Butterfly-weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is the pleurisy-root of America, where it has a considerable reputation as an article of the materia medica. It is an expectorant, a mild cathartic, and a diaphoretic, and is employed in incipient pulmonary affections, rheumatism, and dysentery. Research Butterfly-Weed
Colchicum is a genus of autumnal-blooming plants of the family Liliaceae which includes the meadow saffron. Many of them are very handsome, the colours being mostly purple or white, and the flowers similar to crocuses. The colchicums are natives of southern Europe and western Asia.
From a small corm or bulb buried about 15 cm deep, and covered with a brittle brown skin of the meadow saffron there rises in the early autumn a tuft of flowers having much the appearance of crocuses, flesh-coloured, white, or even variegated. They soon wither, and the plant disappears until the succeeding spring, when some broad leaves are thrown up by each corm along with a triangularoblong seed-vessel. The plant is acrid and poisonous, and cattle are injured by eating it, but it yields a medicine - colchicin - valuable in gout and rheumatism. Research Colchicum
Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is a poisonous biennialherb of the family Umbelliferae supposed to be identical with the plant koneion of the Greeks.. It is a tall, erect, branching biennial, with a smooth, shining, hollow stem usually marked with purple spots. It has elegant, much divided leaves which when bruised emit a nauseous odour. The flowers are white in compound umbels of ten or more rays surrounded by a general involucre of three to seven leaflets.
Hemlock is found in Britain and throughout Europe and temperate Asia in waste places, banks, and under walls. It is said to be fatal to cows when they eat it, but that horses, goats, and sheep may feed upon it without danger. In the human subject it causes paralysis, convulsions, and death. The poison administered to Socrates is supposed to have been a decoction of it, though others are of opinion that the potion was obtained from water-hemlock (Cicuta virosa).
Hemlock is a powerful sedative, and is used medicinally. The extract is considered the best preparation. It was formerly used as a substitute for, or as an accompaniment to opium. It has been found very useful in chronic rheumatism and in hooping-cough, in allaying the pain of irritable sores and cancerous ulcers. The virtues of hemlock reside in an alkaline principle termed coma or coniine. Research Hemlock
In Australian Aborigine mythology, Moolgewanke is the bunyip. A monster, half-man and half-fish with a matted crop of reeds in place of hair. The far off booming sound often heard is attributed to him and is said to bring rheumatism to those that hear it. Research Moolgewanke
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine that has been used in China for several thousands of years. The procedure has its roots in ancient Chinese philosophy, the belief that man is one with the universe and that all life is permeated with the life giving energy of chi. Part of this belief is that all of our experiences have opposites, such as hot and cold, day and night. These opposites are referred to as Yin and Yang. They merge and complement one another through out life, creating a balance. When the forces are in balance a person is in good health. When the forces are not in balance, disease may occur. Acupuncture is a method used to restore the balance in life. In the 1960's a team of doctors from the West were invited by Mao Tse-tung to visit China and investigate the technique of acupuncture. Although it is often thought of as alternative medicine, it has been surprisingly successful in the treatment of many ailments where more conventional methods have not been successful.
Acupuncture is most often used to treat rheumatism, backache, and headaches. Doctors are still unable to explain the mystery of why and how it works, although there are several theories. Although acupuncture can be successful, when not practiced properly it can cause infection and nerve, vessel, or organ damage. It is important to carefully choose your acupuncturist. Inquire whether the acupuncturist has been formally trained and is experienced. Research Acupuncture
In medicine, a bursa is a fiber sac around the joints between some tendons and the bones under them. Bursae are lined with a membrane that releases synovial fluid from the joint spaces, the bursa acts as a small cushion that allows the tendon as it contracts and relaxes to move over the bone. When the membrane becomes swollen or damaged the condition is known as bursitis or popularly rheumatism. Research Bursa
Bursitis (rheumatism) is the swelling of the connective tissue (bursa) surrounding a joint, characterised typically by severe pain in the joint, particularly when it is moved. Research Bursitis
Cajeput Oil is a volatile oil distilled from the leaves of the cajeput tree. It is a bluish-green liquid with a strong penetrating odour. It is applied externally as a counter-irritant for chilblains, myalgia and rheumatism, and is used internally as a carminative for gastro-intestinal troubles. Research Cajeput Oil
Abbreviations
Research Butterfly-Weed
