A reader’s 36-year-old husband suffers from thrombophlebitis, an inflammation of the vein caused by a blood clot. He is relatively healthy although he does smoke and has an active 18-month-toddler to keep his family life extremely hectic. What can be done to help improve his diagnosis? Giving up the smoking is the obvious first step. Smoking accelerates the hardening and narrowing process in your arteries and blood clots are two to four times more likely to develop. According to a reader, thrombophlebitis should respond to herbs that help blood circulation such as ginger, gingko biloba, cayenne, hawthorn and butcher’s broom. Vigorous exercise is good but be sure to pace yourself. You may want to try Dr Linus Pauling’s therapy _ the two primary ingredients being vitamin C and lysine _ which claims to be a non-toxic cure for reversing cardiovascular disease.