Recently, I made a tea for a friend with some specific health issues. She was mainly looking for liver and uterine support, but I thought that this blend might be of value for me as well.
It's actually a pretty tasty tea, that is a nice afternoon drink with the green tea option, or a nice bedtime one if chamomile is used....
2 parts Chamomile or green tea (jasmine green tea is also a good choice)
I decided to clean up some of my plants and gardening areas in my backyard, and in the process decided to move some things around.
I had planted some goldenrod last year, and things always seem to get bigger than I plan on so we move them around time after time.
So why have I planted goldenrod? Have I gone completely nuts? Isn't there enough growing wild on the road-side for everyone to enjoy?
I, for one, like it... I think that it beautiful at a time of year when other plants are spent and done for the season. They are pretty hardy and also very drought-tolerant.
Goldenrod, Solidago canadanesis, has also been used medicinally since the middle ages for wounds and kidney issues. The leaves and flowers have also been used in treating fever, colds, respiratory issues including hayfever, and bleeding wounds. It is most popularly used now to assist the function of the kidneys by increasing perfusion to this organ. The leaves are best picked in spring and early summer for teas, but the flowers may also be picked this time of year and tinctured.
I did cut mine back so that I could move it, but what better than to bring it up on the porch in a vase and enjoy it for a few more days....
I am tired of summer at this point, and I am trying to anticipate winter thru the current heat.
I was doing a light inventory, so to speak, of my current herbs, and I decided to go ahead and prepare some teas for this winter.
We aren't typically sick, but we do experience our share of sore throats and the like. The Princess also enjoys making her own blends. So this is what we made....
I do keep a pretty decent stock of dried herbs that I rotate thru... I try and prefer to keep them in glass jars, but it is not always possible. Many stay in the containers in which they come for a while.
Yesterday we went to the garden to do some weeding and picking..... as we are also doing a big project at home that involves woodwork (more to come on this) I knew I was going to be nasty most of the day and didn't want to put on my decent pair of normal pants which consists of a pair of capri pants.... So I wore a pair of shorts to the garden.
Wearing shorts is no big deal, but my problem is that bugs love me.... I have a pretty consistent ring of bug bites in various stages of healing around both of my lower calves from where I get bitten every week in the garden....
This morning I fortunately remembered that I had made Vinegar of the 4 Thieves this past winter. I diluted it and rubbed it over my arms and legs....
While I did stink, Bob said he thought that the garbage needed to be taken out, I did not have ONE BUG bite me... and this included working in the garage at home afterwards....
You can read an article at the above link on the history of this remedy. I followed the recipe at No Greater Joy by Debi Pearl pretty much as written except I cut it in half and didn't can mine as I plan on using it up this summer....
Vinegar of the 4 Thieves (Half version)
1 quarts of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoons lavender
1 tablespoons rosemary
1 tablespoons sage
1 tablespoons wormwood
1 tablespoons rue
1 tablespoons mint (I used peppermint)
1 tablespoons fresh, chopped garlic
You basically make it like a tincture adding all the ingredients EXCEPT the garlic in a large glass jar. Allow it to sit for 2 weeks shaking it a couple of times a day. Strain out the herbs leaving the vinegar. Add the garlic and replace the lid letting it soak for another 3 days. Strain out the garlic and store in a cool, dark place or can using a water bath. Remember to date and label your final storage jar.....
The nature hike went well this morning in Georgia... NW Georgia this time of year is really close to perfection...
Before the group at large arrived, the Princess and I noted a large amount of plantain (Plantago major) growing at the site... She quickly got to work picking as much as she could of this wonderful weed...
Now, you could use it fresh, but I prefer my plantain dried.... so how do I dry my herbs?
I am generally a lazy-kind of girl... but there is an upside to this... I would like to think that it adds to my creativity as I want the biggest bang for the time I have to put into something.... This is the way that I have found works for me... and the HOA (Home Owners Association) hasn't complained yet!
General principles.... you can dry herbs outside, but it defeats the purpose if it rains on them.... check the weather.
Don't dry them in the direct sunlight....
An attic is a good dry, dark place..... it is often recommended to hang herbs in bundles in this setting.
You can use a dehydrator or low heat oven.... but this again takes watching and I don't have a dehydrator.
What I do:
I have these really big windows on the back of my breakfast area.... They are about 6 feet by 3 feet each.
I take the screens off of 2 of the windows.
I generally like to keep the windows open, but don't with the 2 that I use.
I then take what ever herb I have for the day.... today it was plantain. I wash the herb first (just in case a dog found it before me... to quote Debi Pearl)
I then lay it out in a single layer on the screen....
I put the screen on my front porch... it is shaded here from direct sun (the porch is east facing)...
I then put the other screen on top and put rocks on the sides to keep it steady...
With thin, flat herbs it only takes 1-3 days to dry depending upon the temperature... Some pods and roots can take a bit longer... your main goal is to get all of the water out of the herbs so that they are preserved...
I then store the herbs in glass mason jars until I need them. They should be good for a year or so depending upon how well you dry them....
I have found that I can't pick enough plantain it seems... so I haven't had to worry about keeping it for more than a year...
You can use dried herbs just as you would fresh.... in teas, salves, or tinctures.... the only thing you can't do is extract juice...
We enjoy a beauty treatment every now and then, and this week the Princess and I decided to do a hair treatment.
I make my own blend of herbs that are suited to our blonde hair, but will give other options for those of you who weren't so blessed... You can buy premade blends of herbs from The BulkHerb Store
Some herbs are good for overall hair health and can be beneficial to most people. Horsetail has high levels of silicon and really helps to plump the hair shaft. Horsetail along with nettles make my hair feel full and thick while adding to its shine.
For blonde highlights I also added chamomile flowers and yarrow.... I also added some thyme as it is good for all types of hair.
For dark hair you might consider a combo of horsetail, nettles, rosemary, thyme and sage.
Redheads can use horsetail, nettles, and marigold/calendula.
My herbs were mostly dried, cut and sifted, but I wanted them smaller. I pulsed them in the blender until they were as powdered as I could get them.
I then put them in a pan and added lemon juice, again for blondes...use vinegar for reds and dark...
You want the mixture to be soupy. You then heat it on the stove for about 5 minutes just under the point of boiling. Let it cool a bit and add 2 eggs....
Stir the mixture well and then put onto dry hair...I squeeze the liquid into the hair to wet the hair.
After the hair is covered, cover the head with plastic bags. You are wanting to seal in the heat along with containing the mess. Cover the bag with a warm towel and allow it to sit for 45 minutes.
Next you need to rinse your hair. This is a big mess.... We actually did our initial rinse outside in the back yard with the hose. We then came in a rinsed well in the sink/garbage disposal. Don't wash your hair until the next day and just let it air dry.
BEFORE
AFTER
Addendum....This is a highlighting/beauty treatment, but it does helps to fill in the hair shaft and strengthens the hair... These herbs are also good for a bit of bounce in my normally thin, stringy hair...
It is not a deep cleanse for the hair.... I may have to come up with something, though...
The "after" picture of me is not that different from the first one... but I have several products in my blow-dried hair for the "before" one, and my hair was naturally air dried without products in the "after" one.
I try to use it before I get my color done as it makes it healthier IMO....
My first answer is because it's spring, but practically speaking a salve is a method of transporting herbal properties directly into the tissues and circulation. They also aid in healing, protecting and nourishing the skin.
A salve is basically nothing more than an oil mixed with a wax. I tend to use olive oil or coconut oil with bees' wax. Before combining these items I infuse the oil with the desire herbs for what I wish to treat. The whole process takes about 3-4 hours, but you can walk away from it during this time.
The recipe I am using for this salve is my own, but I have used it for a while with good results. This is BooBoo Salve... good for cuts, bleeding, rashes, bruises, etc... I have put it on open wounds as well as sore areas with good results. I have seen it stop bleeding and mild itching. The chemical allantoin is found in comfrey and has properties that are really strong so before applying make sure you have the wound cleaned out as your would will heal quickly. It may also be used as an alternative to neosporin-type creams.
Ingredients:
2 parts comfrey
1 part Echinacea purpura
1 part plantain
1 part mullein
0.5 part lavender
1 part yarrow
Olive oil
Bees' wax
Tea Tree oil (4drops/2 oz)
Grapefruit seed extract (6 drops/2oz)
Lavender essential oil (5 drops/2oz)
Vitamin E oil (3 drops/2 oz)
I used some dried and some fresh herbs. Generally dried herbs are more potent than fresh so take that into consideration when putting this together; you will need about half of a dried to a part of fresh (if this makes sense). It is also considered a good idea to use either all fresh or all dried as you want to control moisture content in your salve, but I threw caution to the wind and used both.
I have yarrow growing well and used some fresh leaves along with the lavender that is now growing. I chopped them up into smaller pieces so that more surface area will be available for the oil to have access to.
The other herbs were dried. I added all of the herbs into the top of a double boiler. I rig up a pyrex bowl over a pot of simmering water, and it seems to work well.
I covered the herbs with olive oil and allowed them to steep for 3 hours over the double boiler... the herbs look dark and crunchy when they are done. I did check the temp of the oil a few times and it generally stayed around 150 degrees. Be careful to not let your water run dry.
After the herbs are used up looking you need to strain them from your oil. I use a small hand-held strainer and pour the oil thru. I mush it with a spoon to make sure that I get all of the oil I can out of the herbs.
I wipe out the original bowl and put the oil back in it over the simmering water. Now is time to add the beeswax to your infused oil. Beeswax is difficult to cut, and mine comes in block form. I have found that scoring it and whacking it hard on the edge of the counter will cause it to break off easily. Add the beeswax to your oil and stir it until it is melted.
***comfrey will make your oil green with your salve also being green***
I have to admit that I do tend to like my salves softer and not hard. It is hard to gauge the texture of a salve initially as you have a liquid. One way to determine the texture of the salve is to dip a metal spoon into the liquid and put it in the freezer. In a few seconds it will have hardened and should be close to what you will end up with.
Next I assemble my jars. You can get cosmetic jars or use tupperware or mason jars.... it really doesn't matter. Before pouring the salve into the jars I add my scents and preservatives. For BooBoo Salve I tend to use Tea Tree Oil and Lavender essential oil, but you can use what you want. Tea tree oil is useful in healing as it has antiseptic properties though so I do recommend it.
I add the drops of these items into the bottow of the salve jars and then gently pour the hot liquid salve into them and allow them to cool.
Meanwhile for clean-up... I recommend using the simmering water for cleanup. You have a bowl that you just melted wax in and if it gets cooled the wax will harden in your bowl. I usually pour the simmering water into the empty salve bowl and wash it quickly making sure that I get all of the wax out before rinsing with normal water.
That's pretty much it.... Now you have your own homemade salve....
For those who know me, and those who don't, you might realize that I tend to easily get a bit over-zealous in my views at times.... I tend to go to extremes easily whether it be good or bad. One area that I know I do this with is my take on herbs... If I'm going to go natural, I'm going to go all of the way, not just part way.
This is obviously a very stupid thing for me to do... it doesn't require thought on any level and is not really a valid thing to do as it isn't for the best of my family. It has unfortunately been seen in my tinctures.
Up until now I have only made tinctures with alcohol, mainly vodka. The only change in this was when a friend gave me a bottle of Everclear and I tinctured it. I had never drank Everclear and there were a few drops left in the bottle so I turned it up and chugged what was left. I do drink alcohol on occasion, but didn't realize that Everclear was the equivalent of radioactive waste..... Let me just say that it burned my lips where the bottle touched and burned allllllll the way down to my stomach.
I had long forgotten the cold and flu tincture I made from this until I gave a dose to the Princess and she made a horrible face and started screaming about the burn. I took a few drops myself and realized, this was the Everclear.
When we need this tincture we take the drops and put them in a mug, pour boiling water over the top, and add a bit of honey for the kids to take it.... This way the alcohol was evaporated and my kids weren't too sad.
So.... what are the other options?
This past week I made my first glycerin tincture. I combined all of the herbs in a mason jar and added a bit of hot/boiling water just to moisten the herbs. I then filled the jar with glycerin. The glycerin was from the health food store and HAS to be food grade.
I then stirred the contents and put it in the crock pot. Essentially you want to make a water bath for the tincture to sit in. I put a folded towel under the jar and filled the crock with water coming half-way up the side of the mason jar. My crock pot has a keep warm setting and this works well I have found.
I kept the tincture in the crock pot for 3 days; I would stir it once or twice a day, and check and make sure that there was plenty of water in the crock.
After 3 days, I strained the herbs from the glycerin thru a piece of cheesecloth. After squeezing as much a possible out, I poured a small amount of boiling water over the herbs to release the last bit of glycerin that they contained.
I then bottled the tincture and labelled it. The kids both now enjoy taking their herbs!
I don't plan on giving up my alcohol tinctures altogether, but I may plan on doing more glycerin ones in the future. I may also do some of both and then combine them (using the same herbs in each) as they both lead to the release of different herb properties from being heated (glycerin) and being macerated a longer time(alcohol).
I am one of those people who have a hard time backing down from a challenge... call it a character flaw, but I am what I am....
More often than not the challenge is from myself, and this whole blog/computer thing has been nothing but a big challenge as I am not the most technologically advanced person... My latest challenge was learning how to get a video from anywhere onto the computer... My camcorder is analog (?), but I have my handy-dandy digital camera. Today the Princess and I tried it out.... I warn you... it is VERY rough. I don't think were going to be accepting any EMMYs anytime soon, but then I can only get better...
You will probably need to turn off the music, maybe not, and it can be paused by clicking the II in the upper left hand side of the sound box below the album graphic (lower left hand corner of this page) The II will then become a >...
Basically, a wonderful friend sent me a copy of The Bulk Herb Store's dvd on Making Herbs Simple... one of the things that they made was a plantain tincture with apple cider vinegar. This can be used topically for bug bites, itching and blemishes... anything you want to draw out of the skin this astringent concoction can help.
We put some dried plantain in a mason jar, added some hot, not boiling, water to moisten and reconstitute it, and then covered it all with the AC vinegar. We'll let it sit for 2-3 weeks, shaking it daily, and then strain out the herbs. This tincture will then be ready for use.
I have been wanting to attempt to make lipbalm, but I was slightly intimidated by the possibility of failure so I had put it off. Well, today was my big day, and it worked well.
Now don't get confused... I know how to make the lip balm, I just wanted to put it in a tube and have it work, and it actually did....
Making lip balm is pretty much like making salves, just with more bees' wax... I was wanting to mimic the Burt's Bees peppermint lip balm and think that I came close...
To make my balm I infused some olive oil with peppermint. To infuse oil I put olive oil with dried peppermint in the top of a double boiler for 3 hours; then strain the spent herb from the oil.... you now have an infused oil.
I added at bit of jojoba oil to the mixture for added moisture, and then added an almost equal amount of bees' wax. I didn't measure closely, but what I have is 2 oz olive oil, 1/2 oz jojoba oil, and 2 oz bees' wax. I then added essential oils. I turned the double burner off at this point since the essential oils are more affected by heat. I added in about 10 drops of rosemary essential oil and about 20 drops or so of peppermint essential oil. I put in 3 drops of grapefruit seed extract also as a preservative.
I then gently poured with a spoon the liquid into the tubes I had been saving. I wish I had more tubes, but can always melt the larger containers down later on for this purpose. I ended up with 2 lip balm tubes, 1 small pot that is 1/4 oz in size, a full 2 oz container, and half of another 2 oz container with this amount of oil.
I let is cool on the counter and in about 20 minutes I had real lip balm in a tube... It is just the right consistency and smells great, too....
As much as I have come to enjoy my teas, I also find tinctures very useful and practical. A tincture is a way in which you can make your own herbal medicine.
Either dried or fresh herbs may be used with the base being either alcoholic or glycerine based. I personally prefer vodka as the menstruum, or liquid, with 80 or 100 proof adequate.
I do use a simplers, or folk, method for making tinctures. I don't do alot of measuring, and use tinctures primarily as a way to preserve my seasonal herbs.
This is not a step-by-step method of making tinctures, that may come later, but these are simply some of the recipes I have used with some success.
These recipes may also be taken as teas, but I would probably omit the cayenne....
**These can be used by children as well as adults, the alcohol can be easily evaporated by putting the resulting tincture drops into hot, boiling water. I usually put the drops I want in a small mug, add water from the tea kettle along with some honey, and allow it to cool. This seems to be the best way I have found for kids to dring them when needed.
Salves are one of the things that I really enjoy making. They can be powerful, yet subtle, simple to make, yet complex in their effects. I have to give the warning that I seldom measure anything exactly unless I am baking... I use a simplers method to make salves, so the measurements here are not to be considered precise. These are some of the formulas that I have come up with and seem to be useful...
BooBoo Salve:I use as an alternative to neosporin, it soothes, heals, and fights bacteria with the anticeptic properties of allantoin. Can be used on cuts, bruises, sprains and broken bones.
0.5 part Queen of the Meadow/Joe-pye weed..if available
Olive oil
Bees' wax
Aloe after infused
I will post later on how to make salves. It is really quite quick and easy to do. The herbs may be either fresh or dried, and to make salve you only need regular kitchen equipment. You can find out more info on the exact herbs online or in most herb books.
I haven't been a tea drinker for many years, due primarily to an unfortunate kidney stone several years ago, but I have recently started back. I am still getting my daily dose of water... 1/2 ounce per pound of body weight, but we won't discuss amounts here, so I'm not too worried about getting another at this point.
I have recently discovered green tea and its many benefits. I have actually been looking more for the negative on it as there are so many studies available that have showed its positives. While there are some negatives, they are few and far outweighed by the positives in my opinion.
Green tea is the same tea leaf as oolong or black tea; they just differ in their processing. Green tea is unfermented and in the more natural state having only been dried. Oolong and black tea have been either partially (oolong) or completely (black) fermented or oxidized. The green tea contains the highest level of polyphenols of the three tea varieties. Polyphenols are chemicals with superior antioxidant properties more powerful than either vitamins C or E.
In multiple studies green tea has been shown to decrease incidences of atherosclerosis, specific to coronary artery disease, decrease cholesterol while increasing HDL, decrease stroke, cancer, and liver disorders. It can assist in regulating blood glucose levels in Type-1 Diabetes. Weight loss can be stimulated by green tea. It increases the metabolism and can aid in burning fat. Many associate these functions with the caffiene, theobromine, or theophylline that is also found in green tea, but the effects have been studied, and have been shown to be beyond what these chemicals can do. There are about 30mg of caffiene per cup of green tea.
Science aside, the recipe that I have been using to make the green tea formula that I use is based on one from the Bulk Herb Store. I drink this tea daily for energy and to rebuild my adrenal system that has been shot by several years on the night shift.
My recipe is:
1 cup of Jasmine green tea
2 tablespoons of St John's Wort
2 tablespoons of ginkgo leaf
2 tablespoons of Siberian ginseng
2 tablespoons of blackberry or red raspberry leaves
1/2 cup of licorice root
1/3 cup of peppermint leaves.
I steep these for 5 minutes, covered if possible. I then add a few drops of stevia or if you have stevia leaves you may mix them into the formula. I save the tea ball with my leaves and use them for another cup later on.
I like the Jasmine green tea as it is just so pretty to smell and to drink. It reminds me of fond memories of my youth, also.
I use blackberry leaves instead of red raspberry, but either should be fine. They are in the same family/genus and have many of the same properties. I just prefer to gather what is available locally instead of buying it if possible, and we don't have raspberries in Georgia as a rule, but we are eat up with blackberries.
I also use Siberian ginseng over other varieties as I feel that for me it has a better overall function and doesn't give the "rush" that other varieties can give. It is just milder. I did once read that ginseng should really be reserved for the elderly, and while I'm not there yet, I can understand this school of thought. It really does have a way of giving one energy.
I've been getting more into making up recipes for teas lately, and while I prefer green teas for daily use with some useful herbs added in... sometimes you just need something else.
The Princess has had a nagging, dry cough lately and these are the formulas that I have been using for her.
For cough and congestion, and safe enough for children... 2 parts Mullein, 1 part catnip, and 1 part chamomile.
I have also tried this formula for her cough with a bit more success... 2 parts Mullein, 2 parts Sage, and 1 part Licorice root and 1 part Echinacea purpura root.
You can mix up a quantity of these and scoop out 1-2 teaspoons per serving. I steep them in hot water for 5 minutes, strain/ take out tea ball, add honey or stevia, and enjoy!
I usually give a dose of this every 2 to 3 hours until the symptoms start to subside.
It's amazing how much I can get done when we don't have school!! It always seems to me that I have just one too many things to get done each day or week and something always has to give. I am slowly coming over to the side of learning through living versus formal schooling the longer we homeschool.
Yesterday, I made a salve that was a bit different for me. It was based on the recipe by John Keim from Comfort for the Burned and Wounded. I say based upon because anyone who knows me knows that I can't follow directions exactly and always have to tweak a recipe in some way to make it my own.
I would do some things different if I had to do it over again, and I'll share those at the end.
I started with making an herbal oil infusion. I decided to do a cold infusion this time as I usually use a warm infusion and wanted to try something different for a change. I also used wheat germ oil to infuse the herbs and it responds better to cold infusion rather than hot/warm infusing.
Anyway, I added comfrey, marshmallow root, white oak bark, wormwood and lobelia to a mason jar and covered it with the wheat germ oil. I then let it sit in a sunny place for 3 weeks, shaking it daily. These herbs are for healing, soothing, pain and tissue growth while the wheat germ oil is very high in Vitamin E.
After steeping for 3 weeks, I strained the herbs from the oil and put the oil in a glass bowl.
I then liquified some aloe vera. I did not peel the outer part, but put the whole thing in. I did, with a knife, take off some of the "pricklys". To do this I took several stalks off my plants and chopped them some and placed them in the blender at a high speed for a few minutes. I added this into the bowl with the oil.
Now it is time to heat. I rigged a double boiler by placing a pot of water on the stove top that the bowl of oil could sit in. This way the oil doesn't get too hot. I then added some honey (about 3/4 cup), olive oil and lanolin. These ingredients add to this ointment. The honey soothes and lubricates burns while being antibacterial and healing. The olive oil contains vitamins and is easily absorbed by the skin; this promotes the transport of the herbs into the system. Lanolin is a lubricant that helps to protect the healing tissues.
When all of these are melted and blended... be careful to not let it get too hot, it shouldn't boil... I add some beeswax. My wax is in a big chunk and has to be cut apart. It will take several minutes to melt.
While it is melting I put some grapefruit seed extract and tea tree oil into the containers that the salve will go into. I use about 7 or 8 drops for every 2 oz or so of salve.
You can gauge how firm a salve will be by adding your wax slowly and dipping in a cold metal spoon and placing it into the freezer. I personally like a creamier salve rather than a firm one as when placing it on a wound I would like for it to be mushier, for lack of a better word.
I then bottle them and let them sit until firmed.
What I would do differently the next time is I would infuse the olive oil, like I have usually done in the past with a heat method. I just think it works better. Then I would just add in the wheat germ oil, and essentially reverse the olive oil and wheat germ oil. I wouldn't add so much bees wax. I feel that I added more than I normally would and I just don't like the texture of a firm salve.
I think that this will be handy to have around, but it is very different from other salves that I have made. It smells harsh, like the wheat germ oil, and not pretty. I guess as long as it works...
Take 1C boiling water and add 1-2Tbs of catnip, 1-2 Tbs plantain, and 1-3 tsp of yarrow. Cover and steep for 15 minutes. Strain out herbs and add honey if needed. The dose for children would be 1/4 C 3-4 times a day.
I just wanted to tell everyone about a wonderful herb called
Plantain, or Plantago major. This is not to be confused with the
wonderful deep fried banana-like fruit seen in island cuisine.
Plantain is a weed probably growing in your yard right now, despite
treatments from Chem-lawn. It is a little dark green mass of leaves
arranged around a central core that can reach a height of 12-18
inches. There are pronounced ribs, or lines running from the stem of
the leaf to the tip of the leaf. Some plaintain is broad, or wide
leaved, while others are narrow.
This herb, used for hundreds of years, can be used internally for
stomach and other problems, but more importantly, it can be used
topically on the skin for stings, bug bites and cuts.
You can simply pick a leaf of it, chew it to crush the leaf and then
put the chewed mass onto a sting or cut. Even open wounds can be
treated with plantain. It can be picked and dried or tinctured
(another story) to be used in the future. This is a great herb to
use when you may not have access to medicines or are just out and
around and need something quickly.
The reason that I am writing this is because this afternoon I was at
the pool where I was stung by a wasp. I have an allergy to stings
and in the past when stung I would swell horribly, but not so bad
that I needed medical intervention. Today I was stung on my finger
and it immediately became twice its normal size and turned red. I
had some dried plantain in the pantry and mixed the crumbled up herb
together with some olive oil. This was about an hour after the
initial sting. I left the plantain on for about a 10 minutes ( I
would have left this on longer, but I had to help the kids with their
baths) and then washed the wound, covered it in a garlic oil ointment
(GOOT), and made another plantain poltice that I covered with gauze.
I left this on for about 90 minutes and it felt okay, so I took the
bandage off. The finger was completely back to normal except you can
see the hole where the stinger punctured me if you really look. In
the past it has taken about a week for stings, especially on
hands/fingers, to return to normal and they are normally painful and
throbbing the whole time.
I am sitting here 4 hours later typing this with no pain--I had even
forgotten about being stung!
If you don't feel good about foraging for herbs that's okay. You can
buy it dried online or at any bulk-herb type store.
This is an amazing herb that we have been given. Try looking for it
the next time you're out in your yard or on a nature walk!
Living day to day while seeking the truth in life. Finding wisdom through Christ in marriage and my children. Finding beauty in the world in which we live...
Next you need to rinse your hair. This is a big mess.... We actually did our initial rinse outside in the back yard with the hose. We then came in a rinsed well in the sink/garbage disposal. Don't wash your hair until the next day and just let it air dry.
Now it is time to heat. I rigged a double boiler by placing a pot of water on the stove top that the bowl of oil could sit in. This way the oil doesn't get too hot. I then added some honey (about 3/4 cup), olive oil and lanolin. These ingredients add to this ointment. The honey soothes and lubricates burns while being antibacterial and healing. The olive oil contains vitamins and is easily absorbed by the skin; this promotes the transport of the herbs into the system. Lanolin is a lubricant that helps to protect the healing tissues.
