them hard. When you want to use one, take it out of the refrigerator, hold
it between your fi ngers for just a few seconds (the coconut oil will begin to
melt), and then insert. Use some olive oil to lubricate the area of insertion
fi rst. When the suppository is inside the body, the body temperature,
which is always variable, will cause the coconut oil to melt and the herbs
will be dispersed.
Vaginal pessaries: Use equal parts of the following in powder form:
squaw vine leaf, slippery elm inner bark, yellow dock root, comfrey root,
chickweed leaf and stem, barberry root bark, mullein leaf and fl ower, plus
half a drop each of geranium essential oil and lavender essential oil in a
cocoa butter base.
Candida pessaries: Use nine parts slippery elm bark, three parts
barberry root, three parts pau d’arco inner bark, two parts black walnut
hull, one part chamomile fl ower, one part lavender fl ower, and tea tree
essential oil in a coconut oil base.
Start with a treatment of seven pessaries, using one every night, or one
every third or fourth night. Insert into the vagina. If you wish, use a
sanitary napkin to protect night clothing, bed linens, and so on; but the
more air allowed to circulate around the affected area, the better. The
coconut butter melts at body temperature overnight (or it may be longer,
depending on the individual woman’s basal temperature), leaving the
herbs to be absorbed into the body. Any remaining herbs are easy to
douche out every three or four days or can be expelled by doing pelvic
fl oor exercises in a bath containing a few drops of lavender essential oil
and fi ve tablespoons of cider vinegar. On dressing in the morning, use a
natural sponge to prevent leakage; you may even need the extra
protection of a sanitary napkin.
Anal suppositories: Ideal for hemorrhoids. Use equal parts of black
walnut hull, horse chestnut fruit, eucalyptus leaf, slippery elm bark, and
yarrow leaves, plus a few drops of witch hazel essential oil in a base of
cocoa butter.
douches
Douches are herbal liquids gently inserted into the vagina (using a
douche bag), usually in the form of a herbal infusion or decoction using
vegetable, nut, or seed oils, or aloe vera leaf gel.
An example of douche herbs would be a premade decoction of an equal
amount of chamomile fl ower, pau d’arco inner bark, barberry root bark,
and lavender fl owers and leaves. This formula is capable of promoting
resistance to a range of fungi and bacteria.
Douches can be used to wash out the residue of the pessaries or simply
38 The Complete Home Guide to Herbs, Natural Healing, and Nutrition