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 [log in to unmask]