BACK TO ASK THE HERBALIST INDEX
ANSWERS FROM CARLOS:
QUESTION: I was diagnosed with a hydrocele and a cyst on my epititydis my question is he wants to do surgery it’s the size of a softball is there and herbs that will dissolve a hydrocele thanks

ANSWER: Toxicity due to bad dietary habits is often the cause of this.  As to home treatment for a hydrocele the first thing I would suggest is a 7 day semi-fast eating only fruits and drinking Dandelion root tea 4-5xs day. You may also eat yogurt and drink fresh water adding a few drops of lemon juice.  

The homeopathic Remedy Pulsatilla 200, 6 pills, 3xs day has helped some folks reduce hydrocele swelling and avoid recurrence.  After you fast you must eliminate foods that stagnate the system such as: Red meats, white sugar, pork, all dairy and all fried foods.  If after this period you notice no relief than surgery may be your only option. Surgery in most instances is simple and minor.

QUESTION:  I read some of your posting on Cysts.  I am a 47 year old female, healthy, but guilty of a diet high in bad carbs and sugar.  My particular Cysts are Ganglion Cysts, Neurofibroma or Neurofibromatosis as the disease is called.  They have been steadily growing for the last seven years.  Surgical removal is all that has been offered for treatment.

    They are located in the soft and fatty tissue in the back of my right thigh, approximately 9 of them. One behind  my right knee and two growing on both sides of the tibiofibular joint as well as one near the right ankle.  All are adjacent to the sciatica nerve. 

    Any idea of how to deal with these types of tumors/cysts?  They are severely painful and have progressed into a problem of sleeplessness due to pain.

ANSWER: what you saw are my other predecessors answers, I am happy to give you mine.

You must change your diet. This is the key to your success in treating these and other health conditions.  Eliminate from your diet all fried and greasy foods, all milk products, margarine and all white sugar. Also eliminate foods that stagnate the system such as: pork, heavy red meats and pasta. Avoid alcohol and drink coffee in moderation.

To clean out toxins, I advise a 48 hour semi-fast, drinking only fresh water and infusions of Dandelion sweetened with honey. You may also drink fresh fruit juices and fresh water. If hunger overtakes you, you may eat Yogurt.

After your fast. enhance your diet with plenty of fresh fish (salmon, mackerel), chicken, turkey, fresh garlic and onions, fresh ginger, brown rice, raw or steamed locally grown vegetables, honey and fresh fruits.

The dried petals of the Calendula plant have been used as a poultice to treat this condition, I suggest that you use a skin scrub based on Arnica, Calendula and tea tree oil. Your local herbalist may be able to prepare one for you.

Psyillium husks may be used to reduce the inflamation and swelling. Boil for 15-20 minutes and drink 3xs day. You may sweeten with a bit of honey.

Take a multi-vitamin containing 25,000IU of Vit. A, 50mg of B6, 50mg of Zinc and take 1,000mg of Vit. C 3xs day. Also add 1 tablespoon of Flaxseed oil in the morning and 1,000mg Evening Primrose 3xs day. Take 1,000Mg. of Turmeric per day.

You may also want to treat the affected area with a compress of essential oils of Lavender 15 drops, Tea tree 15 drops in an infusion of Hazel tea, apply the compress twice a day for 10-15 minutes.

Other herbs that may be used are Echinacea and Licorice.

One last, but certainly very important treatment is Acupuncture. I encourage you to look into it with a local licensed and certified acupuncturist. There have been several success stories using this form of therapy.

QUESTION: Sorry for bothering, but can you help me. My brother have pilonidal cyst with abscess is there a way to cure without surgery with herbs or something

ANSWER: With pilonidal cysts it is very important that the area is maintained clean. It is important to keep bacteria out of the affected area. If there is hair at the site or near the area, it needs to be shaved. 

Some folks have found that treating the area with Tea tree oil helps, but if the cyst develops a redness around the area or has a foul smell you need to contact your doctor. Also if it is chronically infected it could cause a form skin cancer, so it is very important to be in touch with your practitioner. 

Another remedy which has had some success is Castor oil packs. Here are 2 links you may want to look at: 

http://askwaltstollmd.com/archives/seba/18646.html#18876 

http://www.mystrangemind.com/2008/09/natural-remedies-for-pilonidal-cysts.html 

Other than that I would suggest drinking infusions of Dandelion tea and adding 10 drops of extract of Burdock and 5 drops extract of Red clover. Sweeten oil with honey and drink 3-4xs day.  This will help to clear out toxins. 

One more remedy that may help is taking 1 teaspoon of Turmeric powder a day, or 500mg in capsule form. You can also make a paste with the Turmeric powder and place it on the affected area for 30 minutes, 2xs day.

FROM LORYHL
QUESTION:  I am a 68 year old women.  My problem with infected cysts goes back at  least 50 years.  I have had them lanced under my arms, chest and vaginal area.  In the last 8 months I have been plagued with one after another, non-stop.  I was prescribed antibiotics twice, it has not helped.  I  recently had a dermatologist suggest that I take humira injections, as prescribed for psoriasis patients.  I refuse because 
of the risk related to that particular medication.  My question is, is there a more holistic approach that I can take to relieve me of this problem?

ANSWER:  Thank you for the inquiry. First of all, I strongly suggest you take a look at your diet. If your diet has been high in carbs and processed foods, and sugars, it is likely, your body type has  an issue with processing, these dietary items. If your diet has been clean and healthy, then there are other reasons, that you have this problem for so long, or a combination of both.  I suggest you read the downloads, especially the one on PH diet. If your body is too acid, it is more likely to make cysts, and have a inclination to infections, if it is more alkaline, with live, and healthy foods, this is conducive to NOT growing cysts or having them get infected.  
            The herbs you should take are the following:
- our formula Free Flowin, containing turmeric and astragalus, as well as other herbs for inflammation, immune, digestion of carbs, and balancing of sugars, healthy gut, and build immune.
- do a bowel and gall bladder flush, see download, this will clean the toxins out of your body, and allow you to make healthy cells
- drink P au D'arco tea, 3 cups daily
-take alpha lipoic acid, this will help get rid of the cysts
- double dose, for at least one month of Omega 3-6-9 oils, then normal dose thereafter, will help break up the cysts
- American Ginseng, take 3 pills two times daily for 30 days on, 30 days off
- 3 pills 3 times daily  of Blue Green Algae, this will help detox, and give energy and stop the growth of the cysts, but remember, no processed, sugary foods, or pork
- put castor oil packs on your ovaries, and anywhere else there is an infection of the cysts, this will help break them up, and alleviate the pain, you can put a heating pad on for a little while on top, as well, but not for longer than, 10-15 minutes at a time.

QUESTION: Do you have know of any herbs to help with a Ganglion Cyst?  I had a cyst removed from the top of my right hand by the base of the thumb.  It grew back in the same in 2 years. The cyst is affecting my hand in that my fingers tingle, warmth up my arm, my hand hurts. I can not open my hand because of the cyst.  The palm of my hand by the thumb base is swollen.  I can tell there is arthritis in it.  The other hand is starting w/a cyst but not has bad.  That hand I can not open.  I was reading an article about Red Desert Clay and how that help with Ganglion Cysts.  It's not guaranteed to work, but there are reviews that state some success.  Do you have any views on that?  I take a lot of supplements along with Iodoral and ATP Cofactor, Tumeric, Vitamin K, Nattokinese, Astragalus. Not sure if there would be interactions or blood thinning effects.

ANSWER: I suggest you may be reactive to the Nightshade group of foods, which assist in causing these type of cysts, potatoes ( not sweet potatoes, it is good for you), tomatoes, green, red , yellow, peppers, tobacco, all first cousins, members of the Solanacea family. These plants cause arthritis, and are part of our way of life, in most of our foods, but for many, very arthritic causing, building up calcifications, arthritis, and joint problems.  I have had this myself, and the only thing that worked was acupuncture, from a really good Chinese acupuncturist. Find one in your area. Also start putting castor oil packs on it at nite, see download, you could add the clay into it, externally.  You could do a cleanse on your body as well,

FROM KAREN:
CYST ON TONGUE
QUESTION: I had a benign cyst removed from my tongue last November. Since then my tongue has undergone healing in various stages. At present, the papilae of my tongue are inflamed and very bothersome. I keep rubbing my tongue over my teeth because I feel like I have something on my tongue that needs to be removed. Do you have any suggestions as to how to treat the tongue? I have tried using tea bags, aloe vera etc.,but nothing seems to help me. I would appreciate your suggestions.

ANSWER: I would really like more information to better help you, do you have cysts anywhere else in the body, any other problems associated with this, did the surgeon say what kind of cyst it was(fluid or fatty) and why it formed? Have you been back to the surgeon and told him about the feeling. Seeing your tongue might be worth thousand words, Baltimore is 2 hours from us would you consider a full consultation. If you do not want to come up I can email or fax our brochure and client intake form. 

Here is the short answer for your question. I would use some topical antiinflammatory and painkillers such as:

Kava Kava, Latin Named: Piper methysticum This herb is good for oral pain, spasms, muscle relaxant along with being an antiseptic.

Spilanthes, Toothache plant, Latin Named: Spilanthes oleracea or Blainvillea oleracea, as the name implies it was traditionally used for toothache, today it is used appropriately for pain of the tongue, teath, gums and throat, it is also antifungal and antibacterial.

I would suggest using tinctures of these herbs and dropping them directly on your tongue, they should help with inflammation and pain.

You might also want to use Echinacea tincture which besides being an immune booster is a great sialogogue, makes you salivate more, good antiinflammatory and increases phagocytosis which are the cleanup cells of the circulation system. The Eclectics also used it for pain in the late 1800's early 1900's.

PILONIDAL CYST
Question: I'm writing to help my daughter who is a healthy 21 year old. As a captain of her gymnastics team and a cheerleader, you know she is in good physical condition. Also, she has always been careful to maintain good eating habits. Recently she developed a pilonidal cyst which was treated with antibiotics and heat applications. This seemed to do the trick. However, 6 weeks later it is reappearing. I'm trying to find a way to avoid repeated use of antibiotics and, of course, surgery. 

Answer: A pilonidal cyst can be a chronic and annoying problem. I would really like more information to give a better recommendation for you. I can fax our brochure and client intake form to you, or send in mail or attached to email if you have Microsoft word. I have run across this problem twice so far and have successfully avoided full blown surgical removal of the area.

In general I would try the following.

1. Keep the area hair free, use a hair removing product once a week.
2. Don't injure the area, such as a blunt landing on the back or bottom when she is doing gymnastics or long-term pressure from sitting.
3. Some practitioners recommend using a rubber inflated ring when sitting so there is little pressure on the area, take it every where she goes, or get one for the car and home.
4. Correct posture when seated and positions when sleeping can help.
5. Use Vitamin C 1000 mg or more
6. Use Zinc upwards to 200 mg
7. Get as much Garlic in her as possible, add it to her daily diet, she should smell like garlic.
8. Medicinal mushrooms such as Gano derma, Maitake, Shitake and Chaga help to build the deep immune system and fight infection. Make broths of the mushrooms or take them as tinctures.
9. Astragalus is a great immune building herb.
10. For stress associated with her fast paced life give Siberian Ginseng, chronic stress depletes immune reserve and response. Stress also effects B vitamin deficiency, she may benefit from a B-Complex supplement.
11. If it is necessary to open the cyst find a surgeon/physician that will try a lance and drain tube technique, less invasive, quicker turn around. The tube stays in for a couple days to drain the cyst then it is removed, the wound heals quickly. Don't let the surgeons foul you, the total cystectomy has only a 25% success rate.
12. Clean up her diet completely, the fuel of infection is sugar and carbohydrates, all products with ingredients that are simple sugars (sucrose, corn syrup, dextrose and any sugar or sugar-alcohols) or are made with processed flours (such as bleached white flour) should be avoided. Fat free products are full of sugars, they take the fat out and add sugars for flavor and texture, avoid them also. No soda, juice or sports drinks. Her diet should consist of in this order: water, vegetables, proteins then a small amount of fat. Fruits are also full of sugar and should be her dessert if she has dessert at all.
13. Keep the area clean, bath and shower daily and after getting sweaty, have her change clothing so she is not sitting around in sweaty outfits. Less damp wet and dark, less possibility of infection.