# 31 Winters Itch and Herb Thoughts

Doing my last post as regards “winters itch”, and laying out the herbs that would contribute to a “normal “ condition, triggered thoughts from long ago. Scared and fearful were the first ones to come up. The reading about how dangerous doing health things on your own was another. As I ventured into the world of herbs it became more and more scary and confusing. Some herbs were listed as toxic and poisonous, and could cause serious health conditions and even death. So there I was, a complete newbie to herbs reading all the information that I could find, about and on herbs. One difficult part was how does one test the validity of so called “poisonous” versus “safe” herbs. Often it boiled down to, if it didn’t kill you, it was safe to use! Did not want that trial and error method at all. So after much seeking, and not finding much to go on about herbs, I finally came across a book called “Back to Eden” by Jethro Kloss. This book was the eye opener that I needed. Over 600 pages of reading was read and reread, over and over. Have worn out two copies so far. Reading of Back to Eden was my key to the use of herbs for food and medicine. I found this book a beautiful source of solid advice to better health. The second eye opener was the book “School of Natural Healing” by Dr John R. Christopher. Needless to mention the original copy became well worn and had to be replaced. Of course this was only the beginning of my journey into herbs.

More on that journey another time.
Currently I use “ O” and “OO” size capsules. Bought a capsule machine later to encapsulate the herbs as hand stuffing was tedious. It was some-what humorous when I would purchase three or four bottles of the lowest priced vodka for making tinctures, the frequency of vodka purchases caused the friendly store owner to inquire where my tavern was located. Also, I taste every herb I purchase out of curiosity and to do a crude check for any allergic reaction. Some taste nice, others are bitter, and some will pucker your whole body into a ball of unbelievable “oh no”. Can use of herbs be dangerous! Some what like yes and no is my answer, about as dangerous as crossing a busy intersection, if one is not careful. If one were to check out the many posts on my Razors Edge, you may find some of great interest health wise.
http://anotherlookatit.blogspot.com/2007/01/razors-edge-index-1-to-93.html