Are you looking for a different sort of health care? If you want to be treated as a whole person, not just a collection of symptoms, a visit to a herbalist could be what you need. If you need time to talk through everything that affects your health, instead of just being hustled out of the surgery door with yet another prescription, then come and see a herbalist.
I'm a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, the UK's largest professional body for herbalists. Members train for a minimum of three years, carry full insurance, and are bound by a code of ethics and a complaints procedure. If you need to find a herbalist, but do not live in or around Warrington, you can search their website www.nimh.org.uk to find your nearest practitioner.
It would not be possible to answer every possible question you might have on this site. So if you're not sure whether your condition is treatable with herbal medicine, either call me on 01925 860664 or e-mail me for confidential and impartial advice.
A really good holiday will do more for your health than just about anything else. However, being away from home, in a strange place, brings its own risks. Here are a few ideas for useful additions to your medical box.
Protect yourself from the bugs that can cause diarrhoea and vomiting by building up your defences in advance. Taking probiotics for a fortnight before your holiday, and while you are away, will build up your friendly bacteria and make life a lot harder for the unfriendly ones.
Stomach acid is your first defence against invaders. Drops of herbal bitters taken 15 minutes before a meal stimulate their production, and will also give you a healthy appetite.
If you should be unlucky enough to be unwell, a good emergency rehydration solution is:
1 level teaspoon of salt
8 level teaspoons of sugar
1 litre of clean drinking water e.g. cooled boiled water
Stir the salt and sugar into the water and drink as much as possible.
Painful or itching bites are always unwelcome. Taking Vitamin B1 for a week before you go, and while you are away, may make you smell less attractive to biting things. If you are bitten, a drop or two of Echinacea tincture (drops you’d take in winter to prevent a cold) on the bite will prevent it from spreading, and can soothe the itch as well.
Member of National Institute of Medical Herbalists