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A
Message
In a
Bottle
This insert has absolutely nothing to do with my book, but is here to
take advantage of the possibility of wide coverage through the circulation
of the book to publicise...
1. a
potential method of Controlling Malarial Mosquitoes
2.
to examine an alternative link between the injection of vaccines and
both Gulf war syndrome and autism.
3.
To publicise the use of Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)as a means of controlling
infant diarrhoea and dehydrationin the developing World – Comfrey
in Africa
If ever
you have tried to promote what you yourself consider to be an original
thought within the fastnesses of any of the major professions, it is possible
that your experiences will mirror mine. There is an invisible intellectual
barrier through which the ideas cannot penetrate. It is obvious from the
responses, or, more likely the failure to respond at all, that one’s
proposition has sunk without trace. Any reply beyond the polite ac-knowledgment
reveals a slight amusement similar to the one that I have experienced
when trying to float an idea with a certain type of G.P. – humour
it and it will go away!
So, in the hope that someone will see some merit in my proposals, and
that they will at least give them a second thought, then, if feasible,
pro-mote them, here goes:
CONTROLLING
MOSQUITOES
My starting point with the mosquitoes is the successful campaign that
has virtually eradicated fruit flies from American fruit farms. Fruit
flies are hatched in captivity and then subjected to gamma radiation,
which sterilises the males. When released, the males breed naturally,
but are infertile.
Such a method is obviously too impractical to be able to influence the
wide-ranging presence of malarial mosquito. My plan is that the males
should be sterilised in their own location in the following manner:
Female mosquitoes seek a mate at dusk, and fly to a particular height
where they emit a buzz at a frequency peculiar to their own species. Males
hover in clouds above the female, and one eventually mates suc-cessfully;
the female then goes in search of blood and lays her eggs.
It should be possible to fabricate slim unclimbable pylons of, say, carbon
fibre, of appropriate height – the height at which the target species
hover. The pylon would have at its top a unit that would contain a radioactive
source in a shield of suitable design allowing radiation to ‘shine’
upwards. The unit would generate the female hum at a frequency of the
chosen species, and would be turned on automatically at dusk. If the plan
works, males would hover above it and be sterilised.
There would be no radiation hazard at ground level, and a full education
programme would be needed to enlist local support. Units could be arrayed
in batches around villages, or could be on mobile facilities.
When one considers the colossal cost in human suffering, and financially
in terms of the loss to local economies and the provision of health care,
I would think that any idea should be taken forward, no matter how far-fetched
it may seem at first.
AUTISM AND GULF-WAR SYNDROME
In considering the second ‘big idea’, i.e. the possible connection
between inoculation and Gulf War Syndrome, and possibly autism, it is
necessary to understand a little about acupuncture.
As I describe at various points in my main text, there are many acupunc-ture
points distributed over the total body and head. Any particular point
may have a wide repertoire of ailments capable of being treated from that
point. The ailments are not specifically local, and can be very diverse
in nature. It is well known that if one causes damage at the site of an
acupuncture point, one risks provoking the very conditions that one would
use that point to treat. Normally one considers the damage caused by physical
trauma – fracture, surgery – or similar.
The essence of my speculation is this: does the injection of a noxious
substance, i.e. a vaccine, into an acupuncture point produce any adverse
reaction elsewhere within the body and head?
Most inoculations in adults and in infants above a certain age are given
in the arm, and specifically in the deltoid-V. In exactly the same place
is a point on the so-called ‘Large Intestine’ meridian, namely
Large Intestine 14. In expressing my certainty, I had confirmation of
both locations from a Senior Nursing Sister and an acupuncture practitioner
of many years experience.
The point does not have a large repertoire listed in the textbooks, and
the acupuncturist says that she hardly ever uses it in treatment. However,
over the years I have devised ways of self-experimentation, and can confirm
that stimulating L.I. 14 may generate unspecific reactions within my head.
I had further confirmation of some link when I had my flu injection in
autumn 2002. Normally I ask the nurse to inject away from the acupuncture
point, but on this occasion I let her proceed as normal, and she hit a
bulls eve. Within half an hour I began to develop unpleasant sensations
in my head, similar to those at the onset of a severe headache, and on
the same side as the injection. These persisted for about 8 hours, when
they slowly subsided.
The ‘cocktail’ of drugs used by the armed forces contains
many sub-stances that are foreign to the body’s normal functioning,
and only serious research will determine whether I have found a ‘missing
link’. In considering any link with autism, my speculation would
only apply to infants who have an arm injection, but, my G.P. informs
me, this happens at the age when autism usually shows and so a link such
as I am postulating would be difficult to prove. Confirmation of the connection
could only be achieved if all infants were injected in a neutral location.
COMFREY
IN AFRICA
During the nineteen-eighties, I maintained a regular correspondence with
a member of the ‘White Sisters’ religious order (Missionary
Sisters of Our Lady of Africa). Marie was in charge of a bush dispensary
in Uganda, and was trying to restore its function after the overthrow
of Idi Amin, the Ugandan dictator. They were desperately short of money,
and at one time she wrote to say that they could not get medicines, even
if they could pay for them, could I help? My former employer, British
Nuclear Fuels, gave generously of material from the local works’
dispensary, as I pondered what I could do myself.
At the time, I was making a personal study of herbal remedies, and had
become impressed with the efficacy of comfrey (symphytum officinale),
particularly as a treatment for a variety of skin conditions and for wound
healing. With no further thought, I sent off my existing supply of comfrey
ointment, and awaited comments. When they came, I could not have been
more delighted. The ointment had been used to treat a large ulcer on the
leg of an old man who had walked for three days to reach the dispensary.
Marie reckoned that such an ulcer would take upwards of a fortnight to
heal using conventional remedies. The ointment was applied on a Friday,
and by the following Monday, new pink skin was developing around the ulcer,
which then healed rapidly.
With the help of Lawrence Hills of the Henry Doubleday Research Institute,
several kilogrammes of ointment were shipped out, as were some seeds that
Mr. Lawrence obtained from seedsmen, Thomson and Morgan. The ointment
rapidly acquired a reputation as a ‘cure all’ for skin problems.
I also sent a copy of the book Comfrey, written by the indefatigable Lawrence
Hills. In the book was a photograph of a lady who regularly bought at
cattle markets, young calves that were ‘scouring’ –
i.e. had diarrhoea – and which no one else wanted. These she took
home, and fed with milk in which she placed chopped comfrey leaves. The
scouring soon ceased, and the calves thrived.
One of the Sisters in Uganda saw this, and thought that what cured the
calves might also work on African infants. Dehydration following persistent
diarrhoea is one of the killers of infants in the developing world. To
the delight of the Sisters – who surprisingly found comfrey already
growing in their garden - the strategy was successful, and infants began
to thrive, where previously they might not have done.
I then lost contact with my White Sister friends, and so I have no way
of knowing whether they developed the further use of comfrey, and whether
they informed a wider world.
At one time, comfrey became suspect as a potential cause of liver cancer,
and has been largely removed from sale for internal use. The ‘research’
on which this view had been based had involved a high dosage in rats,
and was itself suspect. Commenting purely from my own experience, I rate
it very highly for all skin ailments, and particularly burns and scalds.
I also employ it internally in an appropriate manner, with no harmful
effects after twenty-five years intermittent use. Used properly as a medicine
and not a food, as some were doing, it has high value, particularly in
its role as internal vulnary.
And there they are my three ‘great ideas’, and just like the
proverbial message in a bottle that is thrown into the sea, I am hoping
that mine will arrive on a ‘beach’ somewhere, and be opened
by someone with a mind like mine – and at least give it a try.
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