Genital Rash Infections and Irritations

Before antibiotics came to be commonly used to keep them under control, gonorrhea and syphilis were the most widespread of these diseases. Others, including chlamydia and HIV, have now joined their ranks. Some of these newcomers are especially sneaky. Twenty-five percent of the men carrying chlamydia—now the most common of all STDs—have no symptoms at all. If there's any chance you've picked up a sexually transmitted disease, be sure to get checked by your doctor. Sexually transmitted diseases require professional help.

That doesn't mean, however, that herbs can't help. Take Bill, for example. After getting an irritating rash on his genitals, Bill decided that he would try herbs to cure it. He read one of the very few books on male herbs—Male Herbalism, written by my good friend Jim Green. In this book, Jim describes using herbs in an herbal soak. At first, Bill was taken aback by this suggestion, but Jim's argument for using herbs sounded convincing, so Bill figured "what the heck" and dunked his genitals into a strong herb tea twice a day. Afterward, he applied a skin-healing salve that contained tea tree and lavender essential oils. After about a week of doing this faithfully, the redness and irritation ceased. Bill continued the treatment for a few extra days, and just to be sure, he went to the local clinic for an exam. As he suspected, the tests showed nothing. The doctor, who was not much of an herbal advocate, shrugged and said he probably never had anything to begin with. This could be true, but you will never be able to convince Bill of that!

Herbal Genital Soak

2 cups boiling water

1 teaspoon each yarrow flowers, lavender flowers and goldenseal rhizome (or Oregon grape root)

Pour boiling water over herbs and let steep at least 20 minutes. Strain out herbs, and let cool to a comfortable temperature. Fill a large drinking glass half way with the "tea" and submerge the afflicted area. Soak twice daily, or as often as possible, for at least 5 minutes.

Oil for Genital Infection/Irritation

1/8 teaspoon each lavender and tea tree essential oils

1 ounce vegetable oil

Combine ingredients. If you cannot find a salve containing these essential oils like the one Bill used, you can easily make up this antiseptic oil. Apply to the infected or irritated area at least twice a day. (It works well even when the irritation is not caused by infection.)

The Oil for Genital Infection/Irritation also works well on most rashes and other irritations that occur on the genitals, including "jock itch," which is really a fungal infection. One way to cure and also prevent this is to keep the area dry. You can also apply the herbs as a dusting powder, which is much more drying than the oil. If this does not do the trick, try wearing loose-fitting pants that allow air to circulate.

To completely get rid of an infection, it may also be important to treat it internally. To do this, try taking immune system stimulants such as echinacea and pau d'arco, which seem to work especially well for skin infections. These herbs are particularly effective in treating genital infections. They can be taken as a tea or in pill form, although most men find a tincture most convenient. When you think the infection is gone, play it safe and get rechecked by a physician or a health practitioner in a clinic.

Dusting Powder for Fungal Infections

4 ounces cornstarch or powdered cosmetic clay (available at natural food stores)

½ teaspoon each lavender and tea tree essential oils

Place cornstarch in a plastic bag and add essential oils drop by drop, redistributing the cornstarch as you go to disperse the oils evenly. Break up any clumps with your fingers on the outside of the bag. Let sit for 2 days. Use a few times daily, and always after bathing or swimming. This powder works great on athlete's foot, too!

Infection-Fighting Extract

½ ounce each tinctures of echinacea root, goldenseal root, pau d'arco bark and Siberian ginseng root (optional)

Combine ingredients. Take half a dropperful 5 times daily during an active infection. You can purchase the individual tinctures in a natural food store or choose a similar formula that is already blended.

GENITAL WARTS

Like other warts, genital warts are caused by a virus—the human papillomavirus (HPV), to be exact. A different breed from the common skin wart, genital warts usually grow in raised, bumpy clumps that resemble a cauliflower. At first, they're difficult to detect, but a vinegar wash makes them more obvious. If you suspect that you have warts, soak a cloth with a mixture of one-quarter vinegar and three-quarters water and apply it to the affected area. After two minutes, genital warts usually turn white on top. But don't take any chances with your health. Have a health professional examine any questionable bumps, even tiny ones, to know for sure.

If you have genital warts, you're not alone. Between the start of the "sexual revolution" in the 1960s and the late 1980s, reported occurrences of these warts increased tenfold. By 1990, one million cases a year were being reported in the United States alone. Concern over genital warts, which are transmitted sexually, is well-founded. It is surprising how many men (and women) are unaware of the consequences they present for women—genital warts put women at higher risk for cervical cancer. There is some inconclusive evidence that these warts also increase the risk of male cancers—especially if left untreated.

A person who has genital warts should always seek medical attention. Herbs, however, can be used for at least part of the treatment. The essential oils of thuja and tea tree help eliminate genital warts. Since these oils are quite potent—and they have to be to conquer warts—use them carefully. Dilute them in vegetable oil—or castor oil, which is a folk remedy for removing warts—then apply them directly to the wart.

I learned about the effectiveness of castor oil in a roundabout way. Many people are curious about old remedies, so I did not think much about it when a man casually asked me to list some traditional wart remedies. I told him about several curious folklore methods, which included keeping a cotton ball saturated with castor oil on the warts and even swearing at them! At the time, I had no idea that he had personal reasons for asking his question, or that the warts he was concerned about were not typical skin warts, but genital warts. A few weeks later, the same man thanked me profusely. The castor oil had gotten rid of his warts. I was happy to have helped him, but also surprised that castor oil alone had worked so well. Since then, I have used it with the essential oils to make them more effective.

Jerry is another example of someone who eliminated genital warts. He had these warts once before he was married, so when he noticed the tiny bumps emerging on his genitals, he suspected right away that they were a recurrence of the infection. Of course, Jerry wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible—he did not want to give them to his wife! Figuring he had nothing to lose by trying an herbal treatment for a few days, he put together a wart oil formula almost identical to the one below. For the first two days, it looked like there was no change, but by the third day, Jerry was convinced that the warts were smaller. He stuck with the treatment for two weeks, and they disappeared completely.

Wart Oil

½ ounce castor oil

¼ teaspoon each thuja and tea tree essential oils

800 International Units vitamin E oil

Combine ingredients. (The vitamin E, added to facilitate healing, can be obtained by opening two 400­Inter-national Unit capsules.) First, protect the skin around the wart with some salve, leaving the wart itself exposed. Carefully apply the mixture with a glass rod applicator or a cotton swab 2 to 4 times a day. Apply it only to the wart itself— thuja oil is extremely strong and this formula can burn sensitive skin.

Getting rid of warts is one thing, but that still doesn't eliminate the virus that causes them in the first place. The first time Jerry had warts, his dermatologist explained that they would be removed, but that there was no way to prevent a recurrence. You can, however, increase your immunity with herbs, which will help keep this virus from taking hold. If necessary, you may also need to improve your diet. Not wanting to get the warts again, Jerry did just this. He cleaned up his diet and periodically takes echinacea and other immunity-enhancing herbs to put the virus permanently to rest.

Herbal treatments will not make everyone's genital warts disappear. Roger, for instance, diligently used the Wart Oil for over a week, and although the warts stopped growing larger, they did not get any smaller. He decided to have them removed by a dermatologist. If you don't see results in a week or so, go see a doctor. The caustic solution often used by dermatologists to burn off warts is actually a derivative of a substance found in an herb called mayapple. This plant is poisonous and therefore inappropriate for home use, so be sure to leave its use to a professional.