"The whole world is a cactus it is impossible to sit down.. Who doesn't remember this song, one of Jacques Dutronc's greatest hits, released in 1966? As soon as you hear it, you almost automatically start humming! But what I remember most is this passage: "In my underwear, I put cactus, Aïe aïe aïe! Ouch! Aïe aïe aïe".
He was still quite young, but was Jacques Dutronc already secretly suffering fromhemorrhoids ? It's estimated that after the age of 50, one person in two has already had a "hemorrhoidal crisis". It's a very common blood circulation problem, but because it affects a somewhat sensitive area, it's a taboo subject. No one wants to talk about the irritation, swelling, itching and bleeding of their anal region.
Hemorrhoids simple varicose veins in the wrong place!
In reality, it's just like any other circulatory problem: the blood has trouble "flowing back upstream" to the heart, once it's irrigated the lower part of the body. Blood then stagnates in the lower region, the pelvis and legs. The vessels may then dilate, leading to the formation of varicose veins or hemorrhoidsdepending on the location of the vessels involved:
- Varicose veins are often found in the veins of the legs.
- While the hemorrhoids concern the veins of the rectum and anus, the hemorrhoidal veins.
These varicose veins may be inside the rectum: you can't see them, but the pain is there. Or at the exit, outside the rectum.
Why does blood suddenly start to stagnate like that? There are several reasons: with age, blood loses its fluidity, becoming more viscous and a little "sticky". This makes it more difficult to pump. Or your veins may have lost their tone and become relaxed.
And their valves, which are supposed to help venous return, no longer retain blood. So much so, in fact, that venous flow sometimes goes in the opposite direction (from top to bottom). Often, too, it's a diet that's too spicy, or an evening of drinking that brings on the onset ofhemorrhoids. So your first instinct is to avoid being too heavy-handed with the pepper grinder. The same goes for coffee: if you're prone to those "misplaced" varicose veins, avoid it.
Hemorrhoids Beware of your buttocks if you're often constipated!
The other main reason is excess pressure in the pelvic region. Blood already has to contend with gravity to get back up to the heart, and it starts to take its toll if the pressure is further increased.
This pressure can be due to excessive sitting and a sedentary lifestyle.
Some efforts force us to "push", like when we try to have a bowel movement and it doesn't come.
This is also the case when we lift relatively heavy loads: we hold our breath when we want to lift the load, putting pressure on the abdominal and anal area.
Thus, both constipation and this type of physical effort increase the risk of having hemorrhoidsby dint of "forcing".
And then there are certain sports that encourage hemorrhoids.
Cycling is one of them (unless you're "dancing" the whole way). And the same goes for horse-riding. It's so common among cyclists that some wonder whether they can continue to practice their hobby with hemorrhoids.
Rather than giving up cycling, it's perfectly possible to get rid of them, without going through surgery (delicate and painful) and even avoiding sclerotherapy (elimination of the varicose vein by injection of an irritant substance causing inflammation of the vein wall). This is an opportunity to harness the full power of a somewhat forgotten branch of alternative and natural medicine.
Hemorrhoids more powerful than leaves or flowers?
This is gemmotherapy. The science of buds, young shoots and rootlets. Phytotherapy (herbal medicine) uses the "adult" parts of trees or plants. Gemmotherapy, on the other hand, focuses on "fresh embryonic tissue", known to contain all the power of the future plant. As the bud is the precursor of the various parts of the tree, it can carry all the active principles in its latent state:
From the sheet.
From the flower.
Bark.
Roots.
It's a kind of concentrate of the chemical elements that the tree will offer later, when its various elements reach maturity. What's more, gemmotherapy can be used as an in-depth treatment, for two to three months, or even continuously (but then with a weekly break: take only 5 days out of 7).
As for preparing buds, you don't just put them in your cup of herbal tea and let the magic happen, as with some flowering tops. No, once the buds and young shoots have been picked, they need to macerate for around twenty days.
- You can either buy 1DH diluted glycerol macerates (1/10 dilution: 1 drop of pure extract in 9 drops of solvent, a mixture of water-alcohol-glycerine), the first existing form of macerate and the only form recognized by the French pharmacopoeia in gemmotherapy.
- Or use concentrated macerates, "defined as a plant-based dietary supplement by the European Parliament": they can be found in (para)pharmacies, specialist stores... In this preparation, glycerine is replaced by honey, for example.
And some of these buds are particularly indicated for stopping hemorrhoidal attacks. Such is the case with the flagship trio chestnut-chestnut-sorb! But before I introduce them to you, I'd like to tell you two more things about this wonderful bud medicine.
Hemorrhoids at least two more reasons to get started
Of course, gemmotherapy isn't the only way to treat your skin naturally. hemorrhoids. There are several possibilities, such as dry plant extracts (in capsule form) or fruit macerates (chestnut) rather than bud macerates. For example, Dr Ménat recommends 80 to 150 mg of aescine per day, derived from dry extract of chestnut. But I'd like to share with you, in this letter, all the potential that bud macerates offer.
Gemmotherapy provides at least one additional dimension to a protocol that would use only the mature parts of the plant. chestnut tree, in macerate or powder form. First of all, to do without buds would be to deprive yourself of the plant's energetic dimension. For Dr. Pol Henry, the father of gemmotherapy, this science is "first and foremost an energetic medicine, before being a phytotherapy of active principles".
In particular, it is the sap contained in the buds that "conveys the energetic information" of the plant, enabling us to work on our body's emotional and psychic spheres. A bit like Dr. Bach's elixirs, which restore balance and mental well-being.
In the case of India, it is particularly suited to people who never learn from bad experiences, who have poor "feedback", like their venous return. The macerate will give them the wisdom to recognize and learn from their mistakes.
Secondly, you'd be missing out on the draining effect of these buds. They are reputed to support the emunctories, the organs responsible for evacuating waste from the body, such as the kidneys, lungs and liver.
Since the liver is a highly vascularized organ, it will create a "clog" in the bloodstream if it becomes congested and overwhelmed by waste management. The result is blood stagnation in the pelvis.
The use of buds thus plays a "detox" role, and does much more than alleviate the symptom alone: when it's used, a whole field of work is engaged.
It acts not only on the root of the problem, but also on the body's cleansing function and the mental sphere. With that in mind, I can now unveil the three treasures of good circulatory health.
The Balkan trio against inconvenience hemorrhoids
We start with the famous chestnut which, contrary to its name, is native to the humid mountains of the Balkans. It is used in Turkish folk pharmacopoeia to treat problems ofhemorrhoids. It's almost unthinkable to relieve hemorrhoidal disorders without using horse chestnut, as its effectiveness has long been proven!
It's a "pelvic decongestant", ideal for relieving pressure in the pelvis. Aescin is the main active ingredient in chestnutIts precursor (a kind of "pre" aescin) is contained in the bud.
In a study published in 1976 and carried out on 80 people, it was found that the symptoms of those taking 40 mg of aescin three times a day improved significantly:
82% of these patients experienced a reduction in their symptoms (pain, burning, swelling and itching).
Compared with only 32% of placebo patients.
Le chestnut is also a vein tonic, very beneficial for "sluggish" veins. And it's even more effective when accompanied by its two acolytes: chestnut and rowan!
Hemorrhoids less well-known than the Marronnier, its two reinforcements
Also fortifying, the chestnutoriginally found in the mountainous regions of Southern Europe, tones vein walls and combats blood stagnation. Studies carried out among local populations in Serbia, Macedonia and Turkey have revealed that chestnut was often used:
For cardiovascular health in Turkey.
For painful, swollen veins, in Serbia, after soaking crushed fruit in plum brandy for 40 days.
Its fruits and leaves were used in Serbia and Macedonia to treat coughs (which, if chronic, increase intra-abdominal pressure and the risk of blood stagnation).
And then there's the Sorbiera common European mountain tree. It is known to thin the blood and contribute to good circulation. Given rowan's blood-thinning action, this macerate should not be used in the event of anticoagulant treatment. It is also used as an enema for hemorrhoids.
Just like Horse Chestnut, where an infusion of 50g of leaves in 1 liter of water can be used as a lotion to soothe the pain of "badly located" varicose veins. In the book "Manuel de Gemmotherapy - la vitalité au cœur des bourgeons pour une bonne santé au quotidien" (Editions Jouvence 2019), the author suggests taking 10 drops of these three glycerol macerates in a little water, every day.
This blend will thin your blood, tone your veins and decongest the vascular network of your over-pressurized pelvis. What's more, it's quite pleasant on the palate, so don't miss out on these forgotten treasures.