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In this chapter we will describe fluid and solid products or preparations intended for being applied directly on the surface of the body and possibly rubbed into the skin or used as drops.

801. Sesame Oil

Sesame oil can be rubbed in:

• On diseased skin, particularly when the skin is fissured,

• On cracked nipples,

• On burns, after treating the burn first with cold salt water,

• On the scalp: To stop the falling out of hair.

Sesame oil can be used as drops:

• In the ear: Use warm sesame oil as eardrops when the ear is plugged by excessive and hardened earwax. The oil will soften the wax, so that it can be washed out easier.

• In the eye: Use only sesame oil of the best quality. First boil the oil, then strain it through a gauze. In some natural food stores or Oriental stores you can buy this "pure sesame oil." With an eye dropper, put 2 or 3 drops of this oil (room temperature) in the eyes, preferably before sleeping. It may be a little painful. Oil has the characteristic of repelling water. In any case of water retention in the eye (glaucoma, myopia, trachoma, etc.) we can make the eye expel this excess water.

802. Sesame Oil with Ginger (Ginger-Oil): Grate enough fresh ginger to press out 1 teaspoon of juice. Mix this with an equal amount of sesame oil. Shake well before using it. If this mixture causes a burning feeling, you can reduce the amount of ginger juice: use for example 10 drops of juice for a tablespoon of oil.

This mixture activates the blood circulation.

Ginger-oil can be used as a rub in the following cases:

• Falling out hair and dandruff. Comb the hair in a part, dip a cloth into the mixture and rub the scalp briskly with this cloth. Comb another part a !/2 inch from the original one, rub the scalp, and proceed as above. Do this treatment twice a week.

• Pains and Aches. It is especially good for muscular rheumatism, arthritis, neuralgia (such as facial neuralgia). If this treatment is used after applying ginger compresses, it can prolong the results of the compress. It is also very good for relieving headaches: dip a cloth in the oil, and rub the forehead with it.

Ginger-oil can also be used as drops in the case of a mid ear infection: putting one drop in the ear tube can calm down the inflammation.

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803. Lemon Juice: Use fresh lemon juice in the same way as ginger-oil to treat dandruff, falling out hair or seborrhea.

804. Rice Bran Oil (Nuka Oil)

Preparation of nuka oil: Cover an earthenware pot with a piece of thin paper, preferably rice paper, and attach the paper to the pot with a piece of string or a large rubber band. Using a pin, make multiple holes in the paper. Pile nuka in a big heap on top of the paper. It is essential to use fresh nuka for this purpose.

Put several pieces of glowing charcoal or coal on top of the nuka. The heat will melt the oil in the bran, and this oil will start dripping down into the pot.

Indications: This oil is extremely precious: it can be used on any skin disease, particularly on eczema and on athlete's foot. It can also be used to stop the falling out of hair.

805. Apple Juice: Grate an apple and press out its juice through a cheesecloth.

Dip a cloth in this juice and rub it in on the forehead: this can reduce a headache.

806. Radish Juice or Daikon Juice: Grate radishes or daikon and squeeze out the juice through cheesecloth. Apply this juice with a cloth.

Indications:

• Use this on a swelling caused by a bruise,

• Use it on frostbite lesions (but not when the skin is fissured),

• Use it on the area of a headache,

• Use it on insect bites,

• Use it on burns.

807. Turnip Juice: Prepare this as you prepare radish juice. This is good for bruises. It also has a specific use: when one suffers from bad smelling armpits, first wash the armpit and then rub in briskly one teaspoon of this juice.

808. Cucumber Juice or Cucumber Stem Juice: Apply the juice of a cucumber or of the cucumber stem to skin which has pimples, especially if those pimples are caused by the use of milk, cheese, hamburgers, etc. The skin will become cleaner and cleaner. For this purpose you could use the juice of other melons too. Cu- cumber juice is also helpful in the treatment of burns.

809. Mugwort Juice: Put the juice from mugwort leaves or from the mugwort stem on a mosquito bite or on any insect bite. You won't feel the itchiness and the skin won't swell. If you carry mugwort leaves with you, insects won't bite you.

810. Shiso Leaf Juice: The juice of raw Shiso Leaves (see Nos. 120, 121) is useful to treat certain fungus infections of the skin, especially Trichofytium, which usually affects the scalp.

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811. Fig Tree Stem Juice: If you cut a fig tree stem at the place where it is producing a leaf, you obtain a thick white juice. This juice is very yin. It is ex- cellent for treating callus: put some juice on the callus every day, and it will become softer and softer. Also corns can be treated this way. The same effect can be obtained from the white milk of milkweed.

812. Dry Salt: Apply dry salt on a bleeding wound. Although it is painful at the time of application, it will stop the bleeding and also desinfect the wound. If inserted in the nose, it will stop nosebleeds (see Nosebleeding in part III for details, Page 170). Use dry salt for brushing the teeth. This has a stronger cleansing effect than toothpaste.

813. Dentie: Dentie is made from the calix of eggplants. The calix is the top part, by which the eggplant is attached to its stem. The original way of preparing dentie is as follows: for several years the calixes of eggplants were stored under pressure mixed with 20 percent salt. Then this mixture was dried and carbonized.

The modern way of preparing is quicker. The top parts of eggplants are roasted slowly for a long time, until they pulverize, and to this 30-50 percent roasted sea salt is added.

By subjecting this very yin plant to the influence of heat, time, salt, and origi- nally also pressure, which are all very yang factors, the strong yin substance of the eggplants is neutralized completely and only the deep yang essence of the plants is left.

Effects and Use of Dentie: Dentie has shown to be effective for dealing with problems of the teeth and gums, if these problems have a yin cause.

• A toothache caused by yin can be helped by rubbing dentie for 5 minutes into the gums around the painful tooth.

• Pyorrhea, a purulent gum disease caused by yin, especially sugar-rich foods, can be treated as follows: brush teeth and gums lightly before going to bed, rinse the mouth and then rub dentie on the outside of the gums. Close the mouth and let the dentie soak into the gums.

Traditionally dentie has been recommended for daily brushing of the teeth.

However, in some instances the daily use of dentie may have an abrasive effect on the enamel for people who have a certain condition: we saw it among people who eat too much salt and/or too many baked flour products. It is advisable even in such cases however, to use dentie once a week, because it has a very good cleans- ing ability.

Dentie can also be used to stop a bleeding:

• It could be applied on a cut, but we do not advise this: its carbon particles stay in the skin and leave a tattoo-like mark.

• In case of a nosebleed dentie should be inserted in the nose. Dip a cloth or a paper towel in water, squeeze it out, then dip it in dentie and insert it in the nose.

• In case of internal bleeding such as a bleeding stomach ulcer or cancer, dentie can be applied by swallowing it, l/2 teaspoon at a time, with a little Water or tea.

814. Egg Ashes: Carbonize a raw egg by heating it in a frying pan, using no oil or butter, and stir in the beginning. Heat the egg until you obtain black ashes.

These ashes are very good for the treatment of scars caused by cuts or burns.

Apply the ashes externally, for several days in a row.