Case report: treating diseases with external herb baths and fomentations

[Guest guest]

After a very frustrating exchange on this forum previously I decided to sign

off -- just didn't need the aggravation. However, I have been continuing to

receive the emails which I appreciate reading and not responding or

contributing. I feel that the following case of an unconventional but highly

cost effective and therapeutically way to administer Chinese herbs is worth

sharing with others. Michael Tierra

 

 

 

Report: I am treating a patient with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS),

she has so far lost speech, trouble swallowing or ingesting anything,

including liquids, tea, pills, powders, tinctures burn the throat. Her

tongue is shriveled. Over the years with the plethora of mostly worthless

herb books that have been published, the work of one author has always stuck

in my mind, Maurice Messague. Does anyone know anything about him other than

what is in his fascinating autobiography, Of Men And Plants? I highly

recommend his book " Health Secrets of Plants and Herbs " which seems to be

his major herbal.

 

To back up a bit I will relate one case of treating my mother over 25 years

ago when she had an operation where one kidney was removed (by mistake - but

that's another story) and she was hospital bound in South L.A. with severe

abdominal pain and swelling that the docs were not able to resolve. Fearing

some kind of internal abdominal infection, this meant a protracted hospital

stay. I wanted to give here some herbal tea to ease her discomfort and

hasten her dismissal. The hospital would not allow anything given that would

be ingested by mouth. So remembering some stories of Dr. Christopher and

Messague, who predicated his practice on external foot and hand baths in

herbal teas, I then said can I just give her a cloth soaked in herbs applied

to the abdomen. My intention was to use a combination of comfrey, ulmus and

echinacea. The hospital said what herb and I said slippery elm, thinking it

the most innocuous. They had me meet with their pharmacist who researched

the slippery elm and I actually learned from him that slippery elm is an

emmenagogue and could cause miscarriage. I never knew that before! Since

none of this applied to my mother he said it was alright. Well having been

given permission, I went ahead and brewed up slippery, comfrey root and

echinacea tea and in the evening applied a hot fomentation in the form of a

towel soaked in the tea over which was placed a heating pad.

 

In the morning, her pains were completely gone, the abdominal swelling was

down and they released her from the hospital.

 

Back to my ALS patient: I determined with TCM pattern diagnosis that her

particular form was caused or complicated by phlegm. Her pulse was soggy,

lots of phlegm in her mouth, she said she had phlegm all of her life, with

allergies and so forth. So I gave her a phlegm resolving formula with

variations called " Wen Dan Tang " . I gave it as a decoction. Her major

complaint which was tight jaw at night and grinding her teeth was easily

resolved by giving her a small dermal hammer with needles shallow needles to

lightly tap along her jaw before going to be at night. Of course, I did

complementary acupuncture, mostly doing a lot of governor meridian points

which seems to be needed for treating this condition. The next week her jaw

and tooth problem was completely remedied and she was happy. However, she

said she could not ingest the tea. I have given her 6 bags of the tea to

brew up and wondered what to do. She said she was considering having a tube

inserted into her stomach so she could take the tea.

 

Remembering my mother and Messegue who treated some of the most complex

diseases with 10 to 20 minute alternating food and hand baths morning and

evening. So with nothing to lose I suggested she brew up a couple of bags in

a gallon of water and do this for a week. The next week she reported that it

was the first time in her life that her sinuses were dry and she was very

pleased with the results.

 

I don't know of any other instance where a Chinese decoction, especially to

dry phlegm, was applied in the form of foot and hand baths.

 

Judging only from this one case, I think the results were more effective

that if the herbs were ingested by mouth and far more economical since a

brewing of one batch can be reused by heating it up according to Messegue

for 8 days without refrigeration. I know he used to make up a gallon of the

prescribed tea and then sell it to his patients weekly. Evidently he learned

this from his father and it is part of a French herbal tradition.

 

Michael Tierra

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I became aquainted with Maurice Messengue by reading his book in the 1970's. he

fought the medical profession because his diagnosis and treatments were

unorthodox, but he is well grounded in European herbal lore.

 

Maybe someone in France could tell us more about his legacy? I was fascinated by

his treatment of kidney problems thru herbal hand and footbaths.

 

Michael Tierra <mtierra wrote:

 

Report: I am treating a patient with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS),

she has so far lost speech, trouble swallowing or ingesting anything,

including liquids, tea, pills, powders, tinctures burn the throat. Her

tongue is shriveled. Over the years with the plethora of mostly worthless

herb books that have been published, the work of one author has always stuck

in my mind, Maurice Messague. Does anyone know anything about him other than

what is in his fascinating autobiography, Of Men And Plants? I highly

recommend his book " Health Secrets of Plants and Herbs " which seems to be

his major herbal.

 

To back up a bit I will relate one case of treating my mother over 25 years

ago when she had an operation where one kidney was removed (by mistake - but

that's another story) and she was hospital bound in South L.A. with severe

abdominal pain and swelling that the docs were not able to resolve. Fearing

some kind of internal abdominal infection, this meant a protracted hospital

stay. I wanted to give here some herbal tea to ease her discomfort and

hasten her dismissal. The hospital would not allow anything given that would

be ingested by mouth. So remembering some stories of Dr. Christopher and

Messague, who predicated his practice on external foot and hand baths in

herbal teas, I then said can I just give her a cloth soaked in herbs applied

to the abdomen. My intention was to use a combination of comfrey, ulmus and

echinacea. The hospital said what herb and I said slippery elm, thinking it

the most innocuous. They had me meet with their pharmacist who researched

the slippery elm and I actually learned from him that slippery elm is an

emmenagogue and could cause miscarriage. I never knew that before! Since

none of this applied to my mother he said it was alright. Well having been

given permission, I went ahead and brewed up slippery, comfrey root and

echinacea tea and in the evening applied a hot fomentation in the form of a

towel soaked in the tea over which was placed a heating pad.

 

In the morning, her pains were completely gone, the abdominal swelling was

down and they released her from the hospital.

 

Back to my ALS patient: I determined with TCM pattern diagnosis that her

particular form was caused or complicated by phlegm. Her pulse was soggy,

lots of phlegm in her mouth, she said she had phlegm all of her life, with

allergies and so forth. So I gave her a phlegm resolving formula with

variations called " Wen Dan Tang " . I gave it as a decoction. Her major

complaint which was tight jaw at night and grinding her teeth was easily

resolved by giving her a small dermal hammer with needles shallow needles to

lightly tap along her jaw before going to be at night. Of course, I did

complementary acupuncture, mostly doing a lot of governor meridian points

which seems to be needed for treating this condition. The next week her jaw

and tooth problem was completely remedied and she was happy. However, she

said she could not ingest the tea. I have given her 6 bags of the tea to

brew up and wondered what to do. She said she was considering having a tube

inserted into her stomach so she could take the tea.

 

Remembering my mother and Messegue who treated some of the most complex

diseases with 10 to 20 minute alternating food and hand baths morning and

evening. So with nothing to lose I suggested she brew up a couple of bags in

a gallon of water and do this for a week. The next week she reported that it

was the first time in her life that her sinuses were dry and she was very

pleased with the results.

 

I don't know of any other instance where a Chinese decoction, especially to

dry phlegm, was applied in the form of foot and hand baths.

 

Judging only from this one case, I think the results were more effective

that if the herbs were ingested by mouth and far more economical since a

brewing of one batch can be reused by heating it up according to Messegue

for 8 days without refrigeration. I know he used to make up a gallon of the

prescribed tea and then sell it to his patients weekly. Evidently he learned

this from his father and it is part of a French herbal tradition.

 

Michael Tierra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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