by Matthew Wood
Pancreatitis: • Belladonna (low homeopathic dose) • Chelidonium • Chionanthus • Iris versicolor • Juniperus • Silybum.
Lymph and Immune Systems
The immune system operates through innumerable mechanisms, not all of which are probably known at the present time. It operates largely through the lymphatics, and therefore I treat these as a single system.
In olden times, the lymphatic system was unknown, and its diseases were associated with the spleen and “scrofula.” Scrofula starts as glandular swelling and ends in tuberculosis, but at first it is entirely a lymphatic problem. The term can also refer to poorly nourished states where the skin is sallow and pale; these conditions were also associated with the spleen. In the classification below, “spleen” refers only to actually swelling or changes in the spleen itself.
Swollen, Congested Lymphatics: • Aesculus hip. • Alnus rubra (enlarged nodes) • Alnus serrulata • ARCTIUM (under arms, groin; chronic swelling) • Baptisia (with putrid discharges) • CALENDULA (chronically enlarged, inflamed nodes; where a mild warming agent is needed) • CEANOTHUS • Celastrus • Centella (improves condition of matrix, source of lymph) • Chimaphila (hardened glands with sluggish kidney function) • Chionanthus • Conium (homeopathic; hardened glands) • Daucus (poultice, for “lack of lymph flow”—Sherman) • Echinacea (good as an activator in lymphatic formulae) • Eryngium yuccifolium (hardening; proteins set up in extracellular matrix) • Fagopyrum (congestion) • FOUQUIERIA (especially pelvic) • GALIUM (small swollen nodes and cysts; neck and axilla, tonsils) • Hedeoma • Helianthemum • IRIS (soft, enlarged nodes; chronic illness—Martin) • Lamium (swollen nodes) • Melilotus • Menispermum • Oplopanax (root and bark poultice) • Petroselinum (fresh parsley poultice) • PHYTOLACCA (pale mucosa; hard, swollen and inflamed nodes; induration; mastitis; small dose or homeopathic) • Polemonium • Polymnia (swollen nodes) • Prunella • Quercus (induration—Sherman) • Rumex crispus • Saponaria • Sassafras (as an adjunct to lymphatics and alteratives) • SCROPHULARIA (enlarged, indurated nodes) • Smilax • Stillingia (chronic) • Thuja • Tilia • Trifolium (singular, hard, swollen, encysted nodes) • Trigonella • VIOLA (dry conditions) • Verbascum (dry conditions) • Verbena hastata (moves lymphatic congestion up from bottom of feet; decoction—Light), • Vitex (in young girls).
Spleen: • BAPTISIA (very specific for polycythemia vera) • CEANOTHUS (swollen; melancholy) • Cinchona (swollen; exhaustion from malaria) • Cnicus • Eupatorium cannabinum • Galium (stitch in side) • Iris versicolor (swollen, soft, yielding to pressure) • Lonicera • Mahonia • Polymnia (swollen spleen) • Rubia (hemolytic anemia) • Scolopendrium (mild astringent; swollen spleen) • Silphium integrifolium • Silybum • Taraxacum • Trifolium • Viscum.
Axilla (Underarms): • ARCTIUM • CALENDULA • GALIUM.
Lymphedema: • Aesculus hip. • Arctium • CEANOTHUS • Centella • GALIUM • Phytolacca • QUERCUS • Scrophularia • Viola.
Hyperimmunity: • AMYGDALUS (sensitive skin, mucosa) • GNAPHALIUM (normalizer) • Nigella (normalizer) • PRUNUS SEROTINA (histaminic excitation; wounds and scratches immediately get red; in redheads) • Rosa • TILIA (red tissues; red, elongated, pointed tongue).
Hypoimmunity: • Althaea • Aristolochia serpentaria (small dose) • ASTRAGALUS (to consolidate the surface, reduce sweating; in preparation for outdoor, winter work) • Baptisia • Codonopsis (weak, thin, dried-out, tired, bloated, short of breath) • CORDYCEPS • Commiphora myrrha • ECHINACEA • Eupatorium perfoliatum • Fouquieria • GNAPHALIUM (normalizer) • GRIFOLA • Iris • Lentinula • Nigella (normalizer) • Panax (all) • Phytolacca (lingering infections, low immunity, swollen nodes) • SCHISANDRA • Stillingia • Thuja • Viola • WITHANIA (exhausted, depleted, senescent).
Note: Essential fatty acids (EFAs) regulate immunity.
White Blood Cells: • Commiphora myrrha (leukopenia) • Echinacea (suppression from chemotherapy, leukocytosis, leukopenia) • Ligusticum porter (leukocytosis, leukopenia).
Note: Because lymphatic and spleen problems are frequently localized, remedies can be used externally. Mix with castor oil for best effect.
FORMULARY
Immune
Astragalus—with Codonopsis (nutritive immune tonic).
Lymph
Calendula—with Arctium (axillary lymphatics). Wood.
Calendula—with Scrophularia (stagnation in thoracic outlet). Wood.
Ceanothus—with Calendula, Galium, Trifolium Scrophularia, Viola, Echinacea (general lymphatic cleanser). Wood.
Galium—with Trifolium, Ceanothus, Echinacea (cooling lymphatic cleanser).
Iris—with Phytolacca (general lymphatic cleanser). Iris is for soft nodes, Phytolacca for hard—Martin.
Viola—with Arctium, Baptisia, Phytolacca (lingering lymph node inflammation). BHP 1983, 39.
DEEP IMMUNE TONIC
This stew goes by many names, and has many variants. It is largely based on Chinese tonic stews; the formula used below comes from David Winston, and has long by used and confirmed many others. Ganoderma (3 parts), Atractylodis (2 parts), Burdock root (2 parts), Astragalus (1½ parts), Codonopsis (1½ parts), Lentinula (1 part), and Trametes (1 part). Add to water with soup bones, and simmer for three days; at the end add carrots, celery, potatoes, beets, or other short-cooking vegetables.
Kidneys
The cells of our body have the same garbage-removal philosophy as we do: dump it in the river. However, the cells are environmentally responsible, and have a filtration unit to purify the “river” (our blood). After cellular waste products are dumped in the extracellular waters, they are removed by the lymphatic capillaries and, to some extent, the capillary venules. They end up in the bloodstream and are filtered out through the kidneys.
In a clean-burning system, the liver, cells, and regulatory system are healthy, and the main waste products arriving at the kidneys are protein fragments. Twenty per cent of the blood in the circulation is taken up by the renal capillary system in the kidneys for filtration. The blood cells are left behind while the serum is cleansed in the kidneys. Almost ninety-nine per cent of this serum will be reabsorbed back into the bloodstream. Therefore, only a small amount of the water, proteins, and electrolytes are removed. The kidneys balance the water and electrolyte levels in the blood and body fluids; this includes balancing the acid and alkaline. For this reason, much uric acid from protein waste is returned to the blood.
While they are filtering the blood, the kidneys “read” the levels of red blood cells; if these are receding, they send a hormone (erythropoietin) to the bone marrow to tell it to make more red blood cells.
This helps us picture the basic disease conditions of the kidneys: (1) lack of filtration (renal failure); (2) insufficient diuresis (inadequate water elimination); (3) insufficient reabsorption (excessive urination); (4) imbalanced blood and urine (which can result in kidney-stone formation); (5) renal anemia; (6) excess sodium not being removed from the blood (resulting in high blood pressure); and (7) inflammation from high rate of function. In addition, of course, there may be (8) bacterial infection, which can come up from the urethra and bladder or be caused by overuse of the kidneys from excessive stress or dietary protein.
Anatomically, the kidneys consist of “nephron units,” each of which is an independent little filtration system. Blood flows into the capillaries there and is taken by an osmotic sodium pump through the glomeruli into the tubules. These nephron tubules are surrounded by capillaries that reabsorb almost ninety-nine per cent of the blood, electrolytes, and protein waste products. If there is no need in the body for a particular (waste) product, it will not be picked up, so we can assume that some chemical waste products from the environment are also eliminated this way. The resulting urine contains water, uric acid or protein waste products, and electrolytes, including enough sodium to make it relatively salty.
The emotion associated with the kidneys is fear, timidity, or
worry, according to TCM. Here we see the kidney and adrenal functions merged together. It is true that fear does influence the kidneys. Long, drawn-out disputes, weighty legal cases, divorces, child-custody battles, or just the trivial pursuits of the day can also wear out the kidneys. Here the feeling is not fear or judgment-related but exhaustion, with a tired lower back and feet. Maria Treben says the kidneys process our emotions, which leads to their exhaustion; for this she recommends Solidago. It is excellent as a tea, salve, or tincture—and its efficacy is often confirmed in clinical practice.
There are of course some diseases of the kidneys that are better described by pathophysiology than as tissues states. This is true of diabetes type I or II: sugar in the blood should be reclaimed in the reabsorption process, but when there is too much it runs off through the tubules, causing kidney damage and excess urination. There are remedies for this. I had a case where we held kidney deterioration at bay for several years until the patient could get a pancreas and kidney transplant. The remedy used in that case was gravel root (Eupatorium purpureum).
In my experience, the great remedy for diabetes mellitus or insipidus with profuse urination is Rhus spp. (an astringent). This remedy cured a case I saw where high blood pressure had damaged the kidneys; the patient had profuse urination as well as profuse sweating. Rhus typhina removed the high blood pressure, and the doctor cheerfully told her, “I will write down in your medical records, ‘cured by an herb.’” Blueberry or huckleberry leaf (Vaccinium myrtillus) should have similar properties.
Another problem causing kidney distress is insomnia. If a person is unable to relax at night, the kidneys will not relax, and there may be excessive urination—only at night. Prostate problems present excess urination all the time.
The Six Tissue States and Renal Conditions
The tissue state model can be very helpful in analyzing renal disease. This is one area where I don’t find the Chinese model helpful enough, although it is good for some indications, as we will see.
Heat/Excitation: The kidneys can be overstimulated by a number of causes. In hot weather, the skin sweats out water to keep the body cool, and the kidneys are left with less water to remove protein wastes. The herbal remedy for this is Cucurbita citrullus (watermelon seed). When Osama bin Laden was killed, one of his wives was asked why he wasn’t on kidney dialysis, since it was known that he had kidney failure. “Oh,” she said, “he cured that a long time ago with a home remedy—watermelon” (paraphrase).
If alkaline or electrolyte waste products are building up, the preferred remedy may be Fragaria vesca (strawberry) leaf. This is also a remedy for dental plaque, an indication of high alkalinity. A large amount of protein waste can cause an allergic reaction, resulting in urine retention and puffing-up of the lower back, sometimes with hives or lesions. I had a client like this, thirty-plus years ago; cortisone shots saved her life but were needed constantly. One dose of homeopathic honeybee (Apis mellifica, 30c) cured her permanently.
Cold/depression: Warmth in the kidneys can also be caused by kidney infection—bacteria comes up the ureters and lodges in the kidneys. This condition needs antibiotics immediately. However, if the infection is stubborn, or one gets the case at the same time as the doctors, give herbs. I find that this condition usually comes from overwork in school. The residual pain and low-level heat has often responded well to Verbena.
Cold or depression of kidney function is associated with either edema from low renal function or excess urination from poor reabsorption. Both of these conditions are called “kidney yang deficiency” in TCM, meaning that the heat or “yang of the kidneys is too low to transform the water.” In addition to renal symptoms, other symptoms usually include: a sore, stiff lower back and knees; aggravation from cold, or getting the feet cold; cold coming up the legs to the kidneys; and cold in the lower back. Remedies are warming (yang) tonics and warming astringents. Warming kidney remedies are Solidago (tired feet, tired lower back), Chimaphila (lymphatic and kidney stagnation), and Tsuga canadensis (this is more of a warming remedy for the lower back and back pain than a kidney remedy per se).
Relaxation: Also classified under “kidney yang deficiency” are conditions where the kidney apparatus is “too relaxed” and does not hold onto the urine, resulting in excess urination. This condition responds to astringents—Rhus spp., Citrus limonum, and probably others. The urine is clear and frequent, and the tongue is damp or (paradoxically) dry due to fluid loss. Renal anemia occurs with relaxation of the kidneys, resulting in general anemia, damp tongue, and excess clear urination—use Rhus typhina, etc.
Tension: The kidneys are not strongly innervated, and should not be subject to tension, but in my now-getting-long career, I have a few times seen edema come and go suddenly—indicating wind or tension. I discuss this in The Book of Herbal Wisdom, under Agrimonia and Potentilla. Agrimonia was a kidney remedy well attested to by John Scudder and the eclectic medical movement. Also recommended: Dioscorea and Piper methysticum.
Dry/Atrophy: The late William LeSassier used to say in his classes, “don’t rip off the kidneys”—meaning, don’t use forceful diuretics. Medical diuretics force the kidneys to remove water, which weakens them over the long run. Instead, he recommended the use of nutritive diuretics that strengthened the renal function, such as nettles (Urtica), bean pod (Phaseolus), and self-heal (Prunella). The majority of herbal diuretics are not very forceful; those that are include Apocynum and Juniperus. These very stimulating remedies are used only for the cold/depressed tissue state, and only in small doses. If a diuretic needs to be used continuously, and is not making the condition better, it will ultimate make it worse.
Lack of fluids in the kidneys is called “kidney yin deficiency” in TCM. The symptoms are dry tongue and skin, dry joints, and darker, concentrated urine in small amounts.
Drying out of the skin and fluids generally causes excessive excretion through the kidneys, which are forced to make up for the lack of excretion from the skin. This can ultimately cause kidney failure or Bright’s disease. The kidneys seem to be too damp, but the overall condition is one of drying.
Damp/Stagnation: The kidneys can’t break down toxins like the liver or the immune system, so a damp/stagnant tissue state can only affect the kidneys when bacteria, pus, or toxins from other regions reach them. The kidneys can then get inflamed and, although antibiotics may help, it is not until the locus of the infection is found that the insult to the kidneys will be addressed and the condition cured. For example, the infected root of a tooth can cause pus to circulate, which inflames the kidneys. This kind of infection causes what the old doctors called “congestive chills,” which are a lot like the chills of influenza except that they feel really deep. The traditional remedy here is Cnicus benedictus, “holy thistle” or “St. Benedict’s thistle.” I don’t have much experience with this condition, but I have seen this remedy work twice on congestive chills in the kidneys caused by tooth problems, and once in hepatitis. These are problems where a person would usually be on antibiotics.
Edema, Water Retention: • Agrimonia (changeable edema) • Allium sativa • Anagallis • Apium (debilitated and languid) • APOCYNUM CANNABINUM (puffiness; area under eyes swollen, or wrinkled from recent swelling; infiltration into ankles; uremia; small doses or homeopathic) • Arctium (osmotic diuretic relieving sodium retention; acidosis; seed) • Arctostaphylos (relaxed, toneless tissues with draggy, weighty feeling; feeble circulation, lack of innervation) • ARALIA HISPIDA (“most efficient”—Scudder) • Aristolochia serpentaria (suppression of urine; small dose) • Asparagus officinalis • Astragalus (edema, heavy feeling in limbs, urinary difficulty) • Barosma • BERBERIS (“the grand specific for various diseases of the kidneys and bladder”—Stacey Jones) • Betonica • Betula (birch leaf) • Borago • Camellia (edema, swollen ankles) • Capsella • Centella (mild but nutritive diuretic) • CHIMAPHILA (the great diuretic; swelling in joints, scanty, suppressed urine, lymphatic stagnation) • Collinsonia • Cyn
ara (nephrosclerosis) • CUCURBITA CITRULLUS (watermelon seed is a most effective cooling diuretic) • Daucus (stimulating; cold and chronic conditions) • Equisetum • Erigeron • Eryngium yuccifolium (swollen and hard tissue) • EUPATORIUM PURPUREUM (atonic; mucus discharge; albuminuria) • Filipendula (nervous, irritable) • Fragaria (cooling diuretic; leaf) • Fumaria • Galium • Genista tinctoria • Helonias • Hydrangea • Juniperus (depressed, cold conditions with harsh, dry skin, pitting in ankles, dragging in lumbar region) • Larix (tamarack) • Ledum (edema of feet) • Leonurus (albuminuria in pregnancy) • Levisticum • Liatris • Mentha spicata (spearmint tea) • Mitchella (edema during menses, pregnancy) • Onosmodium (edema, stones) • Oxydendrum (cooling) • Parietaria • Petroselinum • Piper methysticum (spasm) • Rosmarinus (cardiac edema) • Scoparium • Solidago (for exhausted kidneys, lower back pain, tired feet and back; internally—Treben; albuminuria—Weiss; externally for back pain) • Stellaria • TARAXACUM (leaf), • TRIBULUS • URTICA (kidney failure) • Vaccinium • Verbascum (dysuria; suppression) • Vitis • Zanthoxylum • Zea mays.