Sunday, September 29, 2013

Killing Pain

Pain killers are the number one prescribed medicine of the world today. But when I looked up some facts was astounded to see that Americans consume over 80% of the world’s pain killers. The article stated that we here in the states over 110 TONS of opiates for pain control are used every YEAR!
That statistical fact floored me. Think about that for a minute. Opiates are far and away the most addictive; dangerous drug to date and yet we're popping those pills like there's no tomorrow apparently. Not that this is the only pain medicine either; which blows my mind even more.

But let’s just stick with opiate pain meds here. Opiates are from the poppy family with the majority of the plants being grown for use in mostly Asian countries for legal and illegal distribution.
Heroin; Morphine, Codeine, Oxycodone (Oyxcontin) all fall under the beautiful if deadly flower of opium.
While there are many uses for pain medicine; and some of them are vital to immediate relief of pain; the dangers of its addictive qualities are what make it so bad.
After addiction the long term damage can happen almost without realizing it.

Here are some facts on opiates when used long term:
Addison's disease
Cardiovascular disease
Brain damage
Kidney and Liver damage
Depression including serotonin and taurine deficiency
Hyperalgesia (more pain)
Hormone disruption; including low sperm count and other infertility issues
Addiction and Death

Now while I do not discount someone's need for pain relief do have issue with use of these drugs for anything above emergency use.
There are many treatments for pain in the alternative world; but they involve finding the BASE of the pain and working on that rather than a band-aid approach to it.

How to stop pain naturally with Willow Bark Tincture


As an herbalist I'm always on the look out for lovely natural remedies for health issues. Most pain issues have an underlying cause but sometimes the cure can take weeks to fix. Most people are not willing to wait weeks to feel better.
So most would rather grab the Tylenol bottle to fix the sprained ankle; or the lower back pain from a weekend warrior session.

But this only works minimally and is not a great overall health fix in that it damages organs of the body.
So what to do to fix this?

A tincture is perfect! Tinctures are typically plants or plant parts steeped in alcohol to get the medicinal benefit from them. White willow bark is what aspirin USED to be made of; a great anti-inflammatory and great for those little aches and pains of every day life.

I buy a reputable quality dried White Willow Bark from an online source but you can get it from the tree. Just remember that it needs to be organic; not sprayed by anything at all.

Here is my recipe:

1/5 white willow bark to 4/5 grain alcohol such as vodka or brandy....cheap alcohol is fine.
A large quart jar; clean and dry with a lid
cheesecloth or a fine herbal strainer
brown or cobalt colored eye dropper jars
Labels

In the jar put about 1/5 of the jar to bark; fill up with the alcohol.
Shake vigorously for a minute and place in a cool dark place for about 2 to 3 months.
Strain through a strainer and pour into the clean dropper bottles as needed. Label and store in a clean dark place. Do not refrigerate; do not put near electricity or in sunlight.

To Use:
Put 30 to 60 drops into a glass of water as needed to stop pain. This can be done 4 times a day to elieviate pain.

*Note: this is a product that can thin blood so don't use with blood thinners and don't use with kids without a doctors ok.
http://www.bubblews.com/news/1234958-how-to-make-white-willow-bark-tincture-for-pain
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whitewillowtincture.jpg