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Blood Pressure, High and Low

Hawthorn, Cayenne and Garlic are well known for their effectiveness in treating both high and low blood pressure. Taken regularly for extended periods, they function as heart and circulation tonics, and will tend to stabilize blood pressure closer to normal.

6 parts Hawthorn berries

1 part Cayenne Pepper

8 parts Garlic cloves

Tincture: 2-4 ml (1/2-l teaspoon) in a small glass of water 3 times per day — may be continued for an extended period with suitable breaks in treatment

Note, however, that heart and circulation disorders are matters for which professional advice should be sought.

Chilblains

For unbroken chilblains:

Cayenne Pepper (powdered)

Poultice, compress or ointment: apply directly to affected areas

Essential oils with warming/analgesic properties such as Peppermint, Rosemary and Thyme are also used, a few drops mixed with a small teaspoon of olive oil and gently applied to the affected areas.

For ulcerated or broken chilblains:

Mullein leaves

Oil: apply directly to affected areas

1 part Witch Hazel leaves

1 part Plantain leaves

1 part Marigold flowers

1 part St John’s Wort herb

1 part Comfrey root

Ointment or oil: apply locally, renewing several times per day

Marigold flowers

Poultice, compress, ointment or oil: apply locally as required

Chilblains usually only develop where poor circulation is found.

*75/66/5*

Hamamelis virginiana

Action: Astringent, haemostatic.

Systems Affected: Skin, stomach, intestines.

Preparation and Dosage (thrice daily): Dried leaves, bark or flowering twigs, dose 1-4 grams by infusion. Distilled Witch Hazel (Hamamelis Water) recommended for general external use.

Native to North America, Witch Hazel was greatly revered by the Indians for its healing properties. Used by the American settlers, Europeans and others since, it is official in various national pharmacopoeias. A small tree or spreading shrub growing up to 2 meters or so in height, it is now widely cultivated as a garden ornamental.

Witch Hazel is mostly used externally for its astringent and haemostatic properties. It is applied as a soothing and healing lotion to varicose veins, haemorrhoids, insect bites, bruises, sprains and burns, and as a cleansing haemostatic to stop bleeding from cuts and wounds. It is useful as a mouthwash for inflamed gums and as a gargle for sore throats. Well diluted, it is soothing to tired and inflamed eyes. It is also used internally to help stop bleeding from the lungs, uterus and other organs, and in the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery and mucous discharge.

The flowering twigs, leaves and bark of the plant are used to make various preparations, several of which are commercially available (from chemists, health food stores, etc.). Distilled Witch Hazel (also known as Hamamelis Water) is a highly-favoured form of preparation for general household use. The ointment has particular use as a local application to haemorrhoids.

Cautionary Notes: Witch Hazel is extremely astringent and should be used with care. When applied to sensitive or inflamed areas (as in sunburn etc.) it should be diluted 50/50 with water before use. Only very diluted Witch Hazel should be used in eye lotions. Distilled Witch Hazel should not be confused with a tincture made from the bark or leaves. The latter can be extremely astringent and may cause disfigurement to the skin unless diluted before use.

*58/66/5*

Verbascum thapsus

Action: Pectoral, demulcent, astringent, expectorant, alterative, sedative, analgesic, antispasmodic, antiseptic, diuretic.

Systems Affected: Lungs, glands and lymphatic system, nerves.

Preparation and Dosage (thrice daily): Dried leaves and flowers, dose 2-5 grams by infusion.

Mullein is a Eurasian native now naturalized in some temperate zones. In the first year’s growth there appears a rosette of large leaves somewhat like those of foxglove. In the following year the plant develops a tall spire-like flowering stem clustered with yellow flowers often reaching 2 meters or more in height.

Both in Europe and Asia the power of driving off evil spirits was ascribed to Mullein, and according to the classics it was the plant which Ulysses took to protect himself against the wiles of Circe. The Romans used the dried stem dipped in tallow as a torch.

Mullein has a special affinity for the lungs and is regarded as one of the outstanding pectoral herbs. It is useful in all pulmonary complaints, especially those characterized by lung weakness and/or congestion. It has a long history as a specific treatment for tuberculosis, for which purpose it is often combined with Garlic and Comfrey.

It is prescribed for pneumonia, pleurisy, bronchitis, colds, asthma and dry coughs, its action being demulcent, astringent, antiseptic, expectorant, tonic and sedative (slightly narcotic in effect, it allays pain and calms the nervous system but without any adverse or toxic effects).

The dried leaves are sometimes smoked as a cigarette to relieve lung congestion, asthma and spasmodic coughs. An infusion of the leaves prepared as an inhalant in a bowl of water (keeping the head beneath a towel) is effective for asthma, hayfever and sinus congestion; as a gargle it is useful for throat complaints, especially laryngitis.

The herb exerts a beneficial effect on the glands and lymphatic system. A poultice or compress is applied locally for treating lymphatic congestion, mumps and swollen glands.

A strong infusion of the leaves is used as a remedy for bleeding from the nose, mouth, lungs, bowels and urinary organs. Its diuretic action is tonic to the kidneys, and is useful in fluid retention, especially when combined with local application of the herb as a compress to dropsied limbs.

The demulcent and astringent action of Mullein is useful in diarrhoea and dysentery. In diarrhoea the ordinary infusion is given, but where any bleeding of the bowels is present, a decoction prepared with milk is preferred, taken in small frequent doses.

Mullein oil is produced by placing 50 grams or so of the dried leaves in a wide-mouthed jar with enough olive oil to cover. Seal the jar and keep in a warm place for a fortnight or so, shaking daily. Strained and bottled for storage, it is used as local application to haemorrhoids, frost bite, bruises and nappy rash. In Europe it is valued as one of the best possible remedies for all ear complaints, a few drops placed in the ear overnight.

For rheumatism and painful, stiff or swollen joints, place 50 to 60 grams of dried leaves in 500 ml of vinegar, cover and simmer slowly for half an hour. Applied directly as a compress it will ease the pain and, in almost every case, reduce the swelling.

Concerning storage and preparation: the flowers must be dried in a dark place and stored in tins or light-proof containers. They turn a dark brown/black in a bright light once they have been removed from the plant, and should not be used if they are in this condition. The infusion should always be strained before use through a filter of fine cloth or cotton wool to eliminate the fine hairs which cover the whole plant and which otherwise would irritate the throat.

*41/66/5*

Symphytum officinale

Action: Vulnerary, cell-proliferant, demulcent, emollient, astringent, anti-haemorrhagic.

Systems Affected: Bones, muscles, lungs, digestive system, general effects on the whole body. Preparation and Dosage (thrice daily): Dried roots or leaves, dose 2-5 grams by decoction. Fresh or dried roots and leaves used externally.

Comfrey is native to Europe and Asia, and has been introduced and naturalized elsewhere. As an ornamental, the plant is often introduced into gardens, from which it is difficult to eradicate once established, as a new plant develops from any severed portion of the root.

Comfrey is known for its healing properties and the herb has several uses:

For internal haemorrhage, whether from the lungs, stomach, bowels, bladder or haemorrhoids, a strong decoction of the root is taken every two hours until the bleeding ceases.

The plant has the highest mucilage content of any herb and its demulcent action, similar to that of Marshmallow root, is utilized for digestive problems such as gastric and duodenal ulcers, colitis, diarrhoea and dysentery.

The plant is also employed in respiratory conditions (particularly for those complaints which benefit from an astringent mucilage): coughs, pleurisy, bronchitis, lung congestion and bleeding, quinsy and whooping cough. The root is more effective than the leaf and is the part usually employed for coughs.

Comfrey is used externally to reduce pain and inflammation and for its vulnerary action. The plant contains allantoin, a cell-proliferant which promotes rapid healing of wounds.

For bruises, inflammation, sprains, burns, cuts and wounds, to promote suppuration of boils and abscesses, and for skin complaints in general, the fresh leaves or macerated roots are applied as a poultice, compress or ointment.

The whole plant, pounded and applied hot as a poultice, has been used traditionally to soothe pain in any tender, inflamed or suppurating part. It is considered of benefit in neuralgia and rheumatism, and is sometimes used for the treatment of varicose veins.

Comfrey has a long history of use in treating fractures, sprains and hernias — hence one of its old names, Knitbone. The fresh root pounded to a mucilaginous mass and applied as a poultice, compress or ointment, promotes rapid healing of fractured bones and torn muscles or ligaments.

Cautionary Notes: Some research findings have indicated possible adverse effects from the internal use of Comfrey in prolonged high doses. For this reason it is suggested that general use of the herb is best confined to external application.

*24/66/5*

A tincture is a concentrated herbal extract prepared with alcohol which can be kept for long periods of time. The alcohol acts as a preservative, and its final concentration in the tincture should not be less than about 30% — hence, for home preparation, spirits such as brandy, vodka, gin or rum are normally employed. Because of its concentrated strength only small doses of a tincture are required, and it is a particularly useful form of preparation where herbs are to be taken over an extended period of time.

A tincture is prepared by combining 100 grams of powdered or finely cut dried herbs with 500 ml of alcohol such as brandy, vodka, gin or rum. Kept in a sealed bottle and shaken daily, the herbs are left to extract for about two weeks. The mixture is then strained through a fine cloth or filter. The herbal residue is discarded and the liquid bottled, preferably in dark glass.

The amount of tincture to be taken in a single dose varies from just a few drops to around two teaspoons. Generally speaking, where the dose for dried herbs prepared as an infusion or decoction is given as, say, ’2-5 grams’, the equivalent dose for a tincture would be 2-5 ml (a half to one teaspoonful). In other words the dose for dried herbs in grams is converted to milliliters for a tincture.

The amount of alcohol consumed in this way is quite small and does not present a problem to most people. But if the use of alcohol must be restricted even at this level, the extract may be prepared with vinegar instead.

Tinctures normally have a storage life of several years. Administered orally, they are usually taken in diluted form, the required dose added to a small glass of water. Sometimes used externally, they may be diluted to form a mouthwash, skin lotion or compress.

Tinctures should not be confused with fluid extracts. These are highly concentrated commercial preparations requiring precise dosage and are several times more potent than tinctures.

*4/66/5*

Nearly one quarter of our sample of homosexual offenders vs. adults had married, and the accumulative incidence indicates that ultimately about two fifths would marry. These are the smallest proportions of married individuals in any group. Moreover, the percentages build up slowly: by age twenty-six when all groups other than the homosexual offenders and peepers have over half of their members married, the homosexual offenders vs. adults had but 17 per cent of their constituents married. Of those who did marry, the average (median) man did so at age 23.1—i.e., neither unusually early nor late.

Since the average age at marriage was twenty-three and the average age of the ever-married homosexual offender vs. adults at the time of interview was about thirty-eight, one might expect that they had spent half or more than, half of their postpubertal years as married men. This, however, is not the case. Only 23 per cent of their years were spent as husbands, the smallest percentage displayed by any group. While it is true that they were unusually monogamous (76 per cent of those who married had married only once—second only to the control group), it is also true that an unusually large number (41 per cent, again second in rank-order) had one marriage that lasted less than two years. In brief, many of their marriages were of short duration and they were disinclined to marry again.

The average homosexual offender vs. adults had known his future wife nine months before marrying her, and slightly over half of these offenders had premarital coitus with their wives-to-be. None of these figures are unusual. Owing chiefly to the low frequencies of premarital coitus, very few of the brides were pregnant when they married (only 2 per cent, the second smallest proportion recorded). Only 18 of the 49 homosexual offenders vs. adults who married had children in marriage, and 13 of the 18 had only one child, making this the least fertile of all groups. For every ten homosexual offenders vs. adults there were only eight offspring.

While there is nothing outstanding about the amount of time that the homosexual offenders vs. adults spent in precoital play with their wives, certain of their precoital and coital techniques do merit special note. A relatively large number (10 per cent) had been fellated by their wives but had never had cunnilingus with them. This was true also of the homosexual offenders vs. minors and to a lesser degree of the homosexual offenders vs. children. In their use of various coital positions the homosexual offenders vs. adults appear as the most conservative of all—about one third, had confined themselves exclusively to the conventional male-prone female-supine position and had tried nothing else. This may indicate a lack of interest in or an insecurity about heterosexual activity rather than any moral objection. Lastly, the percentage of offenders who had had anal coitus with a spouse is in no way unusual.

While between one third and two fifths of the homosexual offenders vs. adults married, the percentage of ever-married individuals by any given age is always quite low; for instance, by age thirty only one quarter had ever married. Consequently the number of married males we have to deal with in given, periods of time is small: 20 in age-period 21-25; 22 in. age-period 26-30; 14 in age-period 31-35; and. 12 in age-period 36-40. Such small numbers explain the erratic nature of some of the frequency data.

The average (median) offender has intermediate frequency figures which begin at 3 a week in age-period 21-25 and drop to 1.8 in age-period 36-40. Recall, however, that these are “active” figures—figures based only on the married persons who had marital coitus. While in most groups marriage and coitus are virtually synonymous before senility, among the homosexual offenders vs. adults this is not always so: in age-periods 21-25, 26-30, and 36-40 there was one individual (not the same one) lacking such coitus. Abstention from marital coitus is more common among homosexual offenders than among any other group.

The mean frequencies are quite erratic because our sample is small and because the homosexual offenders vs. adults are typified by high frequencies of sexual outlet, and this unusual capacity was sometimes directed into heterosexual coitus—at least sporadically. It is true that some homosexually oriented males plunge into marriage, as though by sheer coital frequency they could “cure” themselves of homosexuality or “prove” their masculinity. In any case, in age-period 21-25, four of the 20 married males had marital coitus daily or more than daily, which paradoxically ranks the group first in frequency of marital coitus at this time (5.37 per week, far exceeding any other group). In the following age-period they rank next to lowest with 2.75.

The homosexual orientation of these married males is more clearly evident when one looks not at the frequency of marital coitus, but at the proportion of total sexual outlet such coitus constitutes. These men derived less of their total outlet from this source than the men of any other group, the figures ranging from 51 to 73 per cent. The remaining 49 to 27 per cent was not wholly derived from contact with other males; self-masturbation was frequently as important quantitatively as was homosexual activity.

By and large the wives of the homosexual offenders vs. adults were reported to have reached orgasm in their marital coitus less often than the wives of other men. While only a moderate proportion (15 per cent) of their married lives was spent at a low (0-10 per cent) level of orgasmic response, these wives had the smallest proportion (39 per cent) of their married lives spent at a high (90 per cent plus) level. These percentages appear realistic since they match, fairly well, the reports by females of equivalent socioeconomic level. This accuracy of reporting by these homosexual offenders may be the result of their being less ego-involved and under less compulsion to demonstrate heterosexual prowess.

In terms of the over-all happiness of their marriages (as reported by the males), the homosexual offenders vs. adults occupy an intermediate status in comparison with other groups.

*205\161\2*

Of all our comparative groups, the incest offenders vs. adults appear to be the least responsive to visual and fantasy stimuli, being even less so than the incest offenders vs. minors. While three quarters obtained some arousal from seeing or thinking of females, and a fair additional number had once done so but did no longer, very few (12 per cent) responded strongly. This is the smallest percentage, about one third that of the control and prison groups. Similarly, extremely few were aroused by the sight or thought of males. None reported sexual arousal from sadomasochistic pictures or stories, and it will be recalled that they claimed never to have dreams with such content. Lastly, they were the least responsive of any group to pornography, over three fifths reporting little or no response. These findings fit well with the fact that this is the oldest, least educated, most rural, and most religiously devout group in our study.

While alcohol was very important to the incest offenders vs. children and while the incest offenders vs. minors had a large number of alcoholic members, the incest offenders vs. adults took an opposite tack. Rather few of them (8 per cent) were alcoholics, the majority were moderate drinkers, and a substantial minority (17 per cent) abstained completely. This conservatism is also evident in their gambling patterns: they gambled mainly for social reasons, and very few of them (4 per cent, a figure below even that of the control group) gambled for income.

*163\161\2*

Incest offenders vs. children are adult males who have had sexual contact with their daughters or stepdaughters under twelve years of age. In this definition it is immediately evident that we have sidestepped the problem of force or threat. We have done so at this point because the authoritarian position of the father makes the differentiation between threat, duress, acquiescence, and willingness almost impossible. Furthermore, most incest offenses are not single occasions; the majority of incest offenders have had repeated contacts with their daughters, and the degree of willingness on the daughter’s part often varies. Consequently, we decided to omit force or threat as a category criterion and, instead, simply identify within the present categories the cases where force or threat were clearly evident. Such cases are few in number.

The father-daughter incest taboo is, and has been, world-wide. It is one of the few items concerning which all people are in accord. From an anthropological point of view, the necessity for a father-daughter incest taboo is obvious: such incest would create an intrafamily competition and favoritism that would threaten the continued existence of the family unit; any resultant procreation would intolerably complicate the inherited obligations and rights that form the basis of human organization; and, moreover, it would interfere with the daughter’s form ing a liaison with a male outside the family. In brief, no known human society could tolerate much incest without ruinous disruption.

In the rest of the mammalian world, father-daughter incest is determined solely by propinquity: there is no inherent deterrent regarding such activity. The incest taboo is a cultural and not a biological necessity. Consequently we find that among humans who, because of their environmental circumstances or because of intellectual limitations have not been so strongly imbued with the culture as the average person, there are more breaches of the taboo. The usual stereotypes come to mind: the family in a backward remote rural area, a poverty-stricken slum family with alcoholic overtones, the Jukes and Kallikaks, Tobacco Road families, etc. Beyond these, however, one finds previously conforming males who break the taboo during periods of emotional stress or intoxication, and who subsequently suffer strong guilt reactions. The incest offenders, it may be noted, are the most guilt-ridden of any group.

The incest offender vs. children is doubly despicable in the eyes of his fellow men: he has not only broken the most ancient and widespread sexual taboo against incest, but he has also broken the almost equally old and universal taboo against sexual contact with young children. Even in prison where there exists a social hierarchy based upon the charge that resulted in imprisonment, and where the sex offender is at the bottom of the social ladder, the incest offender vs. children does not even have his hand on the bottom-most rung.

*121\161\2*

Ninety-two per cent of the aggressors vs. children had had premarital coitus—by age fourteen a moderate 28 per cent, but by age sixteen 75 per cent, putting them in first place. At older ages, as other groups begin to surpass them, they drop in position but still remain in the upper half of the scale.

The age-specific incidence of premarital coitus with companions is moderate among these aggressors. The importance of premarital coitus with prostitutes to these aggressors is very clear in the age-specific incidence figures. In the three age-periods available for comparison, puberty-15, 16-20, and 21-25, the aggressors vs. children display by far the largest proportions of men having premarital coitus with prostitutes, the figures being 21, 71, and 92 per cent respectively. This record is impressive: by the time they were twenty more of them had contact with prostitutes than the individuals of the prison group or the control group had in their entire lifetimes. Moreover, these aggressors are the only group in which from ages sixteen to twenty the number of men who had coitus with prostitutes equals the number who had coitus with companions. In all other groups coitus with companions Overshadows that with prostitutes.

In frequency of premarital coitus with companions (i.e., nonprostitutes) the heterosexual aggressors vs. children rank low generally, never exceeding twice a month. This is particularly noticeable in the average (mean) frequency wherein between ages twenty-one to twenty-five, they rank lowest, far lower than the control group, and even below the homosexual offenders. In terms of median frequency they are seen as moderate up to age twenty and low between ages twenty-one and twenty-five.

We suggested previously that since during their late teens the aggressors vs. children did not get along well with females and yet had an above-average coital history, they depended heavily upon prostitutes. This surmise is validated when one examines their frequency of contact with prostitutes. They rank first in frequency from sixteen to twenty, whether measured by mean (20 a year) or median (10 a year), but drop to intermediate position in later life. The importance of paid relationships to the aggressor vs. children is also revealed in the number whose first postpubertal coitus was with a prostitute—44 per cent, again by far the largest figure.

While they constitute a numerically small group, what evidence we have suggests that they had a rather large number of coital companions (15) and an extremely large number of prostitute coital partners (18) in their premarital years.

The generally low frequencies account for the small proportion (3 to 20 per cent) of the total sexual outlet that is derived from premarital coitus with companions, but in age-period 16-20 they rank first in the proportion of their total sexual outlet derived from premarital coitus with prostitutes (15 per cent); in the following age-period they fall to fourth rank, and sample size precludes calculation at older ages.

Many of the various restraints on premarital coitus that strongly influenced some groups seem to have been relatively inoperative for the aggressors vs. children. Very few were inhibited by a fear of pregnancy, disease, or public opinion. A moderate number (20 per cent) were restrained by purely moral considerations. Extremely few (10 per cent, the second lowest percentage) reported that a lack of interest prevented more premarital coitus—these aggressors evidently were far from fulfilling what they felt were their sexual needs. A large number (76 per cent) blamed lack of opportunity, a complaint especially typi cal of all aggressors. It is interesting to note that as a whole the aggressors (vs. children, minors, or adults) were relatively unperturbed by the possible immediate consequences of premarital coitus: pregnancy, disease, and adverse social reaction. This is especially well illustrated when comparison is made between the aggressors vs. children and their counterparts, the offenders vs. children. Twenty-one per cent of the latter were deterred from premarital coitus by fear of pregnancy, whereas only 8 per cent of the aggressors vs. children were similarly affected; 19 per cent of the offenders vs. children were held back by fear of disease as opposed to 4 per cent of the aggressors vs. children; and 14 per cent of the offenders vs. children strongly feared social opinion, while not a single aggressor vs. children shared this concern.

*79\161\2*

An inspection of all the case histories of offenders vs. children resulted in our differentiating no less than eight varieties. At first glance these varieties may appear to be based upon causative or at least explanatory factors, but actually they are simply gross descriptive categories. Between one fifth and one fourth of the case histories were not classified either because they fell into two or more categories or because sufficient background data were lacking. The classification is shown below:

Pedophiles

The sociosexually underdeveloped

Amoral delinquents

Situational cases

Mental defectives

Psychotics

Drunks

Senile deteriorates

The great majority of the offenders vs. children tend to fit one of these categories more logically than others. This does not imply mutual exclusivity; one may find a feeble-minded male who got drunk and responded in a situational fashion. In such a case one must try to determine which was the more important element in the offense behavior. Because of such overlapping, because of the subjective judgments involved, and because of the variable amounts of data available, we feel it wise to speak only in broad generalities about the varieties of offenders vs. children and eschew exact figures.

*36\161\2*