Artemisia annua and ear pain

by Stephen Harrod Buhner | Oct 20, 2011 | artemisinin, Columns, Healing Lyme, Herb Reactions, Herbs, other | 6 comments

Dear Stephen,
I’ve been taking Artemisia annua for 2 weeks for babesia. For the past week I’ve had a feeling of fullness in my left ear. I didn’t connect it with the Artemisia annua until today, when I read in Dr. Schaller’s babesia book that artemisinin, artesunate, and “artemisia derivatives” can cause ear pressure and hearing problems. He says to stop use immediately if these symptoms appear. I’ve stopped the Artemisia annua. I know you recommend it instead of artemisinin. Are you aware of any ear problems in connection with Artemisia annua? I tried a month of cryptolepsis at 30 drops twice a day without any results at all.

Stephen’s response:
I would recommend you try Sida acuta, also available from Woodland Essence. I haven’t heard of the plant Artemisia causing ear problems but side effects that are unexpected do sometimes occur. If you stop the herb and the ear problems stop, then it is the herb.

Stephen

Author

Stephen Harrod Buhner

Stephen Harrod Buhner was an Earth poet and an award-winning author of twenty-four books on nature, indigenous cultures, the environment, and herbal medicine including the acclaimed book Healing Lyme: Natural Healing & Prevention of Lyme Borreliosis & Its Co-infections.

Stephen came from a long line of healers including Leroy Burney, Surgeon General of the United States under Eisenhower and Kennedy, and Elizabeth Lusterheide, a midwife and herbalist who worked in rural Indiana in the early nineteenth century. The greatest influence on his work, however, was his great-grandfather C.G. Harrod who primarily used botanical medicines, also in rural Indiana, when he began his work as a physician in 1911.

Stephen’s work has appeared or been profiled in publications throughout North America and Europe including Common Boundary, Apotheosis, Shaman’s Drum, The New York Times, CNN, and Good Morning America. Stephen lectured yearly throughout the United States on herbal medicine, the sacredness of plants, the intelligence of Nature, and the states of mind necessary for successful habitation of Earth.

He was a tireless advocate for the reincorporation of the exploratory artist, independent scholar, amateur naturalist, and citizen scientist in American society – especially as a counterweight to the influence of corporate science and technology.
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Seibertneurolyme on October 20, 2011 at 9:08 pm

To whom it may concern.

Unfortunately I called Woodland Essence yesterday (10/19/11) and the sida acuta is on backorder from Africa — they are sold out for at least the next 4 – 6 weeks.
Meo Doyne on October 28, 2011 at 3:30 pm

I wonder if it could be a herx reaction in the ear and not a side effect with the herb. Unfortunately, this is hard to distinguish but perhaps just cutting back on the dosage instead of stopping it completely…
Admin on November 5, 2011 at 11:53 pm

Thank you for the update on Sida acuta! Best, Julie
Martin on April 30, 2019 at 11:50 am

Good morning
My name is Martin. I have been struggling with MRSA for 40 years. He’s been fighting for 20 years. No effect. I have problems with hair follicles and MRSA in the nasal sinuses. I was infected in the hospital after lip surgery. Antibiotics do not work. Currently, I am trying to make tinctures made of herbs Cryptolesis, Sida Acuta, Alhornea. Can I use these herbs together? Is it better, for example, Cryptolepsis? And after how many days or weeks do you add Sida Acuta or Alhornea? Can I use a tincture at the same time with Ginger, Thymus, Rosmarynus, Usnea, Artemisia?
Is it better to use one herb or several at a time?
Sorry for the mistakes. I’m writing from Poland. My English is low.
Thank you for your response.
Martin Piechota
Rzeszow, Poland
[email protected]
NJM on May 7, 2019 at 3:31 pm

Sadly they don’t ( or rarely) reply to questions here anymore. The longer I have been treating myself the more comfortable I have gotten with just trying something and making changes as I go along. Good luck–go slowly and pay attention to your body! I am not an herbalist or healthcare practitioner—just a fellow self-treater. In the 2 Buhner books I have I have read about the herbs you name. I’m pretty sure all three are used together in treatment of Babesia–so together is probably ok but may not be necessary. Information on crypto and sida speak about severe systemic infection–which it does not sound like you have -so start on the lower dosage and go up as needed. The sida description mentions that it beaks up biofilms which is important with MRSA so If it were me, I’d start with the Sida and Crypto. The Alchornea description talks mostly about its protective effects on blood cells–so unless you have reason to believe the staph has gotten into your blood I wouldn’t use it. I don’t know about all the other stuff–smelling the essential oils of thyme, rosemary or eucalyptis could possibly be helpful. I remember being so desparate to I wanted to throw all possible solutions at the infection but that unneccasrily complicates life. Start with one or two things and then see if you are feeling improvement or not.

This may or may not be useful: I have read that coptis chinensis, in Chinese medicine “Huang Lian.” can be used to treat MRSA. from: http://archive.naplesnews.com/community/marco-eagle/natural-coptis-herb-helps-treat-resistant-infections-34639a87-c8d2-5c99-e053-0100007f59d2-381823051.html/

It seems that berberine is the active component and Buhner says it is not very systemic–that means you would have to flush(rinse) your sinuses (and scalp?) with it, maybe in the form of tincture diluted in water –berberine is not soluble in water. Buhner says eleswhere that pomegranate can increase the effectiveness–if you have access to pomegranate juice or powder take 3-4x/day. (goldenseal is another berbrine containing plant-can be applied as a paste in places where that is possible)

If you have access to an acupuncture/herbalist, they also might be able to help you. Good luck!
Fred on May 8, 2019 at 2:23 pm

Linezolid abx is very good for MRSA, almost 90% cure. If you want natural way, then raw garlic, apple cider vinegar and monolaurin.