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BACH FLOWER ESSENCES FOR SEIZURES
as published in The Holistic
Horse, Mar/Apr 2004
Dr. Edward Bach was a physician and intuitive healer who in 1930 left
conventional medical practice to discover alternative health remedies in
nature. Thus the Bach flower essence line was born. 37 remedies are made
from trees and flowering plants, and one from pristine waters (Rock Water).
They contain the vibrational (energetic) essence of the natural substance
they are created from.
Dr. Bach believed dis-ease of the mind/emotions/spirit causes physical dis-ease.
Hence, treating those imbalances allows physical imbalances to repair. The
remedies rebalance negative thoughts and mental, emotional, and spiritual
trauma and issues, which color how attitude/behavior is exhibited and
physical illness is manifested. A few can directly affect the physical level
as well (for instance, Crab Apple is used while/after clearing parasites,
infections, etc. from the body). And the frequency, duration and effects of
seizures can be reduced or minimized as well.
The remedies are not addictive or harmful in any way, and do not interact or
interfere with medications or supplements. They are not drugs or herbs, they
are vibrational essences. The remedies are chosen based on personality and
emotional state. The remedies are useful for issues such as aggression,
timidity, depression, anxiety, poor sleep, grief, irritability, fears and
worries, among others, or suffering from a particular event (car accident,
injury, death of a loved one, etc.).
The remedies were first developed for people, and then successfully
transitioned to animals. Following are quotes from the Bach Centre regarding
the essences (www.bachcentre.com):
“The Bach Flower Remedies work by flooding out negative feelings and
emotions. Sometimes the emotions that are dealt with have been repressed for
some time and in order to clear them they have to be cleansed from the
system. On very rare occasions this can take the form of a rash, or
unexpected feelings may be stirred up. Where such things do occur they can
be disregarded and there is no reason to stop taking the remedies. . . .
[One stops taking the remedies] [w]hen the problem that is being treated has
gone. . . . Where things are getting worse in spite of the remedies this may
mean one of two things. Either the remedies have not yet had time to work
(two or more months or even years of regular dosage may be needed to deal
with deep-rooted problems) or the selection was wrong.“
“In any case, the remedies will not themselves cause any symptoms or
problems that are not already in you and are entirely beneficient in their
effects. This means that there is no need to stop taking the remedies, and
even if the wrong ones are being taken this only means that they will not
improve things - they will never make them worse.”
Rescue Remedy is the special combination Dr. Bach concocted from five of the
essences:
Star of Bethlehem for shock; Rock Rose for terror and panic; Cherry Plum for
hysteria or loss of control; Impatiens for impatience and agitation,
something often associated with pain; and Clematis for faintness and
bemused, stunned, ungrounded feelings. Rescue Remedy is indicated for
shocking events, from accidents and surgery (Clematis specifically clears
the mental/emotional effects of tranquilizers and anesthesia), to traumatic
experiences such as being attacked, receiving distressing news,
abuse/neglect, anxious thoughts about an examination or interview, etc.
Rescue Remedy has been known to stop seizures in animals if administered
immediately at the first sign of seizure and every five minutes thereafter
until the animal is cognizant and functioning again. A Bach combination I’ve
found extremely helpful for seizures is:
CHERRY PLUM: Fear of insanity or the mind giving way; loss of mental
control. CHESTNUT BUD: Difficulty learning; lack of awareness; absentminded
or distracted behavior. CRAB APPLE: Feeling diseased or contaminated by the
illness. OAK: To give strength and endurance to overcome the issue. RESCUE
REMEDY: For any kind of trauma or whenever one experiences unusual stress.
SCLERANTHUS: For equilibrium problems or neurological confusion such as are
seen with seizures.
Use of this blend over a period of time, at 6-8 doses per day, plus doses
every 5 minutes during a seizure, can greatly lessen the severity of the
seizures and often reduce the frequency as well.
It's certainly okay to give the full strength remedies (i.e., straight from
the stock bottles), but this is wasteful and no more effective than if
giving in the diluted form. Dilution does not affect the vibration of the
essence. The rate at which that plant, flower, tree (or rocks/water)
energetically vibrates doesn’t change.
If you prefer to make a treatment bottle yourself, rather than consult with
a Bach practitioner, typically up to seven remedies may be included in a
treatment bottle. The Bach Centre notes that, rarely, up to nine may be
included. If one of them is Rescue Remedy, which is comprised of five
essences, that counts as one remedy. After determining the appropriate
remedies, I ask the client to review the descriptions and confirm at an
intuitive level whether the remedies “feel” right to them. I do this because
they know their animal in a way I don’t (although I do rely on my intuition,
as well as knowledge of the remedies, in deciding which are appropriate).
Each being is individual so there is no set rule on how many remedies (up to
nine) can be included.
A treatment bottle consists of one ounce (30 ml.) of filtered or distilled
water placed in a dark glass dropper bottle. To that add two drops of each
remedy from the stock bottles (or in the case of Rescue Remedy, four drops),
plus a teaspoon of brandy as a preservative. (Avoid the brandy if you or
your animal is sensitive to alcohol.) Before taking the drops from the stock
bottle, gently succuss (tap) the bottle against your palm eight times to
activate the essence. When the treatment bottle is ready, succuss it 100
times to thoroughly blend the essences and water. After that, succuss the
treatment bottle eight times before dosing. Keep the bottle in a cool, dark
place. Treatment bottles are effective for about two months. After that they
may go sour and develop a film.
To rebalance deep seated or long standing emotional dis-ease, frequency of
daily administration is important. The remedies do not build up in the body.
The standard dose is four drops, four times a day from the treatment bottle.
More doses can be given/taken as needed: before you load the animal; when
you arrive at the destination; before and after anesthesia or
tranquilization; at the first hint of a storm; when receiving distressing
news; anxiety over a situation; etc. – whatever the triggering or causative
situation is for you or your animal.
Upon the first time dosing from the treatment bottle for deep seated or long
standing issues, I recommend the animal or person take four drops (a dose),
three times, five minutes apart, then switch to four to six doses per day
(trust your intuition here). Always administer directly from the dropper,
and rinse it off if it touches skin/mucous membranes before putting it back
in the bottle. It is best to take the drops orally; or you can drip the
drops on food or a snack (biscuit, treat, sugar cube, carrot . . . ). If
this is impossible, rub on lips, paw pads, the outside of the ears, nose, or
belly, where the remedies are easily absorbed. In addition, you can add 10
drops from the stock bottle to 8 oz. of water in a small spray bottle (succuss
as you would the treatment bottle) and mist the animal, its bedding, other
places they lay, a room, etc.
For short term or one-time stressful situations, such as a show or class, a
trip to the vet, household guests, etc., you can administer the remedies
beforehand, during and after the situation, and continue every 15-60 minutes
until you notice calmness returning.
While sometimes improvement is seen immediately (a client’s dog loses his
fear of storms within 24 hours; a woman noticed immediate improvement in her
melancholy state), this is not always the case with long standing or deep
seated issues. The remedies may need to be given for several weeks or
longer, so be patient. It also may be necessary to choose new remedies as
more obvious issues are resolved and deeper ones surface.
For more information about Bach remedies, see the Bach Centre website, or
one of several books including Bach Flower Remedies for Animals by Stefan
Ball and Judy Howard (members of the Bach Centre).
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