Bach flower remedies

The Bach flower remedy solutions contain a 50:50 mix of water and brandy, and are called mother tincture. The full making process is described in detail in Bach Flower Remedies: Illustrations and Preparations by Nora Weeks and Victor Bullen, The CW Daniel Co, 2nd edition 1990. {{ISBN|9780852072059}}. The solutions do not have a characteristic scent or taste of the plant because of dilution. The dilution process results in the statistical likelihood that little more than a single molecule may remain; it is claimed that the remedies contain "energetic" or "vibrational" nature of the flower and that this can be transmitted to the user.

In a 2002 database review of randomized trials Edzard Ernst concluded:{{cite journal | author = Ernst E | title = "Flower remedies": a systematic review of the clinical evidence | journal = Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift | volume = 114 | issue = 23–24 | pages = 963–966 | year=2002 | pmid = 12635462 }}

{{quote|The hypothesis that flower remedies are associated with effects beyond a placebo response is not supported by data from rigorous clinical trials.}}

All randomized double-blind studies, whether finding for or against the solutions, have suffered from small cohort sizes, but the studies using the best methods found no effect over placebo. Perhaps, the probable means of action for flower remedies is as placebos, enhanced by introspection on the patient's emotional state or being listened to by the practitioner. The act of selecting and taking a remedy may act as a calming ritual.

A systematic review in 2009 concluded:

{{quote|Most of the available evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of BFRs has a high risk of bias. We conclude that, based on the reported adverse events in these six trials, BFRs are probably safe. Few controlled prospective trials of BFRs for psychological problems and pain exist. Our analysis of the four controlled trials of BFRs for examination anxiety and ADHD indicates that there is no evidence of benefit compared with a placebo intervention.}}

A newer systematic review published in 2010 by Ernst concluded:{{cite journal

|date=24 August 2010

|doi=10.4414/smw.2010.13079

|journal=Swiss Medical Weekly

|volume=140

|pages=w13079

|title=Bach flower remedies: a systematic review of randomised clinical trials

|author=Edzard Ernst

|pmid=20734279 |doi-access=free

}} {{quote|All placebo-controlled trials failed to demonstrate efficacy. It is concluded that the most reliable clinical trials do not show any differences between flower remedies and placebos.}}

Flower remedies are sometimes promoted as being capable of boosting the immune system, but "there is no scientific evidence to prove that flower remedies can control, cure or prevent any type of disease, including cancer".{{cite web

|url=http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/about-cancer/treatment/complementary-alternative/therapies/flower-remedies

|title=Flower remedies

|publisher=Cancer Research UK

|access-date=2 September 2013

}}

Each solution is used alone or in conjunction with other solutions, and each flower is said by advocates to impart specific qualities. Remedies are usually taken orally.{{Cite journal |last1=Araújo Rocha |first1=Mayara |last2=Galvão Queiroz |first2=Cintia |last3=Gurgel dos Santos |first3=Kauanny Vitoria |last4=dos Santos Dantas |first4=Joyce Karolayne |last5=Matias de Araujo |first5=Sara Cristina |last6=Ozorio Dutra |first6=Samia Valeria |last7=Vieira Dantas |first7=Daniele |last8=Neves Dantas |first8=Rodrigo Assis |date=November 2022 |title=Bach Flower Remedies as Complementary Therapies in Health Care: A Scope Review |url=https://journals.lww.com/10.1097/HNP.0000000000000552 |journal=Holistic Nursing Practice |language=en |volume=36 |issue=6 |pages=E64–E71 |doi=10.1097/HNP.0000000000000552 |pmid=36255345 |issn=0887-9311|url-access=subscription }}

The best known solution product is the Rescue Remedy combination,

{{cite book

| last = Candee

| first = Andrea

| title = Gentle Healing for Baby and Child: A Parent's Guide to Child-Friendly Herbs and Other Natural Remedies for Common Ailments and Injuries

| publisher = Simon & Schuster

| year = 2003

| pages = 288

| isbn = 0-7434-9725-2

}} which contains an equal amount each of rock rose, impatiens, clematis, star of Bethlehem, and cherry plum remedies. Rescue Remedy is a trademark, and other companies produce the same formula under other names, such as Five Flower Remedy.

{{cite book

| last = Gaeddert

| first = Andrew

| title = Healing Digestive Disorders: Natural Treatments for Gastrointestinal Conditions

| publisher = North Atlantic Books

| year = 2004

| pages = 300

| isbn = 1-55643-508-8

}}

Bach believed that illness resulted from a conflict between the purposes of the soul and the personality's actions and outlook. According to Bach, this internal war leads to negative moods and "energy blocking", thought to cause a lack of "harmony", causing physical diseases.{{cite book|oclc=16651016 |title=Heal thyself: an explanation of the real cause and cure of disease |author=Bach, Edward |publisher=C.W. Daniel |location=London |year=1931 }}{{page needed|date=July 2025}}{{cite book |author1=Wheeler, F. |author2=Bach, Edward |author3=Dr. Edward Bach Centre |title=The Bach flower remedies |url=https://archive.org/details/bachflowerremedi00bach |url-access=registration |publisher=Keats Pub |location=Los Angeles |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-87983-869-0 |oclc=37322293 }}{{rp|9–10}}

Bach derived his solutions intuitively{{cite book

| last = Graham

| first = Helen

| title = Complementary Therapies in Context: The Psychology of Healing

| publisher = Jessica Kingsley Publishers

| year = 1999

| page = 254

| isbn = 1-85302-640-9

| url = https://archive.org/details/complementarythe0000grah/page/254

}} and based on his perceived psychic connections to the plants, rather than using research based on scientific methods.{{cite book |author=Wood, Matthew |title=Vitalism: The History of Herbalism, Homeopathy and Flower Essences |publisher=North Atlantic Books |location=Richmond, Calif |year=2000 |isbn=1-55643-340-9}}{{rp|185}} If Bach felt a negative emotion, he would hold his hand over different plants, and if one alleviated the emotion, he would ascribe the power to heal that emotional problem to that plant. He imagined that early-morning sunlight passing through dewdrops on flower petals transferred the healing power of the flower onto the water,

{{cite book

|author1=Larimore Walt |author2=O'Mathuna Donal |title=Alternative medicine: The Christian handbook, updated and expanded

|publisher=Zondervan

|location=Grand Rapids, Mich

|year=2007

|pages=293

|isbn=978-0-310-26999-1

}} so he would collect the dew drops from the plants and preserve the dew with an equal amount of brandy to produce a mother tincture which would be further diluted before use.

{{cite book |last=Robson |first=Terry |title=An introduction to complementary medicine |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontoco00robs/page/n199 |url-access=limited |publisher=Allen & Unwin Academic |year=2004 |pages=184–5 |isbn=1-74114-054-4}} Later, he found that the amount of dew he could collect was not sufficient, so he would suspend flowers in spring water and allow the sun's rays to pass through them. If this was impractical because of lack of sunlight or other reasons, he wrote that the flowers may be boiled. The result of this process Bach termed the "mother tincture", which is then further diluted before sale or use.

Bach was satisfied with the method, because of its simplicity, and because it involved a process of combination of the four elements:{{cite book

| last = Barnard

| first =Julian

| title =Bach Flower Remedies

| publisher =Lindisfarne Books

| location =Great Barrington, MA

| year =2004

| pages =64

| isbn = 1-58420-024-3}}

{{quote|The earth to nurture the plant, the air from which it feeds, the sun or fire to enable it to impart its power, and water to collect and be enriched with its beneficent magnetic healing.}}

By his death in 1936 at 50 years of age, Bach had created a system of 38 different flower remedies and their corresponding theories of ailments.{{cite web |title=Life of Dr. Bach |url=https://www.original-bachflower.com/history/life-of-dr-bach/ |website=Original Bachflower |access-date=20 April 2020}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.skepdic.com/bachflower.html Skeptic's Dictionary on Bach Flower therapy]

{{Unproven and disproven cancer treatments}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bach Flower Remedies}}

Category:Alternative cancer treatments

Category:Alternative medical systems

Category:Energy therapies

Category:Mind–body interventions