[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
you wouldn't be writing in the first case!) remember
the elementary courtesy of (1) Providing ample re-
turn postage in the form of International Reply
Coupons. (2) Put you full name and address on your
letter, not merely on the back of the envelope.
European customs are different, and in England it is
the common practice to put the address of the sender
at the top right-hand side of the letter itself, because
English people toss out the envelope! (3) Do not get
impatient if you do not get a reply by return because
these firms are very busy firms, and, anyway, the
ordinary transmission from country to country takes a
certain amount of time.
When I am referring to a herb or treatment, then,
I will confine myself to that which can be obtained
from these two firms, and, of course, we will forget all
136
about the astrological part!
One of the most common queries I get is: My
husband is alcoholic. He is the kindest man alive
when he is sober, but that is becoming more and
more infrequent. I shall have to divorce him. What
do you advise?
It is a very sad, sad thing indeed that this business
of drink has been allowed to continue. Drink defin-
itely harms one s Overself, and if people did not drink
they would not become alcoholic! The alcoholic state
is not so much a vice as an illness, or dysfunction.
What happens is that the blood of the alcoholic-type
of person is defective, and it becomes very, very
greatly harmed by the action of alcohol. Blood cells
become changed, and a chemical change takes effect.
A person who is alcoholic is a very, very sick person
indeed, and no matter what anyone says, it is my
experience that there is no cure for the alcoholic, no
cure that is feasible. If a person is alcoholic he or she
would have to be confined to a desert island in the
hope that the blood might possibly become more
normal in time.
If it was generally recognized that the alcoholic was
a sick person with a blood disease, then doctors as a
whole might give them some research attention. With
adequate research there is every reason to suppose
that a cure could be found for this truly distressing
condition. The alcoholic drinks in order to live. He
has a compelling urge to drink because he senses that
there is something missing and there is. His blood is
different, and his blood can only be maintained by
the continued application of alcohol to the blood-
cells.
There are no herbs that can help the alcoholic. The
only way that one can help the alcoholic is for him to
enter a hospital, or other institution, where he can
receive constant supervision and constant attention.
Often a person is born alcoholic-prone. That means
137
that one of the parents or one of the grandparents has
been alcoholic, and so the person who is now born
alcoholic-prone has a blood condition which could
manifest itself after the intake of a certain amount of
alcohol. It might be a thimbleful of alcohol that is
required to trigger the reaction, or it might be a
quart, no one knows. But when the reaction has been
triggered there is no way of reversing it, and the
person, instead of being alcoholic-prone, is instead a
full-blown alcoholic.
It should be a law that alcoholics should register
with a Medical Board. And then the children or
grandchildren of an alcoholic parent or grandparent
should be warned never to touch alcohol. As long as
they don't touch the stuff they will, obviously, not be-
come alcoholic. So, in this case, prevention is the only
cure.
Alcoholics should not get married, and, as I have
just stated, they should enter a hospital or institution
so that they can be treated in accordance with any
new developments which have been discovered. But
let me say this in defense of the alcoholic; he is a sick
man. Yes, he becomes vicious at times, he becomes
uncaring, but he has a deadly illness, an insidious
illness, and it won't help him at all to rant on at him,
it will just drive him to desperation. Instead be firm
with him, and tell him that his cure lies in his own
hands by giving up alcohol. If he understands the
problem, and if he has any will-power left, he can do
much to alleviate the condition for example, suck
boiled sweets. That will help. So, that is the best I can
tell you about how to treat alcoholics.
A surprising number of people write about asthma.
Asthma can take various forms, and if a person has
asthma he should go and see the doctor, see the
General Practitioner, who will then, if necessary,
refer the patient to a specialist. There is bronchial
asthma, for example, and there are other forms of
138
asthma, and they can be alleviated by the necessary
medical or herbal treatment. I do not have Kiehl's
catalogue here, but I can tell you that Heath &
Heather have herbs for the relief of asthma, so there
is no problem in connection with that.
For those who are interested, hyssop is a very good
plant indeed for those afflicted with asthma. The best
place from which to obtain the hyssop herb is Italy,
because hyssop from Italy is more potent than from
anywhere else. The Old People took hyssop which
was boiled with a mixture of honey and rue, and then
they drank the stuff. It gave instant relief from coughs
and from shortness of breath and wheezing. Having
taken the mixture I am not going to tell you that it is
pleasant, but I will tell you that it works!
Another form of asthma is that of nervous origin.
Often children will get so enraged about something
that they will go purple in the face, and they will
have a real attack of shortness of breath followed by
wheezing. The startled parents will, of course, say,
Oh! He has a bad attack of asthma, get the doctor
quick! The child hears that, so whenever he gets in a
bad temper after he throws a fit of tantrums which
comes out as a fit of asthma. He learns that if he has
asthma all his sins are forgotten, or forgiven, and he
gets whatever he wants. Many children use asthma as
a weapon against parents. Often the first attack of
asthma occurs in early childhood, long before the
parents realize that the child can understand what
they are talking about although he has not yet
learned to talk himself. So, do not talk about such
things in front of small babies, and find out from your
doctor whether your asthma sufferer really has an
organic complaint or not. If he has cure him. If he
has not, then persuade him that he hasn't by abso-
lutely ignoring these tantrums.
Many elderly people send in letters about arthritis
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]