​I received the best news ever and that night I developed a cold.  How and why is this even possible?

My greatest owned treasures, besides my jewellery, are books by Giovanni Maciocia.  His books on Traditional Chinese Medicine have been my source of learning and inspiration for 20 years.  I enjoy just looking at them on the bookshelf too.

Giovanni died a while ago and I felt a great loss.  Imagine my surprise and delight when his son phoned me from the UK and asked if writing advertorials on his herbal products was something that I’d be able to do!  His son said that there is so much information on his website and he didn’t want people not to access the information and products just because Giovanni died.  This is a way to keep his legacy alive.  You could not have offered me a more perfect opportunity.

So why did I develop a cold as a direct result?

I guess that my ego got a bit terrified at the enormity of the task and needed to slow my soul down.  I am not a qualified acupuncturist or herbalist, but I do understand Chinese medicine and resonate with it.  The target market is qualified acupuncturists in the United States, so I guess that my ego felt somewhat overwhelmed at the prospect of what I was to accomplish.

The reality though is that all I have to do is take what Giovanni has written and condense it to a short article to capture people’s attention and lead them to the Website for further information on the articles and products.  I don’t have to reinvent the wheel; I just have to attach it to a smaller vehicle.

Becoming ill is a way for the body/ego to get the soul’s attention.  I always want to know Why an illness occurs.  The emotions behind illness fascinate me and I know from personal experience that one can rid the body of symptoms by finding, addressing and expelling the trapped emotion – subjects of further articles.
​
Time now to write the sixth article, how can it get better than this?

I have this philosophy that I’ll try something and if it doesn’t work, I’ll move on to something else.  This drives my other half crazy, but it is my continual search for satisfaction – and money.  Along the way I’ve garnered a wealth of knowledge on a variety of subjects but ultimately, health and health products have stood the test of time and remain my greatest interest, albeit in a variety of different guises.

​

​So, I have redone my website, removed the pages to do with being a virtual assistant and offering basic photo editing because there was no return from them and now I’m doing all that I can to market Crowd1, whilst carrying on writing books and blog posts.

​SINUS HEADACHE           
 
A headache from sinusitis is located on the face. The nose is stuffy, there is thick yellow discharge, a feeling of muzziness and local tenderness over the various sinuses.

​Points to relieve sinusitis are:   
​
St 3, LI 20 and UB 2 on the face.

St 3 is in line with the pupil when facing forward, beside the nose
LI 20 is in the dip beside the nostril
UB 2 is on the inner edge of the eyebrow

​These are all local points to stimulate the flow of Qi to the face
                                                                                        

Lu 7 on the radial bone and LI 4 on the hand: 

Lu 7 is on the radial bone, you can find it if you interlock your thumbs with your forefinger along the bone.
LI 4 is in the web between the thumb and forefinger but against the bone of the forefinger.

Both points have a special effect on headaches and are particularly effective when held simultaneously. 
​
Avoid LI4 during pregnancy  

​Sp 3 on the inside of the foot and Sp 6 on the inside of the leg.

Sp 3 is on the edge of the bone at the base of the big toe.
Sp 6 is 4 finger-width above the ankle bone, on the shin bone.  It is usually tender.
​
These two points are specific for resolving Dampness – which is what causes the headaches as well as being a manifestation of sinusitis.

HEADACHES:  According to Chinese medicine, there are many different reasons for a headache, including emotions like anger and fear, physical overwork, incorrect diet and excessive sex, or climatic conditions like Wind and Dampness.
​
Many different meridians travel to the head.  The Bladder meridian starts between the eyes and travels over the head and down the spine.  The Gall Bladder meridian starts beside the eye and the Stomach meridian starts below the eye.  The Triple Burner meridian ends beside the eyebrow. The Large Intestine travels across the jaw and ends beside the nose. Internally the Liver and Heart meridians travel to the eyes. The site of the headache gives an indication of which meridian may be the cause of the problem.

                                                  FOREHEAD HEADACHE
​
A headache on the forehead is usually related to the Stomach and Large Intestine meridians.  This type of headache has a heavy muzzy sensation because it is often caused by retention of Dampness or Phlegm. ​

​Points to relieve this type of headache are:
Du 20, 23, St 8 & GB 14 on the head,  
LI 4 on the hand, P6 on the inside of the wrist, and Lu7
Sp 6 and St 36 on the leg, 

​

​                     GV 20,  GV 23, St 8 & GB 14 on the head

GV 20 is the meeting point of the Governing Vessel, the Bladder, Gall Bladder, Triple Burner and Liver meridians.  It benefits the Brain and sense organs and aids with headaches.
 
GV 23 is used for congestion and blurred vision.
 
St 8 removes obstructions from the channel, stops pain and resolves Dampness.
 
GB 14 is the meeting point of the Gall Bladder, Triple Burner, Stomach and Large Intestine meridians. Used for headaches, dizziness and some eye problems

​​LI 4 removes obstructions from the channel, relieves        congestion in the face and relieves pain.
Avoid LI 4 during pregnancy.   

Sp 6 and St 36 on the leg as well as Liv 3 on the top of the foot.
​

St 36 is a major point to tonify the Stomach, it moves Qi in the Stomach and Intestines   
               
Sp 6 is a major point to tonify the Spleen and together with St 36 strongly tonifies the Middle Burner, the area comprising the stomach and spleen.
 
Liv 3 is another major point to subdue Liver-Yang and nourish Liver-Blood.  It calms spasms, contraction and muscle cramps.  It has a very calming effect on the Mind and is helpful with irritability, frustration and anger.






​

​According to http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition:
 
A Sales Person is:  An individual who sells goods and services to other entities. The successfulness of a salesperson is usually measured by the amount of sales he or she is able to make during a given period and how good that person is in persuading individuals to make a purchase. If a salesperson is employed by a company, in some cases compensation can be decreased or increased based on the amount of goods or services sold.
 
An Administrative-Assistant is:  Office employee responsible for managing the office, running errands and assisting the executive or boss, typing, filing, and other office related duties as required by the specific job.
 
Frequently, however, the sales person is required to do admin tasks – submit visit reports, send quotes, follow up on quotes and orders, and supply feedback to the client.
 
Sales people tend to be sociable, they’re usually pretty easy to spot at a function.  They’re great with the ‘gift of the gab’ but not always with sitting down to do the actual admin required by their boss.
 

That’s where I come in.  I understand the need to keep the customer happy, I understand the need of the customer to have feedback and I love bridging the gap between the sales person and the admin required.

​

Brian has been suffering with constant diarrhoea for over a year and his doctor has continued to treat him with conventional medicine.
​
In January 2019 his wife Christy was introduced to ozone therapy. Brian has been making steady but slow progress.

​This is his story.

​Between 2005 and 2014, Brian and Christy worked in Ghana; they were involved in the logistics for a US$175 million mine expansion project. Brian was the Logistics Manager to the MD of a clearing and forwarding company and Christy was Business Manager looking after some mining accounts for a Forwarding Agent.
​
Brian was responsible for the movement of cargo to several of the local Ghana mines which were located in various areas throughout Ghana. In addition, he consulted at Government level and to the Environmental Protection Agency regarding the transport of hazardous cargo and dangerous goods. He also attended Chamber of Mines meetings, in an advisory capacity, concerning import and exports for Ghana.
​
​At the end of their contract period, they were given an opportunity to invest in a Ghanaian transport company. It was a working, known entity looking for investment partners to expand and carry out further business and looked very promising.

The prospect of work in South Africa wasn’t good and they liked the potential of the business. The registered, legal, signed, stamped official company documentation was presented and on the face of it, everything seemed above board.

However, the documents were fraudulent and the whole set up was a scam. Their new investment cost them 8 years of secured funds from their retirement plan in South Africa.

Their dream had been to eventually return to South Africa and open a B&B, giving them an investment and continued income but their future was no where near their dream.

During their time in Ghana, Brian had malaria four times. His symptoms manifested like a bad dose of flu; upset stomach, back pain, fever, headache, feeling weak and nausea. He took Coartem tablets which are very good. However, there was 1 very bad malaria case where he had to be rushed to hospital and was on a drip for 2 days.

Tragically, in 2014 Brian’s son died and he returned to South Africa whilst Christy remained in Ghana. They felt that if they both left, they’d lose any chance of recouping their money, but after being threatened and intimidated Christy managed to return safely to South Africa.
​
The stress of this situation and the loss of his eldest son, all within a two month cycle, resulted in Brian suffering a stroke. Tests indicated that the stroke was in the cerebral section of the brain. Brian was also diagnosed with an abnormally enlarged spleen, portal hypertension and cirrhosis of the liver which was apparently medically induced by cholesterol tablets prescribed years earlier. Further tests on the liver resulted in the doctors deciding that the situation didn’t need treatment as there was no damage to the kidneys and the enlarged spleen was put down to the portal vein not functioning properly.

​The doctor prescribed various medications which Brian took for a couple of years.
Lexamil - anti depressant
Peridoxine – Vit B6
​Bayer Aspirin – to prevent blood clotting
Gastriwin 40mg daily for 6 months – treatment of digestive diseases
Inderal 10mg for 6 months. – treatment of high blood pressure
(For information see page on Medical Explanations)

On their return to South Africa, almost destitute, they were supported by friends and family. Christy managed to eventually find work, albeit at a fraction of the salary she was used to receiving.
In 2017 Brian’s condition suddenly worsened. From 2014 to mid-2017, Brian’s weight had remained a steady 95 kgs. By mid-2017 he started dropping weight and suffering with constant diarrhoea.

In September 2017, Brian had his first major fall. He fell backwards down some stairs and damaged his rotator cuff requiring an operation which he had in the October. He also damaged his hip substantially.

From then on he would fall two or three times a month. The doctors couldn’t find a reason and thought it might have something to do with the stroke he suffered but they couldn’t understand why the condition had taken four years to manifest.

The falls were random and there was no warning; he didn’t feel ill, didn’t have nausea, no blacking out, so no epilepsy. He would realize that he was falling so would spin as he went down to avoid further injuring his shoulder. Occasionally the fall would be so bad that Christy would have to call an ambulance to take him to hospital.

One possible cause of the falls is the weakness of the right leg which resulted from the stroke. It’s possible that the leg would just give in.

The most recent bad fall was on the 31st January 2019 when he fell in the bathroom and cut his head open. His blood pressure had dropped so low that he was almost in cardiac arrest. The paramedics measured it at 110/32. This resulted in yet another trip to the hospital.

​During 2018 the diarrhoea continued to escalate, even with medication, to the extent that Brian started losing between 2 and 5 kgs every 3 months or so. On Brian’s previous scheduled visit to see the specialist, the doctor wasn’t particularly concerned at the weight loss, however, on his last appointment the doctor was shocked when Brian arrived pushing a walker.
​
In the last year, Brian has lost 32 kgs. He couldn’t keep food in, couldn’t eat food supplied by anyone except Christy and because the diarrhoea was too volatile, he didn’t feel comfortable leaving home. His weakness meant that he needed help with everything he did which put immense strain on them both.

​According to the specialist, Brian has no known disease, so he has no idea what the problem is. The doctor wanted to do a colonoscopy to check for cancer, but Christy refused for two reasons; lack of funds and she felt that Brian was too weak to undergo any procedure. A Gastroscopy in 2016 diagnosed a few lesions, but no cancer.

​At the end of 2018 Christy decided to change Brian’s diet to eliminate gluten and lactose and there was an improvement, but not enough. She so wishes she’d known about gluten earlier.

After the third treatment, Brian started to feel like something positive was beginning to happen. By the fourth treatment he was definitely able to walk more easily, although still with the walker.

Between the gluten free diet and the ozone therapy, the diarrhoea has almost ceased, and if there is no lapse in Brian’s food intake, it’s a good day.

He is now able to get himself in and out of the bed and walks quite confidently with his walker and no longer needs to be moved in the wheelchair.
​
The one condition which hasn’t yet improved is the fluid. His abdomen is still very bloated, and his lungs are definitely carrying fluid. The diuretic helps this condition but in his weakened state he can’t afford to lose any nutrients.

Brian continues to improve with the Ozone therapy.  He is now having a 30 minute treatment.  

The overall health cost of treatment averages at:
R3 500.00 per month. (€217)
This cost includes
Daily ozone treatments,
​Vitamin and mineral drips
Iron supplements
Daily probiotic, vitamin and mineral tablets
Weekly check-up by the doctor.
Fuel :
From home to the Clinic is a round trip of 46.9kms, @ R3.50, (which was before the latest price increase in fuel) equating to R164 a round trip in fuel cost, daily. R820.00 (€51) a week.

So a total of around R 4320.00 = €268.60

Brian is improving but the financial strain is a challenge

​https://cjenkins127.wixsite.com/mysite/post/brian-his-journey-with-ozone-therapy

The first photo belongs to Going Green, the second to Ningbo Deepblue Smarthouse, and the thrid to Freshwater Prefab.

When I was at school, our Std 5 classrooms were prefab buildings.  They were spoken of in a rather derogatory tone of voice but to be honest, I don’t remember them being uncomfortable in any way.

I’m now considering a prefab house.  My home, although fantastic, is really just too big – there are rooms I hardly ever go into, in fact the cat spends more time in the one bedroom than anyone else does.  

My ideal would be a two bedroom, two bathroom home of a decent size.  The second bedroom would be my office and therapy room and would have to be a fair distance away from himself and his TV.
​
I’ve even found a perfect plot from where I could take my many sunset photos and there isn’t even a lamp post!!!!

Prefab homes aren’t necessarily the cheap looking, boring pieces of construction which we see in many places.  They can be very pretty and functional.  They are apparently a lot cheaper than conventional building, can be erected in a fraction of the time, can be fully insulated and require a minimum of maintenance.  All that’s needed is a level slab on which to erect the house.

Of course, more investigation needs to happen, but the initial prospect is quite exciting.  I’m playing with Sweethome 3D and designing my perfect home.  It’d be 2 bed, 2 bath as I mentioned.  It’d have solar panels and gas so as to be a little less reliant on our notorious Eskom, and because it’d be smaller, the rates and taxes would be less, so in the end our monthly expenditure would also be less.  Now if only I can get himself to see my point of view.

I first read this in a book, and it had me stop and think, what REALLY gives us the most joy?  This is an important topic because once we know what gives us the most pleasure, if we can incorporate that into our world as a way to earn money, then life comes to us with ease.

In asking people, I have come across four basic categories.  There’s the teacher – the person who loves to share knowledge.  There’s the artist – the creative one, the person who loses themselves when making something, be it at object, a painting or music.  There’s the nurturer – the person who gets joy in making others happy, the mother who thrives on getting her family together or the animal lover or the nurse.  This is a tricky one though because one’s happiness is dependent on other people.  Then lastly there’s the adventurer, the person who thrives on travel and experiencing different cultures.

As may be suspected, I love sharing knowledge, hence this post.  If I can share knowledge about subjects I’m passionate about, like Traditional Chinese medicine or nutrition or supplements, then I’m in my element. 
​
I hope that you find what feeds your soul and brings you joy.

Western Medicine sees illness as a result of infection due to various dreaded lurgies, like bacteria and viruses.  Chinese Medicine has 3 basic causes of disease – Weather, Emotions and Other (like accidents).

It all basically comes down to a person’s immune system.  If you’re happy, healthy, and have a strong immune system, you won’t get sick when sitting in a draft.  If for some reason your immune system is down a little, you will, i.e. if the body is weak in relation to the climatic factor.

According to TCM, Defensive Qi flows in the area between skin and muscles.  This flow of energy acts as a barrier to the outside world, preventing invasion of pathogenic factors.  We believe that wind is the vehicle which carries pathogens into the body so sitting in a draft is sitting in Big Wind. 

Years ago, I visited a friend whose baby had just died.  We were sitting outside, in a draft, and I remember wondering about the potential of illness.  Because it was such a sad time,  our energy was very low and the next morning I work up with a screaming cold.

When we eat, our body takes energy from the food and sends it to the Lungs.  The Lungs then turn some of this energy into Defensive Qi and sends it to the area between the skin and muscles, so the quality of the food we eat is important to our immune system.

Besides protecting the body, Defensive Qi has other functions:  it keeps the skin moist and warm, it partially nourishes the muscles and it controls sweating, thereby regulating body temperature.

If Defensive Qi is weak, it will fail to hold fluids in the body leading to day-time sweating.  Conversely, if one has a cold, herbs are given which induce sweating and the expulsion of the pathogenic Wind-Cold factor.

As I mentioned, Wind is the vehicle through which pathogenic factors invade the body.  Wind-Cold creates cold symptoms like a runny nose and eyes.  Wind-Heat creates heat symptoms like fever and dryness.  Wind-Cold can turn into Heat if not treated in time. Wind-Damp creates a feeling of heaviness and aching muscles.

Often the invading pathogenic factor creates blockage in the area where Defensive Qi flows resulting in stagnation in the joints.  The type of pain is explained pertaining to climatic factors too, i.e. Wind will lead to pain moving from joint to joint and will mostly be in the upper part of the body.  Cold leads to intense pain in one joint.  Dampness will result in swollen joints, usually in the lower part of the body.

Invading pathogenic factors create many more situations, this article is intended as an example of how TCM looks at conditions so differently to that of Western Medicine.

By Margie Candy. https://www.virtualagentmargiecandy.com/
Margie.va2rep@gmail.com

NOURISH ROOT YIN – THAT SOUNDS INTRIGUING

ChinaHerb have a number of fabulous products with interesting names.  A knowledge of the basics of Traditional Chinese Medicine can help to understand why they work.

The premise of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is that to be healthy, the body and mind must be in balance.  Where there is cold – provide heat; where there is damp – induce dryness and so forth.

The words Yin and Yang encapsulate this perfectly.  Yin refers to dark, moist, cold, quiet, night, etc and Yang refers to bright, dry, hot, active, day etc.  (Yin and Yang explain a world of other stuff as well).

When we are conceived, we receive a precious substance called Pre-Heaven Essence from our parents.  This, basically, forms our constitution.  We can’t increase this Essence, but we can enhance it through what we eat and drink as well as our lifestyle.   The nourishment which we receive from our food and drink creates Post-Heaven Essence.  Together these Essences are stored in an area between the kidneys called the Gate of Life (Ming Men).

Because the kidneys are so closely related to Essence and the Fire of the Gate of Life, they are understood to be the source of Yin and Yang in the body.  Kidney-Yin is the root of all the Yin energies in the body as well as being the foundational substance of living.  Kidney-Yang is the root of all Yang energies as well as the force for all physiological activity.  At puberty, some Pre-Heaven Essence matures into Kidney-Essence which generates menstrual blood and sperm.

As we age, Essence gets used up, and as it starts to decrease, signs of Yin deficiency appear.  Yin-deficiency means that the symptoms seem like a hot condition but are not caused by heat, rather by the absence of Yin.  Symptoms include night sweating, dry mouth or skin or vagina, and dry and irritated eyes.  Many menopausal symptoms are related to Kidney-Yin deficiency.

The herbal formula for Nourish Root Yin is specific to nurture Yin and the kidneys and can be used as a supplement to support the elderly.

Key Symptoms and Signs for Use: 
Feeling hot in the chest, palms and soles 
Night sweating 
Tinnitus, loss of hearing, dizziness 
Sore and lassitude of back and legs 
Dry mouth and throat, or dry vagina, and dry skin 
Dry and irritated eyes 
Constipation from dry stools 
Aging
Tinnitus
Hyperthyroidism
Hypertension
Diabetes
Pulmonary tuberculosis
Chronic disorders of kidney
Chronic optic problems
Constipation
Growth and pubertal delay

By Margie Candy. https://www.virtualagentmargiecandy.com/
Margie.va2rep@gmail.com