Yesterday afternoon at the doctor's office, the young-ish physician commented on how great my scar looked for a month-old incision. I told him this was because I had been applying calendula and elder lotion several times a day and aloe as often as I remembered. Which, since it's sitting five feet from my desk, is relatively often.

And it happened again: I got The Look. You know, the glazed-eye, waiting-for-this-to-pass, vaguely curious stare -- the same look visitors to foreign lands give quaint natives who try to explain their odd religious practices. I might as well have said I had rubbed my incision with an ointment made of frog poop, baby drool and eye of potato for all the sense my statement seemed to make to the surgeon.

The truly pathetic thing is, as soon as an expensive medicine is developed from extracts of elder, calendula and aloe, and promoted by a pharmaceutical rep with all the right swag to hand out -- key chains, sticky notes, embossed pens -- this physician will climb on board in a heartbeat and be wildly enthusiastic about this "new" treatment for healing incisions.

I would so love the medical establishment to get hip to herbs before this predictable step, but even eternally optimistic I have to admit it's a long shot.

The best hope, I think, is to support the work of The American Botanical Council, which is to plant medicines what the American Medical Association is to medical doctors. The ABC provides the latest well-researched information on medicinal herbs, citing scientific studies from all over the world and fearlessly calling "foul" when the herb doesn't match up to the hype. (Probably the fact that its studies come from around the world is yet another reason why doctors like the young surgeon in question would instantly discount the information -- after all, how could India have scientific studies? -- but maybe if enough of us pay sufficient attention and arm ourselves with enough good science, we'll eventually turn around this Titanic medical system we have and find ourselves with inexpensive, healthful remedies that have worked with the human body for eons.)

In the meantime, I think it's irresponsible at worst and clueless at best that every burn unit and surgical practice in the country doesn't have pots of aloe growing everywhere, and shelves lined with calendula lotion. And maybe some of that frog poop and baby drool stuff ...

Along with what works about herbal medicines and products, there's always a big dose of what doesn't work. And what isn't working for me today is 1.) not only did I get sick, but 2.) my co-workers keep stopping by saying, "What about your herbs? Isn't there something you can take for that?"

Never underestimate the urge to nyah-nyah, particularly when you work in the Great Hall of Skeptics. Not here at The Herb Companion, but throughout the building, which we share with several other publications. OK, maybe I've been sort of a nudge about herbs and immune defense, but darn it, they really do work.

When you use them. What happened is that I ran out of my immune boosting herbs last week after taking them assiduously in repsonse to my friend's flu (see ImmuneAid, last posting). Then on Sunday evening, I started sneezing and snuffling and generally feeling miserable. One of my friends said "It's tree-pollen season. You're allergic, right?" and I thought, "Ah, yes. Well the ImmunAid probably wouldn't do any good anyway." So I didn't rush to the local herb stand to buy some more.

And I woke up Monday morning with a full-blown case of the flu. Aches, shivers, full-on snurps and sniffles. I missed two days of work and only came back today because it's so boring at home -- no offense to Bob Dog and the cats. So, of course, there's been a steady stream of work pals -- OK, four -- stopping by to say, not "Oh, gee. I'm so glad you're back and feeling better," but "What happened to the herbs?" Subtext: Nyah-nyah (P.S. They're all guys. Is there a pattern here?)

But my point is still proven. I am absolutely certain that if I had had a supply of shiitake and maitake mushrooms at home, or that gallon of ImmunAid or Immunoboost or other high-potency flu-fighting immune booster I had threatened to buy, I would be hale and hearty today. I just have to be sure to keep a supply in my home, office, purse and car at all times so I don't get caught out like this again.

I am a woman with a mission.  Just see if I share with them from now on.

Nyah nyah ... 

One of the really cool things about our jobs here at The Herb Companion is our access to samples of great bodycare products, herbal remedies, cosmetics, soaps -- a steady, sweet-smelling stream of thoughtfully created products anyone would be thrilled to use. It's such an embarrassment of riches sometimes we get a bit complacent about actually spending our hard-earned cash on things like shampoo, soap, toothpaste and lotion.

However, given the many choices we have, you know we really like the product when we decide we to actually spend our own money on it.

At the top of my shopping list this week is Dr. Hauschka's Macadamia and Orange shampoo. I love the luster and texture it gives my hair -- and if I'm not wide awake by the time I step in the shower each morning, the fragrance of this shampoo is my morning wake-up call. As with all Dr. Hauschka's products, this shampoo is nice and natural, made with safe, organic, Biodynamic ingredients. On the other hand, Dr. Hauschka's Conditioner with Jojoba and Marsh Mallow was almost too rich for my hair. I think it would be great for damaged or color treated hair. Maybe I used too much -- it's pretty thick, so a little dab'll do you. At any rate, it made my hair feel a little gummy, so I've stuck with the Macadamia and Orange shampoo and have been happily  satisfied.

Dr. Hauschka is one of those companies I've come to trust completely over the past several years. Just about everything they offer is absolutely topnotch. (If you try one of their products and this turns out not to be the case, please let me know.) So far, I've been pleased with the consistent high quality of everything from lip gloss to facial toner. Made with ingredients like rose petals, carrots and shea butter, the cosmetics are almost good enough to eat.

It happened again this morning. I walked into the local bagel shop for my lox-and-light-cream-cheese and the 20-something kid behind the counter gave me a couple of odd looks. I had just begun to wonder if I had forgotten to blend my blush or something when he said, "I don't mean to creep you out, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but ... well ... you smell great. What are you wearing?"

Now that's what I call letting aromatherapy work it. This is the third time in two weeks that a male of our species (different males, different demographics for each) has remarked positively on my scent. Each time, I was wearing Soaptopia's 50/50 Body Balm Black Spruce and Lavender, which also feels really great, thanks to shea butter, aloe vera gel, hemp seed, olive oil and other rich, yummy ingredients skin loves. But I think it's the spruce and lavender scent the guys respond to, so if you're looking to attract one or give one a gift, consider something with these oils in it (I also add a little orange essential oil to my mix, so you might give that a shot as well. I love the three distinct notes provided by the woodsy spruce, floral lavender and the citrusy orange oil.)  

For those of you who care: Soaptopia body balm contains glycerin, but it's a vegetable-based glycerin, so no animals were sacrificed for this product.