Hi everyone. Because many Israelis have a very longstanding
tradition of herbal medicine in their daily lives, I have felt
it necessary to dabble in herbal remedies. I have a very nice
book by David Hoffmann (Element Press in USA, 1992) called THE
NEW HOLISTIC HERBAL. It recommends a tea/infusion compress of the
young twigs of an evergreen conifer called Thuja (Thuja
occidentalis), saying that "a marked anti-fungal effect is found
if used externally for ringworm and thrush". There is also an
intriguing special cautionary that thuja should be avoided during
pregnancy because of "a specific reflex action on the uterus"
(are we talking oxytocin here?). In the same book, under the
Marigold (Calendula officinalis), it says "marigold has marked
anti-fungal activity and may be used both internally and
externally to combat such infections." It goes on: "as an
emmenagogue it has a reputation of helping delayed menstruation
and painful periods..." (again, oxytocin?) Neither of these
plants are found in my part of the world, so I am unable to ask
around locally, but am really interested, especially about the
possible OXYTOCIN angle for tense Moms with poor letdown. Can
somebody out there get back to me?
If I remember correctly, honey (Denise Mollenkopf's re Puerto
Rican popular remedy for thrush, 30 April 1995) is not
recommended for babies (under 2 years old) who lack certain
intestinal flora which "neutralize" Clostridium botulinum
(botulism, guys) which may be in honey if not sterilized. Please
correct me if wrong. Thanks.
Judy Knopf, BSc, LC
Beer Sheva, Israel
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