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Mistletoe therapy - application, effects and experiences
She is a half-parasite, meaning she needs a host tree to grow. These include linden trees, poplars, apple trees, firs and robinia. These trees can suffer quite a bit, possibly even die off. The roots of mistletoe drill deep into the wood of the tree and in this way suck nutrients and water from the host. The mistletoe plant is also green in winter and drifts at the end of February its small, whitish flowers, which have a delicate orange smell. The light green branches of mistletoe branch out more and more and take on the shape of a sphere in the course of growth. The mistletoe is a slightly poisonous plant and may not be picked in Germany, as it falls under the protected plant species.
contents
- Medical use of mistletoe
- Ingredients of mistletoe
- Effect of mistletoe in cancer therapy
- Cancer therapy with mistletoe treatment
- Application of mistletoe therapy
- Side effects of mistletoe therapy
- The mistletoe in phytotherapy
- Important to mistletoe therapy
- Assumption of the costs by health insurance companies
- Mistletoe preparation must be injected
Medical use of mistletoe
Mistletoe used to be revered as a magical panacea, and even today, mistletoe bouquets are sometimes hung over the front door of the house in order to protect the house from the negative. A couple kissing under a bunch of mistletoe is predicted to have a happy life.
In winter mistletoes in deciduous trees can be seen from afar. (Image: vili45 / fotolia.com) Among other things, Hildegard von Bingen used the Mistelsud for frostbite of the limbs. Mistles were used for bleeding in Sebastian Kneipp. Epileptics have long been advised to use a mistletoe, as it should protect them from "falling". Today, Viscum album, the Latin name for mistletoe, is mainly used for high blood pressure and for accompanying or curing cancer. However, the spectrum of activity of the plant is much larger. It has a versatile hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant and tonifying (general strengthening) effect. Mistletoes can also be helpful in the treatment of atherosclerosis, headaches, heart failure and menopausal symptoms.
Mistletoe uses leaves and branches. To prepare them as tea, the plant parts must be processed as a cold extract. In the cold extraction method, the slightly toxic substances are released from the plant and the tea can then be drunk. An external application of mistletoe, for example, in varicose veins, ulcers or eczema is usually done with envelopes and in the form of baths. Also in cancer therapy the mistletoe is used in a specially anthroposophic homeopathic or phytotherapeutic preparation.
Mistletoe therapy has proven itself many times in the treatment of cancer. Image: PhotoSG / fotolia.com Ingredients of mistletoe
The mistletoe contains about 600 different proteins, depending on their host tree. The most important proteins are the so-called mistletoe lectins. These occur in at least twenty different compositions in the total extract of a mistletoe. The second most important proteins are the viscotoxins. Mistletoe contains about one thousand different enzymes, plus fats, flavonoids, and plenty of potassium and phosphate. The processing of the mistletoe plant depends on the parts used, the time of harvest, the host tree and whether it is a female or a male plant. The effect of mistletoe therapy on cancer treatment is only possible through injection. In oral administration, other effects are achieved because many compounds of the mistletoe in the digestive tract are decomposed.
Effect of mistletoe in cancer therapy
Mistletoe is the most scientifically studied plant for cancer therapy. However, the use of mistletoe therapy is still controversial.
By administering mistletoe preparations by injection, according to the mistletoe therapy approach, the patients have an immunomodulatory effect. Mistletoe extracts are said to boost the immune system, improve quality of life and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and / or radiation therapy. Mistletoe preparations are also said to stimulate programmed cell death in the malignant tumors and thereby curb its growth. In addition, the mistletoe therapy to help patients to develop a normal appetite again. The medicinal plant is also generally considered mood-enhancing.
Cancer therapy with mistletoe treatment
Mistletoe therapy for cancer has its origins in anthroposophy. Mistletoe has been used as a medicinal herb for more than 85 years in cancer treatment. Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy, had discovered the mistletoe for use against cancer. According to anthroposophy, man consists of four bodies. Whereby only the physical body is visible. The other three bodies exist as an aura, in three different colors, around the physical body. According to Steiner, cancer is an imbalance between these four bodies that needs to be treated. This is where the mistletoe therapy comes in. The anthroposophic theory states that the mistletoe deprives the host tree of energy and therefore should rob the tumor's ability to live.
Meanwhile, the mistletoe therapy is one of the standard therapies of biological cancer defense. Depending on the manufacturer, the mistletoe preparations used in the therapy differ. Different extraction methods, mixing ratios of the ingredients and addition of, for example, silver or copper, lead to different products. Each type of cancer requires a different mistletoe therapy here. The host tree plays an essential role.
Mistletoe therapy is not a single medication in anthroposophy, but belongs to a total treatment concept that is created individually for each patient.
For the production of the anthroposophic mistletoe preparations different mistletoes, that is used by different host trees. This can also be seen on the name of the preparations. For example, an M in the name means apple tree, which comes from the Latin term malus = apple tree. The mistletoes are collected separately for each harvest time and differentiated into female and male plants, and depending on the manufacturer, subjected to different processes and processing methods.
Since the anthroposophical ideas do not coincide with natural science, the application is still very controversial.
Application of mistletoe therapy
In the meantime, eight different mistletoe preparations are in use in Germany. Five of them come from anthroposophy, the remaining three belong to phytotherapy. All preparations have in common that they contain a total extract of the whole mistletoe plant.
Mistletoe therapy can be used for almost every tumor event. This happens mainly to him form of an injection, which is mostly administered subcutaneously (under the skin). However, some doctors use the mistletoe preparations as an infusion.
The patient begins with a very low dose and increases it slowly until redness is seen at the injection site. The redness is a sign of the body's reaction to the mistletoe extract and therefore also desirable. Depending on the size of the redness, the last used dose is maintained, increased or decreased. It may also be necessary to switch to another preparation containing the mistletoe of another host tree. The first injection is usually performed by a doctor to intervene immediately, depending on the patient's response. For each mistletoe therapy, an individual plan is tailored to the individual patient. The choice of the appropriate mistletoe preparation depends on the type of disease and also on the experience of the doctor.
Mist tea, among other things, regulates blood pressure and helps with menstrual problems. (Image: LianeM / fotolia.com) Mistletoe therapy is often started before the start of chemotherapy or radiation. This is intended to ensure that the patient survives conventional medical treatment more easily or with fewer side effects. However, injections on the day of chemotherapy or radiation are not recommended. Similarly, never inject directly into the area to be irradiated.
If the patient receives an infection, the mistletoe therapy is interrupted until the infection has subsided.
Side effects of mistletoe therapy
Mistletoe therapy is usually well tolerated. However, mild redness and swelling are some of the possible reactions. Occasionally flu-like symptoms may also occur. These are usually influenced by changing the dose. Rarely does it come to an allergy. It is important that any reaction of the organism to the mistletoe therapy is reported to the attending physician, so that the therapy can be successful or can be discontinued or adjusted immediately in case of incompatibilities.
Injection may cause small hardening if the needle is set too low and the agent has penetrated into the subcutaneous fatty tissue. From here, the administered liquid can not distribute properly. These little knots heal, but at the latest after a few weeks again. Redness that lasts more than two days is an indication that the amount of mistletoe extract has been overstated or incorrectly injected.
The mistletoe in phytotherapy
Three mistletoe preparations that are used in Germany for cancer treatment come from herbal medicine. When used for mistletoe therapy, these three agents are diluted with physiological saline prior to the first injection to test for tolerance. If no or very little redness in the area of the injection occurs, the treatment is started in a predetermined concentration. However, if the local reaction is more severe, the drug is diluted further or changed to another drug. Poplar mistletoe is used almost exclusively for the phytotherapeutic mistletoe preparations.
Important to mistletoe therapy
With the mistletoe therapy can be started before surgery, chemo- or radiotherapy, immediately after the diagnosis. The mistletoe extracts strengthen the immune system, strengthen the organism and prepare the body for the forthcoming conventional medical therapy. In the run-up to mistletoe therapy, the blood values should be checked and subsequently checked at regular intervals. Continuing mistletoe therapy during chemotherapy or radiotherapy is an advantage, but it should not be injected on the same day or directly into the area to be irradiated. Even if the body has already metastasized, mistletoe therapy can be used. Mistletoe therapy often returns the appetite, the patient no longer loses weight and the quality of sleep increases.
Time and again, the possible use of mistletoe therapy in lymphoma is asked. Oncologists who oppose mistletoe therapy reject this. However, there are no results that speak against mistletoe therapy in this case. However, it is important that the treatment of a lymphoma is performed and monitored by a specialist physician. Generally, this biological cancer therapy should be done exclusively under the care of an experienced physician. The Society of Anthroposophic Doctors in Germany offers an overview of the doctors in question.
Mistletoe therapy is usually carried out over a longer period of time, depending on the illness, possibly over years. Also, the attending physician must have the concurrent use with other immunomodulatory substances, such as the thymus extract, clarified, since there is no research on possible interactions with other biological agents.
Which mistletoe preparation is used in the therapy depends on the illness and the experience of the doctor. "The right remedy" does not exist in this case. Again and again the claim is discussed that mistletoe therapy can promote tumor growth, but there is no scientific evidence for this.
Assumption of the costs by health insurance companies
The statutory health insurance funds can cover the costs of mistletoe therapy but are not obliged to do so. Most private funds cover the costs in full and at any time of cancer.
Mistletoe preparation must be injected
The mistletoe therapy takes place by injecting the preparations under the skin, as they would be digested with oral use and almost ineffective. Children are an exception. Mist drops are sometimes used here. In children, the mucous membranes are still extremely permeable and the mistletoe substance enters the blood in this way. However, no approved mistletoe drops are available for oral use in Germany. These must be ordered in England and therefore be paid yourself.
The reimbursement for the use of anthroposophic mistletoe preparations is only intended for palliative use. (Image: PhotoSG / fotolia.com) The injection can be learned by any patient or performed by another person. The puncture is just a small prick as it uses a very thin needle. Various sites, such as the abdomen, upper arm or thigh, are suitable for injection. Optimal is the introduction in the vicinity of the tumor. There are two suitable times of day for spraying. To stimulate the organism is injected from seven to nine o'clock in the morning and to assist the warming component of the mistletoe between seventeen and eighteen o'clock in the evening. There should not be a constant change between times, but the general change to another time is possible. For each injection, a different puncture site is chosen. Half an hour rest should always be followed.
Injecting into mistletoe therapy can cause a fever that is in part even desirable, especially if it does not exceed 38 degrees Celsius. The ability of the organism to regulate body temperature in a cancer itself is often depleted and can be relearned by artificially producing fever. In some cases, even a fever of about 39.5 degrees Celsius is provoked, which is part of the therapy, but should be performed only under the supervision of an experienced therapist. (Susanne Waschke, Naturopath, updated 01.06.2017)