Herbal Medicines and Home Remedies

I've threatened to do it long enough so here goes. Several threads have got me thinking about what we could do if normal medical services are disrupted long term for whatever reason (call it TEOTWAWKI or whatever) or if you just want to explore alternatives to modern medicine. Marduk's thread on stockpiling two year's worth of medical supplies is what really triggered this thread.
So here it is; If you have any home remedies, no matter how trivial, what are they? Also include any medicinal uses of herbs, wild or cultivated. If you have any recommendations for books on the subject, what are they? Books or tips on edible plants would be welcome as well.

Here are my own:
Home remedies:
Brown paper bag soaked in vinegar for sprains
Gargle with salt water for a sore throat
Honey and whiskey (hot toddy) for a cough
I knew that willow tree bark could be used for pain relief but wasn't sure how until I looked here:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5697944_use-willow-tree-bark.html

Pine needle tea can prevent scurvy (ewww)
Baking Soda or salt paste for stings

Local edible plants:
Dandelions
Sour Grass
Wild Onions EDIT: Not actually wild onions, but onion grass
There is a local plant that comes early spring (March or April I guess) that gets a purple bloom on it. The greens are edible (my Grandpa taught me this one but don't know what the plant is called - I will try to find out)

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I know locally we have access to ginseng, yellow root and blood root but have not looked into what they can be used for other than making tea with the ginseng.

Books:
Reposting what I had in Marduk's thread;
Peterson Field Guides Series:

"Medicinal Plants and Herbs"
There are two versions, one for Eastern/Central North America, one for Western North America.

"Edible Wild Plants"
Again two versions, one for Eastern/Central North America, one for Western North America. Not as relevant to the topic but thought I would mention these as well.

The Green Pharmacy series by James A Duke
There are several versions of these. Note that James Duke contributed to the Peterson Field Guides as well.

"The Doctors Book of Home Remedies" by the editors of Prevention Magazine Health Books
I believe this is the home remedy book I was thinking of.

There are many many other books available but as I am just getting into this I can barely vouch for the ones I have already mentioned. As I said the Peterson Field Guides are always reputable.

Look forward to hearing other suggestions.

A reference I reallly like is "Medicine for Mountaineering," by James Wilkerson. It assumes an isolated, potentially hostile environment, and goes well beyond standard first aid measures. I had the pleasure of meeting the author on Denali, where he monitored and critiqued our handling of a pulmonary edema victim. He is the real deal.

There are similar books produced for yachtsmen and long distance voyagers, but I don't have the titles at hand.

A variation of your cough remedy - equal parts of tea, honey, and bourbon. This was given to me by an MD years ago. He said it was as good as any cough medicine on the market. It has always worked for me.

Good thread, Mark! Two of my favorite herbal remedy books are
Stalking the Healthful Herb by Euell Gibbons and The New Age Herbalist by Mabey, McIntyre, Michael, Duff, and Stevens.

Gibbons' book is very useful once you can recognize the plants as it's focus is more on what to do with it once you find them. It covers a large number of plants and how to use them as medicines, but it is done with a sceptical eye. He say something might have a particular effect but that it did or did not work for him when used in the traditional manner. He doesn't let superstition over-rule experimentation.

Don't let the title "New Age" in the second book throw you off. This other book isn't crystal power and pyramids! Like Gibbons' book, it to stickes (mostly) to confirmed treatments. It also has the best pictures ever of any plant guide. I was leery at first when I bought it but it has become one of my favorite books.

The next big update to my plant blog will be medicinal uses, but that will take a while to complete. I will add assorted plants to this thread though.

Plants that remove the sting/itch of insect bites:
1. Plantain
2. Curled Dock
3. Wild Lettuce
4. Horsetails
Make a mash/poultice of any of these leaves (older wild lettuce leaves work better than young ones) and smear it on the bite. The astringent chemicals in the plant will neutralize the bite.

-Blast

Herbs, spices, and essential oils can come in real handy. Here's a few off the top of my head that I've used regularly over the years.

Tea Tree Oil

Fennel Seed (fresh seeds or extract)

Oregano Oil (alcohol-free super concentrated works best)

Peppermint Oil

Cayenne Pepper (powder or extract)

Ginger

Cinnamon

Clove Oil

Black Pepper

I also have the PDR for Herbal Medicines 4th Edition which I highly recommend.

Great input already. Thanks for the contributions so far and thanks in advance for others. I have a few questions and comments.

For starters, the unidentified plant I mentioned appears to be a common blue violet. My yard is left au naturale (no herbicides) so a lot of wild plants grow there. The blue violets (and others) grow and do what they do.

Hikermoor, will any tea do?

Blast, I was pretty sure you would like this thread and really hoped you would contribute (and glad that you did by the way ).

LED, what do you use the different oils for. IIRC, DR mentions using tea tree oil for stings and such but what about the others? Same thing (stings) or anything different? I believe my sister uses peppermint oil as an ant repellant.

Great stuff. Continue please.

Honey itself is a cough suppressant. Everything else is just flavor.

I thought it was the alcohol that acted as the cough suppresant and the other was for flavor. Interesting ...

You are very lucky, wild violets are considered a "super food" as they are LOADED with both vitamin and minerals (normally you get just vitamins or just minerals).

In many cases a lot of the effectiviness of herbs comes from their help treating malnutrition.

-Blast

To be honest Blast I am not 100% sure that is what they are. It will be another month or two before I can verify. My Grandpa had these growing in his lawn (au naturale) as well. Because they grow in the yard and are mowed they remain a very-short-and-close-to-the-ground type of plant. They grow in large clusters and have a flower of exactly the same color. The clustering and the flower leads me to believe they are wild violets.

EDIT:
The reason I remember these plants, other than my Grandpa pointing them out to me, is because of the story that went with them. My Grandpa grew up in very hard times. The family nearly starved to death at times. For that reason my Grandpa was an avid gardener. Year after year, he planted large gardens with row after row of corns, beans, tomatos, cabbages, turnips, and so on. My Grandpa would always point out those plants with the purple flowers on them to me and tell me about those hard times growing up and how they always looked forward to eating the greens from those plants. Apparently they were among the first edible wild plants to come up in the spring. Sorry for rambling. My Grandpa died last summer and just experiencing some fond and sad memories.

This isn't meant to be an accurate or comprehensive guide or anything even close. Just sharing some info from my long term personal use, and research of course. Oh, I know it goes without saying but if you're going to ingest anything make sure its quality, food grade extract from a reputable manufacturer. As always YMMV.

Tea Tree Oil - (Antifungal/antibacterial) Use for athletes foot, jock itch, etc. Also a main ingredient in BurnJel® BTW. Make sure to dilute it before applying to skin.

Fennel Seed - (commonly used in the east to help calm the stomach and aid digestion) I grind fresh seeds and make tea or put some extract in a little water and drink it. Tastes like licorice and seems to help with my acid reflux. You'll notice Indian restaurants always serve fennel seeds as an after dinner condiment. And they know a thing or two about spicy foods!

Oregano Oil - (antibacterial/antifungal) Unlike tea tree oil it can be used in concentrated form on the skin without irritation. Of course YMMV. Apparently a lot of research is being done on oregano oil at the moment.

Peppermint Oil - Good for sinus congestion, natural insect repellent, etc.

Ginger - Helps with nausea, settles the stomach, aids digestion, etc. Cut into thin slices and eat raw or add some hot water and make a nice tea. And of course its ubiquitous in asian cuisine.

Clove Oil - Used for toothaches. Its usually included in emergency dental filling kits like the one's sold by Dentek®, and others. Thats actually how I found out about it.

Cayenne Pepper - I've read it was good for keeping intestinal nasties in check and helps prevent colon cancer. Lots of other benefits. Although I'd eat it anyway cause I love hot stuff.

Thanks LED. I think it goes without saying we are just sharing information and if you should use any of these remedies or try any of the wild edibles, do so with caution. And don't use a remedy in place of your current medications or against a Doctor's advice.
That said, I have another question LED. Do you grow these plants yourself or just acquire the oils and such from a shop? Cayenne peppers and oregano should not be hard to grow but any idea how to extract the oil from the oregano? Or the other plants? Thanks in advance for the info.

There are many dozens of useful plants. Another good one is jewelweed for poison ivy and other skin irritations.

Herbal medicine has a vast, worldwide history going back into prehistory. Internet searches will show you an incredible amount of information. Much of what we consider medicine in Western culture incorporates or emulates an herbal remedy. I suggest looking for a local herbal society and classes.

Herbalism and traditional home remedies can be helpful. Particularly when they are the only materials you have to work with. Many modern medicines have been inspired by or refined from concentrations of natural materials. Once you understand how the herbal concoction works it is a lot easier to refine a synthetic analog.

But it is almost always the modern preparations that carry the day. Herbal preparations are notorious for variable dosage, inconsistent effectiveness and highly questionable assumed etiology and mechanism which often leads to inappropriate use. Assuming they have any effect at all.

Ginkgo biloba is reputed to boost brain function and memory but controlled studies show it to have no discernible effect.

Echinacea is reputed to help boost immune function but, again, it seems to have no effect in a double-blind controlled study.

If you go to a doctor for an infection your going to get something other than a herbal remedy. Antibiotics might be called for. But if your in the deep woods where modern medicine is not available blind hope, rest and echinacea might be the best you can manage. You use what you have.

As it has been pointed out many times before 'natural medicine' and 'herbalism' tend to be null categories. To the extent they consistently and reliably work they have been adopted and become a conventional and accepted medical treatment. Willow bark has long been used to treat pain and muscle aches but doctors don't generally recommend it. Instead they recommend aspirin, the synthetically produced analog that comes in an easy to use form and reliable dosage.

So use herbs for minor ailments if it makes you happy and they seem to work for you. Most minor ailments tend to moderate or go away in time no matter what you do. It is reasonable to use herbs for more serious issues if conventional treatments are not available. But for serious illness you need serious medicine.

I'd love to have the time/space for an herb garden, but even then its highly unlikely I could do as good a job as the stuff you can buy. Especailly when it comes to the extraction part, which I know very little about. The brand I usually buy is Herb-Pharm available in most health food stores or online. There are a few brands that are more expensive but I really can't tell a difference. As far as cayanne pepper goes I kinda prefer the extract as it dissolves in liqids better than the powder, and a tiny bottle will last you a long time. I usually mix some lemon juice, honey, and cayanne pepper in some water as a pick-me-up. Beware of adding too much cayanne though or it'll feel like someone karate chopped you in the throat. There's a general description in the FAQ's of how they process the extracts.

Oops, I made a mistake. Violets are loaded with vitamins A & C, but not minerals. It's mallow that has both. Still, by weight violets have more C than oranges and compare to carrots in A.

If you are looking for uncommon herb seeds I highly recommend Bountiful Gardens. They carry all sorts of wonderful seeds at really good prices.

-Blast, not associated with Bountiful Gardens

"...'natural medicine' and 'herbalism' tend to be null categories."

The problem is that pharmaceutical companies are the ones with the money to do the testing, and it isn't exactly in their best interests to find positive results. Scientific validation of herbals isn't free, and the two main sources of testing are the pharmaceutical labs and the universities who take large donations from pharmaceutical companies. The testing is often not so much 'double blinds' as 'double BINDS'. They can only patent NEW medications, they can't really patent medications based on herbs, and patenting and selling high-priced medications is what makes their world go round.

The two herbals I've heard good things about are The Herb Book by John Lust (1979), and Growing 101 Herbs that Heal: Gardening Techniques, Recipes, and Remedies by Tammi Hartung (2000).

Not all antibiotics are created by man. Honey and aloe vera are two that I know of, and I'll bet there are more.

And don't forget a good supply of TicTacs and paste food coloring for use as placebos when you have nothing better.

Sue

First, the herbal market is not small, it is a multi-billion dollar industry. By some accounts a 4 billion dollars a year industry. One would think the industry would be interested in scientifically valid testing by independent testing laboratories. But your right. They don't do their own testing. And yes, there is a profit motive. Word gets out that ginko doesn't do a thing for memory or brain function and it might take the shine off of sales of $14 bottles of ginko. As it has. Herbalists don't do scientific research for the simple reason that few of their products have any effect beyond what a placebo offers. If they had confidence in their product they would be financing their own independent testing and winning doctors over. Instead they wine and cry about how everyone is against them and all the scientists cheat.

The same effect doesn't really effect the pharmaceutical researchers. If they had found ginko worked they would have dug in deeper to find out exactly what compounds created the effect. They would then synthesize it, standardize doses in a easy to use package, and sell it. They would also work on finding out how the compound worked and improve on it.

But the simple fact is that despite ginko being used for hundreds of years people still suffer form memory loss and decline of brain function. Taking doesn't make any difference beyond what you would expect of any placebo. If a herb was truly effective it would rapidly be recognized as the definitive treatment of the disease and people would no longer suffer from the disease.

People had been fighting smallpox with all sorts of herbs and natural remedies. But nothing had any significant effect before vaccination. It was vaccination that wiped the disease out. You can go down the list of diseases we can now treat, manage, occasionally cure, and almost all of the diseases have been around for hundreds or thousands of years. Thousands of years with herbalists and witch doctors plugging away at them to little or no effect. It is hard to find a case where herbs have ever been a cure or completely effective treatment. The exception may be in nutritional deficiencies.

Finding out that natural quinine was partially effective against malaria led to purified forms of quinine. The understanding of how it worked led to chloroquine and the more modern forms. Quinine no longer does the job.

Neither aloe vera nor honey are antibiotics. They are topical anti-infectives. Mainly useful as a soothing agent for skin issues they have a limited effect in lowering the chances of infection. A mix of providone iodine and honey has shown some use in treating burns and some resistant skin infections.

You forgot the "school medicine is bad, but pharmaceutical industry is the incarnation of evil" - statement that often is implicit or explicit stated by followers of unconventional medicine or nutritional products.... (As for the moral character of the pharmaceutical industry, the statement has some truth in it... which is yet another reason to fund research independently of the industry, but I digress.)


A little word of caution: If something works it will have side effects. The herb St John's wort (wikipedia link) is documented to work for a lot of conditions including depression - but it has also serious side effects and all kinds of nasty interactions with other medicines.


For those things without documented effect - I am absolutely for a little healthy dosage of placebo: The very idea of improving one's situation by actively exploiting the human minds capacity to fool itself is absolutely amazing. Moderation is the key here as in other aspects of life - a little placebo can only do you good, too much and you start to refuse medical treatment for serious conditions. Now I don't like the way many players in the "herbal industry" lie, fool and cheat people in to spending way to many money on their products and treatments. If only there was a way to induce placebo without actually fooling people...

"If only there was a way to induce placebo without actually fooling people..."

I'm reading a book on that very subject: "Peace, Love & Healing" by Bernie Siegel, MD (oncologist and surgeon).

Trying to get BOT, I just thought of a few more home remedies.

Sweet oil for an ear ache
Aloe from an aloe plant for burns and dry skin

Not sure what you could do when the sweet oil runs out but aloe vera plants are easy to grow inside. Keep your suggestions coming.

The home remedies just keep coming. Compugeek mentioned using honey as a cough suppresant, Izzy mentioned he uses it straight for a sore throat and cough and that it's natural bacteria may fight off other infections. It also has another use. If you suffer from seasonal allergies, take a tablespoon of local honey every day. Because the honey is made from the local flowers that may be causing your distress it should build your tolerance/immunity to the pollen of the flowers in question and help ease or eliminate the allergies. Please keep the suggestions coming.

An old neighbor of mine told me his remedy to relieve a wasp/bee sting. bum a cigarette from some one, tear open, make poultice out of the moistened tobacco. Years later, hunting for mushrooms, apparently ground hornets (yellowjackets) are active in the early spring and do not like being disturbed by a walking stick punching through their roof. long story short while i looked pretty silly but the pain from the half a dozen stings subsided within 2-3 minutes. rather than the normal 10-15 minutes.

In the south..dog fennel..crush and apply as insecticide. works on mosquitoes and some flies. does not work on bees, yellow jackets, etc. may not be 100% effective on some mosquitoes (tiger mosquitoes).

Herbal Cures with Aloe

Aloe is generally used in the treatment of liver disorders including Jaundice (biliousness), chronic constipation, piles, gas formation in the stomach, loss of appetite and diseases such as painful menstruation, irregularity in menstruation and leucorrhoea (foul smelling discharge from the genital tract) in women. Since it cures liver and digestive disorders, it is specially useful for children.

Externally, it is used in the treatment of bums and sprains.

For liver disorders including chronic constipation, jaundice , piles, loss of appetite, gas in the abdomen and leucorrhoea, the juice or pulp of this plant is given to the patient. Since it is bitter to the taste, a pinch of salt should be added to it. While giving it to children, an equal quantity of honey or a small quantity of sugar should be added.

The herbal market is small in comparison to the pharmaceutical market that has quite a lot of power and money for lobbying.

Viruses aren't controlled by anything other than vaccines, as far as I've ever heard.

Good nutrition is for overall health, herbals have always seemed to be used for specific symptoms.

Many pharmaceuticals have so many side effects that the side effects are worse than the original conditions.

Sue

The Medicinal Herb FAQ

-Blast

Thanks for the link Blast. But that may qualify as cheating. Shame on you.

But then it's better than just plagiarizing.

You mean survival isn't about cheating? Cheating death to live yet another day?



A true mark of genius . . . don't waste time and energy by plagiarizing, just post the link to the best source available!

When H1N1 was frequently on my mind last fall, my reading turned up elderberries as a tool against influenza, at least seasonal influenza, but I don't see why it wouldn't have some effect with H1N1. There seems to be valid scientific and clinical evidence for it. It apparently disrupts the ability of the influenza virus to infect new cells in the host's body, which buys time for your own immune system to eventually produce the antibodies that will take care of the buggers for good. Note that we're talking about its effect on influenza specifically, not necessarily the scores of other bugs that can cause flu-like disease, although it does also apparently have a general immune boosting effect as well.

You can buy commercially prepared elderberry extracts like Sambucol, Sambucus, etc., or prepare your own tincture using just elderberries and vodka. There are various variations on the recipe on the web, including alcohol-free ones, like for children. Apparently elderberries (only use the Sambucus nigra variety) are common in parts of the country, but certainly not around here. I bought the Sambucol but never did try elderberry this flu season so far so I can't comment on how it has worked for me.

However, on a different note, I did try megadosing on Vitamin C on two different occasions in the past few months when I first started feeling like I was coming down with something, like having that tickle in the back of the throat or feeling a bit feverish, and in both cases, I was totally fine by the next morning and it never developed into anything more. Was it just one of those "24 hour" bugs that would've gone away on its own without Vitamin C? Who knows, but I can't complain about how things turned out in both cases.

I'm not big on supplements, but Vitamin C/ascorbic acid is something I'm reading up and experimenting more with after reading about using it against influenza.

My original thinking for searching out these things was that I just wanted to avoid getting a really bad case of the flu. If I get it, I get it, but I'll put up with being sick. I just don't want to end up in the ICU on a ventilator, or worse. That is the big unknown with H1N1--would I be one of the small number that got really, really ill from it.

Arney, current research on elderberry extract definitely shows it helps the immune system fight off viral infections such as the flu. It's a multi-mode system, one part of which is to stimulate the cytokine production. Unfortunately, this is also the effect of swine flu, namely triggering a cytokine storm which can be even more devestating/fatal to the infected person. Cytokine storms were one of things which made the original Spanish flu to deadly, especially for young, healthy people.

The scientific community has not formally studied this issue, but after looking at the assorted data that has been done I personally would not take an elderberry extract if I thought I might have swine flu, and this is from a guy who still drinks from BPA-containing nalgene bottles.

-Blast

Ref. 1: Elderberry Flu Protection
Ref. 2: Cytokine Storms
Ref. 3: Elderberry Cytokine Storm?

I looked into the cytokine storm angle with H1N1, too, but there's little to go on since it's a brand new strain. There are two main questions actually that you have to ask yourself--does H1N1 kill most people through a cytokine storm, and does elderberry trigger or exacerbate a cytokine storm in people with H1N1? You'll read opinions and theories on both sides. Some say that elderberry actually has a immuno-modulatory effect. While immune boosting in general, if your immune system does go into overdrive and towards a cytokine storm, it'll help rein it in.

There are also lot's of different reports about how H1N1 kills. Some reports say primary viral pneumonias, some are secondary bacterial pneumonias, cytokine storm, etc. It's kind of all over the map. If it doesn't usually kill through cytokine storm, then worrying about triggering one isn't so relevant.

But, the doubt about it was actually why I was trying the ascorbic acid before elderberry. But the ascorbic acid seemed to work well for me so I never got to the point of trying the elderberry. I don't really see any risk of trying elderberry with the regular run of the mill influenza, though.

I'll see your elderberry and raise you some quinine. Make mine a gin and tonic. A few drops of bitters, for the vitamins of course, would be a nice addition.

Not a remedy but prevention. My wife and I swear by the nasal rinses....usual disclaimer...just owners not affiliated....Neil med sinus rinse. has prevented countless sinus infections.....part of our supplies...long term and disaster.

The two herbal treatments that immediately come to mind are oil of cloves to temporarily treat the pain of a bad tooth and peppermint tea to sooth an upset stomach. They aren't going to replace real medicine but they are pretty safe and fairly effective for mild cases.

Playing a little catch-up.

MH, I meant Blast cheated by posting a link instead of posting his own remedies. It was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek but I guess it didn't come across that way.

Interesting stuff about elderberries. The chemistry is beyond me but the info is good to have.

CJK, DW and SIL swear by the nettie-pot. Like a radiator flush kit for the sinuses. Makes my hands feel slimy just typing about it.

Nice ones Art. Of course we are not trying to replace "real" medicine, but just considering what we would all do if modern medicine, for whatever reason, was unavailable. These could also be used in a survival situation if you get really skilled at identifying plants. I would really be interested in anything that would help a diabetic. No insulin = bad news for me. The stuff doesn't store forever and it is rather impractical to store large quantities anyway. An herbal remedy that would make a modest supply stretch a bit further would be of particular interest to me. Thanks everyone. Keep the ideas coming.

Some diabetics can maintain their blood sugar through diet and exercise. Given a lack of other options a brutal exercise regimen and near starvation diet has saved some. Of course insulin is the only option for some. I know of no replacement, or even partial substitute, for insulin. Herbal or otherwise.

But the situation isn't without hope with some preparation, planning, and luck.



They say one to two years from date of purchase but I suspect it is from the date of manufacture. Either way it seems to me that if you can get it fresh, within say 6 months of manufacture, to give you time to acquire the insulin, you would still have 18 months to work with.

The storage temperature range isn't too bad: Refrigerated. 36-46ºF. Even the refrigerated temperature is within what could be maintained with a simple absorption unit that runs on kerosene/propane/electricity. So called "ice balls", simple closed cycle absorption units renown for their longevity and toughness, are favorites for storing insulin and vaccines in the tropics. Something to look into.

At room temperature: 59-86ºF, your looking at 28 days. One recommendation for maintaining that range in warmer temperatures is a simple expedient of evaporative cooling using a earthenware container filled with water.

Art, totally insulin dependant, type I juvenile onset. Going on 32 years. It does complicate the preparedness scenarios like you wouldn't believe. Many years ago a young child who was diabetic was lost in the wild. When they found him he was alive, curled up in a fetal position beside a river. Presumably his blood sugar was out of this world and he simply stayed put by the water source.

I would suspect, assuming he had nothing to eat, that his blood sugar would be quite low. Ironically, and possibly the salvation of diabetics caught in a survival situation, near starvation, a brutally restricted diet, was the original method dealing with diabetes before insulin was isolated. Even without testing of blood sugar it is sometimes possible to roughly manage blood sugar minute by minute by diet alone. Using many tiny low-calorie meals and watching the response. I doubt anyone could do it alone, the trip would be a constant ride between near coma and drunken abandon brought on my low sugar, royals had 24/7 caretakers, but it shouldn't be impossible to sustain life.

The general trend managing diabetes long term through diet is gradual weight loss, slow weakening and death. Type one, early onset, diabetics tended to die young even when they got intensive nurturing and healthcare that was only available to royalty.

Type one diabetes, along with hemophilia, was one of the royal diseases. Poor diabetics died out too quickly before insulin was isolated for the trait to be transmitted.

The good news is that at room temperature insulin is usually good for 28 days and the major disaster relief organizations have made insulin and diabetes a major subset of their efforts. The 28 days gets you through the initial emergency, secondary crisis and into long-term management and recovery.

Your right that insulin dependent diabetes is a major issue that will color every movement and action. But the insulin itself, and those 28 days, allows planning and sound preparation to carry the day and means the situation isn't hopeless. Even in the middle of a major disaster.

Art, surprisingly, type 1 insulin dependent, blood sugars rise even without much food intake. The body uses the insulin to convert sugars in the blood into energy the body's cells can use. Without the insulin no sugar is converted so any at all in the blood stays there. When blood sugars get too high the sugar starts spilling into the urine (not literally, it's an old phrase they used to use and the one part of the process I am not certain how it really happens. I assume it is the excess levels of blood sugars being filtered out by the kidneys but thats just a theory). Couple that with the literal cannibalizing of the bodies other cells (no sugar being convrted to energy so the cells start feeding on neighboring fat tissue) and you have real problems. When I was diagnosed I was nearly in a coma and rushed straight to the hospital. What a present for my ninth birthday. Fortunately I remember very little of those days now.

In an emergency, if insulin is available, lower intake of food means less insulin is required anyway so it would last a little longer just on those merits. Of course it only delays the inevitable. Perhaps it will be long enough to finish DSs education and teach DW to be more self-sufficient. One can only hope.

Where I live we have a plant that is called an "Indian Pipe", not sure of the Latin name but it is used as an astringent. I am a mushroom hunter and I find Tons of medicinal mushrooms in my area. Plus I cultivate mushrooms. I have been making tinctures and also encapsulating Reishi lately. Good stuff.
I can also recommend the petersons guides as well. I have 1 for medicinal plants and 1 for edible plants. I would also recommend picking up a few mushroom ID books for your area. Good stuff to know!!

These are dependent on what you already have in the pantry, but:

A Tbsp of carob powder (usually taken in a little applesauce, but you could mix it with whatever you have on hand) is good remedy for diarrhea. I keep some on hand just for this purpose.

For the women, a clove of garlic can be used to combat yeast infections. It's used at night (inserted) and removed in the morning.

A few grains (6-7) of cayenne pepper snorted can offer migraine relief. Not necessarily pleasant, but neither is a migraine that lasts for days!

Welcome to ETS Hypatia.

I have heard camel dung is also effective. I think it was on Dirty Jobs.


I am just dying to say something clever about this, but I think I will just pass on the chance to do so.


I am not a huge fan of folk remedies but since the real remedies for migraines don't work all that well, as long as the folk remedies won't harm you, I don't see any reason not to give them a try. The few people I know that suffered from migraines were motivated to try just about anything. AFAIK, none of them found any of the commonly touted folk remedies effective, and they tried just about all of them. YMMV.

I have chronic migraines, and have had mixed results with the cayenne. By the time I'm reaching for it, however, any reduction in the pain is worth it even if it doesn't completely knock it out.

Valerian Root will likely Pacify a Migraine Headache,Just don't try to sniff it, the smell will turn your stomach.This stuff works SO well,that Many Moons ago,A synthetic derivitive was developed,AKA-Valium!Drink Lotsa' water with it& Don't smell your burps either,lol!

Welcome to the forum, Hypatia.

Quote:
For the women, a clove of garlic can be used to combat yeast infections. It's used at night (inserted) and removed in the morning.

ILBob: I am just dying to say something clever about this, but I think I will just pass on the chance to do so.

ILBob, you are a better person than I am.....

... and she won't get raped by a vampire, either!

Sue

In my area, spotted jewel weed (touch-me-not) commonly grows on stream banks and other wet areas. It has a translucent hollow stem that is juicy when crushed. I learned in scouts to use the juice to relieve the itching from stinging nettles, and I learned later that it also works on poison ivy rash. Since nettles and jewel weed are often found growing side by side, I have used this method often. It provides instant relief. Not only that, but when it blooms, the most amazing variety of hummingbirds, colorful butterflies and sphinx moths are attracted to the snapdragon-like flowers.

Sorry I stole your remedy, I didn't read through all of the messages before I posted.

I can personally attest to this one. When I was a teenager, I had hay fever so bad that I required a doctors care and medication every year. I heard about raw local honey from an herb book, and I tried it for one season. It has been many years, and I have never had hay fever again. I will never know if it was the raw honey, or if I just 'grew out of it'.

I tried honey for seasonal allergies. Did not seem to have any real effect.

However, I have found relief from sinus issues of various type from chiropractic manipulation and sinus washing. Might be some kind of placebo but they work pretty well at relieving the symptoms and I have gotten to the point that I don't care why they work. I know other people have tried both for allergies with varying degrees of success. I have not used an antihistamine or decongestant in a decade or so now. In the past I seemed to almost live on them at certain times of the year.

Herbalism... one of my favorite topics. Here's a few things from my neck of the woods!

I agree with someone else who mentioned using tobacco as a poultice for bee stings.

Catnip, spearmint, or peppermint tea for cramps.

Ginger for upset stomach.

Lavender essential oil on the temples for mild headaches.

Tea tree oil- aside from medical uses, dilute in water to make a disinfectant cleaning spray (add orange or lemon oils to boost cleaning power and make it smell nice)

tobacco- steep and use in spray bottle to keep some pests away(not to be used around food, of course)

and my grandmother always drank a spoon of vinegar a day, she claimed it kept her healthy (i haven't the stomach for that, personally).

FYI, just listened to an interview with ethnobotanist James Wong who wrote the book "Grow Your Own Drugs: Easy Recipes for Natural Remedies and Beauty Fixes." Very interesting, especially what he had to say about garlic. May have to pick this one up. Here's an athletes foot treatment mentioned in the book. Gives new meaning to the term stinky feet.



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