Herbal Remedies
Many years ago when I first started getting into alternative medicines, vitamins and supplements, I had a rather amazing experience using herbal remedies. This happened about 25 years ago in the city of Glendale California. Our infant son had developed an ear infection.
We brought him to our local pediatrician and she suggested that he get tubes put into his ears to cause them to drain. Not only did I not want to see my infant son go under the knife, but heck … I was poor and just couldn’t afford the medical bills for such a procedure. We needed a better way to handle this situation.
I contacted one of my friends who knew this 83 year old woman of Cherokee Indian descent named Bessie. He suggested that I see her before taking any drastic actions. My friend Irv said that Bessie has supplied him with both herbal remedies and homeopathic medicines and she would know what to do. I called Bessie on a Tuesday and asked when I could come by and she said Friday afternoon would be fine.
Wednesday of that week came and I began to feel a roughness and tickle in my throat. By friday morning I felt like something the dogs dragged in and disgarded. I had a raging full blown cold in progress. Stuffy head, eyes hurt, runny nose… the works. Friday rolled around and I arrived at Bessie’s front door and rang the bell.
Bessie answered and the first words that came from her were “Darling.. you got a cold. You come on in and set yourself down in the kitchen and I’ll fix you right up.” I said “Otay.” Bessie proceeded to say - “Now the best thing for a cold like yours is cayanne pepper. The hotter the better.” As I sat at her kitchen table, Bessie went into her cupboard and pulled out a large quart size cellophane bag of bright red powdery substance, a small bottle and a shot glass and placed them on the table before me. She then went into the fridge and fetched a bottle of apple juice, unfiltered, and some measuring spoons from a nearby drawer. Bessie then went into mixing this concoction up for me and continued to say - “Now, you take 1 teaspoon of this here cayanne pepper put it into the glass. Then 1/4 teaspoon of licorice root. Mix it up with some apple juice. Make sure its apple juice as orange juice is too acidic.” Then Bessie grabbed another small glass and poured some more apple juice into it. She handed me the shot glass and went onto say..” Now you take this and swoller it right down. Don’t swush it around in your mouth as it’ll burn like the dickens. Here’s some more juice to wash it down with.”
I peered down at this bubbling mixture which reminded me of everything from Dante’s inferno to glowing hot molten lava beds. I blew my nose then I raised the shot glass to my mouth and gulped it down. I quickly, without hesitation, chased it down with some more apple juice. I didn’t know what to expect but suddenly heat erupted in the center of my body. It quickly fanned out in all directions. All my limbs felt this internal warmth. It traveled to my lungs which just opened up, my nose started running, beads of sweat appeared on my forehead. As I was undergoing this metamorphical change, Bessie went on to say. “Darling! You did that good and should feel better in a few minutes. What it does is opens the fine capillaries in your lungs and cayanne is rich in vitamin C. The licorice root is good for your lungs and helps to dampen the blow of the cayanne in your stomach. How ya feeling?” I took my hankerchief and blotted the beads of sweat from my forehead, the tears in my eyes and the excessive flow from my nose and said.. “Gee, it feels real warm but my head is clearing up. I don’t feel as stuffy like having a head full of cotton.”
I thanked Bessie and within 15 minutes I was feeling real good. I could concentrate, my chest felt decongested, head unstuffed. From that point on, my head cold was over. By evening, I felt fine.
Two years later Bessie moved away from Glendale to live at her sons home somewhere in Riverside county California. Dear ole Bessie would be in her hundreds by now if she was still around in her current physical frame. Over the span of 25 years I have recommended this cold formula to many friends and people I’ve met. All have reported success with it. I’ll always give credit to Bessie for this cold remedy. Thanks Bessie! - Ray
ps: The ear infection formula for my son worked too. It was a simple combination of Garlic Oil and Lobelia Oil. One drop of each in each ear. Plug the ear with a little cotton.
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