https://luciebradleymedicalherbalist.myshopify.com/

Lucie Bradley Consultant Medical Herbalist, 11 Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow (2025)

07/01/2024

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Everything is shared with parental permission
Topic: healing eczema in 8 month old female baby
Another case study presentation
Like many of the cases I see this baby’s skin issues started as small spots and spread. I’m guessing that most parents don’t think too much of it, try remedies at home and it’s only when they’re unbelievably exhausted that they think ENOUGH!
In this case the skin was badly broken from scratching and was prone to getting infected. Interestingly since her skin got worse she was also prone to more infections. For example they pierced her ears and they would not stop being infected. This baby also seemed to have a number of dietary and intolerances. Eczema and dietary intolerances/allergies are very common. So too if the child has asthma. It’s called an ‘atopic presentation’
Much of it boils down to gut health and the semi-permeable membranes in the intestines being too permeable and inflamed, which triggers a response in the immune system via the blood stream. Some people term this ‘leaky gut’. But eczema is not that simple, the itchiness of the skin causes a lot of scratching and the scratching leads to the skin being broken, prone to infection and a negative cycle begins. It also causes poor sleep and poor mood
Parents of kids with eczema often struggle to stop itching, and it tends to be especially bad at night time when body temperature raises. It also causes problems when the baby/child is getting changed or undressed because as soon as the skin is exposed, they’ll start clawing at it to satisfy the itching. Which leads to damaged skin
This family are living in India so all consultations were done remotely and medicines were sent via family in London
The treatment started by addressing the itchiness, supporting the nervous system via improving sleep and healing the skin. Fortunately there are specific anti-itch herbs and itchiness can be reduced by:
✔️ supporting and improving liver function
✔️ getting lymph moving by supporting the lymphatic system
Many/most of the herbs that improve liver function and support lymphatic drainage also happen to be anti-inflammatory and vulnerary (skin healing)

07/01/2024

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Everything is shared with parental permission
Topic: another case study of treating skin issues in children, with herbal medicine
The mum of this 8 months old baby got it touch about her skin. This family lives in India so consultations were done remotely and medicine was posted out via family in London
The baby’s started off with some small spots, which gradually grew in size, started spreading and began to turn into open wounds as the scratching from the baby broke the skin. Once the wounds opened they became prone to infection and the cycle of itching, scratching and infection began
One of the most challenging things for parents of children with is stopping them from scratching, especially at night time. For younger babies some people address this by swaddling. Or scratch mits. However, drive to scratch an itch is often much stronger than the form of prevention 😡 This is often worse at night time because body temperature increases at night time
And broken skin is susceptible to infection
One of the amazing things about herbal medicine in treating skin conditions is that herbs have multiple functions. By selecting the right plants, in the right combination and right proportion we can:
✔️ alleviate itching
✔️ reduce inflammation
✔️ treat infection
In my clinical experience if you can just reduce the itching, it makes a significant difference. Alleviating itching can be achieved by using not only specific anti-itch herbs but also supporting the function of the lymphatic system
With this baby the itching got better quite quickly (within a month) and it took 6 months for the skin to heal and then it got slightly worse again as they entered monsoon season. In the monsoon the water gets contaminated and with it comes infections. The family also avoids eating raw fruit and veg during this time too. External circumstances do affect the healing of skin. As the monsoon passed the skin started getting better again. We were also struggling to get the baby the right dose of vitamin D as POC need different amounts of vitamin D to what’s recommended on the vitamin d supplements as pretty much all medical research is carried out only on white

06/01/2024

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Everything is shared with parental permission
Topic: case presentation of treating skin issues in 4yo female with herbal medicine
got in touch with me in September 2023 because one of her children was having severe skin issues. It had started after the child picked up in Dec ‘22 and then again in Jan ‘23. Both times were treated with . In February ‘23 little spots began to develop which progressively got worse and started to spread. The child’s behaviour was worsening (even noticed by nursery staff) and sleep was terrible, impacting both child and parents. The child skin was sore and itchy. The GP prescribed an emollient, and a combined topical D3/ steroids cream. The prescription is typically used for . There were no improvement in skin symptoms. At this point the mum was at her wits end as the child was really struggling to sleep and mum had another baby she was feeding so she was EXHAUSTED (poorly children not only affect the kids, it had a huge impact on parents AND siblings)
After the consultation I was pretty certain that the child’s skin was infected, and needed treating, which is why it wasn’t able to heal. This is VERY common but often overlooked in skin issues such as and . The advantage of being a clinical practitioner is that I’ve seen many previous patients with infected skin issues, and once you address the infection the skin really makes huge progress. Of course the sleep issues also need addressing because persistent poor sleep is not just tiring, it means the nervous system remains dysregulated which in turn impacts the immune system (the body is a whole system that feeds back into itself). A mood/behaviour is always worse when sleep is poor
So we began both topical and internal treatment, which consisted of:
🌱 topical anti-microbial spray
🌱 day time tincture in drop doses
🌱 night time tincture in drop doses
At the first follow up consultation just 6 weeks later the feedback from mum was:
✔️ itching gone
✔️ child sleeping all night
✔️ child much calmer, happier and more concentration
Continued in comments……

01/01/2024

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I saw a post by which was journal prompts relating to sexual wellness and I was inspired! Let’s diversify away from the usual mainstream ‘wellness’ journal prompts and really get ourselves thinking deeply about core health
So in the same inspired thinking, for those of you who are interested in knowing more about herbal medicine and holistic wellness, from a traditional perspective you need to know more about just which herb is good for x condition. The way I was trained, the way I now work and what I help my patients understand is about knowing who you/they are, your/ their constitution/ temperament (based upon the elements). And then working out, through a process/ journey which herbs are best suited to you and rebalancing or counterbalancing your constitution. You then build a relationship with your herbal allies and build an incredible tool kit that INCLUDES herbal/medicinal remedies
And if you want to learn even more about this you can sign up to my course in January (link in bio)
Happy new year my loves
May it include an ever deepening relationship with medicinal plants and all their glory ✨

21/12/2023

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❄️ happy winter solstice ❄️
In the northern hemisphere today we celebrate the return of the light AND honour the darkness with the shortest day and the longest night of the year 🕯️
This morning I was listening to .school podcasts’ episode on honouring the darkness. Something that really stuck out for me was that one of the speakers mentioned that our current capitalist/ patriarchal society really favours everything represented by the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, which equates to spring and summer. And as lean into my 4th decade of life I can see that yes, of course this is very appealing HOWEVER I can now see that there is so much in the follicular phase which equates to autumn and winter. And as a traditionally trained practitioner which has helped me think in more of a circular or cyclical way, I know there would be no summer without winter and no light without darkness. It’s not that I ever hated the winter, although it is more arduous but now I really KNOW the value of the winter. The need for yin to balance out the yang, the need for rest and withdrawal. And that there is so much to discover in the darkness. From the autumn equinox till now I have ADORED being at home a lot, with my children. Having more coziness and having less activity. An opportunity to really settle, reflect and restore after the flurry of summer activities and energy. Soaking up their youngness because when the cycle turns and summer comes, they’ll be so much older and more independent. Realising that there is much nourishment in the darkness. And the same is true of the challenges we face in life: that the hard times and the dark times are not to be feared and ignored, but embraced as valuable lessons and opportunities. And that, like the cycle of the seasons we must accept challenges and dark times are to be expected as nature is just so…….
I’m almost sad it’s the winter solstice already. But fortunately here in Scotland we still have many many many dark days ahead until it really gets light again 😂 which gives us still plenty of time to rest, release what doesn’t serve us and plant intentions for the future. Hurrah!
So happy solstice everyone!!! 🕯️

Lucie Bradley Consultant Medical Herbalist

07/01/2024

07/01/2024

06/01/2024

01/01/2024

21/12/2023

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