This week, Q&A on tests and Substack, UTIs and bladder issues, spotlight on German Chamomile for skin, inflammation, histamine and MCAS and more. Enjoy x
Say what?
Starting with a bit of a clarification on some questions I’ve had this week. Sorry to have confused some of you!
Can I still have help and book tests if I am a patient?
Yes. Existing patients can still book Progress Reviews and access testing, so don’t worry. I’ve just closed the testing service for the general public for now. If we decide you need a test, I’ll send you a link to pay/book direct or I will book for you.
How do I access tests if I am not an existing patient?
I’ve put some suggestions here. If I have promised a test for you, just email me and we can still do that, no problem.
Are you still doing Case Reviews?
Not just now, sorry. I’ve stopped the Case Reviews for now to give myself chance to get the research, writing and education stuff done. They take a huge amount of work and generate a huge amount of follow up. I love doing them, so that’s a hard one for me. I’m seeing how that goes for us all and I’ll keep you updated.
I don’t know how to use Substack
Substack is pretty new, so it’s understandable many of you have never even heard of it. It’s simply a place that people write long form content – newsletters, really. My Substack is just a way to get the weekly newsletters to you; think of it as a delivery system. You can read the newsletters in your email as before, no need to go to Substack or have an account.
There is no need to do anything other than read your free newsletter in your email.
If you want more than just reading the newsletter, you can create an account/download the app and you can then:
- Comment on posts
- See all my Notes. This works like Facebook posts but are all in one place – see the tab in the menu at the top – and in date order, so not controlled by an algorithm, thank goodness. You can read or comment on those as you wish. The point of them is to get more health messages out than just the newsletter and hope that others find me. If you like, restack or comment on them, that helps visibility, much like Facebook.
- Access Chat, where you can start threads or join in. I can email threads out if I start them and you can switch on notifications in your account settings if you want to know when someone chats/replies or starts a new thread.
All of that is free.
Substack is still evolving and is not perfect, I know. But I chose it as it is kinder, less algorithmic social media-y place. One thing to know is that SS is generally set up so you don’t get notifications – it’s a quieter, less in your face kind of set up, which is the reason I chose it. Many people just visit Substack to catch up when they want to. But, if you want to work it like Facebook et al, you can switch notifications on in your settings so it will tell you when I have done a note, someone has commented, chatted etc. You have more choice of what info you let into your head and when. Personally, that is much healthier and fits more with Purehealth vibes.
To do that, just sign into Substack and go to settings, then toggle things on and off as suits you.
I am still letting you know when I post on Facebook, Insta and Linked in etc for now, but I am hoping I can get it down to a single place where we do everything, you know.
Why would I pay as a subscriber?
Most newsletters on Substack are what is termed ‘reader-supported’ ie. they exist because you help. It’s a kind of quid pro quo arrangement. It’s a very sharey kind of place where writers and readers all support each other to get good information out. That’s how I’ve found it so far anyway. A far cry from Facebook, Twitter-X etc.
If you want to support the health education project I’m trying to get going, you can subscribe for a fiver a month or less annually. Read more about it on my About page. If you can’t afford to pay as a subscriber, the other way to help is to like, share, comment or restack so that visibility is higher. That way, we get more health messages out to people who don’t even know they need it yet!
I love ALL my subscribers – free or paid – I am always grateful that anyone reads my stuff at all!
Paid subscribing is to pay me as a writer too – I’m not sure why people think good content should be free really, you’d not expect your plumber to come and fix your sink gratis. Being a researcher and writer is a job like any other. Substack is part of the movement really to remunerate good journalism/writing and to make a distinction between the crappity junk snippety content all over social media which is dumbing our minds and attention spans as well as having far too much influence on how we think about things!
As a thank you for helping, I will be holding Ask Micki sessions a couple of hours a week. I’m not sure how to do that yet, or when – couple of hours one early evening maybe – I’ll be asking paid subscribers soon how they would prefer we do that.
OK, does that all help? Anything else I can clarify for you, let me know. Meantime, subscribe here if you can, everyone who benefits thanks you x.
Bladder Infections – UTIs – What’s causing them?
This week’s paid subscriber question comes from L, who suffers with chronic urinary tract infections and is sick of taking antibiotics. No infection is ever found, yet she is given antibiotics every time. She asks what else causes UTIs?
I recently wrote a new factsheet on UTIs and all things bladder so that would be the place to start. Here’s a bit about what causes them:
90% of UTIs are caused by E Coli bacterial infection that probably comes from the gut, but 10% of them are caused by other bacterial species, yeast/candida or viruses. I find citrobacter and klebsiella quite often. Urine itself is actually sterile, so it has to come from somewhere.
A drop in oestrogen at menopause makes us more vulnerable because the bladder and urethra lining thins and dries. Excess progesterone in pregnancy, or at any time, can slow motility of the urinary system and urine can pool or be slow to move through.
Vaginal and gut bacterial imbalance can cause it, and low SIgA, your mucosal immune antibody, can mean you don’t fight it off as well as you might. You can read more about this here.
Also, devices like the coil and chemicals that irritate the area won’t help.
So, check for infections other than E Coli and see if your SIgA mucosal immunity levels are high enough to fight anything found (or not found!) off. Check hormone levels – is oestrogen low or progesterone high?
I’ve put lots more about UTI treatment generally on the factsheet so do read that if you need ideas. The best approach for recurrent UTIs I’ve found clinically is to improve the bladder, gut and vaginal bacteria microbiome, hydrate better, take D mannose or Uva Ursi – the types and dosages shown in the factsheet – and then repair the mucosal tissue ie. improve the whole environment, strengthen it and get rid of any nasties.
Pumpkin seeds/extract, as you’ll see from the factsheet, is renowned for supporting bladder health for various reasons – especially if you have an overactive bladder that makes you piddle a lot. So, here’s a nice pumpkin seed recipe I saw that might help you get more in.
Charred cauliflower pasta with pumpkin seed pesto
Great idea to use pumpkin seeds to make a pesto – and not to heat it, so you keep all the lovely nutrients intact. Personally, I’d leave out the cheese so the pesto is dairy free, maybe add some nutritional yeast flakes if you want a cheesy sort of taste. I’d also use lentil, chickpea or pea penne rather than wheat to improve the nutritional profile even further and lower your gluten intake.
Or, try this crunchy salad for lunch. I shall be making that one! Just add more pumpkin seeds, I’d say. Or you could even make the pesto from above and stir some of that in. Delish. If you do that, let us know how it tasted!
Oh, and don’t forget that pumpkin seed is fantastic for men and prostate issues too. More on prostate problems here.
Spotlight on: German Chamomile
Honestly, this oil is a little powerhouse. Most people know standard Roman chamomile, which is also great, but German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) is in a different league. I was thinking about it recently as I was wanting something to help heal some eczema that P has developed since his op, but also something for me to lower inflammation in my finger joints, which are starting to grow nodules from all the typing – I knew I should have learned how to touch type!. I was also researching things that dampen down mast cells.
Enter German Chamomile.
A gorgeous deep blue colour, the essential oil is thick and a little goes a very long way – which is good because it’s not cheap! It is made from distilling the flowers, comes from France, Egypt or Bulgaria usually and is full of anti-inflammatory constituents like the azulenes, which are what makes it blue.
All the chamomiles, Roman (Anthemis nobilis), Moroccan or wild chamomile (Ormensis mixta) and German, are anti-inflammatory and calming generally. Roman is the lightest and is useful for restless children and anxiety in general. Moroccan is a bit stronger and great as a sedative for irritable or anxious adults and German is the most anti-inflammatory and deepest of the types.
Skin: very calming, soothing, healing and anti-inflammatory, so great for sensitive, dry, allergic and irritated skins generally.
Nerves: very soothing and anxiety-calming.
Pain and inflammation: All the chamomiles have been shown to inhibit inflammatory compounds called cytokines, including TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-8, so they have the potential to help any inflammatory condition. Think toothache, TMJ, arthritis etc. They are also antispasmodic, so can be useful in eg. IBS, stomach cramping, PMS etc.
Anti-allergy: helps lower histamine and mast cell activation. Good for hayfever and asthma.
Respiratory Allergy Blend
Mix 10 drops German chamomile, 20 drops frankincense, 15 drops bergamot, 10 drops black spruce, 10 drops eucalyptus radiata. Put a few drops on a tissue and inhale deeply max three times. Keep the oil from touching your nose as it will be drying and irritating. Or you could put a few drops of your mix into a diffuser or burner. I used to put a few drops on a cotton pad and stick it in the air vent in the car to help on high pollen days!
German chamomile is high in luteolin and quercetin, both excellent mast cell/MCAS inhibitors. Study here, for example. You could use the tissue/cotton pad/burner method above and just use German Chamomile, inhaling it a couple of times a day. If OK with that, try adding a few drops of Nigella/Black Cumin essential oil, which is another mast cell inhibitor.
Another , really effective way is to put a drop on the soles of your feet – it will absorb well and go throughout the body from there. If it is irritating, mix it with a little coconut oil, or a nigella carrier oil, even better.
MCAS Oil Blend
Nigella oil base 100ml with 25 drops of German Chamomile. Massage a little into your feet, your tummy or anywhere you like.
There’s a blend of German Chamomile in coconut oil ready-made here if that helps. It’s a 5% dilution so is a good therapeutic level. To take as drops internally, look at this blend in coconut here – much like the one used in that study, or one with sugar beet alcohol here.
Chamomile water is a much weaker, but still therapeutically-effective way to use it. I use it as a toner for my face, actually, as a sneaky way to get some MCAS inhibitor in!
If all of that seems like too much for you, maybe start with simple chamomile tea. But, please, not those awful bleached teabags with hardly anything beneficial in. Either get some chamomile flowers and infuse or grind them yourself, or get a good powder. I have this one on my shelf to try. I’ve done well so far MCAS-wise with the Aquasol range. I also found a German chamomile flowers tea here. How fab! I shall be trying that one next.
You can read more about chamomile here. And it’s easy to grow too. I’m thinking of starting a kind of healing garden and chamomile will be in it! See here for gardening tips. Trouble is, we are very sluggy and snaily here for some reason – any tips on how to protect my seedlings??
And finally…
It must be Spring as my Spring/Summer duvet cover is out! I picked this vibrant superking Harlequin beauty up for £20 in a sale years ago! They’re usually about £150. Bargain!
Mind you, I may need a more subtle one now as, in BIG news, P has been up a very small ladder with me hanging on to him for dear life, to put the blinds up that we bought 4 months ago! William Morris, Blackthorn in Blue/Grey. You can see them in the picture above.
So pretty. I am also enjoying this, my fave Christmas pressie this year. Simple pleasures! It’s not that specific one, but you get the gist. It always feel luxurious somehow and I don’t want to have to shout at an Alexa to put them on!
That’s it for this issue, folks!
I truly hope you find my Purehealth newsletters useful. If you like what I’m doing, please subscribe here, like and share on your socials; it really helps others get life-changing info they may need x
If buying supplements mentioned in this article through Natural Dispensary, please use Micki Rose during registration when prompted. If using Amrita, use this code to register for access to advanced products, no need to do it again then: 4Y2AE7. Lab tests are here.
Any questions, feel free to contact me and see Support options here.
If I’ve helped you or your loved ones, please buy me a coffee. Bless your cotton socks x