Prep School Daily: Tuberculosis: Coming Soon? Part 2

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Tuberculosis: Coming Soon? Part 2

You’re going to have to think this through. I’m not a doctor. I’m not telling you what to do. As of 1PM on 3 Feb 2025, the following is my thought process:

God has given us what we need. Medicine surrounds us. I wrote an article last year on deciding which herbs to use when treating an illness. Coincidentally, I discussed what I might turn to in the case of tuberculosis.

https://prepschooldaily.blogspot.com/2024/03/deciding-which-herbs-to-use.html

I have pasted in part of that article below:

If I were dealing with tuberculosis and I didn’t know better, I’d be tempted to take the shotgun approach and use every herb listed in this book, brewing or tincturing each one to take each day. That would be 16 herbs. The body of that poor little patient would be overwhelmed. Not only that, but a caregiver would be overwhelmed as well trying to make preparations of everything.

Limiting ourselves to 3-4 herbs is a better path forward.

So here’s the list of the herbs [in this book] that treat tuberculosis and the recommended, if any, preparation method, as well as pertinent notes as to whether I actually have that herb on hand.

· Arnica, infusion, but some herbalists recommend against internal use.

· Arrowleaf balsamroot, infusion, didn’t collect it yet, but could go dig it up.

· Garlic, no specific recommendations, could just eat a lot

· Gumweed, got loads

· Japanese barberry, root infusion, don’t actually have it on hand, so will pass this time

· Japanese honeysuckle, flower infusion, very nice tea. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of it.

· Juniper, powerhouse, must include

· Licorice, powerful, must include

· Lomatium root tea, powerful but don’t have

· Mullein, powerful, don’t have

· Peppermint, essential oil, inhale

· Pine, eat the inner bark or the pitch. Hmmm…. I think there might be more palatable options.

· Plantain, infusion, will definitely use.

· Sagebrush, branch infusion, got loads here.

· Sunflower, stem tincture, well, didn’t make that last year, so out of luck.

So I’ve narrowed the list somewhat based on what’s easily available: garlic, gumweed, juniper, licorice, peppermint oil, plantain, and sagebrush.

Garlic is contraindicated for individuals taking warfarin or other anticoagulants or on HIV medications. Not a problem here, so the patient’s diet over the next few months of treatment will include lots of freshly prepared garlic. Teas or tinctures of gumweed, juniper, licorice, plantain, and/or sagebrush will be administered several times per day. As licorice shouldn’t be used long-term and is contraindicated in several groups of people, we’ll use it off and on in 10-day intervals. Peppermint essential oil will be inhaled several times per day. The numerous different preparations exist because some of the active constituents—the plant-based substances that are going to make you well—are extracted better with alcohol, or with water, or with heat, or are ruined by heat. The different applications function to get the medicine into direct contact with the afflicted tissue, whether through the bloodstream, on the skin, or through the organ that eliminates them—the liver, lungs, or kidneys. Some work fastest sublingually (under the tongue) and some work by direct contact with throat tissues.

Usnea should also be included in that list. I don’t know why it wasn’t. I can only hazard a guess: I may have been in the process of listing these herbs, got interrupted shortly after writing down sunflower, and when I returned assumed I was done and never made it down to usnea. Include usnea tincture in any treatment for TB. If you don’t have it, get it.Of all the herbal preparations out there, make sure you can make this one. Seriously.

Echinacea could have been included. Some herbalists say it shouldn’t be used.

I apologize, I’m doing my best here. And this is all for your entertainment anyway. A springboard for you to begin further research. Right? Because you shouldn’t be taking my word for this. You don’t know me from Adam.

In the time that has passed since that article posted and since Armageddon Pharmacy was published, I’ve come across a few other natural treatments for tuberculosis: Scotch thistle and sunshine. It’s also been observed that those with type-A blood are less susceptible to TB. So maybe the type-A person in your family becomes the caregiver for TB patients.

Above all, don’t panic. (Unless you are choosing to panic early to avoid the rush. Then that might be ok.) Prepare. Look at the list of herbs. What do you already have on hand or ready access to? Quite a few? Take a deep breath. Now, do you have the supplies to make tinctures, primarily the alcohol? If not, get it now. Do you have a hard copy of this information, whether the book or print outs of blog articles? Yes? Take a deep breath. Got the fabulous food storage—and recipes!—to nourish your family well? Then, don’t worry.