bush Medicine

[Mahikan]

Hmm not so sure I agree with that, in my clinic I see a fair amount of patients, and on the patient intake there is a good number with Asthma, and much of asthma can be induced by ASA, so I'm always caution about what meds I give my asthma patients. So I'd agree somewhat about it not being really common, but on the other hand there are conditions that can be exacerbated by ASA and lead to an allergic reaction. That's been my experience anyway, a moot point, but enough to bear serious consideration before offering ASA to anyone.
Agreed! They may be on blood thinners or have already taken ASA, and for sure leaky gut syndrome is another one to contend with.
Having said all that, if one was going to give willow bark for MI cases it would be best as a tincture under the tongue to have a more direct route to the blood stream and also a hepatic bypass for added safety.

 

[hardr004]

do you use any sort of willow for headache's?

also, i have heard of using willow bast on cuts, what exactly is it and how is it made?

 

[Mahikan]

I guess it depends on the type of headache. If one has a migraine then our Canadian Coltsfoot (Petasites sagitattus or P. palmatus) is a specific for migraines (again one I dearly love to use in my clinic), but Queen of the Meadow (Spirea) or Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) are also very effective for most headaches. Willow is great, but you need to be patient and I found the tinctures are best and the ones you make yourself are superior to any on the store shelf. Willow is slow acting but better as a long term solution.

I'm not familiar with the term willow bast? But I'd say using the juice from inner bark of willow would be an excellent thing for cuts to prevent sepsis and will work somewhat as a styptic and would be excellent as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory. You can even do a wrap of it over a sprained joint to help relieve some pain and inflammation in a pinch.

 

[drago]

You'd be better off crushing the leaf that stung you and rubbing the juices on the affected area. The juice contains an antihistamine.

so nettles contain antihistimine????? or did i read that wrong.

If they do then there is an mass of free antihistimines i walk past every morning (am waiting for them to grow a little more to make some cordage.... although if its between that and hayfever... hayfever wins everytime)

 

[Miyagi]

Mahiko, Hardr004 and Drago,

I know my Grandfather dabbled with nettle beer and my Gran used it as a soup occasionally.

I've no knowledge of it's medicinal uses, cordage yes as a pal of my Granda used it.

Willow wasn't used per se in our family. But, horse liniment and Wintergreen variations were used in the family as most of us boxed and wrestled.

These concoctions were made up by the local chemist, who i'm sure knew of salicylates etc.

Cuts and grazes were treated with honey (contains zinc as we know now), this helped heal the cut but also improved your sprinting speed.

Wasps loved honey you see...

Liam

 

[Tony]

Hi Mahikan, lovely to see you posting and sharing your knowledge, thank you for the time

 

[Mahikan]

Hi Tony! Good to be on the forum, lots of interesting folk with a ton of knowledge sharing, very enjoyable to pick up all the interesting bits and pieces! I got your email and will be sending a reply

Miyagi.... I howled over your sprinting quote! Agreed, honey is great as an antiseptic - nothing will grow in it.

Drago, yup, nettles do contain antihistamines as do many other plants, one of the best is Plantain (Plantago major).

Mahikan

 

[hardr004]

what sorts should you use and what should you do if you cut your self?

 

[Whittler Kev]

What do you lot think for Rheumatoid Arthritis treatment and relief? Most of us have flareups at this time of year due to the fast changing weather conditions

 

[Mahikan]

What do you lot think for Rheumatoid Arthritis treatment and relief? Most of us have flareups at this time of year due to the fast changing weather conditions

Ouch, poor you! A few things come to mind, though I'd rather see you in a clinic to get a good idea of your specifics, but in general you can do a lot to take care of the flare ups:

1. inner bark of willow (or birch can sometimes do the trick, but willow is best), warm it slightly and then wrap the affected area and apply gentle warmth (some people can't tolerate the warmth so if that is in your case then use a cool compress with willow juice by chopping and then squeezing the bark till you extract as much juice as you can)

2. Internal you can also drink the inner bark daily, but if you want good pain relief then make yourself a tincture to take on a daily basis.

3. Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus) if you have it over there works well with a cold root infusion

3. Balsam poplar buds both as an external balm and an internal tincture (stopped my sciatica in less than 5 minutes) works well to ease off the pain and reduce inflammation - of course avoid if allergic to aspirin based products.

Tons more, but that should help for now

Mahikan

 

[Whittler Kev]

Thanks Mahikan. The methetroxate has stopped working so I'm on 400mg of tramadol know for the pain. I see the specialist Thursday - He seems fairly open minded- I'll discuss wrapping etc as you suggest with him. Anything to function normally again. I went out last weekend, and within two hours my hand had doubled in size - no strain, bangs, bites or anything, so I was glad I was in the car and not on the motorbike. As its in the 80º's here, it gripes not being able to take the Harley out.
Last week I could only go to work for two days as my shoulders and neck seized so I couldn't lift my arms up or drive anywhere.
But at least the suns shining and the birds are going for it in the trees making the day sound good. Even got strawberries plumping up on the plants