Doc Jones

Sorry to chime in late. I've been wrassling a ruptured appendix...I won.  

Black widow bites have a very different toxin than brown recluse or hobo spiders. However, the formula in the slide above is still very beneficial topically as a poultice and internally. The herbs are mixed in equal parts. I have adults take 2 teaspoons of the combination 3 times daily for about a week or so. Mixing the herbs with some water and slapping them on a a poultice is good too. I change the poultice 2 or 3 times a day and do it until it has looked good for a couple of days (black widows don't generally cause any tissue loss like the recluse and hobos can).

Patrick

Juno is a little American Eskimo that got caught under a Jeep tire. Ouch!

We managed this wound only using herbs topically and internally.

Before:



After:



Everything's healing up nicely. Instead of poulticing this one, I just had the owners make the poultice formula into a tea, strained it and spray it on a few times a day.

You can read the whole story and see more pictures Here: Juno's Story

Doc Jones

Randall Twigg wrote:Thanks Doc, for some great information. I'm not trying to seem like an expert, I'm certainly not,but, I have used yarrow to heal deep wounds. It worked wonderfully for me. Any comment would be appreciated. Thanks

Yup. Yarrow is great too. It's antimicrobial and is great for stopping bleeding. Can't tell you how many times I've had a dog come into the clinic after having been hit by a car bleeding like crazy from the nose/mouth. A squirt of yarrow tincture stops it lie flipping a switch.

Doc

Matt Darkstar wrote:What was the time frame for this healing? I would expect a broad shallow wound like that to close in about 4-5 months, without any interference beyond washing. What was the preparation for the poultice?

The specifics are in the blog article. You are quite right that the body will heal on its own. The herbs aren't doing anything magical. The body itself is the real miracle.

The function of the herbs in these cases is twofold; to prevent infection and to accelerate the healing process a bit. I've treated hundreds of wounds like this (mostly in dogs in my veterinary practice). I find that healing time is generally decreased by about 20% and that no meds are required to manage the infection. The herb preparations are also vastly less expensive than the modern products and dressings typically used in such cases. Also, the plants are readily available and will continue to be even if modern technologies or commercial transport someday fail us.

One particularly remarkable case was a dog named Max. In his case the infection had progressed to a serious case of osteomyelitis and sepsis before I ever saw him. The herbs reversed the infection when IV antibiotics failed to do so. After that, they kept things clean and sped up the healing a bit.

For the healing acceleration in these cases, comfrey is the big player. It contains a chemical called allantoin that accelerates cell division rates. It also contains a lot of mucilage which is topically soothing and moistening.

Other important herbs are:

- Calendula: Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory
- Plantain: Draws toxins from the wound topically and helps the body to do so internally when taken orally
- Flax seed: mechanically draws fluid from the wound and is soothing topically
- Marshmallow: topically soothing and helps reverse early stages of gangrene when used topically and internally.
- Echinacea: Stimulates immunity and also stimulates production of hyaluronic acid which is the "cement" that binds cells to each other. Echinacea is fabulous for rattlesnake bites as it also contains an enzyme that inghibits the hyaluronidase in the vnom that dissolves tissue. But that's another story.


Doc

Julia Winter wrote:HOW does a person get a head lesion like that?

? Drug from a horse?

? Infected small wound gets bigger?

? Attempted scalping by psychopath?

By consorting with surgeons.

She had a large skin tumor on her noggin which the surgeons removed (which was a good idea BTW!). However, being surgeons, they then wanted to do more surgery to fix the hole (when you're good with a hammer, everything looks like a nail). They wanted to take a large skin graft from her bottom and sew it to her head. This would have closed the wound but never would have grown hair. All in all, I think the herbs were a better solution in this case.

Doc

Is there a way to decrease the chances of canning jars blowing up in the pressure cooker? Seems like I always lose one or two.

Patrick

I've been to every one of the classes and thought they were a great value for the cost....of course they let me in for free because I'm the teacher so I may not be the best on to ask.

We have a strong emphasis on herbal self-sufficiency and strongly emphasize locally available plants whenever such are available.

One of the unique aspects of the program is that in addition to being a clinical herbalist, I'm also a practicing veterinarian. This offers two advantages, first and most obvious is that in addition to learning traditional herbalism, you will also be taught veterinary applications.

Secondly, as a veterinarian, I am able to take on cases most herbalists would not ethically be able to address such as rattlesnake bites, gangrene, serious wounds, sepsis, severe organ diseases etc... My veterinary experiences have allowed me to do a lot of things herbalists haven't done for a hundred years. As a result of my veterinary cases, I'm able to transfer that knowledge and experience to my human clients as well.

We try to make things fun and easy to understand.

Holler if you ever have questions.

Doc Jones
HomeGrown Herbalist School of Botanical Medicine
HomeGrownHerbalist.net
Phone: 208-410-2381

Steven Feil wrote:I have some that I had in the fridge for a bit over 30 days and they are now in their LONG germination phase. I won't know for a couple of weeks yet. I have stuff popping up in the pot, but probably just "weeds".

I've grown it from seed. I think I just poked it into the dirt.

Patrick

Steven Feil wrote:

Doc Jones wrote:get some butter burr seed and grow your own

Oh, you are the evil one this morning, Patrick!!!

Heck, they might as well get some Goathead (puncturevine) while they are at it....

I think you're thinking of Burr buttercup. Butter burr is actually cute.



Patrick

Nature's Sunshine spends a lot of their money testing their products and checking up on their producers to make sure what they're selling and what you think you're buying are the same thing.

Still, my advice for the long term would be to get some butter burr seed and grow your own if it's an herb you routinely use. THe quality of your own stuff will be vastly better than anything commercial.

Paatrick