herbal medicine

[hardr004]

does know any recipies for various medicines? is there one for blisters?

I know that if you get earth worms and crush them up with olive oil and then red wine and boil it and rub it on bruses it makes them go down quiker.

 

[eel28]

They tried that one on that Victorian Pharmacy programme the other evening, and it didn't seem to work!

ok so that didn't answer your question, but was sort of related

 

[Toddy]

I'm inclined to laugh when I see recipes like that one.
Y'see in the past people were very protective of their receipts, and receipt books were carefully passed down.
But there's a code to them. Eye of bat, leg of frog, heart of spider...........these aren't really those bits, but like Dragon's blood, (actually a resin) they were known to really be something else.
Squirrel's ear is a plantain, Crow foot is one of the wild geraniums.
Too many of those supposed recipes are total mince because folks didn't look deeply enough into their sources first.

Good herbal medicine really works, but it's more than just one recipe works for everybody. That's why a real medical herbalist will spend more time getting to know *you*, your whole self health, than they will prescibing medicines. They aim to get it right and have it tailored for the individual.

If what you want are the common simples though, why not start by looking at what you would most likely need them for ?

Cuts, scrapes, and something to pull thorns and skelfs maybe ? and would you prefer just those that you are likely to find here ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[listenclear]

I didn't realise the 'eye of bat' thing Toddy but it totally makes sense - amazing.
There is often useful bit and bobs on line for various herbs. I often read stuff when i'm looking up general info after googling the name of something.
I don't have a specific site for uses etc but you are bound to come across that stuff.

The New Holistic Herbal by Hoffman is a great source for all things herbs. It's used by novices and professionals alike.

 

[Toddy]

Some of the neo pagan sites are kind of refreshing the idea. It makes their book of shadows look 'interesting'

It's just a very old practice.
For instance, you know how the Roman's cleaned themselves before they went into the baths ? They did it using olive oil and a scraper called a stirgil. But they scraped and kind of threw the sweaty skin particle rich oil away from themselves and it stuck to the walls. Physicians paid slaves to scrape that mess off the walls and they turned it into medicines.......like we would use a pomade, as the basis for ointments and the like.
Can you imagine folks knowing what that was that they were eating ? or smearing on their skins ?
So they give it a suitably impressive name and disguise it's origins to the unknowing.
Simliarly the vast majority of mummies were simply ground up and used in herbal potions.......under the term Natron.

Sometimes it's all pretty gross

I can find you some links to alternative names if you like ?

cheers,
M

 

[listenclear]

I would be very interested Mary yes if it's not too much bother - i've been picking loads of herbs lately. Very tempted to pick your brains at the moot as well if that's ok.
I often come across references to old chinese herbal formulas and acupuncture prescriptions which had been kept as family secrets and passed on through songs etc. It's nice to know that it was happening in the east as well as over here.
People are the same the world over

 

[Ruvio]

Devils advocate time

"Herbal medicine, by definition is medicine which has either specifically been proven not to work, or not proven to work. Herbal medicine which has been proven to work is called....medicine"

There's a lot of good things out there, and contrary to popular belief pharmaceutical companies spend a lot of money researching herbal medicine.

Echinacea is my placebo of choice.

 

[Ruvio]

Sorry for 2 posts in a row. Don't get me wrong, I think we have to find a lot of the cures we've lost.

 

[Toddy]

I think that all too often pharmaceutical companies are looking at the money.
If they can make a, " one size fits all, sort of", drug, that they can prove will cause no harm, then that's the one they'll produce and sell.
Herbalists use synergy. It means that it's often the mix of herbs, for a specific individual, in specific conditions, that they are treating.

I also know that it's all too easy to believe there's a pill for every problem and all too often personal responsibility for one's health needs to be addressed rather than a pharmaceutical panacea.

On the other hand........sook meadowsweet flowers / chew bitter willow bark or swallow two aspirin ? ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Ruvio]

I can't swallow aspirin sadly. It makes me....die
Wasn't the most fun finding that out.
I agree they're always looking for the easy money, but more and more nowadays, due to the scrutinization they are getting better at it.

 

[sam_acw]

I think herbal medicine can be effective, the trouble is it isn't ever going to be a big money spinner - maybe even the opposite - so it will never get the same research funding, clinical trials etc.
Pharmaceutical companies are usually looking to isolate compounds etc. - to turn a herb into a pill so they can make some money from it.
I've got a few odds and ends on the subject and enjoy reading about the uses and traditions attached to various plants

 

[listenclear]

Synergy is the key to the safety of most herbs.
I use dandelion as an example: it is a useful and very effective diuretic, the problem with many phamaceutical diuretics is that due to the increase in urine production potassium is lost from the body. Dandelion is high in it's potassium content and therefore can help compensate for the loss of potassium.
Sam_acw is spot on about how phamaceutical companies make their money and besides, in order for something to be considered significantly clinically proven does not mean it is 100% effective anyway - in fact far from it in some cases - not to mention side effects...
To test the effectivness of any holistic therapy you would need alot of exactly the same people with exactly the same symptoms, treated by the same practitioner and THEN put them into a randomised double blind controlled trial.
Nature does not work like that, we are all different and have different illnesses and also relate to our illnesses in different ways. Proper/successful treatment takes this into account. For the record I am very pro modern medicine as well as tradtional but i think people's understanding of holisic therapy is greatly mis-understood and over simplified along with the misunderstanding of what proven means with regards to phamaceuticals.

Now back to the true nature of what this thread was about, right now I have meadowsweet (nature's asprin), mugwort (for use by me as a digestive/stomach stimulant and also traditionally used to help menstruation problems) and lime flowers (used to help relaxation and hypertention, although i just like them) all drying. My better half and i are having great fun collecting this year.

 

[Toddy]

Sorry Hardr004 we've kind of hijacked your thread.

I find the idea of song records fascinating, and I know that rhyme and rhythms were much used here in the past to prepare medicines........times were given by how many rounds of a sog, or how many times a prayer could be said, that kind of thing.

Drying just now, I have Heartsease, Selfheal, Melissa, poppies, feverfew, and wild strawberry leaves.

Hardr004 asked about blisters........do you mean once you have them, to prevent them or the ones from burns ?

cheers,
M

 

[hardr004]

Sorry Hardr004 we've kind of hijacked your thread.

I find the idea of song records fascinating, and I know that rhyme and rhythms were much used here in the past to prepare medicines........times were given by how many rounds of a sog, or how many times a prayer could be said, that kind of thing.

Drying just now, I have Heartsease, Selfheal, Melissa, poppies, feverfew, and wild strawberry leaves.

Hardr004 asked about blisters........do you mean once you have them, to prevent them or the ones from burns ?

cheers,
M

One you have got them and from burns

 

[Cobweb]

For burns... Aloe Vera straight from the plant is by far the best thing I have found, although plantain is a very close second!

 

[Night Phoenix]

a wee something that hasnt been mentioned yet is the use of Alder, in folk medicine they were often put in shoes to releive sore and tired feet though this is probably better for redness and swelling than blisters as it is said to reduce swelling.

 

[listenclear]

I just read that the leaves of silverweed were put inside shoes to increase comfort and reduce blisters.
They are very soft right enough.
Didn't know that about alder, nice one

 

[Toddy]

Sweetgrass and Lady's bedstraw are also good inside shoes

Blisters respond well to calendula, lavender, thyme.........make a teabag shape of cloth filled with those and soak it in clean water for a few minutes. Apply it to the blister and leave it there until it warms up right through to your body heat. Remove and lightly cover the blister if it's in a place that's going to get rubbed.

If the blister is burst.....you need to take more care. That opened up skin is vulnerable to bacterial infection and really ought to be covered. After a day or so start letting it dry out but keep the dirt off and out of it.

cheers,
M

 

[Iona]

I Think it's good to have a selection of different herbs for all conditions you can, in a range of formats so you can try a little trial and error to find what fits you best. I have currently, in the form of teas, tinctures, glycerites, and infused oils: Mugwort, St Johns wort, Yarrow, Hawthorn, Self-heal, Crampbark, Rosebay Willowherb, Red Clover, Rose petals, Woodbine, White willow, Meadowsweet, Archangel, Herb Robert, Shepherds purse, Dandelion, Bramble leaves... That's as many as I can think of without getting up!

I also use a lot of others just as first aid when we're off in the woods and far away, like Plantain/Ribwort and Burdock.

I started with a BRILLIANT beginners book called Hedgerow Medicine, by Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal, I'd recomend it as a good 'in', but warn about the addictive quality of stocking your own apothecary!

 

[Iona]

If the blister is burst.....you need to take more care. That opened up skin is vulnerable to bacterial infection and really ought to be covered. After a day or so start letting it dry out but keep the dirt off and out of it.

cheers,
M

Birch polypore is great for plaster making