Now darlings, it’s very interesting to hear such positivity coming through the comments about this product, Bach’s Rescue Remedy.
PeaceBang studied herbalism pretty seriously in the late 1980’s and early 90’s as part of her Wiccan foray but never did fully grasp the concept of homeopathic herbalism, so could someone please ‘splain it to me?
PeaceBang knows that herbs are serious things not to be messed with. She remembers a time in divinity school when she was drinking witchy healing concoctions with impunity and wound up putting her health in serious danger at least once. She has also many times successfully treated coughs, colds, flus and other ailments with herbals and of course we all know they’re simply yummy in food and even in the bath. And if anyone knows an herbal remedy for PeaceBang’s terribly itching hands, please do share, they’re driving me CRAZY as a bedbug (the itching isn’t external, it feels internal, if that makes any sense — please don’t tell me this is a symptom of some horrible disease. PeaceBang is a secret hypochondriac as it is and has already self-diagnosed herself with lupus and several forms of cancer).
But ANYWAY, when I took Bach’s Rescue Remedy back in the 90’s I felt that I would basically have to swallow 9-10 little bottles to get any effect because what is it, exactly? Little vibratory essences of flowers? Right? I mean, some gal in long braids trips out to the field humming “Sunshine” by John Denver and harvests a bunch of flowers at the moment the dew is just drying up on the buds and brings them inside and waves them over a pot of distilled water and they sell the stuff at $9 a half ounce or something, am I right? I don’t want to be cynical or disrespectful, but how is this supposed to help my frangled nerves? Perhaps the fact that it’s 27% alcohol has something to do with its effectiveness, ja?
I’ve heard that this potion works on dogs and I’m glad about that, but how’er kin I feel to the doggie folk, I ain’t no canine.
PeaceBang welcomes your heartfelt defense of Bach’s Rescue Remedy and the whole concept of homeopathy. My itchy hands and I look forward to them. Also, if you’re a big fan feel free to send me some so I can review it.
All I can tell you about this product is that several times when I was verging on an anxiety attack it was given to me and it worked. Might have been the loving hand it was given by, it’s a mystery. So I don’t “believe” in homeopathy but I’d try this again.
Another thing this same wise woman gave me was a sort of self-accupressure routine of tapping around one’s face which was so effective for me that I started using it instead of the Rescue Remedy. [How does this work? Because I sometimes tap (okay, more like whap) my chest when anxiety comes on… Do you just make little tippy-tappies all over your face? -PB]
Blessings!
Christine
Oh, I swear by this stuff. My old massage therapist recomended it for me. The amount you use is so small, I don’t think the alcohol really has any effect.
Maybe any anxiety relief is like Dumbo’s feather, if you believe it works, it works.
My midwife gave me some of this when I was in labor and started freaking out (9 1/2 pound baby, size zero mama, no drugs). I felt relatively calm after I took it. Maybe it was a placebo thing. I don’t know.
I agree that the Bach flower story sounds mad. I don’t think the products should work at all. I suspect many of them don’t. But the only person I know who didn’t find Rescue Remedy helpful was the one who became so relaxed when she took it that she couldn’t stop laughing (right before an exam).
Forget the long braided women (and the long eared dogs)and give it a try.
Dear Peace Bang,
While I’m definitely not schooled enough to explain homeopathy to you, I can offer the following comments:
-Rescue Remedy and other Batch Essences have a subtle, yet noticeable effect – I’ve had good experiences with them for myself, family, etc.
-if you wish an alcohol-free format & more noticeable results, try: Hyland’s Calms Forte (homeopathic tablets) – excellent for anxiety, stress, insomnia, etc. Highly recommended by a lot of therapists, it contains no alcohol, can be taken with other meds, etc. I can find them here in CA everywhere, but try your local Whole Foods or health food store.
For the itchy hands, make a nice bowl of oatmeal, wait for it to cool down from scalding to pleasantly warm, give it a stir and stick your hands in.
I can’t speak to this particular product, but herbal homeopathy is based on the idea that like treats like. Basically, homeopathic treatments contain very small doses of substances that, if taken undiluted, would induce the same symptoms that they intend to treat. The standard medical community takes a very dim view of homeopathy, as a general rule.
Itchy hands- be careful of the liquid soaps that are in most public restrooms: they tend to contain harsh (and unnecessary) antibacterial ingredients that can wreak havoc on sensitive skin. Maybe consider carrying your own soap around, a small tube of something gentle slipped into your handbag. You may also be sensitive to instant hand sanitizers.
Also, if you are someone who tends toward contact dermatitis (meaning you have sensitive skin that reacts to things), touching citrus, tomatoes, and onions with your hands can lead to a cycle of inflammation and itching.
What do you think the appropriate dosage would be for a 20# beagle?
BJ
p.s. I meant the juices of the citrus, tomatoes, and onions while you are chopping/cutting. Also lots of lotions and shampoos have citrus in them.
I certainly know people who use Rescue Remedy, but what I’ve got is a hand balm recommendation.
http://www.badgerbalm.com/
I’ve used the healing balm on my hands, which sometimes have cracking skin – and the sleep balm too.
But I’m going to need to replace my little tub of sore muscle rub soon – the snow shoveling up here was brutal for a few days this week. I’ve been using the sore muscle rub, and it has really helped. Well…. that and anti-inflammatories and a heating pack!
I feel obligated to chime in as I was, I think, the first person to recommend it … but I got nothin’. It was recommended to me by our dog trainer. (And, BJ, I think 1 to 4 drops would do it; if your dog doesn’t like the taste, my trainer says to put it on a Nilla Wafer, which somehow neutralizes the taste of it. Or, you know, on a hunk of meat.) I’ve tried it and it doesn’t do anything for me–but neither does Xanax or prescription sleeping pills. I have a REALLY high natural tolerance for downers.
If you’re looking at all our comments and thinking, “I ain’t buying it,” let me reiterate my recommendation for valerian. That definitely works, although one of Chekhov’s three sisters got addicted to it, so try not to be terribly Russian when you take it.
For the regular dry-skin itchiness, I swear by Aquaphor. It looks like Vaseline but has some other stuff in it that allows it to hydrate, not just seal off, your skin. No fragrance, not really greasy.
If there are little bumps, like eczema, I put some topical Benadryl on before the Aquaphor.
I’m a biochemist. Don’t get me started on homeopathy…
I second Aquaphor – I like to slather it on my hands, don yellow gloves, like Dexter’s mother on Dexter’s Laboratory, and do the dishes.
~Charlotte
I second the oatmeal bath for a topical solution — it worked for my son’s chicken pox. (It was oatmeal ground to a fine powder.)
I like to use the Aveeno hand lotion with oatmeal. (I only recommend the “fragrance free” version.)
Given my science background, I’m highly skeptical of homeopathic medicine. That having been said, actual extracts of herbs often have biological effects. Calms Forte, recommended by another reader, if I’m not mistaken, contains both valerian root and chamomile, both of which are herbal calming agents, and both of which work. It’s not an entirely homeopathic concoction. Chamomile tea might just do the same thing for you.
I would also recommend B-complex vitamins for stress. They are especially depleted in a stressed-out body.
in peace,
Michael
Big thumbs up on the vitamin B. Many people (I don’t know if it’s more women than men) lose the ability to metabolize vitamin B-12 through food as they hit middle age. Inadequate B-12 can lead to a whole host of odd things–which in my case led me to spend most of July having medical tests done. Try the sublingual drops or dissolving tablets and see if that helps at all, with any of it. It could even be behind that “internal” itching … weird nervy feelings in the extremities were one of my symptoms.
First, on homeopathic: I don’t understand it, but I know that Hyland’s homeopathic “Teething Tablets” were absolute magic for all 4 of my kids. So I’m open to it.
Second, on the itching: Do NOT freak or get hypo, but if it continues, drop by your doctor and ask whether s/he thinks you should get a liver function test. In three of my pregnancies, I had weird itching (that felt internal) and it turned out to be a pregnancy-related form of cholestasis. I know you’re not pregnant … I’m just connecting “weird itching” and “liver.”
Lots of good advice on the hands thing.
I’ve tried Bach Flower Remedy (my mom used to give it to her neurotic cat), and it seemed to work okay (I used the one for anxiety or nerves). By “it seemed to work okay” I mean that I felt calmer after a few squirts of it, but I was certainly doing other things to calm myself down besides taking the BFR.
I grew up on homeopathy type stuff for a while … as an adult, knowing what I know now, I have to say I think it’s mostly nonsense. I’ve looked into some of these dilutions (which is what homoepathic meds essentially are), and if you do the math on at least some of them, there is actually *nothing* left of the original herb or flower. All that’s left is the “essence” whatever that means.
I actually know about “a” tapping method – known as EFT – that has actually worked wonders for me. It’s one of those things that seems pretty woo woo, but when it comes to healing, I’m inclined to go with what works. So, I’ve also used the rescue remedy and for almost every ailment at this stage of life, it’s all about the acupuncture.
Okay, nobody’s followed up on that “tippy tappy” question, so I’ll take a stab at it.
I believe what Christine’s talking about is also known as EFT, or “emotional freedom technique.” It’s used by a lot of professionals, from therapists to my very own chiropractor, to treat everything from hardcore debilitating illnesses to a lousy mood.
Basically, you use your index & middle fingers as “tappers” in a sequence of specific points: between the eyebrows, outer edges of the eyebrows, under the nose, under the lower lip, etc…including something called “the sore spot.” As you tap-tap-tap-tap-tap each spot, you say (out loud): “Even though I (..name problem…), I totally and completely accept myself.” You pause in between “rounds” and keep going until the calm settles in. Which it will.
(You can google EFT to find the points; one link is: http://www.tapintoheaven.com/2eft/eftproce.shtml)
All of this might sound kooky, but that’s what people thought about yoga and acupuncture a couple of generations ago. What I know is that when I remember to do it, EFT has a strangely magical effect. The “how” and “why” don’t matter as much as you’d think, once you do a little before n’after experiment.
Good luck with those hands, Darlin’!
I buy the Bach stuff, since the 1980s when my chiropractor helped me with it. But itching hands that “feels like it’s coming from the inside?” I have it all over my body. I don’t get it. I’ve thought stress and maybe it is. But I suspect it’s something more physiological, and I don’t have a clue. Fungus? Stress? Immune disorder? I don’t know (kind of suspect the latter, combined with the others). But it’s real. I went through the dermotologist thing, and then begged a referral to an allergist. I knew it was “histamines.” That was about 1980. I got a prescription for hydroxyzine 10 mg (sorry, I can’t remember the brand, only have the generic name). I take it about every 3-5 days. Apparently it stays in the body that long, so I only have to feel a bit drugged (yes, I do, the day after) once or twice a week. But I don’t have the infernal attacks of the “itches” (they are all over my body, not just my hands). My allergist at the time told me they don’t know what causes it or what cures it. Sometimes it will go into spontaneous cure or remission. But meanwhile, I have this little pill that will eliminate the problem. “Natural remedies” (including Bach) are also chemicals — though I do trust them more. I’d love something I could take or do that would feel more natural than this prescribed pill — but meanwhile, this pill keeps me out of hell.