O M G! Calendula Tea Rinse

[moosepup]

Possibly a silly question but... if I use the rinse on the dogs while they're standing in a bucket, can I use the same steeped tea for both dogs or should I brew separate batches?

[Erny]

I would be inclined to use a fresh brew for each as the used portion could carry contamination which you don't wish to pass to the other.

No such thing as a silly question, other than the one which is not asked.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Erny

[moosepup]

Thanks Erny, makes sense. :)

I think I'm going to try your trick (well I think it was yours!) and brew a couple of batches with the tea in stockings and then use that to sponge the tea through their coats.

[Erny]

That's what works for me, Moosepup. It's a good way to be able to saturate through the coat to the skin and cover every nook and cranny that you need to. Hope it works as well for you as it has (in numerous different ways) for my own boy and as it obviously has and does for many others.

I've been banging on about Calendula Tea for a long time now and it's great to see it take off. But as I do periodically, I must give credit to Dr Bruce Syme (Vet - Castlemaine, Vic) for putting me on to this. It was HE who made this recommendation when I was at desperate point to give my dog some relief. It was HE who didn't jump straight to antibiotics and cortisone as the *solution*. It was HE who, through the Calendula Tea suggestion (and me witnessing how well it worked) who has given me more confidence in the wonderful potential and abilities of natural based treatments and which has caused me to explore further. The few trips I made to see Dr Bruce Syme (3 hour road trip each way) in my desperation to avoid the "antibiotic & cortisone gauntlet were so well worthwhile. So, thanks Dr. Bruce :D .

And, whilst I'm on about giving credit where credit is due, it is *Augustine Approved"s founder who has increased my belief and knowledge of diet and how it is so intrinsically linked to the immune system and how the immune system is so intrinsically linked to ……. well, everything. And that has lead me to a much deeper instinctive understanding of the body and why one symptom isn't necessarily the focus of target in finding a remedy, and that it pays to open our minds.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Erny

[cavNrott]

Thanks Erny, makes sense. :)

I think I'm going to try your trick (well I think it was yours!) and brew a couple of batches with the tea in stockings and then use that to sponge the tea through their coats.

That sounds like a good idea.

Erny, to brew calendular tea in bulk, what do you suggest for the ratio of flowers to water if I wanted to brew a litre at a time?

My dogs don't have any skin problems but I want to use the calendular as the final rinse, probably using a sauce bottle.

edited to fix quote.

Edited March 1, 2014 by cavNrott

[Erny]

Hey cavNrott

I confess I don't have any strict "ratio" and tend to err on side of making the tea a bit stronger than I would depending on the severity of issue.

As a rule of thumb, I tend to work on 1 tablespoon of tea to 1 or 2 cups of water, but then my boy does have issues and even though the symptoms might not be apparent at the time of bathing with it, I work with this in mind.

As your dog doesn't have any skin issue, my guess is that 2 tablespoons to the litre would be quite adequate. I err on the *generous* side because I find measuring out the tea in tablespoons isn't an exact science, given that it is light and bouncy and not mulched up so much that it settles. And it's hard to explain *grab a bunch* over the internet, lol.

I don't follow my *rule of thumb* when it comes to putting it in a bath tub with a couple of inches of water in it, simply because of practicality/feasibility purposes. In this, the amount I put in depends on a couple of factors and those are (a) how severe/problematic are the symptoms; and (b) how much Calendula Tea I have left and how much I might still need for further treatments. But I do like the water to be at least a gold yellow in colour.

A slightly paler yellow colour would, I expect, be ok for general use as opposed to treating irritated skin.

No-one's ever taught me. I just worked this out for myself so I go by 'feel'. I could be wrong and maybe I use more than I need to.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Erny

[moosepup]

Erny/Steve - would you recommend I wash them with the Calendula shampoo/conditioner (thanks Steve for the samples!) first and then tea sponge or just tea sponge for now?

They did have baths with a sensitive shampoo last weekend before I did the ACV sauce bottle trick so they are pretty clean.

[cavNrott]

Thanks Erny. Going by colour is a good idea. Golden yellow it shall be

[persephone]

Erny - I can now understand a bit of how you felt --- I am trying hard to convince a couple of people to make a brew .. do as I do - have some in a squirt/spray bottle in teh fridge - and use on whosever's skin needs it , anytime!

...but...but.. it says it's to DRINK ..

It smells ...

and how is THAT supposed to work?

Put it on those scratches on my arms? huh?

*sigh*

and I will reiterate ... this stuff is ideal for 'personal' use , on teh go /when in a hurry or whatever ..instead of expensive wipes :) I just keep some soaked paper towel or facewasher cool ... :)

[cavNrott]

I wonder how long it would last in the fridge before losing its effectivness or going off (if it actually does go off)

[persephone]

I make a batch ( only a couple of cups) , every morning :)

[essentialdog]

I wonder how long it would last in the fridge before losing its effectivness or going off (if it actually does go off)

It will spoil in a couple of days growing mold, bacteria and fungus which is quite dangerous. I would make a fresh batch every time you want to use it and try to use distilled water or purified water minimum.

[Erny]

I agree with essentialdog - this is something I've recommended ESPECIALLY to those who are using it to treat skin irritations. You may be able to get away with holding it over in the fridge for a day, but for my boy (given that his skin condition was threatening to secondary skin infection), I brewed daily, twice daily, three times daily … as the need dictated. It is, after all, only like brewing a cuppa - you just need to wait the extra time for it to cool. And don't forget the tip that Steve gave, and that was that you can feed your dog the left over slops (save if you've used the tea in a stocking as a sponge, as it would then be contaminated) in its food.

[cavNrott]

So boiling water would not kill off everything nutritious in the calendular flowers? I'd have thought not many 'goodies' would get past boiling water.

[essentialdog]

So boiling water would not kill off everything nutritious in the calendular flowers? I'd have thought not many 'goodies' would get past boiling water.

That's a really good point actually. I know adding any extracts including calendula extract to any type of formula the extracts must be added under 40 degrees celsius in order to gain all the benefits. I suspect the sample principle applies to calendula flowers in that you may lose some of its benefits if placed in boiling water. I'll do a bit of research on that one and let you know.

[essentialdog]

Formulators/chemists don't use dried herbs in their formulas because they spoil which is why only standardised extracts are used, and they are much more stable. This why I couldn't find any scientific literature on the topic. I couldn't say if boiling it would negate some of its medicinal properties, but I suspect it would still be helpful considering all the positive feedback on this post.

Edited March 1, 2014 by essentialdog

[Erny]

So boiling water would not kill off everything nutritious in the calendular flowers? I'd have thought not many 'goodies' would get past boiling water.

That's a really good point actually. I know adding any extracts including calendula extract to any type of formula the extracts must be added under 40 degrees celsius in order to gain all the benefits. I suspect the sample principle applies to calendula flowers in that you may lose some of its benefits if placed in boiling water. I'll do a bit of research on that one and let you know.

I'm sure I read (but can't recall where) that the water should not be "boiling". I don't believe it said what the temperature should be at. I tend to boil the kettle and because I'm usually busy doing something else whilst I'm waiting, the water is usually hot, but considerably off the boil. I tend not to add cold water from the tap either, because I like boiled water for the fact of killing off any inherent contaminants that might be in the water. I do this all the more so conscientiously if I'm using the tea for bathing my dog's eyes, but I generally make it standard practice anyway.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Erny

[essentialdog]

So boiling water would not kill off everything nutritious in the calendular flowers? I'd have thought not many 'goodies' would get past boiling water.

That's a really good point actually. I know adding any extracts including calendula extract to any type of formula the extracts must be added under 40 degrees celsius in order to gain all the benefits. I suspect the sample principle applies to calendula flowers in that you may lose some of its benefits if placed in boiling water. I'll do a bit of research on that one and let you know.

I'm sure I read (but can't recall where) that the water should not be "boiling". I don't believe it said what the temperature should be at. I tend to boil the kettle and because I'm usually busy doing something else whilst I'm waiting, the water is usually hot, but considerably off the boil. I tend not to add cold water from the tap either, because I like boiled water for the fact of killing off any inherent contaminants that might be in the water. I do this all the more so conscientiously if I'm using the tea for bathing my dog's eyes, but I generally make it standard practice anyway.

Boiling water will kill of some contaminants but not all and if your dog has serious skin issues I would be careful as you could be spraying fungus, spores and bacteria on your dog without knowing. If you want to completely remove bacteria, fungus, spores & prions the water has to be heated to at least 120 degrees for about an hour which is simply not practical in a domestic kitchen unless you invest in a good water distiller. The whole sterilisation issue can be quite difficult to achieve in a domestic kitchen so i'd just buy some distilled water which can be found at auto shops and kmart for about $4 for 5L.

I would suggest only making the tea when you need it and adding it to distilled water.

Edited March 2, 2014 by essentialdog

[Steve]

Calendula tea should be made using boiling water and it should sit in that water for at least 5 mins. The flavenoids and other goodies are not killed off by this -you may loose some vitamins but it isn't the vitamins that do the work. You need boiling water to get the good stuff out of the flowers or you need to go about it by letting it sit in oil for a long period [couple of weeks ] to allow the good stuff to absorb into the oil.

Just make it exactly the same as you make an ordinary every day pot of tea. The reason you cant let it sit for lengthy periods without refrigeration in an air tight container is because of the bacteria that can get in from the air into the water after its cooled and that will happen whether you use distilled water or any water That's not because its Calendula but because ANYTHING that sits around the house with water in it that doesnt have a preservative can and does get bacterial contaminates in it from the air.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Steve

[persephone]

I make ours in boiled/boiling rainwater in a plunger ..and it is then put into a squeeze bottle in the fridge . It certainly works!!