The Green Pharmacy for Pain

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The " Green Pharmacy " for Pain

 

The " Green Pharmacy " for Pain JoAnn Guest Aug 04,

2005 12:37 PDT

 

--

 

 

The worst pain I ever had was caused by a slipped

disk. It was just

like

the pain I'd experienced from time to time with

gout--unbearable. My

doctor did what doctors do: He gave me potentially

addictive pain pills

and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. I took more

drugs for that

slipped disk than I'd ever taken in my life. I also

took more herbs

than

I'd ever previously taken, trying to minimize the side

effects of the

pharmaceuticals.

 

Doctors recognize two kinds of pain, acute and

chronic. Acute pain

comes

on suddenly, typically subsides with time and usually

is alleviated

with

common pain relievers. Examples would be a headache or

the pain of an

injury. Chronic pain may begin as acute pain, but it

lasts much

longer--months or even years--and often cannot be

relieved using

standard therapies. Those with chronic pain often wind

up in a personal

hell. Their pain can make them depressed, and with

depression the pain

may become worse and be more

difficult to treat.

 

If you have persistent pain, see a doctor for a

diagnosis. Once the

cause has been figured out, rational treatment becomes

possible. But

if,

like many people who have chronic pain, you don't get

a clear diagnosis

and your pain goes on and on, I'd suggest consulting a

pain clinic.

These medical clinics, which are relative newcomers to

the health-care

scene, use a variety of drugs and alternative

approaches to help you

control your pain even if you can't completely

eliminate it. Among the

alternative approaches used in some pain clinics are

exercise,

meditation and biofeedback.

 

Green Pharmacy for Pain

 

There are also a number of herbs that can help.

 

Clove (Syzygium aromaticum). Dentists around the

country recommend

clove

oil as first aid for toothache, and in fact, it's what

my mother used

to

give me for toothache. It works, and its use is

endorsed by Commission

E, the group that advises the German gonvernment on

herbal medicine.

You

apply this oil directly to the painful tooth.

 

Red pepper (Capsicum, various species). Red pepper

contains

pain-relieving salicylates, chemicals that are similar

to salicin, the

herbal equivalent of aspirin. In fact, red pepper once

ranked as the

best food-grade source of salicylates, although a new

study has

downgraded it considerably. This herb also contains

capsaicin, a

compound that stimulates the release of the body's

natural painkillers,

called endorphins.

 

Some folks like the spicy taste of red pepper. I know

I do. I suggest

using more of this wonderful spice in your cooking.

 

Capsaicin also works when used externally by

interfering with substance

P, a pain transmitter in the skin. So many studies

have shown benefits

from applying capsaicin externally that the Food and

Drug

Administration

approved pain-relieving skin creams containing 0.025

percent capsaicin

(Zostrix, Capzasin-P) for the treatment of arthritis

and rheumatism.

(If

you use a capsaicin cream, be sure to wash your hands

thoroughly

afterward: You don't want to get it in your eyes.

Also, since some

people are quite sensitive to this compound, you

should test it on a

small area of skin to make sure that it's okay for you

to use before

using it on a larger area. If it seems to irritate

your skin,

discontinue use.)

 

Willow (Salix, various species). Willow bark contains

salicin. In fact,

most plants contain some salicin or related

salicylates. Just 100 years

ago, aspirin was derived from several plants that

contain more of these

compounds than most: willow, meadowsweet and

wintergreen. When

medicines

have been in short supply during wartime, doctors in

some countries

have

successfully gone back to using willow bark for pain

relief.

 

Commission E recognizes willow bark as an effective

pain reliever for

everything from headache to arthritis.

 

For many kinds of pain relief, I'd start with about a

half-teaspoon of

salicin-rich willow bark or up to as much as five

teaspoons of white

willow (S. alba), which has a lower salicin

concentration. Of course,

not everyone knows which species they have, and

salicin content varies

from species to species. So I'd suggest starting with

a low-dose tea

and

working your way up to a dose that provides effective

pain relief.

 

If you're allergic to aspirin, you probably shouldn't

take aspirin-like

herbs, either. Also, you should not give either

aspirin or its natural

herbal alternatives to children who have pain with

viral infections

such

as colds or flu. There's a chance that they might

develop Reye's

syndrome, a potentially fatal condition that damages

the liver and

brain.

 

Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis). This herb is one

of our best

sources of the amino acid tryptophan. In studies,

tryptophan

supplements

have reduced pain caused by acute and chronic illness

and also

increased

people's ability to tolerate pain. Naturopaths often

recommend taking

one gram of evening primrose oil four times a day to

relieve the pain

and nerve damage of diabetic neuropathy, a

particularly painful

condition that sometimes develops in people with

diabetes. I'd suggest

taking powdered seeds instead, because evening

primrose loses much of

its tryptophan in the oil-extraction process.

 

Ginger (Zingiber officinale). Few people think of

ginger as a pain

reliever, but it is. In one study, researchers

recruited 56 people--28

with rheumatoid arthritis, 18 with osteoarthritis and

10 with the

painful muscle condition fibromyalgia--and gave them

two to four

teaspoons of powdered ginger a day. After three

months, more than 75

percent reported significant pain relief with no side

effects.

 

You can also use ginger externally. Hot ginger

compresses seem to help

relieve abdominal cramps, headache and joint

stiffness. I'd suggest

adding hot pepper to these compresses.

 

Kava kava (Piper methysticum). This tropical herb

contains two

pain-relieving chemicals, dihydrokavain and

dihydromethysticin, which

have analgesic effectiveness comparable to that of

aspirin. Although

kava kava has been described as a narcotic, it is

nonaddictive. When

you

chew the leaf, your mouth goes numb. As a result, this

plant might be

used to relieve the painful symptoms of sore throat,

sore gums, canker

sores or even toothache.

 

Lavender (Lavandula, various species). Lavender oil is

aromatherapy's

top treatment for pain, and in fact, this oil was in

on the ground

floor

of aromatherapy's beginnings. In the 1920s,

aromatherapy's founder,

French perfume chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé,

happened to burn his

hand in a laboratory accident. Plunging his hand into

the nearest cool

liquid, lavender oil, Gattefossé experienced rapid

relief. Since then,

researchers have discovered that some essential oils

reduce the flow of

nerve impulses, including those that transmit pain. In

lavender oil,

the

key constituents appear to be linalool and linalyl

aldehyde.

 

You can mix a few drops of lavender oil in a

tablespoon of vegetable

oil

and massage it into the painful area.

 

Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum). This herb is

high in pulegone, a

chemical similar to capsaicin that also has

pain-relieving effects. I

suggest making a tasty tea, then using the spent

leaves (or fresh ones)

as a poultice on painful areas. (Don't use this

treatment if you are

pregnant, however.)

 

 

Analgetea

 

Here's a pain-relieving herbal blend to keep on hand:

willow bark, red

pepper, cloves, ginger, peppermint and mountain mint.

Just mix

whichever

of these herbs are available in proportions that

appeal to your taste.

You can use this mixture to make a tea whenever you

feel the need, or

you can make a poultice to apply directly to painful

areas.

 

 

 

Peppermint (Mentha piperita). Menthol, the active

constituent in

peppermint, has anesthetic effects. In one study,

scientists asked 32

people who had headaches to massage tincture of

peppermint oil on their

temples. This had significant pain-relieving effects.

But if you try

peppermint oil, be sure to dilute it by adding a few

drops to a couple

of tablespoons of any vegetable oil. Pure peppermint

oil can be

irritating to the skin. And never ingest the oil; a

very small amount

can be toxic.

 

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus). Sunflower seeds are

among the best

sources of phenylalanine, a chemical involved in pain

control. Studies

suggest that phenylalanine helps reduce pain by

inhibiting the

breakdown

of enkephalins, chemicals involved in pain perception.

In studies with

both humans and animals, phenylalanine makes

acupuncture more effective

at reducing pain. In laboratory rats, the chemical

enhanced the effect

of morphine and made it last longer.

 

If I were in pain, I'd eat a handful of sunflower

seeds--I'm a habitual

seed muncher anyhow--and use ground seeds in a

poultice on painful

areas.

 

Turmeric (Curcuma longa). Many clinical studies agree

that the curcumin

in turmeric has anti-inflammatory effects, including a

significant

beneficial effect in relieving rheumatoid arthritis.

But it takes more

than a shake of the spice jar to gain this benefit.

The dose

naturopaths

recommend is 400 milligrams three times a day. To get

that much, you'd

have to consume at least one-third of an ounce of this

herb. So if

you'd

like to try turmeric for pain, I'd suggest taking

capsules, even if you

have to make your own. (Empty gelatin capsules can be

purchased at

health food stores.)

 

Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus). Aromatherapists

often suggest adding

eucalyptus oil to the pain-relieving essential oils of

lavender and

peppermint. The compound cineole, which is found in

eucalyptus, speeds

absorption of the other aromatic pain relievers

through the skin.

Remember, though, that these oils are best reserved

for external use

only.

 

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis). Commission E

recommends using two to

three teaspoons of dried rosemary to make a cup of

pain-relieving tea.

For a bath that will certainly relax you and may

provide pain relief,

fill a cloth bag with two ounces of rosemary and toss

it into your

bathwater.

 

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_________________

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

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