New Herbal Medicine Column in Yattar Yattar Magazine

We’re delighted that Yattar Yattar magazine invited Therese to contribute to the health section of their magazine with a column on Herbal Medicine.

Yattar Yattar is a free magazine distributed at over 1,000 outlets across North Wales, the North West and the West Midlands. Its health section covers both mainstream and complementary medicine, with high-quality and informative articles.

Therese’s column will run for at least the next 6 issues of the magazine. Please click here to take a look at her first issue.

Alternatively, visit the Yattar Yattar website at www.yattaryattar.co.uk

…There came from out of the east, three wise men…

Christmas time is here and we prepare to celebrate according to our beliefs – either the birth of Jesus Christ, or for the non-Christians, Yuletide which celebrates the returning light once we pass the shortest day at the winter solstice.

The story of the Nativity includes the tale of the three wise men from the East who brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the new-born king. Precious gifts indeed – all valuable both in a monetary sense and in their usefulness.  I wonder if you, like me, have heard this tale year after year without really thinking: why those particular substances? Gold of course is universally accepted as a valuable metal and a currency, but only since being a herbalist have I really understood the value of frankincense and myrrh. Most people are at least vaguely aware that they are used in embalming, so their association with death has been recounted, but how many people know of their use in medicine I wonder?

The Welcome Library has an article from last year (http://wellcomelibrary.blogspot.com/2010/12/gold-frankincense-and-myrrh.html) which recounts how scientists are now investigating the potential uses of these two tree resins in medicine, which is very interesting. Herbalists have been using them for a long time and they are in regular use in our dispensary at Healing Thyme.

Some of you may have read my news piece in the summer where I wrote about my experiences of working on the herbal first aid team at the Green Gathering festival. Possibly the most frequently used remedy in festival first aid work is myrrh, or Commiphora molmol to give it its Latin name. As an antiseptic it is unrivalled, and since it also has astringent and healing properties, it can help to control bleeding and promote healing. Myrrh tincture is applied to all wounds, infected scratches, insect bites etc, and we have never seen one go on to become infected, despite the often unsanitary conditions which prevail at festivals. It does sting a bit, so we dilute it with witch-hazel when treating small children. It is also applied to fungal infections, either as a tincture or as a powder or paste.

The antiseptic properties can be employed internally, although the bitter taste needs to be disguised with some other nicer-tasting herbs usually! I sometimes add myrrh tincture to my elderberry remedy to spice it up and increase its antiseptic properties.

Frankincense, as you will see if you read the Welcome Library blogspot, has shown promise in several of the ‘auto-immune, connective tissue’ type of disorders such as arthritis, Crohn’s disease and asthma. The Latin name for frankincense is Boswellia carterii and it has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries under the name of Ru xiang. You may have seen frankincense if you’ve been in Healing Thyme looking for Christmas gifts, as we have small bags of the resin for use with incense burners – it is what is used in the ‘higher’ churches, when you see a priest swinging a censer with clouds of sweet-smelling smoke emanating from it – the dried resin is burned on a block of burning charcoal.

And what of gold? Of course it is a valuable metal in its own right, but is also used in medicine, although not in herbal medicine. Frankincense and myrrh, being resins obtained from trees, are of course part of the herbal ‘materia medica’, whereas gold is a metal mined from the earth and not ‘herbal’ at all. It is used in modern medicine however, in several ways including detection of some cancers and by injection into inflamed and damaged joints.

So it seems the wise men really were wise, bringing gifts which could aid healing as well as demonstrate the high esteem of the giver by being extremely valuable.

Perhaps you have someone you’d like to show your esteem for – why not give them gold, frankincense and myrrh this Christmas? Gold could be something gold-coloured if you’re unable to go to the expense of gold jewellery, but frankincense as a burning incense, and myrrh tincture or powder to put in a first aid kit can be obtained easily from Healing Thyme.

Just a thought…………………..!

I thought I’d tell you a bit about some herbal work I’ve been doing during the summer over the last 5 or 6 years.

Having never been to a festival in my life, I went to the Big Green Gathering for the first time in 2006 to join the herbal first aid team, run by a colleague who has done festival herbal first aid for many years. My Glastonbury veteran son was highly amused that his mum was going to her first festival at the grand old age of 50-plus!

This year, the Green Gathering was in Chepstow, right next to the racecourse, and for the first time we were the only medical team on site.

We had a team of around 15 herbalists with 12 student herbalists and assorted other people for background support (thanks Jim for some great food!). We had two ambulance technicians attached to our team, and worked as usual in a big tent (think M.A.S.H!) with our herbal dispensary in a small caravan.

Working 5 hour shifts during the day and 9 hours overnight, we worked in teams of 5 (supervisor, 2 other herbalists and 2 students) and we dealt with up to100 emergencies each day. The workload was extremely varied, with the usual range of cuts, bruises, sprains, burns, diarrhoea, constipation, nausea (and hangovers!), but also included a case of suspected mumps (which we had to notify to the local health authority), a champagne cork in the eye, a baby with croup (we made a steam tent inside our treatment tent!), impacted gallstones, someone with a lip stud pulled through the lip, and a broken arm. We sent 4 people to hospital and were very grateful for the able assistance of the two ambulance men, who in turn said they were extremely impressed with the range of things we could treat successfully with our herbs. A really good learning experience on both sides!

If I had to choose one herb to keep in the first aid box, it would be myrrh tincture (Commiphora molmol). Applied to wounds, it is strongly antiseptic, astringent (so helps stop bleeding) and resinous, so aids healing. In years of festival first aid (mud, more mud, smelly horrible toilets and few washing facilities), myrrh tincture has proved its worth over and over again in preventing infection and assisting quick healing. No wonder it was one of the gifts of the three wise men – it really is invaluable.

Contact Alison on 07870 839490 or at info@unicornherbs.co.uk

For more information about the Green Gathering, go to www.greengathering2011.com

We’ve been delighted with the success of our Bra Bank and are continuing to collect unwanted bras to raise money for The Haven in Hereford.

We collect bras in ANY CONDITION, and the Bra Bank is large enough to put a carrier inside and just shake your bras out. No-one sees them so please don’t feel embarrassed if you’ve finally decided to say goodbye to that old and trusted friend, the comfy bra you’ve had for years!

We are very proud to be supporting The Haven, their centre in Hereford welcomes people with and beyond breast cancer from all over the country including Shropshire. They offer a free individualised programme to help with the physical and emotional effects of breast cancer treatment including emotional support, exercise, nutrition advice and complementary therapies.

If you or someone you know is interested in their service, please just give them a ring – there is no need for a referral, and they will be delighted to take your call on 01432 361061. You can book an individual appointment or they also have regular Introduction Days – full details including how to book are on their website.

For anyone living too far from a Haven, there are films and audio podcasts you can access from home and they offer telephone consultations with a counsellor and nutritionist.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO BRING IN YOUR OLD BRAS AND SPREAD THE WORD AMONG YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES

For further information about all their services, please see: www.thehaven.org.uk

Jackie Vaughan
Practice Manager

A big THANK YOU to all our customers and friends who supported Jackie in the Race for Life in Hereford on Sunday 17th July. Jackie joined her Mum, sister Sarah and nieces Tabitha and Bethany, raising over £600 for Cancer Research UK.

Nearly 2000 girls and women of all ages ran (or walked!) 5 km around Hereford racecourse, with plenty of supporters in the stands to cheer them on. Despite early cloud and drizzle the sun came out and the course was a sea of pink. Some people ran in fancy dress and one daring young woman walked the course on stilts!

Wyvern fm were on hand to take photos throughout the event, and everyone joined in a warm-up before runners, joggers and walkers started out in separate groups. At the finish there was plenty of ‘ra-ra’ from cheerleaders lining the final few yards of the course and Wyvern fm were on hand again to interview participants and get the crowd cheering.

For more photos go to www.wyvernfm.co.uk/photos?

Healing Thyme and all of our practitioners are delighted to offer a 10% discount on treatments and retail products to NHS employees on production of their NHSOnline discount card.

To find out more about this great offer from Healing Thyme, click here.

NHSOnline.net is a healthcare community website which reaches 1.7 NHS employees including medical, admin and catering staff. Employee discount cards are offered free to employees, and up to 4 family members can also obtain a card for a small fee.

There are over 5000 businesses listed in the scheme. Cardholders are able to search the discount site by service or product, company name, location or postcode, making it very easy to identify businesses in the scheme.

Any NHS employee wishing to obtain a card should go to:www.nhsonline.net

Please help us turn your old bras into brass for charity

Have you ever wondered what you should do with your old bras? Do they end up in the bin? Healing Thyme is collecting old bras to raise money for The Haven in Hereford, which helps people from all over the country, including people from Shropshire, who are affected by breast cancer.

The Haven’s programme helps people cope with the physical and emotional side effects of breasts cancer and includes counselling, complementary therapies and support and information for people before, during and after treatment – all of which is provided completely free of charge. Specialist nurses are on hand, and experts in nutrition, exercise and emotional support provide tailor-made programmes for every visitor. It costs on average £1000 to provide a programme for one visitor.

People who are not able to travel can have a telephone consultation with a Counsellor or Nutritionist and there are films and audio podcasts of some of their therapies that people can access from home.

All bras donated are recycled, and a donation is given for every kilo collected. Every penny of that donation goes to support the work of the Haven. Please talk to your friends and relatives and ask them to bring their old bras, in any condition, to our bra bank at Healing Thyme.

For more information on the Haven please visit their website at www.thehaven.org.uk. Anyone wanting to help with fund-raising should contact Lesley Leach, Community Fundraiser, on 01432 361050 or by email: lesley.leach@thehaven.org.uk

Our fund-raising effort begins on 1^st June and will run for 2 months.

Thank you for your support.

Jackie Vaughan
Practice Manager