All About Neem

You may have heard of Neem, but in the event somebody reading this hasn't, we thought we would mention it.  Now we're sure not experts or medical professionals, so don't take this as medical advice!  But we've had some good results from products containing Neem oil.  We started seeing flea shampoos with Neem a few years ago, but didn't really know what it was and thought it was just a new "gimmick" ingredient.  But NO!  We think it's the real deal.

A few years ago, Aspen started getting a skin condition that we referred to as the "creeping crud."  Don't worry, we don't have pictures of it.  It started in her ears, then showed up under her neck and then her elbows as kind of black and crusty - YUK!  There was never a definitive answer to what exactly it was, but probably some yeasty thing.  It was treated with traditional medications and seemed to pretty much disappear last year when we went "Out West" on our road trip.  Yay!  We figured the dryer climate didn't hurt either.  We were able to stop her meds and she's been looking good.  Then, in the late summer we started to see a bit of the creeping crud in her ears again.  We started putting prescription drops on it, then it moved to her neck and Mom decided there must be something else to use. 

So Mom went to Earth Fare and started asking the guys in the herb/vitamin section what they would recommend.  They mentioned Neem so she picked up a booklet they had and read about it. 

UsingNeem.com

Seems this stuff is pretty amazing.  It is widely used as a natural herbicide and the cashier at Earth Fare said he uses it on his tomato plants.  Here's a bit from Wikipedia:

Neem oil is a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the neem (Azadirachta indica), an evergreen tree which is endemic to the Indian subcontinent and has been introduced to many other areas in the tropics. It is, perhaps, the most important of the commercially available products of neem for organic farming and medicines.
Neem oil is generally red as blood, and has a rather strong odour that is said to combine the odours of peanut and garlic. It comprises mainly triglycerides and large amounts of triterpenoid compounds, which are responsible for the bitter taste. It is hydrophobic in nature and in order to emulsify it in water for application purposes, it must be formulated with appropriate surfactants.
Neem oil also contains steroids (campesterol, beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol) and many triterpenoids of which azadirachtin is the most well known and studied. The azadirachtin content of neem oil varies from 300ppm to over 2500ppm depending on the extraction technology and quality of the neem seeds crushed.

Mom bought a bottle of Neem Oil and a bar of soap. 

She used a couple of drops on Aspen's ears and washed her neck with the soap.  Within a couple of days, the creeping crud was clearing up and she stopped using it.  Aspen's ears and neck still look good.  She was so impressed that she started reading more about Neem and discovered Neem Leaf capsules so she got some of those, too.  Now, we're all taking Neem Leaf as it is supposed to be good for skin and digestion, among other things.

Again, we're not medical professionals and you should always check with your vet before using anything as there could be contraindications!  But we wanted to share our experience with you in case you might benefit from using Neem.

Has anyone else used Neem?  

The Road Dogs