I had an old patient who misheard a locum tell him to put Tea Tree Oil on
his feet and used teak oil instead.
It worked.
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Laurie Slater [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 29 November 2007 20:33
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: New (old) treatment for peripheral oedema
75 year old stoic, known IHD and hypertension on calcium channel blocker.
Mild ankle oedema presumed secondary to this and no clinical cardiac failure
or anaemia. Was told by an old lady at home (in Bulgaria) to "beat his feet
and ankles with stinging nettles three times a day" which, being a no
nonsense sort of bloke he duly did for a whole week. So today in a rather
pythonesque consultation he hoiked up his trousers and with an uncanny
Palin-like smile he pointed shamelessly at his shapely ankles "Look doc -
all gone!"
These sort of stories make it all worthwhile, because already I can think of
one or two patients who don't yet have ankle swelling but to whom I might
recommend this as an option ... just in case.
Laurie
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