Gutted......

Plant with a Pickaxeusing tale

Think of it like this. Lots of parents I know have a hell of a job getting their kids to eat healthy fresh veg. My little lad (only 2) loves peas too, and oddly, carrots (I seem to recall I despised them when I was little). I have a nephew that wont eat anything that isn't either bread, pastry or potato based and he is a skinny, weak little lad. I can honestly say I'd be happier for my lad to nick my veg and ruin my crop by harvesting it early and eating than have the opposite problem that my sister in law has and not be able to get anything healthy down him.

ziggy searchfieldabout the medicine amused me too. When I was little I'd been prescribed some potent cough medicine. I new it was time to take it but my mum was making the beds and my dad was still at work. I shouted my mum several times and she kept replying that she'd be down in a minute. I climbed up and retrieved the medicine bottle and took about a lid full. It was nice, so I downed it. I shouted up to my mum, 'it's ok, I've taken my medicine'. You should have seen how she freaked. When she saw the empty bottle in my hand you should have seen how quickly she dialled the doctor's number. Apparently the doc told her to stay calm and that at worst I'd just be quite drunk and should be left to sleep it off

 

Agreed Luke has cystic fibrosis and is on daily meds, one thing sufferers need is extra vits as they cant absorb them as well, so munch on little man

We found out he had it when he was two ( we near lost him then), so he is well used to taking his meds now, he has a nebulizer (he breaths in the vapour) twice a day with Colomycin in, its a compound that kills all known bugs (I might try some on black fly:D), we have "open doors" on the ward at hozzy, it means I can admit him regardless of what the hozzy says, anyway when he was about three (he was so used to taking drugs) his mum mixed the colomycin and put the vile on the table and went to get his nebby machine, Luke picked up the vile and drunk it down in one:OUCH::OUCH::OUCH: sals hozzy did'nt know the effect of drinking it, everyone was running around like headless chickens until Great Ormond street rang, after going thro all the medical books known to mankind they said (and were correct) that he'd be fine, other than a monster poo

He is tho a very very very healthy lad now, you would never know he had I life threatening desease unless you asked why he was popping pills like an inner city junky on heat:D

Watching the victorian pharmacy they listed a herb that helped in freeing mucus, I did'nt catch the name but would be very interested in talking to Luke's consultant about it, if anyone knows it please? they are still breaking new ground on CF, CF cant kill you its just a genetic mistake that replicates a protian incorrectly needed by the bodie to form mucus, effectively "to thick and sticky", its the bacteria in the sticky mucus that kills tho infection.

Anyway on topic, I inspected the Greenshaft and it appears he did'nt do too much damage, there are plenty of pods left and more flowers forming

Plant Potty.

 

Blimey PP,

Thats a lot to cope with, poor mite. Glad he's bearing up and so well.

The herb may have been Horehound. I had chest problems all my childhood so know about expectorants. Liquorice root is good to chew on, really works and it contains glycyrizine (spelling?) which is 50 times sweeter than sugar so kids like it.

Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea) makes an excelent expectorant tea which is soothing too.

Also, get him some victory Vs, they contain liquorice and are brilliant.

 

I've just put in some more 39p/pkt Wickes Kelvedon Wonder (the 10p/pkt seller at my local car boot wasn't there today and my local Wilkos are sold out of 75% off Kelvedon Wonders).



Any other suggestions for other varieties to sow now?

 

Could that herb be plain old Thyme? In one of my herb books (which unfortunately I lent out several years ago), it listed Thyme as a potent expectorant and also antibacterial. The book recommended an infusion (tea in effect) or tincture (herb mashed in an alcoholic spirit of choice and served in very small quantities).

I tried it as a tea once. The flavour was too strong for me but you could feeling the vapour cutting its way through everything (I was full of cold at the time).

I seem to recall that Yarrow might have been listed for a similar role. I know it has a number of beneficial properties but I'm not 100% sure it was listed as an expectorant. It was definitely listed as a relief from cold and flu symptoms, but I think that might have been more for fever than anything else. I tried that as a tea once too. It was surprisingly delicious. The taste was unique but the nearest I can get to describing it is sort of smooth with a hint of something like vanilla, but giving a sensation like peppermint where its hard decided if it feels hot or freezing cold.

Unfortunately I feel I always have to throw in a disclaimer when talking about medicinal herbs. Firstly, I'm not an expert, so at most maybe take anything I say on the subject as nothing more than my own experience and something to do some more reading up on. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, many medicinal herbs (including common culinary herbs) can be harmful to some people, especially in larger doses.

 

He's fine ziggy, no worrys at the mo, its the babes that cf gets, every year his lungs get stronger, he can out play/fight everyone, I've truely no worry about him unless he gets a nasty infection, but touch wood thats not happned yet, they "cough test" him every few weeks and grow the swab in the lab, if the find anything they dont like the look of they change his meds to kill it, like I said they are breaking new ground on CF, even GP's find it hard to get their heads around the doses of antiboitics they use to keep infection in check, but six years down the line I happen to agree, we were told to expect lots of hozzy visits but to date he's not had one other than check ups, I know if he was born 30 years ago he would have had about a 90% chance of being brown bread by now, as its stands I truely think he'll live to a normal age with his good health....

Thanks Clueless1, I did'nt catch the name of what it was, they made it up into a thick dark brown liquid and then turned that into vapour in a porpose made kettle with three burners, the type of thing my mom gave me with a bowl of hot water n a towl over your head, cant remember what that stuff was but I'm sure it was just a few crystals she dropped in the water?

But thanks ziggy n Clueless1, its something I'm gonna research, it might sound crazy but its only like 4 years back they worked out salt water in the nebby was 100% better than plain distilled water, this made sence coz the water in the bodie tries to osmoticly cross into the salt and frees up the mucus, I just think a little extra help would be good too.


Plant Potty.