I recently got a bit of poison ivy on my right forearm from digging out a clogged mower vacuum which evidently had picked up some PI. I was putting the Caladryl lotion on it + a few drops of plantain tincture and then a friend of mine says she swears by Tea Tree Oil so I started putting some of that on as well and it seemed to dry things up pretty quickly. It is now almost completely gone. The main part of it was shaped almost like a question mark or ear outline - due to the mower no doubt - and now looks like a scar. I didn't know poison ivy could cause scarring -- I haven't really itched it that much -- do I need to find something else now to clear up the scarring? I am thankful tho' that even tho we have a lot of PI around our property I know what it looks like and avoid it and even when I have gotten a touch of it - it has been nothing like the terrible outbreak I had at age 17 after a visit to a forest preserve. It was all over both arms, legs and on my face. My arms and legs had huge welts and I wished I could just die - it was such agony. I've gotten a few minor spots on my right wrist [just below the garden glove line] here before [with this latest being the worst] still nothing like age 17 so I am thankful. Incidently - urishiol can remain active on surfaces for 5 years and still cause an outbreak. Last time I got a touch of it was in March pulling out briar roots and there happened to be some ivy roots in the area as well - no leaves just the root therefore it snuck up on me. Wash clothes etc that may have come in contact with PI or you can get it from that again.

I'm a physician with an interest in evidence-based herbalism. I'm well aware that in medicine as well as herbalism "experience" and anecdotes can lead us astray, to the extent that useless and potentially hazardous treatments are kept alive in the face of solid research indicating otherwise. Medicine back in the days of Hippocrates believed that disease was caused by an imbalance in the "four humors" of the body. Those beliefs were deservedly discarded long ago. It seems that "herbology science" is still clinging to "hot or cold, wet or dry, excess or deficient condition" to explain disease - which is an unfortunate relic of the past. "Even if you don't mean to be, do you realize your posts come across antagonistic, demeaning and contentious?" In the past, some posters in this forum have taken the tack that disagreement with their beliefs is an attack on them as a person, and responded with personal critiques and insults. In your post in the thread about wormwood dangers you stated (without referring to the warnings others had posted) that your wormwood tonics were safe. Should I have regarded that as antagonistic, contentious and demeaning to my beliefs and responded accordingly? Instead, I asked you some followup questions and presented more evidence. I hope our interactions can be maintained on a level of civility and calm exchange.

I'm just surprised that it's taken this long to pull it. The 2006 settlement made it kind of obvious that there was something majorly wrong with the it. I think that it was labeled as a supplement so it wasn't subject to the same regulations as a drug even though "natural" remedies can have side effects just as serious. I think I read that reports of anosmia started coming in almost immediately after Zicam was put on the market.

The Nissen Fundoplication is usually a last resort for uncontrolled GERD. As you know, the biggest downside is the inability to vomit. Another problem is that if the esophagus has lost much of its elasticity due to the acid, it can keep the food from moving on to the stomach, causing a blockage. Then surgery must be done to both remove the blockage and usually to reverse the Fundoplication. My gastroenterologist said it's a very tricky surgery. There are other new minimally invasive surgeries out there. Cleveland Clinic is the place to go - they are doing the most research on this issue. Unfortunately, I'm not a candidate for either the minimally invasive surgery or the Fundoplication. We have tried two drugs - the first caused such vertigo I could not take it. I haven't been that dizzy since I drank way too much bourbon while in college! It was awful! I'm now on a drug for anxiety (which I do NOT have) but which is used off-label for GERD. I think it is helping some. I'm VERY careful about my diet. It killed me this past winter not to be able to eat a bowl of tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich on a cold winter's night! No Italian food for me, either. No citrus fruits, cranberries, rhubarb, chocolate - the list goes on and on... I really try to follow these restrictions as I tend to aspirate stomach contents and end up with infection and pneumonia. It really has made my pulmonary problems far worse. I need a full renovation of my esophagus!