some Fresh Garlic and Rosehip tea to the diet will also be beneficial in eradicating the infection from the system. Human - Boils Boils or furuncles are large, tender, swollen, raised areas caused by a staphylococcal infection. Boils tend to form on the face, breasts, arms, legs and buttocks but when they form near the nose or ears they are very painful . They enclose pus and a slightly bloody discharge. Some people develop recurrent boils particularly in crowded housing situations or when hygeine is compromised. Boils are a sign of blood toxins accumulating and of your robust immune system seeking to expel them directly through the skin because for some reason other avenues of expulsion are unavailable. More can be read at the site below: http://www.herbal-treatment.net/herbs_blood_poisoning.html Moist heat can assist the boil to gather and drain, Castor oil applied to the surface is particularly good for bringing the contents of the boil to the surface if it has come sufficiently close. Home Remedies - Mate' Tea Also known as Paraguay Tea, in Peru it is a staple drink like our tea or coffee. Some of our grandmothers would have used Mate' Tea at the beginning of their day or mid morning, knowing that a cup of it kept the rhythm of the heart strong. It actually has a tonic stimulant effect on the heart. Its a great way to produce some energy when you have to, when its hard to "start the engine". Mate' contains iron, potassium and very effectively oxygenates the blood. Mate' tea has a slightly musty flavour and is very useful for the more senior citizen. It is best taken before work in the morning , not after work or before bed. Past Newsletters: I invite you to browse through recent newsletters on a wide variety of topics on both human and animal health issues there will certainly be something of immediate interest to you: http://www.herbal-treatments.com/newsletter.html Reader Feed Back Feedback from a ReaderComments:- I enjoy reading your newsletters. I had eczema since I was a baby and now it is gone. Two winters ago I was very bad and since I had tried the recommendations of doctors and naturopaths I decided that it could be allergy to something I was eating. At the time I knew a couple of things but some one told me allergies could change so I went to an allergy specialist and he tested me for sensitivities to roughly 40 common foods, pollens, molds, animals etc. It turned out that thinking I was eating a healthy diet I was eating at many of the foods that I was highly sensitive to. I stopped eating them for 10 days and the eczema cleared up. Now I can eat some of these foods occassionally with no reaction as long as I don't put several of them together or consume them for several days in a row. I also noticed that the pollen, dust mite and mold allergic rhinitis is much milder than previously.It seems that unless one gets to the cause of the problem the other topical and internal remedies will only alleviate the symptoms. Some how this makes perfect sense but it took a long time to figure this out. 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 'Submit' Wishing you and your companions the best of health and happiness. Yours Truly, Judith Burton for Robert McDowell |
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