(Hope this spacing is better.) Have been meaning for months to post a good deal of info. about herbs, and putting it off till I "had time" to do a good job of it. Not going to get that kind of time, so here is some intro. info. Suggest you quickly buy a book or two, so you understand the healing power inherent in herbs, and can figure out which ones you want to have on hand and how you will probably use them. People tend to think just of herbal teas or capsules. But you can make your own salves, tinctures, oils, etc. Some good books: THE COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED HOLISTIC HERBAL, by David Hoffmann. $10.96 from amazon.com THE COMPLETE MEDICINAL HERBAL by Penelope Ody HERBS FOR THE HOME MEDICINE CHEST by Rosemary Gladstar PLANETARY HERBOLOGY, by Michael Tierra (also wrote THE WAY OF HERBS) THE BOOK OF HERBAL WISDOM by Matthew Wood THE YOGA OF HERBS by Vasant Lad & David Frawley Includes information about the elelmental qualities of the herbs and how they affect the Ayurvedic constitutional types. Also info. on how to know if your flu (for instance) is Vata, Pitta or Kapha in its quality. So you can choose the herbs best suited to you and your immediate imbalance. I presume Amazon.com has these titles. That is also a good place to read reviews of the books. Now I'll mention just a few random tidbits of info. to give you an idea how useful herbs could be for you. - Hot infusion of dried elder flowers is great for flu, colds, pneumonia... An herbalist who lived at the time of the terrible flu epidemic of 1918 wrote "It will not only save at the eleventh hour, but at the very last minte of that hour." - St John's Wort is wonderful for wounds, sores, burns,, etc. Many of the old homeopaths said it could cure tetanus even after it had set in. During the bombing of London, wounds dressed with Hypericum did not admit tetanus even in one case, though those treated in the conventional manner did. - Yarrow for deep fever, and burns. Also for radiation, from whatever source. (including radiation and chemotherapy treatments) - Plantain helps pull gaping wounds together, and prevents infection in wounds. Draws out venom of insects stings and snakebites. (Chew leaves and apply as poultice. Has worked even in case of black widow spider bite. Treated woman lived, her untreated friend bitten at same time died.) Draws mucous out of the lungs. Pulls infections out of gums. I mention these just to give you an idea how wonderful healing herbs are. In many cases they can do what nothing else can do. They are not a substitute for drugs. They are better than drugs. As well as much cheaper. And you do not need a prescription. I do not wish to get into agruments with those who have read an article someplace stating that herbs are "dangerous." Salt and pepper are dangerous. Water is dangerous. More than 10% of those hospitalized today are there because of a drug their dr. gave them. The lists of "side effects" of popular drugs are a nightmare. How many people do you personally know who were ever injured by an herb? How many by a conventional medical drug or treatment? I'm stating this in advance because I have seen the wild arguments here about colloidal silver, etc. I am just offering this info. for those who are interested in it. If you are opposed for some reason, fine. "You pays your money and you takes your choice." I only wish to share information.

-- Shivani Arjuna (SArjuna@aol.com), November 29, 1999

Answers

I've found THE absolute BEST antibiotic is......

GARLIC OIL! I recently cured a nasty cellulitis in 48 hours (!) using this and can personally attest to its healing properties. (This was five days quicker than traditional antibiotics that I've used in the past.)

To make garlic oil simply chop up several cloves, cover with a few ounces of olive oil, place in a covered glass container and shake the mixture every so often and in a week or two you're ready to go.

Also, in third world countries, *honey* is used as an antibiotic and applied directly to wounds.

Happy healing!

LunaC

-- LunaC (LunaC@moon.com), November 29, 1999.

Shivani,

1) Sorry to disapoint you but HERBS ARE DRUGS for example (and in answer to the question you asked):

LOTS of recorded injuries from Foxglove (digitalis).

Aspirin is a DRUG but it is also Willow Bark (used for fever due to the salicilates).

If your doctor asks about drugs you are taking MAKE SURE you include ALL of the HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS TOO. There are some PRETTY SEVERE interaction problems with some "all natural, drug free" herbals and normally used drugs.

Chuck, who just finished cutting is Tea Tree Oil in half and his Oil of Oregano the same.

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), November 30, 1999.

dearChuck, What does this mean'is cutting tree oil in half'? Are you growing something in the house that some of us don't know about?Just kidding. Actualy, no I'm not. I am getting rid of all my useless house plants and am going to replace them with useful stuff like basil,aloe and I was wondering if you are doing the same? If so would you mind sharing some of your ideas with me[us] thanks,Tress

-- tress (tress59@aol.com), December 01, 1999.

One source: http://www.sfherb.com/he rbsspices.html

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), December 01, 1999.

A very inclusive article on herbal supplements on my website:

http://www.y2ksafeminnesota.com/dontneed.htm (look at item #11)

-- MinnesotaSmith (y2ksafeminnesota@hotmail.com), December 02, 1999.

link/New

-- Darlene (boomer@tdstelme.net), December 04, 1999.

Sorry I wanted to hot link an herb site. Don't have the hang of it yet.

-- Darlene (boomer@tdstelme.net), December 04, 1999.

"Approximately 8% of all hospital admissions in the U.S. are due to adverse reactions to synthetic drugs. That's a minimum of 2,000,000. At least 100,000 Americans a year die from them. That means at least 3 times as many people are killed in the U.S. by pharmaceutical drugs as are killed by drunken drivers... Deaths or hospitalizations due to herbs are so rare that they're hard to find." http://metalab.unc.edu/herbmed/mediher5.html#c3_1_8

-- Shivani Arjuna (SArjuna@aol.com), December 04, 1999.