There are 38 total essences (remedies), 37 made from different plants and trees and one made from pristine water which runs over rocks.  Bach flower essence remedies contain the vibrational (energetic) essence of the natural substance it was concocted from.  They are given to animals and people to address negative thoughts and mental/emotional/spiritual trauma and issues, which color how attitude and behavior is exhibited and physical illness is manifested.  A few of the remedies work directly on the physical level as well.  For instance, Crab Apple is great to use while/after clearing parasites, viruses, infections, etc. from the body.  But the remedies actually address imbalance at the emotional/mental level which impair the vital force of the body, making it more susceptible to illness and disease. Dr. Bach believed dis-ease of the mind/emotions causes physical disease; hence appropriate treatment of the mental/emotional/spiritual imbalance allows the physical imbalances to repair.  To see a brief description of each essence, visit the Dr. Edward Bach Centre website, www.bachcentre.com.

Following are quotes from the website of the Dr. Edward Bach Centre regarding the essences:

“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. There is no need to continue taking them in case it comes back and of course no need to wean oneself off the remedies gradually, as you have to do with some conventional drugs like steroids and beta-blockers. Nor do you need to take a complete course of doses over a specific number of days, as you do with antibiotics.”

“The Bach Flower Remedies do not cause side-effects or aggravations, but it may be that the remedies are stirring up repressed feelings that need to be cleansed before complete healing can be achieved. If you feel this is the case then you can look to see if there is a need for any other remedies instead of or as well as the ones you are currently taking.”

“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.”

 From Advanced Bach Therapy: A Scientific Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment [Gotz Blome, MD, 1992, pg. 1],

“Bach flower therapy does not seek the physical symptoms of an illness but instead looks to the underlying or predominant mental and emotional conditions and aims to treat the psychic, not the physical, symptoms.  Bach flower therapy attempts to treat the patient’s soul; physical problems are secondary.  Dr. Bach had a sound basis for this unusual concept.  In searching for a truly humane form of treatment, he stumbled across a phenomenon that has been largely unobserved in modern medicine: according to the structure of the personality and the emotional constitution, the same illness can cause very different psychic symptoms in different individuals.  These manifestations, such as restlessness or apathy, openness or reserved behavior, fear of death or an attraction to death, grouchiness or gratitude, lend the objective physical symptoms their individual, personal meaning.”

Machaelle Small Wright, creator of Perelandra Flower Essences (from Behaving As If the God In All Life Mattered, Jeffersonton, VA: Perelandra Ltd., 1987): 

“Flower essences are liquid, pattern-infused solutions made from individual plant flowers, each containing a specific imprint that responds in a balancing, repairing and rebuilding manner to imbalances in humans on their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual or universal levels.” [pp. 164-165]  This is true for animals too.  “Flower essences operate in their body exactly the same way as in our body – only with animals it’s less complicated.  When I work with animals, I feel as if the nervous system and the electrical system are both right on the surface just waiting for the flower essence.” [Ibid., pg. 215]

Treatment Course

 Bach flower essences (remedies) were originally developed for humans, and eventually transitioned to animals. While sometimes improvement is seen immediately (a dog loses his fear of storms within 24 hours; a female client noticed immediate improvement in her depression), this is not always the case.  The remedies may need to be taken for several weeks or longer.  The remedies are especially useful for dealing with emotional issues including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, poor sleep, grief, irritability, fears and worries, or lingering trauma from a particular incident/event (such as a car accident or other injury, death of a loved one, etc.).  These remedies are not addictive or harmful in any way, and do not interact or interfere with any medications or supplements you may be taking.  They are vibrational essences, not an herbal or medicinal compound. 

Please note that behavioral problems in animals can be a sign of physical illness.  A complete veterinary examination should be conducted to rule this out, and only then should the behavioral or emotional aspect be addressed with Bach remedies or other holistic tools.  Any flower essence line can be used as an adjunct therapy to proper veterinary care, and as part of a holistic approach to your animal’s health and well-being.

Some Bach practitioners believe it best to work with one or two remedies to begin with, address the main presenting issue, and as that one resolves, adjust the remedies being administered if/as "new" (i.e., usually older) issues surface as other imbalances are righted.  However, I usually recommend 4-6 remedies based on the presenting picture and my intuitive impressions.  Up to 6 or 7 remedies may be included in a treatment bottle.  If Rescue Remedy is one of them (described below), it is counted as one remedy.  Each animal and human is a unique individual so there is no set rule as to what is appropriate or how the being will respond.  Sometimes one treatment bottle is all that's needed.  Rebalancing an emotional, mental and/or spiritual dis-ease can take any amount of time (from minutes to a year or more). The rate of improvement (resolution of the energetic imbalance) is usually, but not always, dependent upon how long the emotional/mental/spiritual imbalance has existed or how deep seated it is.  Patience is important; it may take several months for rebalancing to occur.

If long-term use of the remedies is warranted, then after the second bottle, for a nominal fee I’m happy to provide clients with instructions for making the treatment bottles themselves. This helps keep the client’s cost reasonable.  At that time I’d also reevaluate the remedies based on what issues have resolved, so that the appropriate remedies can be purchased. The remedies range from $6 to $10 per bottle and can be found at most health food stores. 

 I encourage people who wish to use Bach flower essences on their own to purchase at least one book about them so they understand the principles and suggested use.  Inappropriate administration is a waste of your money and may give you the impression that the remedies are not helpful. It is also important to select the proper remedies from the 38 available, as incorrect selection may lead a person to believe they are ineffective.  Be aware, too, that remedies that say they are Bach remedies, but do not carry the Bach name, are not Bach.  Some Bach practitioners believe the Bach-like remedies have vibrational energies which are not true to the Bach remedies and may not work in the same manner.  For a list of recommended Bach books, see Resources-Media.  Although there are a myriad of flower essence lines available, I recommend Bach as the initial set to work with because it is a simplistic yet effective flower essence line and usually available at health food stores. Please note that every Bach remedies book has slightly different descriptions of what the remedies address.  I work with 10 different Bach remedy sources to ensure complete and appropriate recommendation of remedies for an animal or human.

Your Animal Knows What It Needs. Don't be surprised if your animal begins opening its mouth or lifting its lip so you can put the drops in!  I have seen this happen with Barney, my rescued Weim, and have heard this from clients as well. 

RESCUE REMEDY AND SCLERANTHUS

Rescue Remedy is the special combination Dr. Bach concocted from 5 of his flower 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. This combination is useful for situations ranging from shocking events like accidents, death of a loved one and surgery (Clematis is also helpful for clearing the effects of tranquilizers and anesthesia), to traumatic experiences such as being attacked, receiving serious distressing news, anxious thoughts of a forthcoming dental appointment, examination or interview, etc.

Seizures Interestingly, Rescue Remedy has been known to stop seizures in dogs and cats if administered immediately at the first sign a seizure is occurring.   Scleranthus is also extremely helpful for seizures and other neurological issues involving one-sided symptoms (such as those seen after strokes, and the imbalance seen with seizures and ear infections/vertigo). I highly recommend that you keep a bottle of Rescue Remedy on hand. 

Dosage Standard dose is 4 drops of Rescue Remedy or 2 drops of any of the other Bach essences. In emergency situations this can be given every five minutes until the person or animal relaxes, then space the dose to 15 minutes, an hour, and then as needed.  You cannot overdose on the remedies, but using more than four drops in each dose does not make the remedy work better.  It is not how much you give that makes the difference, it is how often the remedies are administered.  Frequency is important; standard frequency is 4 doses a day. Be sure to gently shake the bottle 8 times first, each time, before administering the drops. This activates the vibrational energy of the essence. For animals, place the drops on the gums or in the mouth (especially with animals in seizure). For other situations, drops can be given in this manner or placed on a treat or food.

Proper Use The "proper" way to use any of the Bach essences is:

• Shake the bottle gently 8 times [this activates the essence]

• A dose is 4 drops of Rescue Remedy, or 2 drops of any other Bach essence. Typically you give that number of drops 4 times a day (or more often). But for example, give a dose 3 times, 5 minutes apart, if you have a storm-phobic animal when you know a storm is coming, or one that is fearful at the vet's before taking them to the vet, before and after surgery, etc., then give a dose every 15-60 minutes as needed. You can give it every 5 minutes if necessary. You're looking for a relaxation response (they get calmer, they may sigh, lay down and sleep, stop pacing, etc.). If the animal has received anesthetic, Clematis helps clear that spacey, disconnected feeling. Unless dealing with a small animal (say under 35 lb), giving 8-10 doses a day or even more is not going to hurt. With the smaller dogs, and cats, the essences are preserved with alcohol so yes, they can possibly get a little "buzz", especially cats, if given that often. So make a treatment bottle instead (see below).

• To give a dose, you can put it on a treat, on food, or in their mouth (just lift their lip and drip on the inside of the mouth).

• If you are addressing a long standing or deep seated issue, do NOT expect immediate improvement! It may take days, weeks or even a few months for true resolution. Be patient, don't give up just because you don't think the remedy is working. Subtle changes are just as important as big ones. Look for improvement in behavior, attitude, interests, interaction, moods, etc. You can never cause harm with the remedies, so giving them long term is not a problem.

Making a Treatment Bottle

• To make a treatment bottle, get a dark glass 1 oz. (30ml) bottle with a dropper from your vet or a health food store. Add one ounce of pure/filtered water, 1/2 teaspoon of brandy as a preservative for the water (EXCEPT: Do not add it to bottles for birds, animals under 10 lbs, or animals prone to seizures), and 4 drops of Rescue Remedy or 2 drops of any other Bach essence (BE SURE TO SHAKE THE ESSENCE BEFORE ADDING). This is now your treatment bottle; gently shake it 100 times to thoroughly blend the essence and water. See "Proper Use", above, for instructions about dose -- note that a dose is still 4 drops from this treatment bottle. There's a little more to it than this, but those are the basics. Diluting does not affect the ability of the essence to rebalance the emotion that is out of balance. A vibration is a vibration is a vibration (a wave of energy). No matter how much water you add, the vibration is still there. But don't mix more than 1 oz. of water to 4 drops of Rescue Remedy or 2 drops of another essence. Making a treatment bottle means you get much longer use from your original remedy bottle. NOTE: do not keep a treatment bottle for more than 6 weeks; the water can turn filmy, especially without a small amount of alcohol added as a preservative. Keep it in a cool place (no need to refrigerate) and out of sunlight. You may wish to make a second bottle that you keep in your purse in case you're traveling and a storm comes up.
  
  Note that the above is the same procedure for giving Bach remedies to humans.

 Rescue Remedy Cream for Wounds

 Rescue Remedy cream contains the remedies listed above plus Crab Apple for cleansing.  Useful for healing of wounds, bruised tissue, inflammation and skin problems generally.  It can be applied as often as necessary and may be used beneath a dressing if required.  If the area is left open, it does not matter if the cream is licked by the animal, as it is harmless.  A small amount is all that’s needed; just dab on lightly and rub in.  Very helpful around incisions (do not place directly on the incision line, just around it) and other wounds.

Bach Treatment Bottles for You or Your Pet For a Bach flower essences consultation or treatment bottle (fee applies), please contact me at kat@katberard.com or 210-402-1220. Visit my Services Offered page for more details.

[Except for the photo of Barney, all photographs on this page were provided by Blaikiewell Animal Sanctuary in Scotland, UK (http://www.blaikiewell.com)