SC - Re: Use of Medicinal Metals

[Catherine Deville]

> > Colloidal Gold is still used in modern medicine in arthritis
remedies...
> > my herbal topical pain relief rub includes it.
>
> The gold in arthritis remediws is *injected*, last I knew. Topical
> applications of just about anything provide only the relief that comes
> from the massage- and some surface action if it has eucalyptus/menthol,
> etc. As with the $20/jar face creams, herbal rubs smell nice and feel
> good, but facts are- the active agents don't cross the skin. So they are
> effective for skin problems, but not for joint problems.

While gold may be injected in arthritis remedies, a less invasive and
naturopathic treatment is in a rub. yes, the massage itself assists in the
relief and yes the rubs usually also include eucalyptus and menthol, but
those with other ingredients often are more effective than those without..
the one that I use contains aloe vera, colloidal gold, carbomer 940,
menthol, triethenalomine, eucalyptus, camphor, pepperment oil, jaborandi
extract and copaiba oil along with suspension ingredients and emolients and
it is considerably more effective than the over the counter rubs that I've
used in the past with menthol and eucalyptus, so I tend to accept that the
other ingredients provide a synergistic therapy.  I know that I intend to
keep purchasing the product that works best for me :-)

I (because of my personal experience), and my mentor, who is completing her
thesis for her masters in naturopathy ,would disagree with your idea that
topical applications are ineffective in and of themselves, as we do absorb
molecules through our skin (especially when our poors have been opened by
the application of heat and or by application of herbs such as eucalyptus
or camphor), but as I said, most of the evidence for such effectiveness is
purely anecdotal in my case (and Arachne, the aforementioned naturopath,
doesn't happen to be on this list, as she's not an SCA cook.)

but we're off the point here, which is that the idea of using metals for
medicinal purposes is not odd from a medieval viewpoint, nor necessarily
from a modern one either.  and that many of the ideas which were discarded
by aleopahtic medicine during the "age of reason" have come back to the
attention of the medical community which has began to do studies which have
proven the effectiveness of many old "wise women" remedies that were
considered to be just "old wives' tales" until recently.

and to me putting gold coins in a broth seems much less odd then bleeding
people or applying leeches to get the "evil humours" out of them (the
foundation on which aleopathic medicine was based)... a practice which i
hear is also coming back into vogue with some practitioners.  ;-)

> Many of our modern medicines started out as medicinal herbs. What we
> need on 'modern' herbals are a) controlled studies- many of these herbs
> we don't even have the active ingredient isolated, and b) better
> standardization/monitoring for strength and dosage. They vary a great
> deal. Take a look at the label of a couple of different brands of St.
> John's Wort, for instance. The amount of active compounds are seldom the
> same. When my son was taking it a few years ago, his doctor (who
> suggested it) tipped me off to check the labels and look for a certain
> range in the compound. Interestingly enough, I remember that one of the
> brands had about twice as much as another, and yet they were the same
> price. If we can go to the pharmacy counter and get a bottle of tablets
> that are each 10mg of whatever, than we shouldn't we expect something
> like a standard in our herbals? Right now they are virtually
> unregulated- you could pick up a bottle of 'St. John's Wort' that has
> only a tiny bit of St. John's Wort and a lot of alfalfa.

while I agree that we need to know more and I completely agree (100%
without reservation) with your final statement, I'm concerned with the idea
that if some US pharmaceutical company has not put the money into reviewing
an herb for possible exploitation and therefore has not published a "double
blind study" in an attempt to be able to market it as a "drug" that all
knowledge of that herb is discarded as invalid.  I also have concerns with
the validity of and usefulness of the current "FDA approval" process and
the control that they attempt to exert over an individual's right to make
their own choices.  I also believe (and feel that it has been demonstrated
to my *personal* satisfaction) that isolating the "active ingredient" of an
herb can pose it's own problems, as many of the drugs which result from
doing so can circumvent synergistic relationships which occur in the herb
naturally which can result in side effects (sometimes severe) which do not
occur when the herb is used properly.   isolating the active ingredient is
a good thing to do, as it adds to the body of knowledge.  extrapolating
from that and *removing* the active ingredient and placing it in another
form can often be problematic.

> It is very good that there is a PDR Herbal- alot of folks aren't aware
> of possible counteractions and contraindications. Education, information
> and awareness- those are the keys...

I agree!  I was thrilled to see that they've finally published on, and to
find one in my doctor's office (he was even kind enough to give me one of
the subscription cards to get on so that I could give it to my mentor.

I remain, in service to Meridies,
Lady Celia des L'archier