226 The Complete Home Guide to Herbs, Natural Healing, and Nutrition
also produce migraines. Correct diagnosis of the type of headache you
have will be all-important.
(^) - Dietary changes will be vital, particularly omitting dairy products,
wheat products, alcohol, tea, and coffee. Drink plenty of water.
f If a hot washcloth calms the headache, it means that the blood vessels
are constricted and need dilating. Rosemary leaf tea will calm and
feed the nervous system, yet dilate the blood vessels; ginkgo leaf and
prickly ash berry will help get oxygen to the brain, if this is what is
needed.
f If ice on the temples relieves the pain, you need to calm and close
down your overdilated blood vessels; in that case, use lime tree (Tilia)
fl ower and chamomile fl ower made up as tea.
f Herbs for the nervous system will help to relieve stress headaches,
while other headaches may come from the liver, diet, or bowel —
you may need some further diagnosis to determine exact causes and
treatment.
f Willow bark and meadowsweet leaf both contain salicylic acid, which
helps to relieve the pain of headaches — make decoctions.
f Feverfew leaf tea can particularly help migraines.
~ Liver and colon cleanses will be necessary if the headache originates
from toxicity.
~ If you suffer from sinus headaches, you will need to use herbal snuff
(see “Nose Problems,” below) and inhalations of essential oils.
heart attack
Many circulatory and heart problems can lead to a heart attack. These
episodes can be demoralizing and scary, and may leave permanent damage
or impairment. Yet a warning can be just the jolt needed to get you to
change your eating habits and lifestyle radically, with very benefi cial
effects, as many people have discovered.
High cholesterol levels and fatty and plaque deposits, with resultant
severe blockages in the system, can cause heart attacks. Other causes can
be high blood pressure, clotting of blood vessels (thrombosis), and blood
stickiness, caused by platelets clumping together and blocking veins. Thus
anyone who has any of these problems should be aware that there are
some very useful herbal fi rst-aid measures available; I have seen them
prevent what could probably have been much more serious situations,
time and again. The following fi rst-aid measures can be used in cases of
suspected heart attack or stroke, while waiting for an ambulance:
f Cayenne tincture should always be the fi rst step. It helps to relieve
diseases 226