Infection

The Core Program for Clearing Any Infection, and the Signs That Call for Help Now

Before the Crisis Comes

Fear makes for very poor decisions. Learn what to do before the crisis comes, and it may never become life-threatening.

Sometimes people don’t know what to do, so out of fear they do nothing until it is almost too late. Read this sheet now, while all is well, and keep the basic supports on hand.

Understanding the Condition

What an Infection Is

An infection is the invasion and multiplication of germs (bacteria, viruses, fungi such as yeast, or parasites) that do not belong in the body. It may stay in one place, such as a boil, a tooth or an ear, or it may spread through the blood and lymph to the whole body. An infection is a serious condition. Left to run out of control, it can become fatal, so any infection should be taken very seriously and cleared as quickly as possible.

The program for clearing an infection is the same wherever it lives and whatever kind it is. That is why this sheet comes first. The other sheets in this series (head, teeth and mouth, chest and lungs, bladder and kidneys, female, and skin and wounds) add only what is special to that area, and point back here for the program itself.

Why Germs Take Hold

Dr. Christopher taught that “germs cannot live on healthy tissue, because germs are scavengers and can only live on filth and waste materials.” An infection from a small cut, he wrote, means the bloodstream and body as a whole are loaded with mucus and waste: “this is the open door.”

Between the time a germ is caught and the time symptoms show is the incubation period. During that time the germ is blocking up the system so it can take over. Lobelia works to keep the body open, so the blockage an infection needs never gets established. That is why Lobelia is part of the Preventive level below.

The Way Out

Clearing an infection can only be done by supporting the body’s own defenses, not by suppressing symptoms. As the herbs go to work, the infection and its waste (the die-off) are carried by the blood and lymph to the liver, and out through the bowels. The liver is the vacuum cleaner of the body; doing an ELF (Emergency Liver Flush) is like changing the vacuum cleaner bag.

If the liver or bowel is backed up while that waste is moving out, the immune system becomes overtaxed and the body begins reabsorbing it. Symptoms return, and it is back to the doctor for more drugs. This is what I call the Infection Merry-Go-Round. Infection work creates a load of die-off every day, which is why liver flushing is built into every level of this program, and why the bowels must be kept moving.

Diagram: an infection leaves through the blood and lymph, the liver and the bowel, and comes back when the way out is blocked. — How an infection leaves the body, and how it comes back when the way out is blocked. Diagram drawn for H.E.A.L.

Suppression: Why Some Infections Keep Coming Back

It is becoming apparent that the antibiotics we have used for years are no longer working as they once did. In my experience, their main work is to suppress the symptoms. The symptoms go away because the infection is pushed deep into the tissues and organs, where it can lie dormant until the immune system begins the process of healing. Prolonged antibiotics can also bring on yeast overgrowth.

That is not the whole story, though. If the antibiotics don’t kill them, they will suppress an infection enough to save a life, and then the herbal program can go in and clean it all out of the body. The longer an issue goes unchecked, the longer it takes to clear. The body begins to protect the badness as normal, so you have the work of clearing the issue while you redirect the body to accept that it needs to be cleared.

Fever

Dr. Christopher wrote that “fever is not a disease but a condition in the body wherein the balance of circulation has become disturbed. This is nature’s way of trying to burn out the toxic poisons.” When the body is chilled, the pores close and hold the heat in; the fever then raises the heat until the thick waste congesting the system is made liquid enough to pass out. (School of Natural Healing, p. 23)

So the aim is to help the fever do its work, by opening the pores and bringing on a sweat, not to stop it. The directions for adults and for small children are below, under Opening the Way.

When Minutes Matter

Most infections can be worked on at home with a faithful program. A few move faster than any home program can safely keep up with. If you see any of these signs, get emergency medical care now, and keep your herbal work going alongside it:

A red streak climbing from a wound or up a swollen limb
A hot, painful, growing lump in the armpit or groin, with fever
Swelling spreading across the face or down the neck from a tooth, or trouble swallowing or breathing
High fever with confusion, a stiff neck, or a rash that doesn’t fade when pressed
Any fever in a baby under 3 months old
Jaw stiffness or muscle spasms after a puncture wound (signs of tetanus)
Fast breathing, a racing heart, cold clammy skin, or very little urine (signs the infection is in the blood)

Antibiotics may suppress the infection enough to save a life. Once the crisis has passed, the herbal program can go in and clean it all out of the body. The choice of care is always yours. Make it with your eyes open.

The Emotional Side: the Energy Work

Healing the whole person. We are body, mind and spirit, and all three must heal together. When one part is neglected, the others struggle to heal.

An infection is often called a “hot” condition: red, swollen, burning. Very often the heart is running hot too, with irritation and old anger that has never been let go.

Louise Hay, in her book Heal Your Body, describes these patterns:

Infection: irritation, anger, annoyance. Turn it around: I choose to be peaceful and harmonious.
Fever: anger; burning up. Turn it around: I am the cool, calm expression of peace and love.
Inflammation: fear; seeing red; inflamed thinking. Turn it around: My thinking is peaceful, calm and centered.
Viral infections: a lack of joy flowing through life; bitterness. Turn it around: I lovingly let joy flow freely in my life. I love me.
Thymus (the master gland of the immune system): feeling attacked by life; “they are out to get me.” Turn it around: My loving thoughts keep my immune system strong. I am safe inside and out.
Tetanus (lockjaw): a need to release angry, festering thoughts. Turn it around: I let the love from my own heart wash through me, cleansing and healing every part of my body and my emotions.

Emotional patterns paraphrased from Louise Hay, Heal Your Body (Hay House). These are not faults to blame anyone for; they are places to look and let go.

Areas Affected & Opening the Way to Healing

An infection may sit in one place, but it is the whole body that clears it. The work is to get the infection fighters to where the infection is living, and to keep the way out open: blood and lymph moving, liver flushed, bowels open, skin breathing.

Opening the Way to Healing

1. Clear the blockage.

2. Get the healing nutrients into the area.

3. Sunshine and fresh air.

4. Bathe.

5. Move.

6. Know the part truly causing it.

The Two Infection Formulas

These two formulas are the heart of the program. One dose is always 1 teaspoon for a 150-lb adult; only how often you take it changes.

Herbal Aid 1 (formerly Herbal Antibiotic): fresh garlic, dandelion root, goldenseal root, fresh ginger, fresh horseradish and cayenne. Warming; moves the blood. Best for the throat, sinuses and chest, and at the first sign of a cold or flu. Take it in a cup of hot water with honey, or in V-8 or tomato juice. Not for the teeth and gums, and not for pets.
Herbal Aid 2 (formerly Infection Formula): plantain, black walnut, goldenseal root, bugleweed, marshmallow root and lobelia. Works on the blood and lymph. Best for the skin, teeth and gums, a stubborn or local infection, and long-term blood cleansing. Take it in a little almond milk. This is the formula for pets.
Echinacea (or Echinacea Plus, which has a little garlic and cayenne added; both dose the same). Supports the immune system on every day of infection work. Amounts are in the levels table below.
Lobelia keeps the body open. 1 to 2 dropperfuls 2 to 3 times a day during an exposure, and for coughing spasms.

Liver Flushing and the Bowels

Infection work creates die-off every day, and it must leave the body, not be recycled back into the tissues. Keep the bowels moving with LBF (Lower Bowel Formula) so they move two or three times a day, and do the ELF as often as your level calls for. After several weeks of infection work, it is always a good idea to flush the liver.

Settling the Stomach During an ELF

For nausea or bloating, or when the stomach rebels during an ELF: take 1 to 2 teaspoons each of L/P and Digestive Tonic in a few swallows of water, then lie down on your right side if possible. This displaces the pressure so the trapped air can move easily. In about five minutes the bloat is much better.

Garlic

Fresh garlic, 5 to 10 cloves a day, adds to the program; for serious cases, much more. For a daily dose, Supertonic (an ounce a day, or as a salad dressing with olive oil) or Herbal Aid 1 in tomato or V-8 juice is the easiest way. To eat a large amount of garlic without pain:

Blend garlic cloves with olive oil until smooth and creamy. Spread it on toast, drizzle it over a salad, or use it to start your sautéed onions and peppers.
Remove the pimento from green olives and put a slice of garlic in its place.
Sprinkle a large amount of fresh diced garlic over an avocado, tomato and lettuce salad or sandwich. The avocado absorbs the heat.
Press the garlic and scoop it into gelatin capsules. Swallow them quickly; the wet garlic dissolves the capsules fast.

Garlic Paste to the Feet

Garlic paste to the feet is natural healing first aid for the lungs, and a strong support at the Intense and Intensive levels. I have seen lungs clear overnight.

Press 6 to 12 cloves of garlic and mix 50/50 with Vaseline or a non-petroleum jelly. Nothing else is dense enough to keep the garlic off the skin and still let it pass into the body.
Massage the feet with olive oil, then put on a layer of plain Vaseline or jelly.
Spread the paste ½ inch thick on the soles only, cover with gauze, then a white cotton or wool sock.
Stay off the feet for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. The bowels must be open.
Adults: no more than two nights in a row if at all possible. Children, who have tender feet: one night, unless it is extremely important to do it again.
Past two nights it will leave a chemical burn that feels like a sunburn on the feet: not so bad, and no lasting harm. Soak the feet in aloe vera gel; BF&C Salve also heals the burn quickly. A child will likely peel a layer of skin from the feet.
An infant does not have the body heat to pull the garlic in. Dress the baby in a footed sleeper and put a hot water bottle by the feet.

Reading the Paste

The paste will tell you how to proceed. It goes on clear and white; in the morning it may be any number of colors.

Dark fluorescent green: the infection is still live and the body is not yet on top of it. Handle it only with gloves and throw it away outside in a tied-off bag. You will likely need to do the paste again that night.

Pale green: still live, but not bad enough to warrant a sunburn on the feet. Continue the program a few days, then do the paste again.

Brown to black: dead and dying. The colors in between show how well the body is getting on top of the infection.

I have seen all of these colors at different times.

Drawing It Out: Salves and Poultices

Infection Salve: the Herbal Aid 2 herbs, triple-infused in olive oil, with frankincense and oregano oils. Gentle enough for a baby’s bottom, strong enough for any hot or inflamed sore, sting or bite. Apply it and cover with a flannel pack.
Charcoal & Flaxseed Poultice: activated charcoal and freshly ground flaxseed, cooked into a paste and laid on warm. It draws infection out through the skin: over a boil or sore, over both ears for an earache, over the cheek for a tooth, over swollen glands. Leave it on overnight or at least 2 to 4 hours. See the Charcoal & Flaxseed Poultice sheet for directions.
Healing Poultice: slippery elm, plantain, goldenseal, comfrey root and a pinch of cayenne, mixed to a paste and packed into a deep wound, gouge or ulcer. It forms a protective herbal scab while new flesh grows in from the bottom. Always use the Charcoal & Flaxseed Poultice first, so the wound is clean.
Healing Salve (Dr. Christopher’s Healing Ointment) for itching, hives and inflamed skin.

A Note on Comfrey

Comfrey knits flesh quickly, which is why the Charcoal & Flaxseed Poultice always goes first, so the wound is clean before it starts to close. Some herbalists advise caution with comfrey during pregnancy, while nursing, or with liver disease; if that’s you, check in before using it.

Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy unblocks the affected area so fresh blood can cycle through it. Hot and cold foot soaks: 1 teaspoon cayenne per gallon of hot water, and ice water for the cold. Do 7 changes, at least 60 seconds in the cold. The ice plunge is where the power to break up the blockage happens.

Fever: The Epsom Salt Sweat Bath

For an adult: 2 cups of Epsom salt in a hot bath, for about 30 to 45 minutes. Keep it hot enough to be comfortable, but not so hot it makes you dizzy.

Keep drinking while in the tub: any good herbal tea, and a glass or two of hot yarrow tea, made from the fresh herb or from an extract (½ to 1 teaspoon per large cup of hot water).

When you stand up, rinse off with a quick cool-to-cold shower, just to rinse off the salt. Then put yourself to bed and sweat.

Older children can do the same bath, usually with the full 2 cups unless the child is very slight. Some hearty, healthy children are fine at 5 or 6; others can’t tolerate it until 10 or older. It really depends on the child. Know your children and use good judgment.

Fever in Small Children

You never sweat a small child. They don’t have the fluid to give up, and they cannot understand that they need to keep drinking.

Instead, put them in a tub of cool water only a few inches deep and let them play. Splash water on their upper body and let it evaporate; the cool water carries the heat off. Never leave a little one alone in the tub, even in a few inches of water.

Put a liner on their bed and a wrung-out hand towel under them, and a wet washcloth across the head; change it for a cool one as needed. Wipe down the front of them with a cool damp cloth. This will usually bring a fever down.

Keep them well hydrated. Don’t force food; the system needs to rest and heal, and missing a meal will not harm the child. Keep them calm and happy; your presence is a real aid to their healing.

Keep a close eye on the fever. If it continues to climb, call your doctor for advice on what to give to bring it down.

Feeding the Body

When clearing an infection, the body will not have the resources to heal if proper nutrition is lacking. Take Superfood daily, add 16 to 32 ounces of carrot juice a day, and drink about a gallon of water or herbal tea. Cut out processed foods, sugar and white flour.

Use distilled water for all teas, and when taking your extracts in hot water. If you use a hot water dispenser, distilled water greatly adds to the unit’s life.

Level of Commitment

How hard to work depends on how serious the infection is. Choose the level that fits, and be aggressive: most people do not dose often enough or in large enough doses. One dose is always 1 teaspoon for a 150-lb adult; children and pets are dosed by weight (a 75-lb child takes ½ teaspoon).

Level	Formulas	Echinacea	Liver (ELF)
Preventive	1 tsp Herbal Aid 1 (or 2), 2–3 times a day when illness is going around or after an exposure. Plus Lobelia, 1–2 dropperfuls 2–3 times a day during the exposure.	1 oz a day, 4 days a week, in fall and winter	—
Basic	1 tsp every 3 waking hours	1 oz once a day	Once a week
Moderate	1 tsp every 2 waking hours, alternating Herbal Aid 1 and 2	1 oz once a day	Every 3 days until cleared
Intense	1 tsp every waking hour, alternating Herbal Aid 1 and 2	1 oz every 12 hours	Nightly, 5 nights in a row
Intensive	Both formulas, 1 tsp each, 10 minutes apart, every hour. Usually only a couple of days, then step down.	1 oz every 12 hours	As the person is able, at least every other day

Stepping down. The Moderate, Intense and Intensive levels can be stepped down as the condition improves, without stopping the program. Just increase the time between doses as the body and symptoms improve. Then continue for 3 to 5 days after all symptoms are gone, at the Basic or Preventive level, to be sure the issue is completely cleared.
Every day while it is active. Common sense says to keep going every day when you are dealing with an active infection. Only for long-term work on a deep, suppressed infection do I take the Lord’s Day off.
Night doses. Don’t wake to dose at night except in extremely serious cases; a good night’s sleep is also very healing.
Babies. As a rule, a nursing baby gets the formulas through mother’s milk, with the mother taking the full adult dose. In a serious case, 1 to 2 drops of Antispasmodic can be slipped into the baby’s mouth during a feeding, followed by milk. Infection Salve may be used directly on a baby.
How long. Most infections clear in 2 weeks to 3 months. An infection that has been suppressed with antibiotics for years can take as long as 3 months or more.

More Is Not Faster

These doses are set to what the body can clear. If the body falls into a healing crisis with more die-off than it can process, drop the dose back and increase the Echinacea. Open the bowels, do an ELF and reapply your topicals. Don’t panic, but use common sense and let the body catch up.

People are different, and now and then someone reacts poorly to a particular herb. If something doesn’t sit right, stop it and let me know.

A Loose Healing Plan

At the first sign: sip Herbal Aid 1 in hot water with honey through the day, start Echinacea, and keep Lobelia on hand. Many colds and flus are handled in about 24 hours this way.
Choose your level from the table and start at once: formulas, Echinacea and the ELF schedule. Check the When Minutes Matter signs.
Open the way out: LBF to keep the bowels moving, a gallon of fluids, carrot juice and Superfood, no sugar or processed food.
Work on the area: Infection Salve, the Charcoal & Flaxseed Poultice, garlic paste to the feet for the lungs, hot and cold soaks, the sweat bath for fever. See the area sheet for the part of the body involved.
Step down as the symptoms improve, spacing the doses further apart.
Finish the job: continue 3 to 5 days after every symptom is gone. After several weeks of infection work, do a week of liver flushing.

Stories from the Work

Dara’s Story: Where It Began

For years I fought kidney and bladder infections, until I was on antibiotics more often than not. In 1996, after I had lost my insurance, a friend suggested dry herbs. In 1998 I discovered liquid herbal extracts, and that same year I created my Herbal Antibiotic, now called Herbal Aid 1. With each infection cleared, I have become more convinced there is no infection that cannot be cleared from the body when the healing herbs are aggressively applied.

Dara’s Story: My Brother’s Rusty Nail

My brother, a contractor in California, drove a rusty nail through his boot and into his foot. He hadn’t had a tetanus booster in over twenty years. I overnighted him five ELFs, the infection formulas to take every hour, an ounce of Echinacea every twelve hours, Antispasmodic, and M&L Salve for the spasms. Eight days later it hit him hard. I was on the phone with him through his first flush, when the spasms were bad enough that he spread the salve down his whole body just to get through it. He took his formulas every hour and an ELF every night, and went to work each day anyway. By the fourth day he was symptom-free and called to ask if he really needed the fifth flush. I told him yes; we needed to be sure it was all cleared out. He drank it, and he was fine.

A Member’s Story: Tetanus at Nine

A member’s nine-year-old daughter fell into tall grass tangled with barbed wire and came out scratched all over. The whole family was on board to treat it naturally, and we set up the infection program before she showed a single symptom. A week later the infection slammed into her little body hard. We gave her the Antispasmodic for the worst of the spasms and put her on the Intense program, dosed for her size, while her mother and grandmothers ran liver flushes alongside it. This was before the Emergency Liver Flush, and it took two weeks to fully clear. That little girl is grown now, and still stops by for herbs for her own family.

A Member’s Story: Do It Again

A longtime member, deep into detox work for a serious illness, mentioned she had been on many antibiotics for ear infections as a child. About six months into her program she emailed: a horrible ear infection. I told her to apply the Charcoal & Flaxseed Poultice. A few days later, after the poultice, the whole side of her face had swollen up and gone hot. I wrote back one line: “Do it again.” She did, and it was over. Her body was finishing a job the antibiotics had only postponed; one application isn’t always enough to pull an old infection all the way out.

A Guest’s Story: Settling the ELF

An older woman, brought here by her daughter, had been covered with hives and itching for nearly two years. She stayed with us and did her ELF. At bedtime her mouth began to water and she was on the verge of vomiting. I handed her the cup of L/P and Digestive Tonic I had ready; she knocked it back, and a few minutes later she was fine and took herself off to bed. By noon the next day she was about 70% clear. It took several more flushes to clear it completely, because it had been allowed to stay in her body so long.

A Member’s Story: Sent Home

An older gentleman member was sent home to die with an abdominal infection. He took both infection formulas for several months, and years later was still alive and doing very well.