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O M G! Calendula Tea Rinse


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Julie I got several similar sized packages in the mail today. Tempeh thinks it is her job to sniff test/inspect all our mail so I held the packages out and she was turning them over with her nose then got near yours and pulled an hilarious face so I immediately knew it must be from you! Will absorb the intructions, apply and let you know the outcome. Thank you so much for going to the effort!

I can't bear Temp being an itchy girl and we have just finished her last lot of meds (yard has been gone through again and shrubs have now been trimmed up high) so I am waiting to see if the allergy reappears. Here is an odd question for you. Is it possible, for whatever reason, that she has gone from a dog with no allergies to one who has developed an allergy to a certain genus of plant or just flowering plants? I only ask because I am pretty confident she had a bad response to some cal cream from my vet (who makes it from scratch) as her first real allergic response going back earlier in the year and I just thought maybe the cream had expired. Since then she has clearly gotten uncomfortable if I've used the cream or the tea rinse and she has developed and had ongoing contact allergy problems with what we assume is something or multiple things in the back yard. If I can track down what type of plant or the part of a plant (if it is multiples) then it might be easier to keep her allergy free, including with any external products I use on her. Right now our whole garden looks massacred and I haven't walked her outside the yard anywhere but on bitumen or concrete for months.

Calendula is a member of the Asteraceae/Compositae family. This is plants such as ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, daisies, and lots more flowering plants.

It is possible to build less tolerance to them over time and many flower growers have developed allergies and intolerances slowly so its all possible.

The stuff I formulated for you is herbal/natural but none of it is from a plant used for its flower to try to side step this possibility.

Calendula cream is based around a cream base produced with water and the oil used is infused so there may have been even a slight change in the type of preservatives etc used to produce it too.

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  • 2 months later...

Just thought i'd share the calendula magic- I have been sick the past few days. Fevery, sore throat etc. Just annoying really. Way to start 2015 laugh.gif

I made myself some tea with honey- and while it helped little with the fever- it made me feel 100% better and my throat soreness disappeared!

More effective than the strongest strepsils might i add.

Don't know if it was the calendula or the honey but it worked magically biggrin.gif

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Just thought i'd share the calendula magic- I have been sick the past few days. Fevery, sore throat etc. Just annoying really. Way to start 2015 laugh.gif

I made myself some tea with honey- and while it helped little with the fever- it made me feel 100% better and my throat soreness disappeared!

More effective than the strongest strepsils might i add.

Don't know if it was the calendula or the honey but it worked magically biggrin.gif

:D .... I tend to do this too and I also find that either and both help in varying ways. Glad you felt better so quickly, and thanks for sharing.

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I have been a Calendula user since Ronin was 10 weeks old, he is now 14.5 months old...

Ronin doesn't get itchy these days (mainly due to a good natural diet, the supplements I like to use, probiotics and seldom bathing), but I felt it was about time that he had a bath, really just to loosen some of his blowing coat. Decided again just to use Calendula tea, I made up 2.5 litres and needed the whole lot to penetrate the undercoat using a drink bottle to squeeze it under the coat :D

He looks and smells great, I love the fresh straw like smell you get from the calendula :thumbsup: And as per usual he will get some spent leaves with the next few meals.

So nothing really earth shattering here, but just wanted to again give this the thumbs up and I doubt I would ever have known about it is it weren't for Erny :thumbsup:

My main use of the tea these days is for Ronin's occasional "willy washing" :D , and as an eye rinse if he picks up a bit of conjunctivitis from the communal water bowl at the park. I use it on my scalp when it gets itchy or if I get insect bites. My wife uses it as a skin toner and for my 7 year old daughter if she gets a rash.

PS. I sent some of Steve's (Shalarm) Calendula to a fellow Husky owner in Holland as part of a Secret Santa present so hoping to spread the word on this great flower :)

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Ok, I've read this thread and I'm interested for two reasons:

1. Ernie's coat could be shinier. No matter that he gets fish oil and sardines 3x a week, it still looks dull in places. I'm thinking cheap kibble in puppyhood may be to blame .

2. There's been some early research into calendula for it's anti cancer properties. I'm thinking I could make up a big batch and give some to Ernie and some to me.

What do you think?

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You don't need to make up a "big batch" per se - it's best used fresh. Use it as a wash when you need to wash and avoid shampoos where you can. Give some to him when he's a bit on the 'down' side and feed him the spent tea in his meal. If you want him to have it regularly, make a cuppa, even drink the tea yourself and add the spent tea to his meal. If Ernie's overall condition and health is good, I don't think you need to go over-board with the Calendula Tea (not to say that regularity would harm, but just may not be necessary). If Ernie's coat is dull in places, ponder on what the reasons for what that could be. He gets good supplements via the fish oil and sardines, but think about the other that you feed. I've seen dogs within breeds who are fed a well-rounded and balanced whole raw diet and have softer, sleeker coats than those fed commercial. Coincidence? Maybe. Make a note of where those "dull patches" are. Ponder on the possibility of thyroid issue (don't let it scare you - just read up on Dr Jean Dodds website on thyroid and symptoms and see if it could possibly fit - only mentioning it here as something to look into but this may not be relevant to Ernie). Sunburn, even? Although I don't own them, the chocolate labs I have come across seem prone to coats fading through sun exposure but whether or not it was sun exposure on its own, I wouldn't know (stripping the coat of natural oils via shampoos commonly used, and over bathing, could be a contributing factor to this). Just trial in little bits and see how you go. Keep an open mind to things, ponder on them, but don't sweat it :) .

Edited by Erny
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Thanks Emy. Ernie's coat has a line of coarse full hair along his spine - the rest of his coat is soft and shiny. Brushing seems to help but then a day later, it's back again. It's very harsh to the feel and appears split and dry. I was even thinking coconut oil treatment until I read this thread.

I shall try and find some calendula tea (?) anyway for me as the info around on cancer seems promising, and perhaps just give him a rinse with either my leftovers or make up some to use when I rinse him off once a week. Since he's a lab, we don't bathe him unless he's stinky. Would that help or should I give him some in his dinner when I'm having some?

Edited by Stressmagnet
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Stressmagnet - I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't think, or should I say I'm not confident, that Calendula Tea (whether it be given orally or used topically) will by itself resolve the problem you're experiencing. In my experience, it's not likely to do any harm, often assists in *healing* and I use Calendula Tea (and give the spent tea leaves in food) for a myriad of reasons quite confidently, but not with a view to it being the *cure* for whatever underlying reason might be causing the problem.

Edited by Erny
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  • 5 months later...

Bi-annual bump just to sing the praises of calendula (or 'Calisten...calyp...calliloo...whats that bloody tea called again?!' according to Mr BL :laugh:)

My girl was quite itchy with dorito feet and ears as well as bald patches under her armpits and around her groin that were starting to spread. After staying up until silly o'clock reading everything I could on here because I was 99% sure it was yeast related, I made the switch to a raw diet (with anti-fungal goodies like yoghurt and garlic) and bought some Calendula tea a few days ago from World Partea.

The tea arrived this morning and after a big play session turned into a cuddle session, I brewed up a small cup of tea and dabbed it on her most yeasty parts, the armpits and groin. I'd already started to see improvements and less itching because of her diet change, but you should have seen her when I was dabbing! Rolled over on her side, holding her leg up for me and staring at me with those beautiful brown eyes, the little tart! She dozed off and started drooling on the doona after a little while, I'd say the tea was a huge soothing hit straight away!!! Gave her a big soaking tonight with a rinse, normally she hates getting bathed but I didnt even need a collar to hold her. Realised I accidentally spilt some leaves on the kitchen floor when I found her scarfing them up with gusto :laugh:

She already smells better and her coat feels and looks incredible. Vote one above the line for calendula!!

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  • 5 months later...

I started reading this thread ages ago & probably years ago when Erny 1st talked about Calendula Tea. I bought some a month or so before Christmas, & hadn't used it until last night. I rinsed my itchy dog with it last night. I wouldn't have thought it for a white dog but his coat is so shiny. :thumbsup: Will have to go back & see if I can find where I left off as I skimmed this last page & saw that you could also feed the spent leaves to the dog. How long can they be kept to do this or does it have to be straight away?

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

I've got my own success story with calendula, we picked up a tube of commercial calendula cream in Bali for OH's fresh tattoo when we were there.

I've been using it for my itchy bites, and on Dozer's contact allergies and he looks so blissful when it's been applied.

He has also been getting mucky ears from his food allergies and I'd applied a little dab on the outer section one of his ears after I cleaned them a couple of days ago and today I found the cleanest ear I've seen in months!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I bought some of the Hilde Hemmes Calendula Officionalis tea from Healthy Life for my boy who has been very itchy of late. I washed him in Aloveen then used it as a rinse. He's only scratching the two parts I forgot to rinse: his face and neck! He's stopped biting his thighs and licking his front legs, and his coat is beautiful and soft.

Erny/Steve: Is it ok to give a toy dog (3.8kg) a full heaped tablespoon of spent flowers at once? If not, how long can you keep them refrigerated? And do you know if it's ok for dogs with Addison's Disease to eat? I could not find any info online about interactions with his medication (Percorten) which leads me to believe it's ok, but I can ask his vet.

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I haven't been on this board for ages! A big coincidence that I've dropped in here. Delighted to see Calendula Tea continues to help many - such a benign treatment that is so incredibly helpful :D .

If Steve is around she is free to counter me, but to answer your question IMO I don't think there's any harm offering the spent flowers at one go. If she's fed more than once a day, perhaps feed half with each meal. Listen to your dog. If she doesn't eat it, or goes off from eating it, then perhaps it's too much.

Regards the Addisons Disease - I don't think the spent Calendula Tea flowers would be contraindicated, but that's only my guess. But on the note of Addisons Disease, I'd strongly recommend you research "LDN" (Low Dose Naltrexone).

In fact, the topic of LDN in the treatment of auto-immune related conditions could well be my next "Erny's Calendula Tea" thread. I have spent the past 18 months researching/reading on LDN. Not many Doctors or Vets know about it but it is proving to be somewhat of a miracle drug, one which has barely any known side effects (mainly a bit of sleep disturbance in the early days). It isn't a drug that goes straight to the "condition" but rather, it tricks the mind to increasing the functional ability of the Immune System two and up to three-fold. This in turn brings the immune system to be able to fight and bring balance against the diseases which cause the troublesome symptoms we recognise. This counts for humans and it also counts for animals - it is being used in dogs and cats and I am about to embark on using it to help my own dog.

It is used by humans for such a huge range of conditions : ME/CFS; MS; certain Cancers (including lymphoma); Thyroid conditions; and so, so much more!! Some doctors have even reported it halting the progress of Alzheimers Disease. I've read a little of personal reports where there has even been some improvement in this condition, although whether that's attributed to LDN or coincidence remains to be proven. There is so much yet to be proven and documented in its use.

I take it myself, for my own reasons and whilst for years there seemed nothing that made any discernible difference, finally I am onto something that is bringing some really good results! I spent almost 12 months deliberating before trialling it, feeling very dubious about it being too good to be true. But finally building the confidence I needed, took the plunge and I don't think I'll be regretting it. Apparently the reason it's not widely heralded by the drug manufacturers relates to a patent on its original form, which is "Naltrexone". This was and is used to help people break their addiction to opiats. The standard dosage for Naltrexone is 50mg. With Low-Dose Naltrexone, the standard dosage ranges from 0.5mg to 4.5mg. And when used at this lower dosage, it works differently and this is where it is now being recognised for its therapeutic advantages. Unfortunately the patent discourages drug manufacturers from spending the tonnes of money required for rigorous testing. That and the fact that LDN is quite cheap. Because LDN is used "off label" it has to be compounded down to these low dosages by a compounding pharmacy. The trick is in finding a Doctor/Vet who is willing to prescribe it. Compounding pharmacies do exist.

But there are forums out there and if you take the time to read and read and read you will hear so many reports from those who have been using LDN for years, from those who have only just started out on it and from those about to embark on it. Honest stories that give reports of both trials and tribulations.

So, long story (I haven't changed, lol) short, for your dog's condition, read up on it. If you want a link to the LDN Pets forum let me know and I'll put it up.

Edited by Erny
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  • 3 months later...

Hi all, I washed my Lloyd with this last week, but I'm thinking of doing it again tomorrow for the Frenchie fun day, just to freshen him up. I know with dog shampoo washing them too often makes them produce too many oils and thus smell, can I overdo the tea or is it not possible?

I have plenty Steve but I'm interested for friends, but it is coming up as $9 for me still.

Edited by Hetty
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Hi all, I washed my Lloyd with this last week, but I'm thinking of doing it again tomorrow for the Frenchie fun day, just to freshen him up. I know with dog shampoo washing them too often makes them produce too many oils and thus smell, can I overdo the tea or is it not possible?

I have plenty Steve but I'm interested for friends, but it is coming up as $9 for me still.

Ive changed the price on the website now and no you cant over do it .

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  • 1 month later...

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