Tag Archives: calendula

Getting the red and mucus out

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Dylan with pink eyeWhen we humans travel, generally we stay in a hotel or bed & breakfast for the night, not so with our dog. When we go out of town, we send Dylan to the Lucky Dog Inn and Cat Spa. It’s a wonderful place. He gets to run around in a large fenced-in area for at least three hours a day with his pals. By “pals,” I mean other dogs he gets along with. From reports, they tend to be little fluffy dogs. Apparently, Dylan is too timid to hang out with the big dogs. When he gets back home, he tends to be mellow, less needy and not so neurotic, for at least a couple of days. Then he is back to his old crazy self.

Unfortunately, this last time he came home with pink eye (conjunctivitis). Pink eye is a very contagious infection of the mucus membranes around the dog’s eyes (the conjunctiva). It leads to very sore, itchy eyes and a mucus discharge. There are many possible causes: bacteria, viral, or fungal infection, allergies, irritants, stress, injury or simply genetics.

When humans get pink eye, a common treatment is to apply a chamomile teabag. It’s very simple, all you need to do is steep the tea bag in hot water, let it cool, and then lay it directly on the infected closed eye. The person simply lies down and relaxes while the chamomile relieves the eye(s). So, we decided to try this before taking Dylan to the vet. Since, it would be awkward to hold warm tea bags or compresses over Dylan eyes for any length of time; we opted to wipe away the mucus discharge from his eyes with a tissue dipped in a chamomile and calendula infusion, and then flush the eyes with it. We use a tissue so it could be thrown away and help prevent any re-infection. We decided to combine chamomile and calendula because they both are very soothing and have great healing qualities. Chamomile is known for its antiseptic, anti-irritant, anti-microbial anti-inflammation and pain relieving properties. Calendula has many of the same healing properties.

So, every day whenever I noticed mucus discharging from his eye, I wiped it away with an infusion soaked tissue. His eyes seem to have the most discharge when he wakes up in the mornings. Within three days, there was great improvement and within a week, there was very little discharge. I will continue to be vigilant and not allow the infection to take hold again. Nevertheless, I think we found a great remedy, if he ever gets pink eye again. What do you do when your dog gets pink eye? Please share and I will continue to share.

All information is shared for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition.

 

 

Teeth are strong but gums gotta go

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My last visit to the dentist did not go as smooth as I had hoped. I was told that I had the beginning stage of gingivitis and it was recommended that I have a deep cleaning or scaling. I was told, that at this point, if all the tarter that was developing below the gum level was removed I could turn it around. I was shocked since I brush and floss regularly and my gums do not bleed, well almost never. I simply dismissed it until I started to think about my family history. Two members of my family started to lose their teeth in their late forties, and another is working very hard not to lose any in his fifties.

I am forty-seven. Through my research I found that nutrition, genetics and stress play major roles in oral health. Unfortunately, I only have control over one – nutrition. I believe I handle stress relatively well, but I am human and life happens.

So I decided that I was going to bite the bullet and have the deep cleaning done, give my gums and teeth a fresh new start. I endeavored to work extra hard at maintaining gum health from then on. After the deep cleaning was done, I was instructed to rinse my mouth with salt water 6 times a day. Instead, I made an infusion of chamomile (Anthemis nobilis) and calendula (Calendula officinalis) and rinsed my mouth with the infusion six times a day. Both chamomile and calendula have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties; the combination just felt right. I went in a week later to have more work done, but the dentist told me it was too early to see any change. Nevertheless, when I was checked, my deep pockets in the gums went from a 6 to a 3. With results like that, I will continue to rinse my mouth with the chamomile and calendula infusion nightly – who needs Listerine! I will keep you posted.

All information is shared for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition.