Chest infections of all sorts, including pleurisy were of concern to all Herbalists throughout history. Especially perhaps during the industrial revolution in polluted and overcrowded cities and workplaces respiratory infections were rife and accounted for lots of death as the progression through respiratory illnesses led to pneumonia.
Pleurisy is a particular infection, which involves the pleural lining, which is the slippery membrane within which the lungs slide inside the chest as they inflate and deflate. A patch of infection can result in the lung and the lining being fused together temporarily resulting in sharp pain whenever the patient takes a larger than normal breath.
With the advent of improved livings conditions and the control of infection in modern times pleurisy has become much less common but it does occur, and in the present age of antibiotic resistant infections, we are beginning to see more cases than we did 20 years ago.
Our observations are that in most cases those folk most likely to suffer are those who habitually breathe very shallowly using only the top of their lungs. I counsel all my pleurisy patients to learn yogic breathing, or to learn to breathe by drawing air into the bottom of the lungs by pushing the stomach out rather than by lifting the shoulders. I don't believe that a pleural lining infection has much of a chance of developing if a patients breathing is habitually full and deep.
A particular North American Indian herb called Pleurisy Root is specific for the condition. I do include this in a more general lung and respiratory system tonic to direct the healing specifically at pleurisy. This herbal treatment taken at a dose rate of 20 drops three times daily is remarkably reliable in treating the infection and repairing the pleural lining to make a reoccurrence less likely.
The Pleurisy Mix contains the herbs: Yarrow, Garlic, Rosehips, Elecampane, Pleurisy Root and Nettle with the Bach Flower Remedies Pine, Wild Rose and Olive.
If this mix is taken with copious amounts of hot fresh lemon drinks and rosehip tea, hot or cold it will quickly clear the infection. The course should be continued for 8 to 12 weeks after all symptoms have gone and by then the lungs should have completely healed, scarring should have nearly gone, the lungs restored to normal and a healthy immunity fully restored.
