Health news blog

Eucalyptus: (eucalyptus globules) wounds, ulcers, asthma, antiseptic, bronchitis, colds, cystitis, decongestant, depression, diarrhoea, headache, respiratory tract, rheumatic pain, sinus, throat.

Caution: Take great caution when using pure oil.

Fennel: (foeniculum vulgare) mature skin and wrinkles, bowel disorders, epilepsy, flatulence, gastro-intestinal disorders, intestinal cramps.

Caution: oil is toxic in large doses, avoid in cases of epilepsy.

Frankincense: (boswellia thurifera) rejuvenating for mature skin, balances oily skin, asthma, childbirth, bronchitis, mucous conditions, nervous anxiety, uterus disorders.

Geranium: (pelargonium graveolens) oily, acne and mature skin, sluggish congested skin, bums, digestion, menstrual and urinary problems, tension, depression, throat infections, assists circulation, wounds, ulcers, sores.

Juniper: (juniperus communis) acne and combination skin, acne, blocked pores, dermatitis, psoriasis, weeping eczema, inflammation, cystitis, flatulence, colic, dyspepsia, fluid retention, menstruation, arthritis, rheumatism, digestion, cellulite, kidneys, urinary tract Caution: Not to be used in pregnancy or with kidney disease.

Lavender : (lavandula vera) all skin types, acne, boils, eczema, psoriasis, bums, cellulite, flatulence, nervous tension, neurasthenia, high blood pressure, fainting, antiseptic, soothes frayed nerves, headaches, digestion, colic, colds, insomnia, insect repellent .

Caution: oil should be avoided by patients with gastro-intestinal problems.

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Melissa or Balm (melissa officinalis) is known for its many uses-particularly for its gently soothing action. It is used in herbal mixtures for tome baths and products for oily skin and hair. It is often used in perfumery.

Use the liquid for bathing herpes lesions, leg ulcers, gangrene, syphilitic sores and wound. A poultice is effective for drawing the purulent matter out of abscesses and boils.

Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea) make up a strong infusion, 1 cup of leaves and flowers to 3 cups of boiling water, cover and steep for 45 Mullein (verbacscum thapsus) asthma, bruises, bactericide, chicken pox, ear ache, eczema, frost bite, inflammation, measles, mumps, mucus membrane, sedative, soften and soothe skin.

Nettle (urtica dioica) to stop bleeding nothing is more effective than stinging nettle used as a wash or a poultice. Make up a stinging nettle decoction, and massage into the scalp daily to increase hair growth. Nettle encourages circulation and is beneficial as a skin and hair tonic.

Oak Bark (quercus robur) 1 kg of dried oak bark is used for one bath. Soak the bark for 5 hours in cold water, and boil then for 30 minutes.

Plantain (plantago lanceolata) The whole plant, roots, flowers and seeds of the plantain is used. It is used to cleanse the blood and used for all respiratory disorders.- Plantain is an old remedy for wounds, bruises. Crush the fresh leaves and place them on wounds, cuts, scratches, malignant growths, open sores, stings from poisonous insects, dog and snake bites.

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Aromatic Herbal Vinegar

Internally use as a healthy tonic drink diluted in water, as a salad dressing and also used as medicine instead of taking herbal tinctures.

Externally it can be used in the bath, for compressing, in cosmetics, facial steam baths, inhalations, body rubs and aromatic waters

Method: fresh herbs 1-1/2 cups or dried herbs 3/4 cup, add 2-1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar. Place herbs or petals, leaves, seeds or bark into a wide neck bottle. Cover with apple cider vinegar and leave in direct sunlight for two weeks. Strain or filter then bottle, seal and label. When used as a facial toner always dilute 1 part vinegar to 8 parts of water.

Herbal Vinegar Tincture

Are prepared using exactly the same method as tinctures made from alcohol.

In preference I do prefer to work with vinegar for it is a food with a lot of healing benefits on its own. When herbs are infused in vinegar it can only be amplified. Vinegar is cost affective and easily assimilated and has a gentle affect to the body.

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Lemon

Is a good astringent. For closing pores and to tighten the skin use diluted in water. Apply lemon juice to the face and leave on overnight then rinse in the morning for a youthful complexion. Rub fresh juice to scalp to treat dandruff. Cleanse blemished skin with the juice and use to relieve hot burning soles and heels. For treatment of corns, apply fresh slice of lemon over the corn and cover. Leave overnight then repeat until corn has disappeared.

Lime

The juice can be applied to insect bites, pimples, tinea, for prevention of premature greying and for hair falling out. As a beauty aid, add fresh lime to a glass of boiled milk and one teaspoon of olive oil allow to cool. Apply mixture to face, hands and feet every night to look younger. To treat pimples, cracked skin on the soles of the feet and to protect the skin from hot and cold winds.

Orange

The juice is used as a skin softener and perks up dull, lifeless skin. Often used on oily to normal skin, as an astringent and aid for enlarged pores and skin pigmentation problems. It is said to slow skin ageing and ease signs of fatigue.

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Egyptian women spent hours under a kohl pack, tinting their hair as deep a shade of black as the Nile at midnight. For those who chose variety, the leaves of a henna bush were stewed to produce a bright auburn tint. Roman Women of court used a purple willow herb to produce a blonde tint. The Greeks used valerian, which when boiled in oil produced a suitable black dye.

St. John’s Wort was counted on by the Medieval English to produce a black dye capable of concealing grey hair.

There are several natural hair colourings that will gently tint the hair. Prepare a solution of the following herbs to suit your desired hair colour. To make up a herbal decoction add one cup of herbs to 500 ml of rain water, bring to the boil and leave over night. Strain and use the solution either as a hair rinse, in your shampoos or rubbed into the hair and scalp.

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When the affected muscles are held contracted in one position without rest for lengthy periods. The loading is the weight the muscles have to support. This usually occurs in the parts of the body that are normally kept still while the hands or arms are moving to produce the music or when typing or working on the production line.

The posture adopted by some pianists predisposes them to overusage symptoms in the shoulder girdles and upper limbs. The use of an upright playing position with the keyboard at a height that allows the forearms to be at an approximate right angle to the upper arms would reduce the static loads on the muscles of the upper back and shoulder girdles — those muscles along the upper dorsal vertebrae, around the shoulder blades and at the junction between the neck and upper shoulders.

There is therefore a greater possibility for the products of metabolism of muscle to be cleared from muscles which must otherwise be adversely affected by the anaerobic processes that follow such overuse. A simple programme ensuring that long periods of practice are punctuated by movement and relaxation away from the keyboard should therefore be a high priority in the teaching of piano and other instruments where the muscles of the shoulder girdles are under constant tension.

Such programmes have been introduced by many concerned employers as an intrinsic part of the increased interest in occupational health and safety. Frequent periods of rest, or isometric exercise or even aerobics programmes are now common in a range of industries.

For those who play musical instruments in the upright position a proper awareness of the position of the body and limbs, as well as the head and neck should be taught. They should be aware of how they grasp their instruments and how excess tension in the muscles will lead to a deterioration in the quality of the music that they produce.

It must always be remembered that the ubiquitous lumbago or chronic back pain afflicts the majority of humans at some time in their life and that early intervention through improved body awareness and exercise is never introduced too early.

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Headache is One of the most common painful afflictions seen by general practitioners and yet it is often not taken seriously by doctors.

According to Canadian neurologist Prof. John Edmeads, speaking at the 4th International Headache Congress nine out of ten women and about seven in 10 men get headaches. In cases where the pain is so severe that it disrupts normal life, headache is no trivial thing.

Symptoms which could indicate serious disease include sudden onset, clouded consciousness, associated fever, scalp tenderness and the presence of other neurological symptoms.

In most chronic headache sufferers pathology tests will be of limited value. However the eyes should be checked with an ophthalmoscope to assess the condition of the back of the eyes for the presence of blood vessel abnormalities, or evidence that the pressure inside the head may be raised. The blood pressure must be measured and the patient’s field of vision should be checked.

CT scans can be used to exclude tumours or other causes of raised brain pressure.

About 95% of all headaches are said to be benign. In 1988 the International Headache Society classified headaches into 13 groups.

• Tension type headaches

• Migraine

• Cluster headache and chronic paroxysmal hemicrania

• Miscellaneous headache not associated with structural lesion

Headache associated with

• Head trauma

• Vascular disorders

• Non-vascular intracranial disorder

• Substances or their withdrawal

• Non-cephalic infection

• Metabolic disorder

• Headache or facial pain associated with disorders of the cranium, eyes, ears, nose, sinuses, teeth, mouth or other cranial or facial structures

• Cranial neuralgias, nerve-trunk pain and de-afferentiation pain

• Unclassifiable headaches

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Stress plays a big part in the onset of pain. A Columbia University research project showed that people with little control over their jobs, such as cooks, garment machinists and assembly line workers, have more heart disease than people who can dictate the pace and style of their work. Worst off in the stress stakes are telephone operators, waiters, cashiers and others whose work makes substantial psychological demands but offers little opportunity for independent decision making.

In recent times, doctors have increasingly come to recognise ‘Type A’ behaviour — which drastically increases an individual’s vulnerability to heart attack and other stress-related illnesses. Typically, such an individual tries to accomplish too many things in too little time. Such people have a low threshold to irritation. Even trivial things quickly upset them. However, for some individuals, quiet meditation twice a day can permanently lower blood pressure and achieve a necessary state of inner peace which may be reflected in changed behaviour.

Stress is commonly treated by medication such as tranquillisers, muscle relaxants, sleeping pills, stimulants, antidepressants and mood enhancers.

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Among the peasants and lower classes, pain treatments often consisted of piercing the painful areas of the body with a ‘vigorous’ twig of a tree and then burying the twig deep in the earth. It was assumed that the vigorous twig would absorb the patient’s pain and that burying the twig would prevent anyone from being exposed to the pain!

Birth of the placebo

The non-active substitute for medication — the placebo, meaning ‘I please’ — is not to be scoffed at. It works because the patient believes it works. The more sophisticated ’sugar-coated pill’ of hard-pressed country doctors, with few resources, makes an important contribution to psychological factors in pain alleviation. It is now known that simply believing that a pill or potion is a powerful painkiller is enough to stimulate the brain to produce its own natural opiates.

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