Swine Flu

[Feralhuman]

The swine flu is in the news today. There's LOTS of stuff each of you can do to not plug into the fear based paradigm that the media swindlers and politicians might try to lead people into. Those of you who've been through the school's healing/plant classes might recall one very good remedy: Fire Cider

FIRE CIDER: Some other names: four thieve's vinegar, complete tonic, total tonic. Take equal parts of onion, garlic, ginger, horseradish and a half part of habanero peppers. Blend in the blender with twice as much good quality healthstore style unfiltered apple cider vinegar. Let sit for two weeks, then drain and press off the plant goop. Take a tablespoon or so (in water!) a day as a preventative and go to one every hour or two if you come down with the plague. Combine with
ECHINACEA TINCTURE: Make it with fresh root only. If you buy it it should make your mouth tingle/go numb a bit.

Those two are big guns. Get enough vitamin D from sun exposure, keep your hygiene and health up.
During the WWI Influenza outbreak BONESET was used by the eclectic medical practioners both as treatment (it's a great diaphoretic) and as a preventative. It's suppose to be about 4x the immune boost than echinacea gives and it grows locally. I haven't tested it for anything more than a mild cold/flu but it worked well for that.
GARLIC is available.
YARROW, ELDER FLOWERS, MINT: Combination is an awesome flu support remedy. It's one of the big potent

Here's some more info:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Herbal_Remedies/message/89188

Find out how to give the COLD SHEET TREATMENT. This was used by Dr.John Christopher to treat things like plague. This keeps the loved ones who didn't take their fire cider alive if they come down with it. Consult the holy google oracle for sources of info on that. Boneset would be an acceptable substitute for the YARROW (which would be helpful in itself).

Keep in mind that historically these went in waves, the first wave in March goes around the world in a milder form then it came back again in September in a much nastier form. Might be useful to keep that in mind.

[Trevanion]

Oh, and since this is on the ol' H1N1, I had it. It was wonderfully exciting. Temp of 103 F. I did not bother to get the blood work done, so it's not 100% that it was swine flu, but the nurse told me it was swine flu. She said the symptoms were exactly point-for-point what swine flu caused. I could not move for about two days. I took:

6 eyedroppers of Old Man’s Beard (Usnea spp.) daily,
6 eyedroppers diaphoretic tincture containing thyme (Thymus vulgaris), catnip (Nepta spp.), white sage (Salvia apiana), and cayenne pepper (Capsicum annuum ‘Cayenne’).

When I called Arthur for advice, after telling me that the fact that I had swine flu was “----ed up!”, he told me to take four things. I made the doses up on my own.
4 eyedroppers Northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) daily Apparently in addition to its myriad other uses; cedar is a highly potent antiviral.
5 eyedroppers St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) daily
4 eyedroppers Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) daily

Finally, he suggested as much raw garlic as I could handle. Garlic is one of the oldest known herbal remedies for pretty much anything pathogenic. While not as effective an antiviral as the first two suggestions, it is a very powerful antibacterial and antiseptic. It is an energizer and generally a very warm herb. We all know cooked garlic well, but I will offer a word of caution; raw garlic is a different substance and should be treated very differently. I had only ever taken it mixed into tomato juice, which kills the taste and allows one to consume large doses but this time I did not have any tomato juice. The second day of my illness, I minced two bulbs of garlic and thought to myself “hey, how bad can it be?” I choked down a tablespoon with as much as would stack on, which was about half the pile. As soon as it touched my tongue it felt like fire (and not in the pleasent fire-cider way)and the sensation spread to my stomach as I forced myself to swallow. I spent the next 15 minutes on my hands and knees retching most of it back up. From then on I took it on toast with tomatoes and butter, which was much more palatable, as it were. Whatever I had, these medicines and lots of rest and water cleared it out in a few days.

Oh, on the third day I developed a bunch of faint red splotches about 1/2 - 1 in. in diamater on my neck and head. They did not itch or anything, but I called Arthur again and he said it was probably the yarrow and quoted several 15-syllabal compounds that might potentially cause a reaction. So I stopped taking it an immidiatly my headache spiked through the roof but the splotches went away, so I switched to a willow (Salix spp.) tincture which was almost as good an anti-inflammatory and not splotch-causing.

[Trevanion]

When I was taught fire cider it had black walnut hulls as well, and there was none of this nancy-pancy 'filter out the plant mush' nonsence. Also, though feralhuman fervently denies this, there was non of this watered-down 'one HALF part habenero' moose scat. We took one PART habenero; and we liked it. The first batch I made of this stuff would strip the hair off a wire brush, and thats how I've liked it ever since. I'm just sayin.

[Trevanna]

Thanks folks, I sent a lot of this information to my mom, who can't get any flu vaccines due to an allergy. She's excited about it all!

[Arthur Haines]

I have had some requests lately for plants and fungi that could help with the H1N1 virus (a.k.a. swine flu). Rather than answer everyone individually, I decided to post a short article with a variety of plants that have demonstrated antiviral and/or immune stimulating/modulating ability. The article can be found at http://www.arthurhaines.com/articles.htm if anyone is interested in reading it.

[El Cuchillo]

I would think you could spray them with it like Mace. That should work!

[Candi Huber]

Gee thanks Feralhuman, you have been such a big help. I am sure my kids will be thrilled to see me chasing them with a turkey baster a wild "you better do this" look in my eyes! I think I'll make a less potent variety and try mixing it with honey, syrup, or agave!

[Feralhuman]

Maybe you could haul out a turkey baster and an enema bag and say, "If it doesn't go in one end it goes in the other." Dose on an enema is double that what you take by mouth. That's an oldtime way of getting children to take herbal concoctions. I think just the threat of it would be enough to get them to gladly swallow it down the main hatch.

[Feralhuman]

No idea on the child front, I've never had to deal with them. I get my folks to take it by watering it down in a cup of water. Straight it's too potent even for me, except on salads with a bit of olive oil.

[Candi Huber]

Thanks! We've been lucky enough to be gifted a jar of this. We used to make it all the time but then got out of the habit. It's time to stock the cupboards with lots of nourishing foods. What's your secret to getting kids to take this...it is very powerful stuff!

[Feralhuman]

Lifted from the Yahoo Group Herbal remedies:http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Herbal_Remedies/message/89190

Total Tonic Recipe
or "White Salsa" ;o)


Nature’s Anti-biotic Food

1/3 cup raw Garlic cloves

1/3 cup raw White Onion

1/3 cup raw Horseradish

1/3 cup raw Ginger Root

1/4 to 1 Habanero Hot Pepper (more if you like)

1/2 cup raw Apple Cider Vinegar

For extra potency you can also add 1/3 cup of Turmeric and 1/3 cup of Cilantro


Note Well: Do not stir with a silver spoon or your mixture will turn green!

Peel garlic cloves and put them in a blender. Peel and cut onion in half and then into quarters and toss into blender. Wash horseradish and ginger root and cut 1/4 inch circles and place in blender. Toss in the hot pepper and pour the apple cider vinegar over the blender contents and blend to a thick applesauce consistency. Add more apple cider vinegar if needed to blend. Should your salsa end up too watery, then strain off some of the vinegar and use it on a salad. Again: Do not allow this mixture to contact silver or it will be ruined. Store in a pint or quart jar. Refrigeration is not required but you can keep it in the fridge if you prefer it cold.

Eat as a condiment or dip. A number of people have told me they really like to use it as a salad dressing, or instead of using Horseradish with their roasts.

Some of you who have made Total Tonic will recognize this recipe. Yes this is nature’s anti-biotic as well as a delicious food. Its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-parasitical, and anti-viral properties will keep you healthy. Should you feel an illness coming on, we recommend taking an entire spoonful of White Salsa every hour until your symptoms have completely disappeared.

To make Total Tonic follow the above recipe, and pour the apple cider vinegar just over the top of the contents and puree in your blender. Your Total Tonic will be the thickness of a thin gravy. Put the Total Tonic in a jar and shake several times a day for 14 days. Strain off the liquid and you have Total Tonic. Whenever possible, make your Total Tonic on a New Moon and press it on a Full Moon. This practice is an ancient one and ensures the most potent results. I recommend that you have at least a pint on hand at all times, so make it often! It works great for kids too.

Yours in Health and Love, Doc & Valorie