Lesson 1: Foundations . . . and The Excited Tissue State
Sean Donahue
Probably the most common question an herbalist gets is what herb is good for (insert the name of an organ system or a disease here)?
And the answer is almost always: it depends.
This course is an exploration of using herbs to treat various respiratory conditions . . . and will hopefully help you understand some of the factors on which the answer to the question "What herb is good for the lungs?" depends.
Two of the most important questions to ask in determining which herbs to use in a particular situation are the client's constitution and the particular state of the tissues most effected by the disease or injury.
(Later in the course we will look at herbs that work systemically to support healthy immune function and when and how to use them in the treatment of respiratory conditions as well as at herbs that are active against specific kinds of bacteria, fungi, and viruses.)
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Constitutional factors
We are each born with a certain set of tendencies and predispositions (our constitution) -- but from moment to moment, from day to day these balances change, and the set of balances at any particular moment defines our condition. In treating a client its important to take into consideration the client's constitution, the client's current overall condition, the state of the particular tissues that you are trying to treat, and what you know of the energetic patterns of the particular disease or injury.
Contemporary western herbalism lacks a system of constitutional energetics. The Galenic four humors, which fell out of favor because of their association with questionable therapies like bloodletting, is the closest we have in our culture's history. It did have some influence on the development of the system of blood typology in Southern folk medicine (Matthew Wood has a great essay on southern blood typology in the second volume of The Earthwise Herbal. Phyllis Light is the premiere living teacher and practitioner of this tradition.) The system recognized four classifications: sanguine, melancholic, phleghmatic, and choleric. Michael Tierra describes them:
"The sanguine person was said to be hot and moist, with a ruddy complexion, cheerful, confident, and optimistic, with a tendency toward inflammatory diseases.
"The melancholic person is opposite in qualities, with a tendency to be cold and dry, pale in complexion, very sensitive, and, on the positive side a visionary. They are more susceptible to mental and sexual disorders.
"The phleghmatic person is cold and moist, but duller, slower, and more indifferent than the sanguine individual. They have a tendency toward congestion, stagnation, and rheumatic diseases.
"The choleric person, the opposite of the phleghmatic, is hot and dry. They have a hot and fiery temperament and are easily angered. They have a tendency toward liver diseases, high blood pressure, rashes, burns, fevers without perspiration, and sunburn."
There is obviously some strong cultural baggage and judgment around these categories. But they give us some useful information about the physical and emotional manifestations of excess or deficient heat.
Many contemporary western herbalists are drawn to the Indian system of Ayurveda. In Ayurveda there are three humors or "Doshas" -- Kapha (associated with Earth and Water), Vata, (associated with Air and Ether), and Pitta (associated with Fire and Water.) Everyone is a combination of all three Doshas, but we all have one dominant Dosha that describes our constitution and usually a secondary Dosha that moderates it. (I am a Kapha with some Pitta qualities, for example, but very few qualities associated with Vata.) Because all of us have all three Doshas in us, no matter what our constitution is, we can suffer from a conditional excess or defficiency of any of the Doshas at a particular time. In speaking of constitutions, I will be referring to this system.
Margi Flint describes them in terms useful and understandable to western herbalists in her book,The Practicing Herbalist: Thoughts for Working With Clients (The new edition just went to press and can be pre-ordered directly from Margi -- http://www.earthsongherbals.com/book.html):
"Everything about Pitta is medium. Medium build, strength and endurance, everything is balanced. They are fire and light -- the color of the blood, luster on the skin and hair and in the eyes. They are light on the wind. They have a tendency toward anger. They show irritability under stress, Fair or ruddy skin, often freckled. Red heads all have a little Pitta. Pitta has an aversion to sun and hot weather because they are already so hot. They are competitive and compulsive. They tend toward cankers and red, irritated tongue. They get a metallic taste in the mouth in the morning. They have an enterprising character, like challenges, and have a sharp intellect and a sharp tone of voice with precise, articulate speech. They are strong and forceful in their dealings. Practical, courageous, they believe in fair play. They make friends easily and are intelligent. They are impatient with the less intelligent -- very Pitta! They are dedicated to self-development, and can be fanatics. These people cannot skip meals. Pitta can eat morning, noon, and night. They have warm regular bowel movements and their skin in warm to the touch. Women have regular menses with long bleeding times. Ample sexual desire. Visual fantasy images can be more satisfying than real life. If sexual desire is thwarted, their anger flares up. Passionate dreams. Methodical, efficient planners, They sleep lightly and wake up alert. These guys can go without sleep for nights without a problem. Hair is blond, light brown, or red. [Speaking here of Pittas of European ancestry of course -- Sean] Hair turns gray early. Pitta will bald early. 'Grass doesn't grown on a busy street! Light eyes.
"Anne McIntyre says 'Pitta does not suffer fools gladly.' They are critical of themselves and others. Perfectionists. The seat of Pitta is in the small intestine and stomach. Ruled by the gallbladder, spleen, intestine, and stomach. Pitta is prone to "itises" -- gastrtitis, diverticulitis, etc. Pitta rules the blood. Nose bleeds, brusing. Pitta time is summer time.
"Matt Wood describes the Pitt a type as the mesomproph. The Pitta tongue is flame-like, pointed, reddish and medium sized. They are mineral-cortocoid dominant, so they retain salt, lose water, and favor inflammation and bear aggressive attitudes. The liver metabolism is up. They are the classic Type A personality."
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"Kapha is water. Water and earth. The principle of substance and cohesion or structure [ . . .]
"Kaphas have a powerful build and heavy bones, with great physical strength and endurance. They are well-proportioned and tend toward short square figures. They are the Earth Mother, the bear. They have steady energy and can get set in their ways. It is hard for Kapha to lose weight. They love the sun. Thick body hair. They have thick, lustrous, wavy hair. [ . . .] Moderate desire for food. Kaphas can go a long time without food because they store energy well, but tends to eat emotionally. Avoids confrontation. Patience, fortitude, and humility. Their intelligence is emotional and physical. They are slow and graceful in action. They have a tranquil personality, are slow to anger, coo, smooth, pale, often oily skin. They are slow to grasp new information, but have good retentive memory. Sleep is heavy, prolonged; they need at least eight hours sleep. They have a tendency to obesity, slow digestion, mild hunger. Regular menses, but retain water, [ . . .] Steady sexual desire -- slow to rouse but shows endurance. Kapha is affectionate, tolerant, forgiving, possessive, complacent. Relaxed. Often heavy, sweet, steady, soft and slow.
"Matt Wood describes Kapha types as endomorphs. Gluco-corticoid dominant. They have a lower inflammatory response, lower lymphatic response, immune system response; water is stuck (edema), heats up GI tract, they create lots of saliva, their appetite is up. Digestion is up. (HCl and enzymes), blood sugar is up. Syndrome X [insulin resistance], easy weight gain. Cardiovascular down, they need regular exercise. [Lack of exercise for Kapha can create stagnant emotions -- depression, stuck grief, or pent up anger.] Anabolsim up. The tongue is full, round, moist and pale
"[ . . .] The seat of Kapha is the thoracic area, chest, and stomach."
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"Vata is air. Air and ether. Vata is the principle of movement. [ . . .]
"Everything about Vata is irregular. Vata people have a light, thin build and are unusually tall or short, limbs are long or short, body parts are irregular. They have long, slender fingers and toes. They are rangy like weeds on the edge of the road. Their bones are slight or their joints are pronounced. They use up all the energy in their food without storing any. Jack Sprat. Tendons and veins will stick out. Tend to be a little gray. They have brittle nails with depressions and ridges. They are nervous and tend to bite nails or fidget. [ . . .] They are itchy. They perform activities quickly. They have irregular hunger and digestion; they go to sleep but worry and think all night in their dreams. They are full of enthusiasm, vivaciousness, and imagination; are excitable, have changing moods, are quick to grasp new information, also quick to forget it. They worry day and night. Vata has a tendency toward constipation. They tire easily, have a tendency to overexert; their mental and physical energy comes in bursts.
"I have learned more clues from Annie McIntyre. They hold fat in their abdomen and thighs. When anxious, they lose weight and get painful muscles when tense. Vata has rabbit droppings due to tension and dryness. They make a big thing out of little hurts. They suffer from pain. They are extreme; depressed one moment and bound to change soo. Home of Vata is in the lower abdomen. [ . . .]
"Matt Wood describes the Vata people as the ectomorph constitution. Adrenalin dominance, hyperadrenalism, and metabolic rate up. The Vata tongue is muscular and dry."
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Why is it useful to know these things?
For one thing, knowing a client's constitution helps you determine what's normal. A Pitta's tongue is going to be red no matter what. Look for other sighs before assuming there is inflammation somewhere. A Kapha or Vata client with a bright red tongue on the other hand probably is suffering from some sort of inflammation somewhere in the body.
Secondly, its important to adjust your treatment for the client's constitution. If a Pitta person comes to you with a cold, wet lung infection you will likely use gentler warming, drying herbs than you would for a Kapha person with the same infection because something too strongly warming or too strongly drying might set off problems elsewhere in the body. Or if you do use the same herbs, you might pair them with some other herbs to balance them out -- for example Nettles can be extremely drying, so for a person with a dry constitution who needs the adrenal nourishment of Nettles you might add a little bit of a moistening herb like Licorice to her formula.
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Physiomedicalism and Tissue States
Physiomedicalism was a movement started by Samuel Thomson of Surry, New Hampshire in the early nineteenth century as a reaction against the medicine of the day which was marked by bloodletting and the heavy use of toxic chemicals like mercury. It was a decidedly populist movement, drawing heavily from the direct experience of its practitioners and to some extent on Native American medical knowledge and British and Scotch-Irish folk medicine.
The Physiomedicalists believed that the body had its own vital force that could be supported and sustained by proper nutrition, exercise, and therapeutic sweating. They believed that herbs were best used to support the vital force's natural inclination to restore balance to the body. In order to figure out how best to do this they developed a system of energetics based on tissue states. We'll look at each of these tissue states and the herbal actions that correct them in the coming weeks.
Matthew Wood has translated into a system that is easier for modern practitioners to understand and I will use his terminology to refer to these states. He describes the system in great detail in Traditional Western Medicine
Excitation
We'll begin this week by exploring the excited tissue state in the respiratory system. This is the tissue state that most often accompanies the early stages of a viral infection in the respiratory system. There can, however, also be chronic inflammation in the respiratory system -- which often indicates chronic inflammation elsewhere in the body. The lungs are one of the body's channels of elimination (along with the skin, the urinary system, and the colon.) The Physio-medicalists taught that the vital force is seated in the core of the body and tends to move contagions and contaminants outward toward the periphery.
Matthew Wood writes:
"Excitation represents an excess in the innate heat of the tissues. They are red, full, and tender because blood increases cellular activity." (Wood - TWH)
He notes that this is not the heat of sepsis, bacterial activity, or dehydration. In those cases, heat is a symptom, not an underlying condition. He says:
"The heat we are looking for here is that which arises from an inherent over-activity in the tissues themselves. This is an excitement of function, so that the tissues are too easily irritated and incited to action. We find this type of over-activity in auto-immune excess conditions. One of the most characteristic symptoms of excitation is an elongated, pointed, flame-shaped, carmine/red, or pink/red tongue." (Wood - TWH)
You'll note that this also describes a healthy Pitta tongue -- know your client's constitution.
The tip of the tongue corresponds to the heart and lungs -- look for redness here. Redness in the cheeks also indicates heat in the lungs.
Its worth noting that when accompanying infections, fevers under 108°F are not in and of themselves a sign of excess heat, but rather a healthy immune response. The only reason to bring down a fever in infectious disease is to reduce discomfort -- and while the Physiomedicalists would have agreed with this, this particular piece of information comes from the website of Texas Children's Hospital -- http://www.texaschildrens.org/Parents/TipsArticles/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=851
The Physiomedicalists believed that a fever was a sign of a strong, healthy vital response to infection -- part of the body's process of moving excess heat from the core to the periphery.
For an excellent exploration of therapeutics for fever, listen to the interview with Jim McDonald at http://www.herbmentor.com/articles/20091217 (HerbMentor membership required.)
Another great (and free) resource is Paul Bergner's article on treating fevers at http://naimh.com/Influenza-Acute-Febrile-Disease.pdf
Mareria Medica
In treating heat and irritation in the respiratory system associated with acute infection we are looking primarily for cooling herbs with an affinity for the respiratory system. Below I discuss a few I have used myself. I advise practitioners never to work with herbs they haven't tried themselves.
But first a look at what some of these herbs have in common and how they work to support the body's natural cooling mechanisms:
Matthew Wood writes that:
"If we start with our own experience of food we can easily demonstrate which to ourselves which are the cooling and which are the heating remedies. In the middle of the summer, when it is hot, we like to consume fruit. Not surprisingly, many cooling remedies come from the fruit-laden rose family. There is a reason for this. Flowers and fruits are especially rich in flavonoids, substances that contribute to the development of color. In medicine, flavonoids are known as antioxidants and capillary healers. Oxidation is the scientific word for heat or weathering processes, so antioxidants are cooling, while substances that heal and soothe the capillaries also cool by helping the blood to not get congested in the peripheral vessels. Some of the flavonoids produce cyanide as they break down, a substance that kills by throwing a monkey wrench into the Krebs cycle, the energy generating cycle of the mitochondria of the cell. In small doses, cyanide cools by slowing down the Krebs cycle, instead of stopping it altogether. The cyanogenic glycosides, as they are called, give ride to the bitter almond flavor of some of the seeds, bark, and leaves of some of the fruity members of the rose family [ . . . .] All told, the rose, citrus, rhubarb, heath, and honeysuckle families provide us with many cooling remedies [ . . .] In addition, some oddball plants contain high levels of flavonoids, which make them cooling, even if they do not have prominent fruits or the right sort of families [ . . .]
So what are some herbs that possess these qualities and have an affinity for the respiratory system? Here are a few of my favorites:
Peach - Prunus persica -- Peach is commonly used in Southern folk medicine. The great Appalachian herbalist Tommie Bass sad that Peach bark was most effective, but I've primarily worked with Peach leaf -- it works great as either a tincture or a tea. Peach leaf is very gentle and is suitable for children. It is great for cooling overheated lungs and also helps to soothe heat in the digestive tract which makes it ideal in flus that have both respiratory and intestinal symptoms.
The great Physio-medicalist William Cook (whose work I will be quoting from liberally throughout the course) noted that "The leaves are largely relaxant and somewhat demulcent." Hence they help to calm both the tissues and the emotional state of someone with a hot respiratory infection. Demulcent means moistening. Many of the other members of the Rose family tend to be somewhat drying, and hot respiratory conditions tend to dry out the mucosa, so Peach is especially well suited to treating these conditions.
Peach is also gentle enough in its cooling action to be suitable for Kapha people. And because Peach doesn't suppress the cough reflex its useful in cases where you want to allow coughing to continue in order to clear out excess mucous from the lungs.
According to Kiva Rose, Peach is also somewhat cooling to the liver. Because heat rises liver heat can "invade the lungs" -- a condition which can be at the root of some chronic respiratory inflammation.
Adult dosage: 1 - 10 drops of the bark tincture or 10-30 drops of the leaf tincture. Leaf infusion may be given liberally in acute conditions and is more demulcent than the tincture.
Wild Cherry -- Prunus virginica -- The bark is most commonly used though the leaf can be used as well. My own experience has primarily been with the bark which I find more cooling and less demulcent than Peach. The classic indication for Wild Cherry is when the cheeks are bright cherry red.
More significantly, Wild Cherry bark is profoundly relaxing to the point of being sedative. As a Kapha person I find even the milder Wild Cherry leaf to be so relaxing as to put me to sleep. Not a bad thing when you have a respiratory infection.
Wild Cherry bark also suppresses the cough reflex. This can allow for sleep where a hacking cough is keeping someone awake. But it is to be used with great care when there is significant fluid buildup in the lungs. I will sometimes use Wild Cherry at night to allow for sleep and then use an expectorant herb in the morning to bring up the phleghm. (We will talk about expectorants in a later lesson.)
Matthew Wood speaks of Wild Cherry as a histamine normalizer, calming inflammation in both the respiratory system and the digestive tract caused by food allergens -- I have yet to explore this dimension of the medicine though I may the next time I accidentally eat gluten.
Adult dosage in an acute infection is 10 drops every 4 hours.
Before we go on, a brief note about Prunus species. There has been a long running controversy about their use because of the alleged presence of toxic prussic acid. William Cook gave a fairly definitive answer to this question in 1869 which to my knowledge still holds up to scrutiny today:
"The objection is usually raised to these kernels [peach pits] and leaves, that they are dangerous because of the prussic acid they contain. In the department of Therapeutics, as well as under the article on almonds, it is shown that they contain no prussic acid whatever; but this is a product only of chemical changes which take place in the presence of warmth and moisture. This point is clearly proven by all chemical science; and it is admitted by the U. S. Dispensatory, Stille, Pereira, Christison, and all other writers of eminence, that no such product was ever obtained from any of these substances till after their chemical decomposition. But it is gravely asserted that such plants, especially the flowers and kernels of the peach, show by their odor that they do contain prussic acid. This assertion shows great ignorance of this acid, and also of current literature on this subject. Neither peaches, bitter almonds, cherry-laurel, or other plants of like odor, have any of the odor of prussic acid; for the two smells are entirely different. One need go no further than the U. S. Dispensatory to learn this fact; any reliable work on chemistry will tell him the same fact; and Christison says the odors bear no resemblance to each other, but that the distilled waters from the fermented plants retain their peculiar odor "after the acid is thrown down" and totally removed. But it is said to be harmful to eat large quantities of peach kernels, which is quite probable; for they are of difficult digestion, will undergo chemical changes in the presence of the heat and moisture of the stomach, and that change will produce prussic acid freely. Before fermentation, they are absolutely safe; after fermentation, they are extremely dangerous."
My partner, Darcey, who pointed me toward this passage took it to mean that there could be some theoretical risk from a tea that was left to sit out for a few days, but that the tinctures of Prunus species are entirely safe and infusions drunk within a reasonable period of time are entirely safe. I agree.
Elder Flower -- Sambucus candensis, Sambucus nigra -- Elder berries have rightly gained great repute as an immune modulator, a diaphoretic, and an anti-viral -- Elder berries stop viral reproduction, and taken in frequent large doses will cut the duration of a viral infection roughly in half. Less known, but equally wonderful, is the medicine of Elder Flowers. Its hard to improve on Jim McDonald's description of the medicine, so I will just quote him:
"The dried flowers of Elder are one of the oldest and most reliable diaphoretics for use in treating colds, flus & fevers. Elder is a relaxant diaphoretic; which is to say that it encourages perspiration and the release of heat by relaxing tension and resistance in the periphery of the body. It also helps mildly to expectorate phlegm from the lungs & breathways, and so are indicated in fevers accompanied by stuffy sinus or lung congestion. Elderflowers are ever-so-slightly sedative, and help to instill a bit of “ease” that makes getting through a fever a bit more bearable. They make for a rather tasty tea (which, for the uses mentioned above, should be drunk hot), and being that Elder is safe even for small children, this makes it a far more user friendly option for sick kids than, say, hot Yarrow tea. After the tea cools, it loses much of its diaphoretic properties and acts more as a diuretic and alterative. "
(Alteratives are "blood movers." We will discuss them more in another lesson Diuretics encourage fluid release through urination.)
Deb Soule points out that the Elder Flower is shaped like a eustachian tube, making it a perfect medicine for respiratory conditions that result in earaches.
Elder flower tea can be used liberally by people of all ages and constitutions.
Butterfly Weed/Pleurisy Root -- Asclepias tuberosa -- One of the premiere respiratory herbs for a variety of conditions --we will be revisiting this member of the milkweed family -- and especially good for respiratory inflammation.
Darcey writes:
"It is specific to feverish conditions where the skin is hot and dry, and the individual is tense, and experiencing inflammation, pain and fluid congestion in the respiratory tract. It relaxes tension in the tissues of the skin, mucous membranes (think respiratory, digestive and urinary systems), and allows fluid balance and movement to be restored. It will readily produce a sweat in those hot, dry and tense feverish folks, dilate the bronchi, ease expectoration of mucus, and ease pain and inflammation. This can be especially helpful in influenza which is characterized by hyper immune response resulting in inflammatory cytokine storm, with fluid build up."
Regarding dosage she writes:
"Butterfly weed is most effective when given as a warm tea, 1 tsp of root per cup, taken 2-3 times per day. Though I find administering smaller portions 2-3 tablespoons or a few swallows at a time, over the course of 30 min to an hour can be quite effective as well, and far more tolerable to most folks, as the taste of butterfly weed is hard to swallow. A tincture of the fresh root is also an effective medicine, and I like to administer it as such: 2-3 droppers of tincture in hot water, sipped slowly over 30 min to an hour."
Do not use in combination with digitalis and other cardiac glycosides or in cases of serious heart conditions.
Red Clover -- Trifolium pratense -- Sweet, gentle, and cooling. Last summer I lived with an almost two year old who learned to recognize the Red Clover tincture bottle and reach for it when she got a respiratory infection. Ideal for mild hot respiratory infections in kids. Also a gentle lymphatic, so can help to remove waste from the lymph nodes, especially in the neck. Adult dose of tincture: 30 drops 3 times a day. Tea may be used liberally.
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A note on dosages for children: Divide the child's weight by 150 to get an approximate fraction of the recommended adult dose.
--
Sean Donahue, Traditional Herbalist
http://www.brighidswellherbs.com
http://greenmanramblings.blogspot.com/
"Sometimes there's nothing left to do but make love to the fear." -- Astrid Mannrique, ASFAADES (Association of the Families of the Disappeared), Popayan, Colombia
"If we eat the wild, it begins to work inside us, altering us, changing us. Soon, if we eat too much, we will no longer fit the suit that has been made for us. Our hair will begin to grow long and ragged. Our gait and how we hold our body will change. A wild light begins to gleam in our eyes. Our words start to sound strange, nonlinear, emotional. Unpractical. Poetic. Once we have tasted this wildness, we begin to hunger for a food long denied us, and the more we eat the more we will awaken." -- Stephen Harrod Buhner The Secret Teachings of Plants
--
Sean Donahue, Traditional Herbalist
http://www.brighidswellherbs.com
http://greenmanramblings.blogspot.com/
"Sometimes there's nothing left to do but make love to the fear." -- Astrid Mannrique, ASFAADES (Association of the Families of the Disappeared), Popayan, Colombia
"If we eat the wild, it begins to work inside us, altering us, changing us. Soon, if we eat too much, we will no longer fit the suit that has been made for us. Our hair will begin to grow long and ragged. Our gait and how we hold our body will change. A wild light begins to gleam in our eyes. Our words start to sound strange, nonlinear, emotional. Unpractical. Poetic. Once we have tasted this wildness, we begin to hunger for a food long denied us, and the more we eat the more we will awaken." -- Stephen Harrod Buhner The Secret Teachings of Plants
claudia Greene
I'm just beginning to wrap my brain around the ideas of doshas. Our
training with Althea Northidge-Orr here in Chicago has been with
Traditional Chinese Medicine. I went back and looked at the five TCM
constitutions (from Giovanni Maccioca): Wood/Liver-Gall Bladder:
greenish complexion, small head, long face, broad shoulders, straight
back, sinewy body, small hands and feet, hard workers, tend to
overthink/worry. Good spirit of observation, analyze deeply,
Indications for pathology--if not tall or slender, too much hairloss--
fire may be burning out wood, Fire/Heart-Small Intestine: red, florid
complexion; pointed,small head, wide teeth; pointed chin; curly or
scanty hair; well developed muscles of shoulders, back, hips;
relatively small hands and feet; keen thinkers, quick, energetic;
short-tempered. Walk firmly, shaking body as walking; tend to think
too much and often worry; Indications for pathology--blood and vessels
should be a strength. If they are not, heart and circulation could be
problems. Earth/Stomach-Spleen: Yellowish complexion; round face;
relatively large head, wide jaws; well-developed shoulders and back;
large abdomen; strong thigh and calf; relatively small hands and feet;
well-built muscles; walk with firm steps, not lifting feet much; calm,
generous,steady; like to help people;aren't overly ambitious.
Indications for pathology: should have strong muscles. If they don't,
tend to arthritis and rheumatism. Metal/Lung-Large Intestine: pale,
small head, small shoulders and upper back, flat abdomen,strong voice,
move swiftly; have keen powers of thought; honest, upright, quiet and
calm in solid way, capable of decisive action when necessary. Natural
aptitude for leadership. Indications for pathology: weak voice could
indicate weakness lung. Water/Kidney-Bladder: dark complexion, big
head, round face and body, broad cheeks, narrow/small shoulders, large
abdomen; keep body in motion when walking; find it hard to keep still;
long spine, sympathetic, slightly laid-back, good negotiator, loyal to
work colleagues; aware and sensitive. Indications for pathology: tend
to overindulge in sexual activity. This can deplete kidney essense.
Any way, I know there are overlaps. I can see kapha meshing with
water, fire with vatta, wood maybe with pitta (but since I'm a wood
type, I tend to put myself in the middle). It's really neat to see how
the different traditions can help us see people in different ways.
I enjoyed reading Paul Bergner's article on febrile conditions.
Selling people on letting fevers run their course is tricky in our
fast-paced world. The new "common sense" of toughing it out, really
doesn't make sense. People walk around with chronic flus and colds
because they never truly got well. As a school teacher, I have been
known to go to school sick because, if I don't, the kids will fall
behind and it will be even more of a mess for me when I get back. I'm
sure most people go to work when they're sick. They can't afford to
miss work.
I loved the information on the cooling effect of plants in the prunus
family. I love how it slows down the Kreb cycle so healing can take
place.
Thanks again, Sean. Look forward to reading more.
Claudia
On May 25, 12:17 am, Sean Donahue <seandonahuep...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Please read the following material and post your questions, comments,
> reactions, and personal experiences to the list.
> ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________
>
> Probably the most common question an herbalist gets is what herb is good for
> (insert the name of an organ system or a disease here)?
>
> And the answer is almost always: it depends.
>
> This course is an exploration of using herbs to treat various respiratory
> conditions . . . and will hopefully help you understand some of the factors
> on which the answer to the question "What herb is good for the lungs?"
> depends.
>
> Two of the most important questions to ask in determining which herbs to use
> in a particular situation are the client's constitution and the particular
> state of the tissues most effected by the disease or injury.
>
> (Later in the course we will look at herbs that work systemically to support
> healthy immune function and when and how to use them in the treatment of
> respiratory conditions as well as at herbs that are active against specific
> kinds of bacteria, fungi, and viruses.)
>
> ___________________________________
>
> *Constitutional factors*
>
> We are each born with a certain set of tendencies and predispositions (our
> constitution) -- but from moment to moment, from day to day these balances
> change, and the set of balances at any particular moment defines our
> condition. In treating a client its important to take into consideration
> the client's constitution, the client's current overall condition, the state
> of the particular tissues that you are trying to treat, and what you know of
> the energetic patterns of the particular disease or injury.
>
> Contemporary western herbalism lacks a system of constitutional energetics.
> The Galenic four humors, which fell out of favor because of their
> association with questionable therapies like bloodletting, is the closest we
> have in our culture's history. It did have some influence on the
> development of the system of blood typology in Southern folk medicine
> (Matthew Wood has a great essay on southern blood typology in the second
> volume of *The Earthwise Herbal.* Phyllis Light is the premiere living
> teacher and practitioner of this tradition.) The system recognized four
> classifications: sanguine, melancholic, phleghmatic, and choleric. Michael
> Tierra describes them:
>
> *"The sanguine person was said to be hot and moist, with a ruddy complexion,
> cheerful, confident, and optimistic, with a tendency toward inflammatory
> diseases.
>
> "The melancholic person is opposite in qualities, with a tendency to be cold
> and dry, pale in complexion, very sensitive, and, on the positive side a
> visionary. They are more susceptible to mental and sexual disorders.
>
> "The phleghmatic person is cold and moist, but duller, slower, and more
> indifferent than the sanguine individual. They have a tendency toward
> congestion, stagnation, and rheumatic diseases.
>
> "The choleric person, the opposite of the phleghmatic, is hot and dry. They
> have a hot and fiery temperament and are easily angered. They have a
> tendency toward liver diseases, high blood pressure, rashes, burns, fevers
> without perspiration, and sunburn."*
>
> There is obviously some strong cultural baggage and judgment around these
> categories. But they give us some useful information about the physical
> and emotional manifestations of excess or deficient heat.
>
> Many contemporary western herbalists are drawn to the Indian system of
> Ayurveda. In Ayurveda there are three humors or "Doshas" -- Kapha
> (associated with Earth and Water), Vata, (associated with Air and Ether),
> and Pitta (associated with Fire and Water.) Everyone is a combination of
> all three Doshas, but we all have one dominant Dosha that describes our
> constitution and usually a secondary Dosha that moderates it. (I am a Kapha
> with some Pitta qualities, for example, but very few qualities associated
> with Vata.) Because all of us have all three Doshas in us, no matter what
> our constitution is, we can suffer from a conditional excess or defficiency
> of any of the Doshas at a particular time. In speaking of constitutions, I
> will be referring to this system.
> *
> *Margi Flint describes them in terms useful and understandable to western
> herbalists in her book*,The Practicing Herbalist: Thoughts for Working With
> Clients* (The new edition just went to press and can be pre-ordered
> directly from Margi --* *http://www.earthsongherbals.com/book.html):
>
> *"Everything about Pitta is medium. Medium build, strength and endurance,
> everything is balanced. They are fire and light -- the color of the blood,
> luster on the skin and hair and in the eyes. They are light on the wind.
> They have a tendency toward anger. They show irritability under stress,
> Fair or ruddy skin, often freckled. Red heads all have a little Pitta.
> Pitta has an aversion to sun and hot weather because they are already so
> hot. They are competitive and compulsive. They tend toward cankers and
> red, irritated tongue. They get a metallic taste in the mouth in the
> morning. They have an enterprising character, like challenges, and have a
> sharp intellect and a sharp tone of voice with precise, articulate speech.
> They are strong and forceful in their dealings. Practical, courageous, they
> believe in fair play. They make friends easily and are intelligent. They
> are impatient with the less intelligent -- very Pitta! They are dedicated
> to self-development, and can be fanatics. These people cannot skip meals.
> Pitta can eat morning, noon, and night. They have warm regular bowel
> movements and their skin in warm to the touch. Women have regular menses
> with long bleeding times. Ample sexual desire. Visual fantasy images can
> be more satisfying than real life. If sexual desire is thwarted, their
> anger flares up. Passionate dreams. Methodical, efficient planners, They
> sleep lightly and wake up alert. These guys can go without sleep for nights
> without a problem. Hair is blond, light brown, or red*. [Speaking here of
> Pittas of European ancestry of course -- Sean] *Hair turns gray early.
> Pitta will bald early. 'Grass doesn't grown on a busy street! Light eyes.*
> *
> "Anne McIntyre says 'Pitta does not suffer fools gladly.' They are critical
> of themselves and others. Perfectionists. The seat of Pitta is in the
> small intestine and stomach. Ruled by the gallbladder, spleen, intestine,
> and stomach. Pitta is prone to "itises" -- gastrtitis, diverticulitis,
> etc. Pitta rules the blood. Nose bleeds, brusing. Pitta time is summer
> time.
>
> "Matt Wood describes the Pitt a type as the mesomproph. The Pitta tongue is
> flame-like, pointed, reddish and medium sized. They are mineral-cortocoid
> dominant, so they retain salt, lose water, and favor inflammation and bear
> aggressive attitudes. The liver metabolism is up. They are the classic
> Type A personality."*
>
> _____________________
>
> *"Kapha is water. Water and earth. The principle of substance and cohesion
> or structure [ . . .]
>
> "Kaphas have a powerful build and heavy bones, with great physical strength
> and endurance. They are well-proportioned and tend toward short square
> figures. They are the Earth Mother, the bear. They have steady energy and
> can get set in their ways. It is hard for Kapha to lose weight. They love
> the sun. Thick body hair. They have thick, lustrous, wavy hair. [ . . .]
> Moderate desire for food. Kaphas can go a long time without food because
> they store energy well, but tends to eat emotionally. Avoids
> confrontation. Patience, fortitude, and humility. Their intelligence is
> emotional and physical. They are slow and graceful in action. They have a
> tranquil personality, are slow to anger, coo, smooth, pale, often oily
> skin. They are slow to grasp new information, but have good retentive
> memory. Sleep is heavy, prolonged; they need at least eight hours sleep.
> They have a tendency to obesity, slow digestion, mild hunger. Regular
> menses, but retain water, [ . . .] Steady sexual desire -- slow to rouse but
> shows endurance. Kapha is affectionate, tolerant, forgiving, possessive,
> complacent. Relaxed. Often heavy, sweet, steady, soft and slow.
>
> "Matt Wood describes Kapha types as endomorphs. Gluco-corticoid dominant.
> They have a lower inflammatory response, lower lymphatic response, immune
> system response; water is stuck (edema), heats up GI tract, they create lots
> of saliva, their appetite is up. Digestion is up. (HCl and enzymes), blood
> sugar is up. Syndrome X [insulin resistance], easy weight gain.
> Cardiovascular down, they need regular exercise. [Lack of exercise for
> Kaphacan create stagnant emotions -- depression, stuck grief, or pent
> up anger.]
> Anabolsim up. The tongue is full, round, moist and pale
>
> "[ . . .] The seat of Kapha is the thoracic area, chest, and stomach."
>
> _____________________________________________________
>
> *
> *"Vata is air. Air and ether. Vata is the principle of movement. [ . . .]
>
> "Everything about Vata is irregular. Vata people have a light, thin build
> and are unusually tall or short, limbs are long or short, body parts are
> irregular. They have long, slender fingers and toes. They are rangy like
> weeds on the edge of the road. Their bones are slight or their joints are
> pronounced. They use up all the energy in their food without storing any.
> Jack Sprat. Tendons and veins will stick out. Tend to be a little gray.
> They have brittle nails with depressions and ridges. They are nervous and
> tend to bite nails or fidget. [ . . .] They are itchy. They perform
> activities quickly. They have irregular hunger and digestion; they go to
> sleep but worry and think all night in their dreams. They are full of
> enthusiasm, vivaciousness, and imagination; are excitable, have changing
> moods, are quick to grasp new information, also quick to forget it. They
> worry day and night. Vata has a tendency toward constipation. They tire
> easily, have a tendency to overexert; their mental and physical energy comes
> in bursts.
>
> "I have learned more clues from Annie McIntyre. They hold fat in their
> abdomen and thighs. When anxious, they lose weight and get painful muscles
> when tense. Vata has rabbit droppings due to tension and dryness. They
> make a big thing out of little hurts. They suffer from pain. They are
> extreme; depressed one moment and bound to change soo. Home of Vata is in
> the lower abdomen. [ . . .]
>
> "Matt Wood describes the Vata people as the ectomorph constitution.
> Adrenalin dominance, hyperadrenalism, and metabolic rate up. The
> Vatatongue is muscular and dry."
> ___________________________________________________
> *
> Why is it useful to know these things?
>
> For one thing, knowing a client's constitution helps you determine what's
> normal. A Pitta's tongue is going to be red no matter what. Look for
> other sighs before assuming there is inflammation somewhere. A Kapha or
> Vata client with a bright red tongue on the other hand probably is suffering
> from some sort of inflammation somewhere in the body.
>
> Secondly, its important to adjust your treatment for the client's
> constitution. If a Pitta person comes to you with a cold, wet lung
> infection you will likely use gentler warming, drying herbs than you would
> for a Kapha person with the same infection because something too strongly
> warming or too strongly drying might set off problems elsewhere in the
> body. Or if you do use the same herbs, you might pair them with some other
> herbs to balance them out -- for example Nettles can be extremely drying, so
> for a person with a dry constitution who needs the adrenal nourishment of
> Nettles you might add a little bit of a moistening herb like Licorice to her
> formula.
>
> ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________
>
> *Physiomedicalism and Tissue States*
>
> Physiomedicalism was a movement started by Samuel Thomson of Surry, New
> Hampshire in the early nineteenth century as a reaction against the medicine
> of the day which was marked by bloodletting and the heavy use of toxic
> chemicals like mercury. It was a decidedly populist movement, drawing
> heavily from the direct experience of its practitioners and to some extent
> on Native American medical knowledge and British and Scotch-Irish folk
> medicine.
>
> The Physiomedicalists believed that the body had its own vital force that
> could be supported and sustained by proper nutrition, exercise, and
> therapeutic sweating. They believed that herbs were best used to support
> the vital force's natural inclination to restore balance to the body. In
> order to figure out how best to do this they developed a system of
> energetics based on tissue states. We'll look at each of these tissue
> states and the herbal actions that correct them in the coming weeks.
>
> Matthew Wood has translated into a system that is easier for modern
> practitioners to understand and I will use his terminology to refer to these
> states. He describes the system in great detail in Traditional Western
> Medicine
>
> *Excitation*
>
> We'll begin this week by exploring the excited tissue state in the
> respiratory system. This is the tissue state that most often accompanies
> the early stages of a viral infection in the respiratory system. There
> can, however, also be chronic inflammation in the respiratory system --
> which often indicates chronic inflammation elsewhere in the body. The lungs
> are one of the body's channels of elimination (along with the skin, the
> urinary system, and the colon.) The Physio-medicalists taught that the
> vital force is seated in the core of the body and tends to move contagions
> and contaminants outward toward the periphery.
>
> Matthew Wood writes:
>
> *"Excitation represents an excess in the innate heat of the tissues. They
> are red, full, and tender because blood increases cellular activity.*" (Wood
> - TWH)
>
> He notes that this is not the heat of sepsis, bacterial activity, or
> dehydration. In those cases, heat is a symptom, not an underlying
> condition. He says:
>
> *"The heat we are looking for here is that which arises from an inherent
> over-activity in the tissues themselves. This is an excitement of function,
> so that the tissues are too easily irritated and incited to action. We find
> this type of over-activity in auto-immune excess conditions. One of the
> most characteristic symptoms of excitation is an elongated, pointed,
> flame-shaped, carmine/red, or pink/red tongue."* (Wood - TWH)
>
> You'll note that this also describes a healthy Pitta tongue -- know your
> client's constitution.
>
> The tip of the tongue corresponds to the heart and lungs -- look for redness
> here. Redness in the cheeks also indicates heat in the lungs.
>
> Its worth noting that when accompanying infections, fevers under 108°F are
> not in and of themselves a sign of excess heat, but rather a healthy immune
> response. The only reason to bring down a fever in infectious disease is to
> reduce discomfort -- and while the Physiomedicalists would have agreed with
> this, this particular piece of information comes from the website of Texas
> Children's Hospital --http://www.texaschildrens.org/Parents/TipsArticles/ArticleDisplay.asp...
>
> The Physiomedicalists believed that a fever was a sign of a strong, healthy
> vital response to infection -- part of the body's process of moving excess
> heat from the core to the periphery.
>
> For an excellent exploration of therapeutics for fever, listen to the
> interview with Jim McDonald athttp://www.herbmentor.com/articles/20091217(HerbMentormembership
> required.)
>
> Another great (and free) resource is Paul Bergner's article on treating
> fevers athttp://naimh.com/Influenza-Acute-Febrile-Disease.pdf
>
> *Mareria Medica*
>
> In treating heat and irritation in the respiratory system associated with
> acute infection we are looking primarily for cooling herbs with an affinity
> for the respiratory system. Below I discuss a few I have used myself. I
> advise practitioners never to work with herbs they haven't tried
> themselves.
>
> But first a look at what some of these herbs have in common and how they
> work to support the body's natural cooling mechanisms:
>
> Matthew Wood writes that:
>
> *"If we start with our own experience of food we can easily demonstrate
> which to ourselves which are the cooling and which are the heating
> remedies. In the middle of the summer, when it is hot, we like to consume
> fruit. Not surprisingly, many cooling remedies come from the fruit-laden
> rose family. There is a reason for this. Flowers and fruits are especially
> rich in flavonoids, substances that contribute to the development of color.
> In medicine, flavonoids are known as antioxidants and capillary healers.
> Oxidation is the scientific word for heat or weathering processes, so
> antioxidants are cooling, while substances that heal and soothe the
> capillaries also cool by helping the blood to not get congested in the
> peripheral vessels. Some of the flavonoids produce cyanide as they break
> down, a substance that kills by throwing a monkey wrench into the Krebs
> cycle, the energy generating cycle of the mitochondria of the cell. In
> small doses, cyanide cools by slowing down the Krebs cycle, instead of
> stopping it altogether. The cyanogenic glycosides, as they are called, give
> ride to the bitter almond flavor of some of the seeds, bark, and leaves of
> some of the fruity members of the rose family [ . . . .]* *All told, the
> rose, citrus, rhubarb, heath, and honeysuckle families provide us with many
> cooling remedies [ . . .] In addition, some oddball plants contain high
> levels of flavonoids, which make them cooling, even if they do not have
> prominent fruits or the right sort of families [* . . .]
>
> So what are some herbs that possess these qualities and have an affinity for
> the respiratory system? Here are a few of my favorites:
>
> *Peach* - *Prunus persica* -- Peach is commonly used in Southern folk
> medicine. The great Appalachian herbalist Tommie Bass sad that Peach bark
> was most effective, but I've primarily worked with Peach leaf -- it works
> great as either a tincture or a tea. Peach leaf is very gentle and is
> suitable for children. It is great for cooling overheated lungs and also
> helps to soothe heat in the digestive tract which makes it ideal in flus
> that have both respiratory and intestinal symptoms.
>
> The great Physio-medicalist William Cook (whose work I will be quoting from
> liberally throughout the course) noted that *"The leaves* *are largely
> relaxant and somewhat demulcent*." Hence they help to calm both the
> tissues and the emotional state of someone with a hot respiratory
> infection. Demulcent means moistening. Many of the other members of the
> Rose family tend to be somewhat drying, and hot respiratory conditions tend
> to dry out the mucosa, so Peach is especially well suited to treating these
> conditions.
>
> Peach is also gentle enough in its cooling action to be suitable for Kapha
> people. And because Peach doesn't suppress the cough reflex its useful in
> cases where you want to allow coughing to continue in order to clear out
> excess mucous from the lungs.
>
> According to Kiva Rose, Peach is also somewhat cooling to the liver.
> Because heat rises liver heat can "invade the lungs" -- a condition which
> can be at the root of some chronic respiratory inflammation.
>
> Adult dosage: 1 - 10 drops of the bark tincture or 10-30 drops of the leaf
> tincture. Leaf infusion may be given liberally in acute conditions and is
> more demulcent than the tincture.
>
> *Wild Cherry -- Prunus virginica -- *The bark is most commonly used though
> the leaf can be used as well. My own experience has primarily been with the
> bark which I find more cooling and less demulcent than Peach. The classic
> indication for Wild Cherry is when the cheeks are bright cherry red.
>
> More significantly, Wild Cherry bark is profoundly relaxing to the point of
> being sedative. As a Kapha person I find even the milder Wild Cherry leaf
> to be so relaxing as to put me to sleep. Not a bad thing when you have a
> respiratory infection.
>
> Wild Cherry bark also suppresses the cough reflex. This can allow for sleep
> where a hacking cough is keeping someone awake. But it is to be used with
> great care when there is significant fluid buildup in the lungs. I will
> sometimes use Wild Cherry at night to allow for sleep and then use an
> expectorant herb in the morning to bring up the phleghm. (We will talk about
> expectorants in a later lesson.)
>
> Matthew Wood speaks of Wild Cherry as a histamine normalizer, calming
> inflammation in both the respiratory system and the digestive tract caused
> by food allergens -- I have yet to explore this dimension of the medicine
> though I may the next time I accidentally eat gluten.
>
> Adult dosage in an acute infection is 10 drops every 4 hours.
>
> Before we go on, a brief note about *Prunus* species. There has been a long
> running controversy about their use because of the alleged presence of toxic
> prussic acid. William Cook gave a fairly definitive answer to this
> question in 1869 which to my knowledge still holds up to scrutiny today:
>
> "*The objection is usually raised to these kernels* [peach pits] *and
> leaves, that they are dangerous because of the prussic acid they contain. In
> the department of Therapeutics, as well as under the article on almonds, it
> is shown that they contain no prussic acid whatever; but this is a product
> only of chemical changes which take place in the presence of warmth and
> moisture. This point is clearly proven by all chemical science; and it is
> admitted by the U. S. Dispensatory, Stille, Pereira, Christison, and all
> other writers of eminence, that no such product was ever obtained from any
> of these substances till after their chemical decomposition. But it is
> gravely asserted that such plants, especially the flowers and kernels of the
> peach, show by their odor that they do contain prussic acid. This assertion
> shows great ignorance of this acid, and also of current literature on this
> subject. Neither peaches, bitter almonds, cherry-laurel, or other plants of
> like odor, have any of the odor of prussic acid; for the two smells are
> entirely different. One need go no further than the U. S. Dispensatory to
> learn this fact; any reliable work on chemistry will tell him the same fact;
> and Christison says the odors bear no resemblance to each other, but that
> the distilled waters from the fermented plants retain their peculiar odor
> "after the acid is thrown down" and totally removed. But it is said to be
> harmful to eat large quantities of peach kernels, which is quite probable;
> for they are of difficult digestion, will undergo chemical changes in the
> presence of the heat and moisture of the stomach, and that change will
> produce prussic acid freely. Before fermentation, they are absolutely safe;
> after fermentation, they are extremely dangerous."*
>
> My partner, Darcey, who pointed me toward this passage took it to mean that
> there could be some theoretical risk from a tea that was left to sit out for
> a few days, but that the tinctures of Prunus species are entirely safe and
> infusions drunk within a reasonable period of time are entirely safe. I
> agree.
>
> *Elder Flower -- Sambucus candensis, Sambucus nigra -- *Elder berries have
> rightly gained great repute as an immune modulator, a diaphoretic, and an
> anti-viral -- Elder berries stop viral reproduction, and taken in frequent
> large doses will cut the duration of a viral infection roughly in half.
> Less known, but equally wonderful, is the medicine of Elder Flowers. Its
> hard to improve on Jim McDonald's description of the medicine, so I will
> just quote him:
> *
> "**The dried flowers of Elder are one of the oldest and most reliable
> diaphoretics for use in treating colds, flus & fevers. Elder is a relaxant
> diaphoretic; which is to say that it encourages perspiration and the release
> of heat by relaxing tension and resistance in the periphery of the body. It
> also helps mildly to expectorate phlegm from the lungs & breathways, and so
> are indicated in fevers accompanied by stuffy sinus or lung congestion.
> Elderflowers are ever-so-slightly sedative, and help to instill a bit of
> “ease” that makes getting through a fever a bit more bearable. They make
> for a rather tasty tea (which, for the uses mentioned above, should be drunk
> hot), and being that Elder is safe even for small children, this makes it a
> far more user friendly option for sick kids than, say, hot Yarrow tea.
> After the tea cools, it loses much of its diaphoretic properties and acts
> more as a diuretic and alterative. *"
>
> (Alteratives are "blood movers." We will discuss them more in another
> lesson Diuretics encourage fluid release through urination.)
>
> Deb Soule points out that the Elder Flower is shaped like a eustachian tube,
> making it a perfect medicine for respiratory conditions that result in
> earaches.
>
> Elder flower tea can be used liberally by people of all ages and
> constitutions.
>
> *Butterfly Weed/Pleurisy Root -- Asclepias tuberosa* *-- *One of the
> premiere respiratory herbs for a variety of conditions --we will be
> revisiting this member of the milkweed family -- and especially good for
> respiratory inflammation.
> *
>
> *Darcey writes:
>
> *"It is specific to feverish conditions where the skin is hot and dry, and
> the individual is tense, and experiencing inflammation, pain and fluid
> congestion in the respiratory tract. It relaxes tension in the tissues of
> the skin, mucous membranes (think respiratory, digestive and urinary
> systems), and allows fluid balance and movement to be restored. It will
> readily produce a sweat in those hot, dry and tense feverish folks, dilate
> the bronchi, ease expectoration of mucus, and ease pain and inflammation. This
> can be especially helpful in influenza which is characterized by hyper
> immune response resulting in inflammatory cytokine storm, with fluid build
> up."*
>
> Regarding dosage she writes:
>
> *
> "Butterfly weed is most effective when given as a warm tea, 1 tsp of root
> per cup, taken 2-3 times per day. Though I find administering smaller
> portions 2-3 tablespoons or a few swallows at a time, over the course of 30
> min to an hour can be quite effective as well, and far more tolerable to
> most folks, as the taste of butterfly weed is hard to swallow. A tincture of
> the fresh root is also an effective medicine, and I like to administer it as
> such: 2-3 droppers of tincture in hot water, sipped slowly over 30 min to an
> hour."*
>
> Do not use in combination with digitalis and other cardiac glycosides or in
> cases of serious heart conditions.
>
> *Red Clover -- Trifolium pratense --* Sweet, gentle, and cooling. Last
> summer I lived with an almost two year old who learned to recognize the Red
> Clover tincture bottle and reach for it when she got a respiratory
> infection. Ideal for mild hot respiratory infections in kids. Also a
> gentle lymphatic, so can help to remove waste from the lymph nodes,
> especially in the neck. Adult dose of tincture: 30 drops 3 times a day.
> Tea may be used liberally.
>
> _____________________________________________
>
> A note on dosages for children: Divide the child's weight by 150 to get an
> approximate fraction of the recommended adult dose.
>
> --
> Sean Donahue, Traditional Herbalisthttp://www.brighidswellherbs.comhttp://greenmanramblings.blogspot.com/
>
> "Sometimes there's nothing left to do but make love to the fear." -- Astrid
> Mannrique, ASFAADES (Association of the Families of the Disappeared),
> Popayan, Colombia
>
> "If we eat the wild, it begins to work inside us, altering us, changing us.
> Soon, if we eat too much, we will no longer fit the suit that has been made
> for us. Our hair will begin to grow long and ragged. Our gait and how we
> hold our body will change. A wild light begins to gleam in our eyes. Our
> words start to sound strange, nonlinear, emotional. Unpractical. Poetic.
> Once we have tasted this wildness, we begin to hunger for a food long denied
> us, and the more we eat the more we will awaken." -- Stephen Harrod Buhner
> The Secret Teachings of Plants
>
> --
> Sean Donahue, Traditional Herbalisthttp://www.brighidswellherbs.comhttp://greenmanramblings.blogspot.com/
Mary Wagner
I'm a fellow student of Claudia's, so I'm also translating the excited tissue states and the doshas into TCM for my own understanding. It's like learning a 2nd foreign language. You begin by translating from English to your 2nd language and then that into your 3rd. (And then if that doesn't work you just start speaking louder, but I digress...)
Here's a few couple of things I noticed:
In TCM's 5 phase correspondence Lung is paired with Large Intestine as "metal" and metal is injured by dryness.
Redness in the cheeks also indicates heat in the lungs. In TCM, malar flush is associated with yin deficiency, which is also associated with dryness, lack of fluids.
I am very, very, vata, with a huge tendency toward lung issues. In TCM I am predominately metal. In the past, every cold I'd get would go straight to my lungs and would often result in bronchitis or even pneumonia. Again, a correspondence with dry-vata, and TCM climate injury. Vata's tendency toward constipation also dovetails neatly with TCM metal yang organ, Large intestine.
Of course, not everything corresponds neatly, but I'm finding it useful to make what connections I can.
Sean Donahue
>
> I enjoyed reading Paul Bergner's article on febrile conditions.
> Selling people on letting fevers run their course is tricky in our
> fast-paced world. The new "common sense" of toughing it out, really
> doesn't make sense. People walk around with chronic flus and colds
> because they never truly got well. As a school teacher, I have been
> known to go to school sick because, if I don't, the kids will fall
> behind and it will be even more of a mess for me when I get back. I'm
> sure most people go to work when they're sick. They can't afford to
> miss work.
>
medicine --- I confess that the Five Elements have long confused me
(Ayurveda is easier for me to grasp because the five elements of the
Vedic/Hindu tradition correspond to the five elements of Western
magical traditions) -- but you've helped me come a lot closer to
grasping them.
It is tragic the way we as a society force people to keep working when
they are sick. When people die of Influenza it tends to be for one of
two reasons: because of a secondary infection that develops into
pneumonia or because the inflammatory cytokine storm set off by their
immune systems is exacerbated by their getting out of their sick beds
too early. In an article on the flu of 1918, Bergner writes:
A characteristic of the 1918 in flenza was the sud den
death of some of its victims. Anecdotal accounts tell of
four men sit ting down to play a card game in the evening,
with only one of them left alive in the morning. An other
tells of several individuals dying on a street car within
several blocks, including the conductor. From the natural
course of influenza infection, it is unlikely that these indi -
viduals died at first on set of the illness. More likely is that
they left their sick beds too soon. The typical course of in -
fluenza infection, as measured by the presence of
cytokines, is 1 full week. Different cytokines surge or
peak at different times over this period, but peaks may oc -
cur as late as Day 6. The initial fe ver of influenza of ten
re cedes be tween Days 2 and 4 as the levels of one set of
cytokines decreases. On Days 4 to 6, as patients may be -
gin to feel some re lief from symptoms, cytokines asso ci -
ated with lower respiratory infection may surge (Hayden
et al). The symptoms are less dramatic, but the complica -
tions and lethality of a lower respiratory infection and in -
flammation may never the less be quite severe. It is
common in con temporary times for patients to leave their
beds and re turn to work when the fever of in fluenza first
sub sides. In one re cent year, the author had six p tients
with influenza, all of whom felt better by Day 3. They
were cautioned to rest for a full seven days, but two of
them went back to work on Day 4 of their infections.
Both re lapsed with viral pneumonia and were hosp tal -
ized on Day 6 of the infection. Similar behaviors in the
1918 epidemic may have led to the high incidence of
sudden death as those who left their beds too early died in
public of lower respiratory infection and inflammation.
Doc tors at John’s Hopkins medical school conducted
a retrospective anal y sis of which patients did better or
worse with various medical treatments in the 1918 pan -
demic. The analysis found only that those who “went to
bed the earliest, stayed there the longest, and had the best
nursing care survived the best."
Sean Donahue
In TCM's 5 phase correspondence Lung is paired with Large Intestine as "metal" and metal is injured by dryness.
Redness in the cheeks also indicates heat in the lungs. In TCM, malar flush is associated with yin deficiency, which is also associated with dryness, lack of fluids.
I am very, very, vata, with a huge tendency toward lung issues. In TCM I am predominately metal. In the past, every cold I'd get would go straight to my lungs and would often result in bronchitis or even pneumonia. Again, a correspondence with dry-vata, and TCM climate injury. Vata's tendency toward constipation also dovetails neatly with TCM metal yang organ, Large intestine.
And respiratory immunity is very tied up with the element of metal as I understand it -- one of the reasons why Astragalus is such a good herb for people with a tendency toward respiratory infections. (Though not in acute situations -- but we will discuss that when we discuss respiratory immunity in depth.)
We'll be dealing more directly with dryness in next week's lesson.
I am quintessentially Kapha (with a healthy dose of Pitta for good measure) and have always had colds go straight to my lungs -- but in my case because they are too wet and thus a good breeding ground for microbes.
And there is definitely a strong relationship with intestinal issues and lung issues -- often linked to food allergies which we will look at in more depth later on.
claudia Greene
the "wonder drug" of the last Century, but by sending people out into
the world too early, they may have caused an increase in chronic
diseases. Hmm.
Claudia
Sean Donahue
This makes me wonder about the pros and cons of antibiotics. They are
the "wonder drug" of the last Century, but by sending people out into
the world too early, they may have caused an increase in chronic
diseases. Hmm.
Claudia
In my opinion, antibiotics are great for quickly suppressing fast moving bacterial infections in serious situations. We have herbs that do that as well but they don't always work as fast. But in most other situations antibacterial herbs are better.
The use of chemical antibiotics has consequences: The gut flora are often damaged severely, leading to poorer nutrient absorption and reduced immune function. Infection is suppressed without addressing the underlying issues that gave rise to infection (the bacteria and viruses that "cause" disease are coming in and out of our bodies all the time, its when our bodies are vulnerable in some way that they have the chance to colonize particular tissues and multiply faster than the immune system can deal with.) And the use of chemical antibiotics generates resistance in bacteria throughout the body, meaning that the next infection will be harder to fight.
Giving antibiotics in influenza makes no sense -- influenza is a viral disease -- but too many doctors have gotten used to giving antibiotics "just in case" to prevent secondary bacterial infection. To my knowledge there is no evidence that this is effective.
We'll talk more about antibacterial herbs toward the end of the course.
Judith Nicholson
phleghmatic profile, very cold and moist. He came to visit me here in
Chicago from Northern Mexico after being sick for almost two months
with a respiratory track infection and after taking many antibiotics :
(. He suffers from respiratory issues often and has 35 years of
dealing with high blood pressure.
According to the five elements theory and his tongue, I believe his
pattern is earth not generating metal (spleen deficiency leading to
the formation of phlegm which obstructs the lungs).
When he came, he had a cought with yellow phlem during the first 5
days. The phlem turned clear for a few days before it went away within
8 days. Nettles was great for him.
I also made some changes to his diet. He loves bananas and dairy
products. He stoped eating them while he was here. I am not sure if he
should stay away from bananas and dairy for a while/ever, or just
during his respiratory illnesses.
I suspect he also has issues with gastritis due to the antibiotics
because he developed hiccups and heartburn during his stay here. The
hiccups comes and goes and it can last for many hours at a time. He
started taking probiotics for that. He is going to be tested for
gastritis today. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks, Sean. I am enjoying yours and everybody else's comments and I
look forward to continuing our class.
Judith
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Sean Donahue
Elecampane is drying, warming, and expectorant and has some antibacterial action. And it has strong affinities for both the respiratory and digestive system -- and acts to some degree to strengthen the lungs over time.
It is also one of the great inulin containing herbs -- inulin is an indigestible starch that helps to feed gut flora. Use it in combination with probiotics. In this case I would use a probilitic supplement because dairy is so mucous forming.
I would also consider Slippery Elm or Marsh Mallow to soothe the stomach and the gut which tend to get irritated in these situations.
I would look to food allergies here as well as they are almost always part of the equation in this kind of situation -- gluten is often the culprit. Antibody tests for gluten allergies are unreliable, so the best diagnostic technique is generally to remove it for 40 days and then reintroduce a small amount twice -- once on the 45th day and once on the 49th -- and watch the reaction.