I have to thank my son’s bump on the head for some of my conviction
about the benefit of Bach flower remedies. Jon was about a year old and
had hit his head quite badly. The bump was swelling before my eyes, and
I decided to try out the Bach rescue cream that I’d recently purchased.
The bump was partly in his hair and partly on his forehead. I carefully
put the cream on – it was difficult to get the cream close to the skin
where his hair was. The next day the bruise on his forehead had gone
completely, but the bruise in his hair was still there, although it was
not as bad as I had expected it to be. This amazed me and made me
determined to learn about these amazing remedies.
I bought and studied the little booklet that explained all about them -
as a very busy mum I was happy to have something that wasn’t too big to
read! I was also happy that the remedies weren’t drugs and could be
used safely with even tiny babies. There are 38 different flower
remedies for various psychological states, and I instantly could see
how I could use them for myself, my family and my friends: larch is for
someone who lacks self confidence, aspen is for generalised fears,
impatiens for impatience, heather for those who want to be the centre
of attention all the time, and scleranthus for the undecided.
The remedies were developed by Dr Edward Bach -pronounced ‘Batch’ - who
lived in England from 1886-1936. He was trained as a doctor and worked
as a pathologist and bacteriologist, but he felt that medicine was not
getting to the root of the problem. He learnt about homeopathy, and
developed various important homeopathic remedies, but he was still not
satisfied, and this led him to develop the Bach flower remedies.
The remedies are based on flowering plants and trees, and are designed
to correct inappropriate psychological states. This doesn’t mean that
they’re not suitable for physical problems, because Bach believed that
there was “a factor above the physical plane which in the ordinary
course of life protects or renders susceptible any particular
individual with regard to disease, of whatever nature it may be.” (From
'Heal Thyself' by Edward Bach). In other words, if you are dissatisfied
or distressed, you are more likely to catch a cold or become
chronically ill.
Bach found the remedies through intuition: sometimes he would hold a
flower in his hand and experience in his body and mind what the remedy
was capable of, and sometimes he experienced deep negative emotions and
would go out into the countryside searching until he found the flower
that would turn off these feelings. Bach also found that if he floated
the flowers in a glass bowl containing spring water in the sunshine,
this healing property of the flower passed into the water. For some
plants that flowered early in the year, such as holly, Bach boiled the
flowers and stems to overcome the problem of the lack of sunshine.
The remedies are normally taken in one of two ways:
Putting two drops of the chosen remedy in a glass of water and sipping it frequently
Putting two drops of several remedies in a bottle with water and/or brandy and taking 4 drops 4 times a day
There is one combination that Dr Bach found he used a lot, and he
called this ‘rescue remedy’. This is a mixture of 5 of the 38 flower
remedies (cherry plum, clematis, impatiens, rock rose and star of
Bethlehem). It can be used for any emergency or stressful event. This
is really helpful after a fall, or an argument, before visiting the
dentist or taking an examination. The normal way of taking it is to put
4 drops in a glass of water and then to take small, frequent sips. You
can also take it straight from the bottle in a real emergency. Many
nurses I meet swear by it, and secretly and unofficially recommend it
to their patients.
Rescue cream contains the same 5 remedies as the rescue remedy drops,
but with the addition of crab apple and is useful for cuts and bruises,
and for babies who fall and bang their heads!
The remedies are made using brandy, and this may be a problem for some
people. An alternative way to take them is by dabbing them on the
wrist, behind the ears and at the temples – this way the benefit of the
remedies may be felt without imbibing alcohol.
The remedies do not interfere with any drugs, and can be taken with
good effect by the terminally ill. Babies and pets seem to benefit
often apparently instantly and miraculously, and many adults can tell
you of amazing results for themselves and their children.
