Hello, My 55 year old healthy very athletic husband had a knee scope 7 weeks ago for meniscal debridement ( he has no underlying osteoarthritis) . He has been struggling with progressive knee swelling and pain over the past few weeks. He had it drained 10 days ago, with recurrence of the effusion the next day. Then yesterday it got more painful and red and warm and he had a low grade fever. The specialist highly suspects septic arthritis although she is not entirely certain. He is going to the OR today for cleaning ( under general anesthesia) and will be on antibiotics for 6 weeks. Interestingly, a part from his swelling, his general symptoms are not as intense as the specialist expected and my husband wonders if all the herbal supplements he has been taking were actually quite effective at calming the inflammation despite the brewing infection...he was taking 3 capsules of turmeric a day, ashwagandha capsules as well as daily "joint-pro concentrate" containing collagen, glucosamine, MSM, ginger, ashwagandha, curcumin, boswellia and hyaluronic acid, with topical hypericum oil with calendula alternating with arnica oil. He was drinking 1 cup tulsi tea a day. He ended up taking andrographis tincture many times as well in context of at risk environment for viral illnesses. He also takes daily Vitamin D and B complex on a regular basis. He eats a plant forward diet with no processed foods, with a handful of goji berries and blueberries daily, as well as turmeric ,ginger and pepper in his meals 1-2 times a day and adding ashwagandha and alma powder to his smoothies. He was doing some form of hydrotherapy, elevating his legs, and massages. He is quite devastated with a low mood and has a lot of apprehension about what will happen to his cartilage as he was told the cartilage will be quite soft following this. I am trying to formulate something to support him in his recovery. His main concerns are the state of his cartilage, the effects of the general anesthetics and the effects of 6 weeks of antibiotics. I think continuing what he was doing before would still be helpful for his recovery. Taking andrographis daily would probably be good in the first couple of weeks. I was thinking of adding gotu cola and bacopa with his tulsi and mushroom combination tincture to help for cognitive health and immunity boost. Adding triphala powder to help his bowels. I will continue to feed him loads of antioxidant-rich foods and probiotic foods of course, with cinnamon and psyllium husks to help with his gut microbiome. Do you think achyrantes would be useful also in regards to the knee? Any other suggestions would be tremendously appreciated! I realize he is doing a lot already but he was already doing many of those previously and he is keen on adding anything else that may be useful, especially now that he will be living on the couch for a few weeks! It is so hard to see him struggle...

David said: It sounds like he may have an infection, if so a combination of Andrographis, Honeysuckle, Isatis and Echinacea angustifolia would be indicated. For helping to heal the knee I use a combination of MSM and glucosamine, as well as Solomon’s Seal, Teasel root, Turmeric, Amla and Gu Sui Bu. The other things you are doing sound good and have him take Saccharomyces boulardii while on the antibiotics.

David said: It sounds like he may have an infection, if so a combination of Andrographis, Honeysuckle, Isatis and Echinacea angustifolia would be indicated. For helping to heal the knee I use a combination of MSM and glucosamine, as well as Solomon’s Seal, Teasel root, Turmeric, Amla and Gu Sui Bu. The other things you are doing sound good and have him take Saccharomyces boulardii while on the antibiotics. Adding triphala powder to help his bowels. Only if constipated. Do you think achyrantes would be useful also in regards to the knee? It could be.