Remedies

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	* [http://www.familyherbalremedies.com/index.html family herbal remedies]		* [http://www.familyherbalremedies.com/index.html family herbal remedies]
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-	==Forms of Topical Herbal Remedies==
-	* Salve - Salves are healing preparations that are applied to the skin. They are generally thick creams that last a long time on the skin, helping to keep moisture in. Salves have protective qualities that shield the skin from harsh effects of sun and wind. Popular salves are those made with calendula, St. John's wort and comfrey.
-	* Poultice - A poultice is a traditional preparation of fresh or dried whole herbs. The herbs are mashed into a pasty consistency and applied topically to the affected area. Herbs can be moistened and heated and then applied to the skin. Poultices are the way your great-grandmother would have applied herbs and it's still a useful method today. A crude method, poultices are great for instant use and can use parts of the plant that aren't normally used, such as the root and stems.
-	* Compress - A compress is similar to a poultice. Fresh or dried herbs are mashed and combined with water to make a paste. The paste is then applied to the skin or put into a small bundle, often in fabric, to be held against the skin.
-	* Oils - Infused oils are made by combining herbs with oil, usually extra-virgin olive oil, and heated on a slow heat. The mixture is then steeped for at least two weeks, then strained and put into jars. Oils can be used for skin irritations and is commonly used as massage oil.
-	* Ointment - Similar to salves, ointments are thicker in consistency. They are used topically on the skin and are particularly good for minor skin irritations and burns.
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-	==Forms of Ingestible Herbal Remedies==
-	* Infusions - Infusions are the most common way that people take herbal remedies. An infusion is a preparation that uses water as a solvent to mix with crude botanicals. The mixture may start out hot or can be a cold mixture. Usually, hot water mixtures infuse the herbs more readily and are therefore made hot and then cooled down for use. The mixture is steeped, rather than boiled. That is, it is let to set in the hot water for a period of time, depending on the type of herbs that are used. Infusions are generally the weakest of the herbal preparations.
-	* Decoction - A decoction is similar to an infusion because water is used. However, a decoction uses water to boil the herbs and then squeezes them into a container. That "juice" is more concentrated than an infusion and is twice as potent. In prepared decoctions, alcohol is used as a preservative. Otherwise, the decoction would spoil rapidly. Decoctions are often used as additives in prepared foods or drinks.
-	* Tincture - Similar to decoctions, tinctures are prepared by allowing herbs to sit in liquids for long periods of time to solubilize them. Herbs are stored for weeks to months in dark glass containers containing an ingredient that will make them soluble. That may be water, vinegar, alcohol or glycerine. The herbs break down in the liquid and dissolve. The remaining mixture is strained or pressed. Tinctures are often used added to foods or drinks.
-	* Syrup - Similar to tinctures, syrups are a thicker liquid. These are most often taken alone as a remedy. Syrups generally have higher concentrations of herbs and care should be taken to follow the directions properly.
-	* Tea - There are a number of pre-made herbal teas on the market these days. There are also tea bags that come in a variety of herbal mixtures. These are so common that they are available at any regular supermarket. Tea is actually a form of infusion.
-	* Capsules or Tablets- Next to infusions, capsules are the next most common way to take herbs. Supplements are available in tablet form for almost any herb known. These are ingested in the same way you take aspirin. They dissolve in the stomach and get into your body.
	==Insect Bites==		==Insect Bites==

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Current revision as of 15:05, 21 September 2007

Please be advised that not all natural remedies/treatments work for everyone. These are alternative natural remedies and nutritional information that is intended for alternative prevention and/or treatment. The sole intention is for educational and informational purposes. This information is not meant as a substitution for your doctor's medical advice and, if used, should be be used at your own risk.

Contents 1 pink eye 2 jewelweed 3 Garlic 4 Echinacea 5 Cold and Flu Tea 6 Coughs 7 Sinus Infection 8 Bruises or Muscle Strains 9 Colds 10 Burn Treatment 11 links 12 Insect Bites 13 Bee Stings 14 Insect Repellents 15 Remedies for Cold and Flu

pink eye

• Simple place cool, moist chamomile tea bag on each closed eye for about 10 minutes. Repeat this every couple hours.
• You can also just wash the eyes out with chamomile tea, make a compress with a cloth, or even soak a cotton ball in the tea and wipe the eyes every so often.
• You can also use Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis). Infuse a teaspoon of the herb in a cup of hot water. Allow to cool, strain. Put the tea in an eye cup (available at pharmacies) and use it in the recommended way.

jewelweed

• Jewelweed contains two methoxy-1, four napthoquinineâ��an anti-inflammatory and fungicide.
• If you break jewelweed's stem and repeatedly apply the juice to a fresh mosquito bite for 15-20 minutes, the itching stops and the bite doesn't swell. For older bites, it works only temporarily.
• Itâ��s also good to for warts, bruises, and fungal skin infections such as athlete's foot and ringworm.
• It's is also helpful for nettle stings, minor burns, cuts, eczema, acne, sores, and any skin irritations.
• There are many ways to capture jewelweed's medicinal properties: The fresh plant lasts a week in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
• soak fresh jewelweed in commercial witch hazel extract for a few weeks, and the extract of the two herbs works well and doesn't perish.
• You can also make jewelweed ointment by simmering a small amount of jewelweed in light vegetable oil (any vegetable oil except olive oil, which burns) 10-15 minutes. Use only a small handful of jewelweed stems per quart of oil, or bubbles of jewelweed juice will form in the ointment and go moldy. Strain out the herb, add a handful of beeswax to thicken it, and heat until melted. Take out a spoonful and let it cool to test the thickness, and add more oil or beeswax as needed. Add the contents of one oil-soluble vitamin E capsule, a natural preservative, and let it cool. Refrigerated, it lasts for months.

Garlic

Not only is it antibiotic, it is also directly effective against viruses. It is also anti-fungal and anti-parasitic as well among many other things. It's important for colds AND flus.

The most obvious garlic remedy is to cook with it. I give ideas about using garlic in the immune soup recipe as well as in my special-tea. Eating garlic regularly is extremely healthful. It also helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol counts. It�s absolutely amazing.

It�s most potent to use garlic raw. Cooking with it regularly is good for your health, but when you need it in an acute situation, use it raw.

Juicing it and adding it to other juice is a great way to take raw.

Garlic Foot Remedy :

• Crush a few garlic cloves, put them in a little jar or bowl, and cover it just so in olive oil.
• In about a half hour, rub the oil on your feet. This works with kids as well when they have a bad cough or they have a chest cold. For adults, you can also put the garlic pieces between your toes (but not for kids).
• Then, put socks on for the night and go to sleep. When you wake up, you have garlic breath, so you know it works! No kidding! Garlic enters your system and heads straight for the lungs.
• Garlic is amazing for the lungs. This is a great way to fight bacterial infections. It also enhances your immune system and fights viruses at the same time.

Echinacea

• When you have a cold coming on and during the cold. It works best when you are in the EARLY stages of a cold. Do not take it for more than 10 days. When you reach day 10, go off it. If you still need it, wait another week.

• Strep throat remedy Squirt tincture directly on the back of your throat regularly while you have strep throat. Try a squirt an hour until symptoms start to subside. It is one of the most simple and effective strep throat remedies. Another strep throat remedy is to use Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE). Simply squirt a few drops in a small sup of warm water and gargle. Do this once hour until your symptoms begin to subside.

• On cuts and wounds Echinacea is antibacterial. After you clean out a wound with water, squirt Echinacea tincture liberally right on the wound. Use it like Bactine. After that, apply a salve or bandage, depending on the severity of the wound.

Cold and Flu Tea

1. Fill up your teakettle and get it boiling.
2. Meanwhile, grate a one-inch piece of fresh ginger root.
3. Get a thermos out. I have a quart thermos I use.
4. Put the ginger in the thermos.
5. Put a dash of lemon juice in the thermos. A dash is about 4 tablespoons. Actually, it's less of a dash and more of a small splash. :)
6. Add a dash of honey as well. A dash in this case is about three tablespoons. Hey, a dash means something different to all of us. Basically, add the honey to taste.
7. When your water is boiled, pour it in the thermos.
8. Cover it up and let it sit for 20 minutes.
9. Strain into a tea cup and enjoy!

Alternatives:

If you lack a thermos, you can also just simmer the water in an open pan with the ginger for 15 -20 minutes as well. Add the lemon and honey to the pot AFTER you are finished simmering ginger. Just strain it into your cup. When you want more, just heat it back up.

Other things to add:

1. A few cloves of crushed garlic.
2. Cayenne powder to taste (enough to break a little sweat)
3. A few slices of Astragalus root (an important immune system nourisher).
4. Seaweed. Seaweed is so packed with vitamins and minerals. It�s literally super food.
5. A few dropper bottle squirts of Echinacea tincture.

Don�t add all these at once� They are just variations to use depending on the situation. As you learn more about herbs, feel free to experiment with new ones. If this is all new to you, just stick to the basic recipe.

Now, why ginger, lemon and honey? Well, lemon is high in Vitamin C. It is also full of phytochemicals. These are plant constituents that help boost the immune system and much more. Ginger and honey are also well documented to help the immune system.

Coughs

There are two types of coughs. Productive coughs and unproductive coughs. Basically, productive coughs are bringing up "stuff" that needs to leave the body. Therefore, you do not want to suppress it. In this case, use herbal expectorants. Eventually a cough can become unproductive, meaning you are left with an irritating cough. In this case, remedies that suppress the cough are ok to use. It's good to address unproductive coughs so they do not develop into respiratory infections.

• Elecampane is a cough suppressant AS WELL AS a natural expectorant. It is a great, all purpose cough remedy that is EASY to grow and make medicine from. It is also low maintenance. I barely even have to water mine in the summer.

• In the fall, dig up the entire plant and cut off part of the root. I usually snip off the longer, thicker roots. Wash them up. Then slice the roots in bite sized pieces, not too small. Fill half a jar with them. Fill the entire jar with honey. Turn over the jar a few times a day for a few days. In a few days, itâ��s ready! Keep it in the fridge.
  • When you have a cough, simply eat the honey. Honey also feels good on the throat as well. Also, eat the pieces of root. They are candied. Chew on them for a while, then spit them out.

• Cough Tea/ Cough Syrup Recipe

1. Boil a quart of water in a saucepan.
2. When it comes to a boil add 2 tablespoons of dried Elecampane root.
3. Turn down to a simmer and do so for 20 minutes.
4. Add honey to taste. Honey heals and soothes as well.
5. Add a splash of lemon juice as well if you have it.
6. Strain and drink your natural cough remedy.

Sinus Infection

If you do not have a neti pot, simple dilute Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) in warm water and put it in a nasal sprayer or spray bottle. Then, spray it up your nose every hour or so until symptoms start to subside. You'll soon have sinus infection relief.

Bruises or Muscle Strains

• Arnica oil ointment or cream

Colds

• Make an ointment by sing 10 drops each of tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, and peppermint or menthol in 2 ounces of carrier oil such as olive oil. Rub this on the chest at night.
• Make homemade vegetable broth (recipe above) with fresh garlic and ginger,
• Ginger tea with liberal amounts of honey and lemon may help bring down a fever.

Burn Treatment

• Mix 1/2 cup aloe vera gel with 5 drops of lavender oil and 1 capsule of natural vitamin E. Apply this to burns, sunburns and windburns. Also makes a good light facial moisturizer for people with oily complexions.

links

• natural home remedies
• natural remedies encyclopedia
• herb data
• school of botanical medicine
• intro to home remedies
• herbal healing
• homeopathic self-sufficiency
• family herbal remedies
• [1]

Insect Bites

• Use a cotton ball to dab mosquito and other bug bites with white vinegar straight from the bottle.
• Rub some onion juice on the bite. Smells, but works!

Bee Stings

• Combine a little baking soda and water to form a paste...dab on bite.

Insect Repellents

• Tie a sheet of dryer sheets through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.
• Make a solution of mint oil and rubbing alcohol, place in a spray bottle and spray yourself before any outings, the mint acts as a natural deterrent for most insects.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Dilute one part to five parts and use an effective antiseptic wash to heal sores. For bad wounds, soak a gauze bandage in the solution and leave overnight.

Burnt Toast

Burnt toast contains charcoal, which is useful to relieving intestinal wind pain.

Fresh Ginger Root

For very tired and aching muscles and joints, grate some fresh Ginger root, then place in a clean handkerchief or muslin cloth and squeeze out the juice. Add the same amount of vegetable oil and massage into the sore areas until the skin is warm and pink. Applying before bed will help prevent disturbed sleep.

Gingernut Biscuits

Because these contain ginger, they are ideal to munch on before or during a long car or boat trip to help prevent nausea. Also good for dogs that get carsick. If you make your own, add extra Ginger.

Grated Apple

This is said to be great for relieving constipation, nausea and diarrhea.

Potatoes

Grate up a raw potato and apply the juice to soothe sunburn, cysts, inflammation, and swellings.

Cabbage Leaves

To treat sprains and bruises, crush dry cabbage leaves with a rolling pin or bottle. Put them in position over affected area and secure with a bandage. Replace with fresh crushed leaves every two hours and watch the swelling and redness disappear.

Aloe Vera Plants

Snap off a piece of an Aloe Vera plant, open up and use the gel inside as an effective cooler and healer of nappy rash. It's also good for helping to heal wounds, cuts, scraps, dry skin, sunburn and acne in teenagers. The older outer leaves are the most potent.

Baking Soda

Throw a handful into your a bath regularly to help prevent thrush. Baking Soda in the bath is also helpful to help ease itchy or hot sunburn, insect bites or hives, as well as chicken pox and measles.

A teaspoon full can be added to a glass of lemonade or warm water and drunk as a quick anti-acid.

Add a small amount to your shampoo and it will help strip your hair of build-up leaving you with shiny hair.

For smelly shoes, place a teaspoon full inside their shoes and leave overnight. Next morning, shake it out, and the smell should leave with the baking soda.

Peppermint Essence

This is good for reliving itchy bites in children as it smells better than commercial products, doesn't sting and really works.

Cornflour

This is useful for more than just making your own gravies. It is a great cure for diaper rash. Just sprinkle some on and you should notice an improvement by the next diaper change.

Honey

Spread a small amount of honey on a little piece of bread and put 'honey side down' onto an infected wound, ulcer or a boil. The honey acts as a drawing ointment helping to clean it out.

Honey is good for your skin (especially your neck area) when it becomes dry. Apply, leave for half an hour, and then rinse off in the shower.

Tea Tree Oil

Add a small amount to your bottle of family conditioner, and this is said to prevent head lice being contacted, as the lice are repelled by it.

White Vinegar

White Vinegar is another one of those products that has many different uses. One use is helping to heal the pain of a burn. Put some white vinegar liberally on a piece of cotton wool and dab the burnt area. The same can be done for sunburn.

Some vinegar added to a bath with no other oils or bubble bath added, can be valuable in providing relief from eczema, psoriasis or dermatitis. To make your hair soft and shiny, add a glass of vinegar to your final hair rinse.

Remedies for Cold and Flu

Lemons:Mixed with a little honey and hot water, lemons help soothe sore throats. For fevers, my grandmother used to squeeze a little lemon juice in a dish of cold water and apply it to my forehead with a washcloth. It is also gives you some added vitamin C to help your immune system.

Honey: Excellent for sore throats and coughs. You can take it plain, one teaspoonful at a time or mix it with some hot water and lemon.

Garlic:One of my favorite cough and cold remedies involves garlic. Chop and peel five garlic cloves. Cover with a half a cup of honey. Mix in a little cayenne pepper or ginger. Let sit for at least an hour. Take one teaspoonful as needed.

Cayenne pepper: Used in small amounts, cayenne pepper helps your immune system. Add it to food or make the garlic/honey recipe. It also helps keep you warm if you have a chill.

Chamomile tea: Chamomile is commonly used to help you relax and sleep. It is also good for stomach problems and fevers. Don't use if you are allergic to ragweed. Also don't use in large amounts if you are pregnant (more than two cups a day). image Peppermint tea: This is one of my favorite herbs to use, especially when my sinuses are all blocked up. You can either drink it, or put a few tea bags in your bath water. Don't use in large amounts if pregnant.

Ginger: One of my favorite teas to drink when I feel chilled and tired from a cold or the flu is ginger tea. Cut off a one-inch piece of the fresh root and peel it. Grate it into a mug and pour one cup of boiling water. Let it stand for five minutes. You can season it with honey if you want. This is also a good tea for stomach problems.

Thyme: This is one of my favorite herbs to use when I have a cough. To use, prepare a tea with one cup of the dried herb and one cup hot water. Let it steep for fifteen minutes. Strain out the herb and sweeten with honey if needed. Store it in the refrigerator and take one teaspoon every hour as needed. Only use this remedy for a day or two.

Oregano:This is also used for coughs and colds. Prepare it the same way as thyme.

Sage: Sage is a classic sore throat remedy. Prepare the same as thyme and oregano. You can either drink it or gargle with it depending on your preference. Sage is also good for fevers. Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a remedy that may help your immune system. Add small amounts of the powder to food. You can also add the powder or a cinnamon stick to an herbal tea.