Month: February 2021

1. Herbs on the Net – Preface

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Nature, whose sweet rains fall on unjust and just alike, will have clefts in the rocks where I may hide, and secret valleys in whose silence I may weep undisturbed. She will hang the night with stars so that I may walk abroad in the darkness without stumbling, and send the wind over my footprints so that none may track me to my hurt: she will cleanse me in great waters, and with bitter herbs make me whole.

Oscar Wilde, De Profundis

One of the greatest changes in recent history when it comes to the medical profession is the rediscovering of a field of medicine and therapy known as “alternative medicine”. Both healthcare professionals in addition to for profit institutions like hospitals and pharmaceutical firms alike are dismayed at the resurgence of practices and medications that only a few decades ago were considered primitive, barbaric, ineffective, unscientific and even superstitious.

Acupuncture, homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine and massage therapy are no longer considered relics of forgotten time but have instead started to gain the foothold they once had, pushing out many modern medicines and practice as the primary means of solving a medical problem. A controversial yet highly publicized practice among these is that of herbal medicine. The mainstream media as well as publishing mediums, both in print format as well as online, are consistently being filled with information regarding herbs like St. John’s wort or Ginkgo bilboa.

Where they were previously a niche to be found mostly in health food shops, herbal medicines and remedies are widely available in pharmacies as well as in abundance online. These herbal remedies are frequently consumed to assist with a wide range of ailments, from depression to erectile dysfunction, and frequently without the authorization or consultation of their family doctor.

After some deliberation and bouts of self denial, in the mid 1990’s physicians generally began to accept the popularity of herbal medicines. Health science libraries tend to possess an incredible amount of information compiled over the years, but it is nonetheless difficult to navigate. However, there is a compendium of knowledge that is often briefly summarized and easily accessible in modern times.

Databases, encyclopedias and search engines can help people find exactly what they’re looking for. Even when it pertains to prescription drugs and over the counter medication, those who know how to seek will be able to find what they’re looking for, both in scientific and technical detail as well as something understandable to the layman.

In the past, there have been several publications and books that served as a decent emporium for the classification and summarization of herbs and plants used for medicinal purposes. Among these are:

  • Martindale: The Extra Pharmacoepia
  • The Dispensatory of the United States of America

In the late 1990’s, there was an increase in frequency as well as volume of questions related to herbal medicine that were posted by patients to their physicians. The common textbook material often taught to physicians and used as a reference for modern medicine and chemical drugs did not contain sufficient enough information covering herbal remedies. An author by the name of Varro Tyler had two books that were often referred to by some physicians to their patients who needed advice in their field:

  • The Honest Herbal
  • Herbs of Choice

1. The Bladder as an Organ and it’s Functions

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Bladder – An organ that’s a sack and usually hollowed out that fills up with a liquid byproduct of the body’s processes called urine so it can be eventually released.

Pelvis – A bodily structure below the abdomen that is held in place by the hip bones.

Rectum – The end tip of the large intestines that communicates with the sigmoid colon above and the anus below.

Uterus – An organ in the reproductive system of females where the fetus is grown that is muscular and pelvic.

Urethra – The tube leading from the bladder through the oriface in the vagina in females and penis in males, which carries urine out to be discharged.

Prostate – A male reproductive system gland that is located below the bladder and envelops the urethra partially, and is also the canal that empties the bladder and produces a fluid that is partially the composition of semen.

The bladder is the sac where urine is gathered inside the body. One alternative medical terminology for the bladder is the word “vesical”, which has it’s roots in the Latin word “vesicular”. The pelvis is the location of the bladder. The sac of the bladder itself is soft and round. The rectum in men or uterus for women is located behind the bladder. Urine is collected into the bladder through an opening in each end of the bladder. Urine is kept inside the bladder until the person it belongs to feels the need to urinate. The urine is pushed out of the urethra when the muscles in the bladder walls squeeze the urine out. In women the urethra is short, about 1 inch. In men it’s significantly longer as it needs to pass through the prostate and then the penis in order to get to the tip of the penis where it widens and opens up.

The kidneys are located in the center of the abdomen, underneath the lower ribcage. The purpose of the kidneys is to act as a filtration system for the blood in order to convert some of it to urine. The urine produced by the kidneys then travels through the renal pelvis and into the ureters. The urethra are a tubular contraption that are soft to the touch and have a similar circumference to a pencil. The purpose of the urethra is to allow urine to flow from the kidneys into the base of the bladder, where they protrude and connect.

The capacity of the adult bladder is 400 ml of urine. The bladder wall consists of three layers: the urothelium is the interior layer that is touching the urine, the central layer is made up of muscle fibers that contract to squeeze urine out by upping the pressure on the inside of the bladder in order to get the urine to flow out, and the exterior layer is a thin, protective layer named the serosa that is meant to prevent the sac from bursting.

1. Herbal Remedies – An Introduction

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In spite of recent advancements in Western medicine, particularly ones involving chemicals and pharmaceutical drugs, there has been a resurgence in the medical field for the endorsement of herbal remedies as an alternative medicine for the treatment of various ailments. There has been a rise in the use of herbs such as garlic, coneflower and ginger as home remedies, in addition to an ever growing repertoire of over the counter herbal medicines and supplements that are now a common sight in supermarkets and pharmacies alike.

A growing list of hundreds of herbal supplements can be found in pharmacies and health food stores, ranging from arnica montana to withania somnifera, with additional thousands that can be bought online. At no other point in history is there such a detailed compendium of information available on herbal remedies, as well as their cultivation, availability and accessibility. Regardless of what they are used for, whether it’s for the prevention of disease, the maintenance of good health or the treatment of an existing ailment, will be effective in improving the health and verve of those who take them correctly and consistently.

Even though having a wide array of products to choose from, it can get disparaging to have to figure out which ones are right for you, as well as which combinations are safe. The problem with this abundance of different products still does not adequately inform the consumer as to their function – how would you know whether the elderflower is for period pains or for sinus congestion? In this case the elderflower or sambucus nigra is meant for periods, and the white peony or paeonia lactiflora is meant for sinus congestion.

Despite having this knowledge in terms of what herb is used to treat what bodily calamity, there are still pieces of the puzzle missing in order to get a proper picture to make an informed choice.

Questions such as: How can you ascertain that the herbal remedy will be effective? What preparation method should be used for the remedy – tablet, tea or tincture? Has it been studied and tested enough to be proven safe? What categories of people should be excluded from this medicine? How about pricing? How can we differentiate between an overpriced product and a regular priced product? Does more expensive actually mean better quality? How do we know? Is only one herb sufficient to carry out the task or do we need multiple in synchrony to be fully effective? Does it pose a risk if you combine it with other medications that you are on?

Even though it is impossible to go through all the factors in just a few hundred pages of information, these series of articles will attempt to compartmentalize and summarize the most fundamental knowledge that is needed to both know what is safe as well as what is effective for our purpose.

Where synthetic medication tends to be synthesized inside a laboratory, herbal medication is foraged from forests and fields worldwide. Their therapeutic abilities is the gorgeously divine connection between animals and plants on our planet. We will see sketches and photographs of various plants presented in this book, and their aesthetic beauty and gentle nature coupled with their otherworldly healing abilities will encourage environmental awareness and preservation efforts.

If in doubt, pharmacists and health food store workers can sometimes provide valuable information to consumers on choosing the right product for their needs, and one should never underestimate the knowledge they hold about herbal remedies.