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The Nature Doctor
Helpful health advice
Alfred Vogel, Apostroph Bern AG
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eBook - ePub
The Nature Doctor
Helpful health advice
Alfred Vogel, Apostroph Bern AG
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About This Book
* The health guide that no family should be missing* Now even more up-to-date: the revised and commented edition* 40 colour pictures and line drawings, headbandThe Nature Doctor - proven a million times The valuable advice of "The Nature Doctor", first published in 1952, has proven its worth a million of times over the decades and is convincing thanks to its simple language that can be understood by everyone. Now the classic work of naturopathy is available in the new, 74th edition: updated, beautifully designed, with over 140 comments. The successful 860-page book "The Nature Doctor" is considered one of the standard works of modern naturopathy. It was first published in 1952 and has since been translated into 12 languages and more than two million copies were sold. Revised and commented edition.The Nature Doctor - for the whole family, for every medicine chest From A like abdominal disorder to Z like zinc - "The Nature Doctor" is a comprehensive compendium and a colourful summary of valuable experience in Swiss natural and folk medicine. In the first 400 pages of his classic Alfred Vogel deals with specific health issues for healthy and sick days. Which plant helps with which complaints? Which nutrition supports which organ best? From head to toe, the book contains a wealth of tips and advice on how which health problem can be treated naturally. Furthermore, the book is dedicated to specific plants, naturopathic methods, diets and cures. The focus is on the following: * Plant portraits* Wild fruits* A small selection from the world of homeopathy* Some substances of biochemistry* Seasonings* Different cures and their application* Nutritional topics
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MedicinePart I
Some sample treatments to try out
âCan I really trust your simple natural remedies?â you may ask at first. âWill they encourage me to consult you whenever I am in need?ââ
âOf course,â The Nature Doctor replies, âtry them and see for yourself!â
Burns
Treat burns immediately by immersing the affected part of the body in cold water. Apply cold compresses to other parts of the body. Cover the burn with a dressing, or larger areas with a clean linen sheet, until medical help can be obtained. To avoid infection, do not ever puncture any blisters. Third-degree burns require immediate medical attention to prevent complications. For minor burns, St Johnâs wort oil has proven an effective remedy.
Wounds
Minor lacerations and small wounds which prove difficult to heal can be treated successfully in a simple manner. The best cleansing agent for wounds is concentrated whey. Then dust the wound with natural biological calcium powder, followed by a quark poultice for two nights. If you do not have any quark at hand, soak some wheat grain or bran in raw milk. The soft grains then need to be minced and applied to the wound. This cleanses the wound. After two days, dust the wound once again with an Urtica-calcium preparation, then apply crushed Savoy cabbage leaves. Cabbage leaf poultices have proven more effective than many modern remedies. If legs are discoloured blue or black or noticeably changed because of venous congestion, swelling or discoloration, and if every treatment seems to have failed, you must not lose patience but continue regular treatment with crushed cabbage leaf poultices for weeks or even months. Their healing effect will provide alleviation even in severe cases, and may ultimately result in a complete cure.
Inflammation of the eyes
Do you know what can help if someone in your family suffers from an inflammation of the eye, having stayed out too long in the snow or in the sun on the water while rowing? No, and you wonât know either what to do when eyes burn at night? Very simple, you just need an egg and use the egg white. You beat it lightly, spread it on a cloth, and gently bandage the eyes with it. The strong burning sensation will subside, and your patient will be able to sleep. It is more than likely that by the morning the inflammation will have abated, if not disappeared altogether. If no egg is available, quark or even a piece of raw meat (veal, beef or chicken) will achieve similar results. These well-proven remedies can be used depending on the situation you find yourself in. This is also an excellent treatment for sun blindness, caused on high mountain tours by the intense reflection of sunlight from snow and ice.
Colds
A âstreaming coldâ is best treated with onions (Allium cepa). Dip a slice of freshly cut onion into a glass of hot water. Remove the onion after only one or two seconds, and sip this water throughout the day. This is also an excellent remedy for spring colds. In addition, if you place half an onion on your bedside table so that you inhale its odour while sleeping, this alleviates your runny nose and your susceptibility to developing a catarrh. An onion poultice applied to the neck during the night is equally effective. Another way to help rid yourself of a cold is by sniffing up salt water, lemon juice, or a natural Urtica-calcium preparation.
Catarrh
Perhaps you are prone to frequent colds and often suffer from catarrh. Perhaps there is a pine, larch, a dwarf mountain pine or any other coniferous species in your garden. There are always buds on these trees in various stages of growth, in preparation for the next year. Take some of these buds and chew them slowly and thoroughly throughout the day, replacing them with fresh ones from time to time. You will see that the catarrh will disappear within a few days. So, when you are skiing or out for a walk, just remember to make use of this simple remedy. Before retiring at night, dip a cloth in edible oil, wrap it around your neck, and keep your neck nice and warm with a woollen scarf. This will make the need to cough disappear.
Hoarseness
If you only suffer from hoarseness, the mountain ash or rowan tree in your garden will help. If you have not got one, your neighbour may, or you might remember having seen one on one of your walks. You may also want to be on the lookout for the pimpernel plant if you havenât already collected some of its roots during the warmer seasons. Both rowan berries and pimpernel root, fresh or dried, can be chewed to combat hoarseness. Let the juice act on the throat by keeping it in your mouth for as long as possible and mixing it well with the saliva. This simple treatment makes hoarseness disappear in no time at all. You do not need to use both remedies together; either one on its own will no doubt help you, because both are amongst the best remedies for hoarseness.
Chilblains and cold feet
Have you ever wondered what causes these two unpleasant companions? They would not trouble you if you had seen to it that your vascular system, particularly the veins, were kept free from congestion. But if you suffer from them already, alternating hot and cold foot baths can help. Begin by immersing your feet in a warm foot bath, then change to a cold one. Only remain in the cold water for as many seconds as the minutes you stayed in the warm bath. In other words, if you keep your feet in the warm water for two or three minutes, leave them in the cold one for only two or three seconds. Repeat this procedure six to eight times. Finish off with cold water, rub your feet vigorously with a towel and then apply a little oil (preferably St Johnâs wort oil) if possible. This will soon eliminate the circulation impairment.
A much older but lesser known method of improving circulation is that of walking barefoot in the snow. If you have a balcony which becomes covered with snow in winter, you have the ideal location for this. This is similar to treading cold water, familiar from the Kneipp method. You can increase this snow treading gradually, by doing it for only ten seconds to start with, then 30 seconds, and ultimately even two to three minutes. However, you must take care not to inflict damage upon yourself, but ensure only to stay for as long as you can bear it without getting chilled. After this exercise, return to your warm bed without first drying your feet. You can repeat this on several mornings. If you have no balcony, go outside in warm slippers or well-lined clogs, bare your feet quickly and start treading around in the snow, preferably fresh snow. If at all possible, dry your feet vigorously with a towel before replacing your footwear to go back inside. Again, this treatment should be repeated for several days in a row, and you will be surprised to see how the chilblains disappear.
In order to prevent a return of the problem every winter, soak your feet regularly during the summer months in thyme or hay-flower water, and walk barefoot to toughen up (for at least 20 minutes).
You can also rub your feet with a lemon. Let it dry naturally, and then apply oil, ideally olive oil.
If you live in the mountains or near a place where cheese is made, you may be able to obtain whey for footbaths. Sour whey has a more powerful action than sweet whey. These summer-time footbaths can also be taken in winter as an alternative to the alternating hot and cold baths or to snow-treading. These baths should always be kept at blood temperature (37 °C/98.6 °F) by adding hot water whenever necessary. Of course, these baths can always be taken with a decoction of herbs. After the bath, which should take about half an hour, the feet should be rubbed with a lemon. Finally, apply a poultice of crushed cabbage leaves and leave this on overnight. This treatment is also effective against chilblains.
Tired feet and legs
If you often have tired feet and legs, finding them slightly swollen at the end of the day, bathe them in water used for boiling potatoes or vegetables. You can follow this with a hot salt wrap by âroastingâ some salt, putting it quickly onto a cloth, which you then promptly wrap around your feet. If you do this in the evenings for only a few days, you will see that the tiredness in your feet will abate. If you have some hay flowers or other herbs at hand, prepare a decoction and add the salt. This salty herbal foot bath will also help you get rid of the tiredness, as well as relieving any burning sensation in the feet. Swollen feet, especially swollen ankles, can be a sign of heart trouble, but The Nature Doctor will deal with this in another section. If you have sea salt, use that, because it is even more effective than table salt.
Haemorrhages and haemophilia
If you know someone who frequently suffers from heavy nosebleeds or who is a bleeder, your special advice will be welcome, as it is important to know what to do when the bleeding cannot be stopped because the blood doesnât clot. This can be a serious problem if you donât know that applying a piece of fresh raw chicken is the only natural remedy to stop the bleeding if it is caused by haemophilia. However, if it is only a temporary problem, there is a cure for it, a herb called tormentil, but The Nature Doctor will tell you about that a little further down.
Calcium deficiency
From time to time, you may need to advise mothers whose children have bad teeth and weak bones. They suffer from calcium deficiency, because they do not really thrive and are prone to catching colds. If you are looking for a cheap, completely natural, good calcium preparation, you can make it yourself. As we all know, stinging nettles can be found anywhere, if not directly around the house or in the garden, then somewhere close by. You will have seen them when you are out for a walk, and you should pick the young plants for preference. Egg shells can generally be found in most kitchens. If you live close to a river or the sea, you may be able to get some oyster shells. These shells can be crushed with the young stinging nettles, and a pinch of the light-green, air-dried powder thus produced can then be taken two to three times a day. Over a few months, the teeth will improve, and after several years, they will be strong thanks to this simple remedy; the bones will also be stronger and more robust, and the susceptibility to colds will be significantly reduced. If you donât want to go to all the effort of preparing the powder yourself, you can use the Urtica-calcium preparation, a finished product that also contains a stinging nettle trituration.
Vein inflammation
If your friend or neighbour complains about an acute inflammation of a vein, she can very effectively control it with alcohol wraps. However, you need to make sure to add some drops of arnica, yarrow or Hypericum tincture to the alcohol. Once the acute inflammation has abated a little, start with clay wraps and later with cabbage leaf poultices. A change in diet at the same time doubles the benefit, because the inflammation abates much faster. The advice is to go for natural food, as much plant-based as possible, and, most importantly, to drink plenty of raw juices. Anyone with a tendency to overeat is well advised to reduce the amount to a minimum. This also helps the inflammation to abate from the inside.
Abdominal disorders
Girls and women frequently suffer from venous congestion in the abdomen. Here, too, water treatments are very beneficial. A hip bath should be taken once or twice a week to combat these disorders. This is not only beneficial for childbirth and the offspring, but also for the menopause. The body responds to such regular care with far fewer problems during this critical period.
Hypertension and arteriosclerosis
(High blood pressure and hardening of the arteries)
If older people suffer from high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries, the primary focus should be a change in their diet. Instead of eggs, cheese, pulses and plenty of meat, they should eat dishes with buckwheat and brown rice, as both of these products have a blood pressure-lowering effect. Buckwheat can be prepared in the same way as brown rice. There are various ways of preparation; it just requires a bit of imagination and inventiveness to create variety despite such a diet. These dishes that have to be kept very low in salt, thus seasoned with natural innocuous kitchen herbs; they can be served with plenty of raw salads, dressed with lemon, whey or oil, but never with vinegar. All hot and harmful spices have to be avoided. This diet can be followed by gently steamed vegetables that do not cause bloating. In springtime, ramsons (wild garlic) salad and steamed ramsons are an excellent choice. It is closely related to garlic, and the latterâs beneficial effect on high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries is well known. Mistletoe1 and hawthorn are also excellent helpers, but this information rather comes under herbal medicine. By contrast, ramson wine can easily be made at home, if sufficient ramson is gathered on springtime walks and steeped in spirit, as you would for any liqueur. If you follow this advice strictly, you will surely achieve a success.
Heart problems
If your heart does not work well, make sure that you always have some currants or raisins in your pocket, and chew them slowly while you work. Your heart muscles will thank you for it. Chewing fresh rosemary tips first thing in the morning is also good for the heart.
If you suffer from persistent heart pain, a tea from walnut septum can give fast relief, unless the heart condition is serious. Walnut septa are the woody partitions inside the walnuts; they are boiled for a few minutes and then covered and left to brew for about 10 minutes. The tea calms quickly, and, if taken regularly, the pains...