Plantain for blisters

Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) is a useful herbal remedy for blisters. Fresh plantain leaves put on blisters in shoes help a lot, especially when you walk a lot and aren't home, so that you can take off your shoes. Leaves help to relieve pain and discomfort.

Plantain helped me few times, one time I wore new shoes to a wedding and got a hurtful blister, so I picked a plantain leaf and put it on a blister. Leaf moisturize hurt area and makes a small buffer so that the blister doesn't keep rubbing the shoe that hard.

To implement this remedy one needs to know how this herb looks. There are male and female plants, they like to be stepped on so they usually grow on paths, but also can be found on meadows.

Herbs

I've been useing herbs like remedies for a while now. In that time I have learned much about them, and I've gained confidence in myselfe and in God, Universe, Mother Nature, The Force, call it whatever.

It is really interesting how plants, that grow all around us, ordinary plants which we don't even notice, can help with many conditions and diseases.

A little bit of herbs, a cup of hot water and there you go, you have nice, tasty and curative tea.

Excellent proof have we are all connected, and have the answers are everywhere is when you find a plant on some meadow, you picke it and dry and then if necessary use it.

I don't have anything against bought herbs, I use them also. That is much easier and better if you don't recognize plants or if you can't find the one you need.

But it is much more exciting to gather them yourself. Just imagine a beautiful day, sun is high on the incredible blu sky, you are walking through fields and meadows, picking herbs in a little basket.

Isn't that nice? It's  useful and in the same time it is fitness and antistress.

This also connects you with nature and with yourself. You don't feel helpless, couse their is cure for everything.

Picking hip

Leaves are falling, but there is still time to pick hip, and to make yourself a nice stash of hip tea for the winter.

 I went the other day, the sun was shining, sky was blue and hips very red, a nice day to pick hips. It was a nice walk too, in this lovely automn weather, 2 in 1, maybe even more.

Hip is now just right, firm and red, so a picked some for tea, they wouldn't go down easy I poke myself a few times on its thornes, but it's nothing serious just to make it interesting.

If you are not familiar hip is the fruit of wild rose (Dog Rose), it growes wild in nature, mostly where people don't work on theire land, by the road, on the edge of a forest, or where ever it can. For tea they are picked in automn (dependes on the weather) when they are firm, softer ones are used for making marmelade.

When picked hips need to be cut into smaller pieces (chopped), I use the machine for mincing meat. Then put on clear paper (not printed) to dry, usually  in a warm place in the house, takes a few days. I keep it on top of the kitchen cupboards.  When dry keep it in a paper bag ( glass jar, cloth) and you have your one hip tea good especially for the winter.

I like to pick hips for tea couse then I know where it's gathered, away from roads, people who use pesticide. Also I have a lot of tea, sometimes even more then I can use in a year, but even after a year they are still good, change a colour a bit.

Hip tea is full of vitamin C, good for cold and very tasty sweetened with honey or plane.

REMEDY FOR RHEUMATISM

This remedy is good for rheumatic pain or other pain of joints, bones, etc.

Ingredients: 1 lemon (juice and skin),

                    3 dl of alcohol (38-40%),

                    handful of fresh rosemary.

Mix the lemon juice and skin (cut into smaller pieces) with alcohol and rosemary (chopped). Keep it in a closed glass jar for 48 hours, shake it every day, then strain.

Rub the painful places with this remedy for 10 minutes, then warm them with something, like shawl. Rubbing doesn't always have to last for 10 minutes, if you have a ache in your joints remedy can be applied without 10 minutes massage (rubbing).

Baking soda and coriander for bee sting

         Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is great remedy for bee sting and ant bite. I have read it somewhere and it worked for me and people I know.

         Make paste from 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of distilled water (if you don't have distilled water plain will do), put it on bitten area, keep it for a while, repeat if necessary. In case of a bee sting, first remove the sting with tweezer. This paste will neutralize the poison, help with pain and sweeling.

         Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is great for swellings, it is a remedy from ayurveda. Once I stepped on a bee. It was very painful. Such a bad sting that even the wonderful soda paste didn't help much.

Then I tried coriander.

Wash the leaves (water will help in making paste) and chop them finely. Put it on bitten area and secure with bandage. After some time leaves will dry, so if it's necessary make fresh paste. My swelling lasted for few days but coriander really made it better.

Wine for the heart

This is a recepie from Hildegard von Bingen. It is good for all heart conditions even the severe.

Put 10 fresh parsley stems with leaves in 1l of natural wine (red or white) and 1-2 tablespoons of pure wine vinegar. Cook for 10 minutes on lower heat (be careful couse it foams).

After that, add 300g of honey and cook it for 4 minutes (cooking honey is optional). Strain it hot and pour in to bottles (rinsed with little bit of concentrated alcohol), close it well.

Take one, two or more tablespoons of wine during the day.

Sore and inflamed throat

Sage tea is a very useful herbal remedy for sore throat and inflamed throat, I have tryed few times with good results. I have used it as a tea to drink and to rinse my throat.

         Rinsing can help even with inflamed throat, I tested it once I had such inflammation that my throat was so narrow, hurt a lot, and I had a case of a cold, the one when it hurts all over.

         To make tea put 1 teaspoon of dry sage in a cup of boiling water, cover it, after 2 minutes strain it. For rinsing throat alwayes rinse and spit, and repeat.

         Except sage tea I have used another remedy, for witch I than didn't belive that it will work so good, as it did. My mother convinced me to try. She boiled 3 potatoes with skin, big as an egg, until they were cooked. Then put them on a cloth, fold it over the potatoes, and squeeze them. She put this cloth around my neck, potatoes should be hot, but not to hot to burn.

         She put a shawl over it, cap on my head, and I layed well covered with blanket. It's important to lay on the back, well warmed, cover arms, and stay for 1-2 hours or if a person falls a sleep until person wakes up.

         This really worked excellently for me, the next day my throat was better and my cold was gone.

Yarrow oil

Yarrow oli is a herbal remedy I use when ever I need something for different aches and pains, just like hyperici oil (St.John's Wort Oil). It is good for massage (for back pain, neck, joints, etc), used by itself or mixed with hyperici oil. Can be applied without massage, always externally.

Has a good affect on muscular aches and pains, after hard work or exercise to relieve pain and inflammation. Is good for the skin.

It is made from yarrow (whole plant, fresh, chopped) and extra virgine olive oil. Put yarrow (Achillea millefolium) in a glass jar, pour olive oil to cover the herbs, close it and leave it in the sun for a few weeks (2-3). Then strain it, keep in a glass botle, dark one or in a dark place.

It is always good to have yarrow oli and/or hyperici oil as a universal remedy.

Changing

Before, when I didn't know anything about herbs, it was funny to me that herbs can heal. I tought that doctors (allopathic) know everything, know how to heal. But when I saw and experienced, more then once, that they can't do much, expecially about chronic diseases (allergies, headaches, etc). I have changed.

Yes I was the one that laught, couse I didn't understand that something from the medow can be so useful. Now I am a different person.

I've tryed a lot of herbal remedies, some worked excellently.  Using and learning more about herbs, it was like a door to a whole other world opened, and not just about health. Herbal medicine is just a part of that world.

I like the idea that I can heal myself if I need to and that everything I need is given to me.

Hip tea for cold and flu

     Hip is the fruit of wild rose, Dog Rose (Rosa canina). Tea from rose hip is an excellent tea for cold and flu. Hips are rich with vitamin C, who is an antioxidant.

     It is best to drink few cups of this precious and tasteful tea at the first sign of illness. That will remove the symptoms and you will feel better. Of course, it is also good to drink tea if you are already ill. It always works for me.

     Recepie for tea: put one teaspoon of hips in to one cup of boiled water, leave it covered for 10-15 minutes. After you strain it, put 1 teaspoon of honey and lemon juice (from one slice), that will give wonderful taste and better curative properties.

In this tea you can add cinnamon and clove. Clove has antibacterial and antiseptic powers. Clove and cinnamon are excellent disinfectants.

     Recepie for  hip tea with cinnamon and clove:

Put one teaspoon of hips in to water, add 1-2 cloves, and some cinnamon. Put it on fire. When it boiles remove from fire, add half a lemon (sliced). It is good if the lemon is organic. Leave it covered for 15 minutes or more, strain and sweeten with honey.

    

Urinary infection and nettle

Drinking nettle tea is a good herbal remedy for urinary infections. From personal experience, I am convinced of its good affect.

As a medicine it is very cheap, you can pick it yourself (if you recognize it) or buy it in a pharmacy, and it is natural. In a way it clears urinary tract and makes you stronger.

If you have a very painful infection, and take pain medicine (pills,etc) it can be good as a first aid, to block the pain. But if you're using only painkillers, you wont feel the pain, so you may damage your urinary tract some more if you are not carful when you urinate (slower), there is no pain to alert you to slow down. This does't mean you should suffer, just be careful if you block the pain.

It is necessary to take some remedy that is a cure. Nettle (Urtica dioica) cures urinary infections, some other herbs are also good, as well as some herbal mixtures that can be bought, or  made.

Antibiotics can be used as a cure, but they also after a while (more times you use it) can make the problem worse, and infections more painful. The bacteria get used to antibiotics, and they don't act the way they should.

To make tea put 1 teaspoon of dry nettle in a cup of boiled water, leave it covered for 2 minutes, then strain it; half a minute if you are using fresh herb. It is best to pick nettle when it blooms, but it can surve it's purpose even when it isn't blooming.

In case of infection drink 2-3 cups of nettle tea a day, or more if you want to. Drink it for a few days to clear the infection, and from time to time as a prevention. Also drink water to purify urinary tract. This tea can be used if you are using antibiotic.

Excellent herbal remedy for skin

     Marigold (Calendulla officinalis) is an excellent herb for skin problems. It is used externally in form of a cream. Marigold regenerates and nourishes skin. Heals wounds, frostbites, burns, varicose veins, feet fungal infection, eczema. It is good for damaged and rough skin. In case of eczema it is good to combine this cream with good hand cream.

    

     Cream is made from fresh leaves, stems nad flowers (you can add more flowers than leaves and stems) and pigs fat.

     To make a cream you need 2 handfuls of herbs (cut in small pieces) and 500g of pigs fat. Heat the fat to the temperature of frying steaks, add herbs slowly and carefully, stir it and fry a little. Remove from fire, cover and leave it for one day. When you add herbs in to heated fat, fat can foam so use big pan.

     Next day warm it until it melts, so that you can strain and pour it into small containers. It is good to keep the cream in the refrigerator.

     Some people use this cream for any problems they have with skin, for pain or anything in general.

Yarrow – herbal remedy for female reproductive system

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is a very good herbal remedy for female reproductive system. It heals conditions like: myoms, inflammation of the ovaries, menstrual problems (irregular menstruation, lack of menstruation, etc.),problems with uterus. Helps with menopause.

     Can be used as a tea or a sitting bath or combined.

     To make tea, take one teaspoon of herbs and put it in one cup of boiled water. Leave it covered for 2 minutes (if herbs are dried) or 30 seconds (if herbs are fresh), strain it. Drink one, two or more cups a day.

     For sitting bath, pour warm water in a bath-tub (basin or something like that), add herbal tea, than sit in it for like 20 minutes. Water should go over the kidneys (heart must be out of the water). You can use that water for two more times. To make tea (for bath), take 100g of herbs (whole plant), soak it in cold water during the night. Next day warm it till it boiles, strain and pour in to water for bathing.

     Instead of sitting bath you can use tea (made for drinking) for rinsing external reproductive organs.

Hyperici oil (St. John's Wort Oil)

Hyperici oil is a herbal remedy and a great massage oil, if you have back pain or just like to enjoj a good massage. For back pain try to massage your back with hyperici oil, for a few days if necessary.  If you have a more serious problem with your back, where massage isn't recommended, hyperici oil can be applied on the back without massage.

It is good for all the muscles and bones, and can be applied anywhere on the body externally.

Hyperici oil is recommended for wounds, bruises, rough skin, sun burns, gland problems, rheumatism, lumbago, inflammations and to relieve pain. Also helps with other internal problems, always applied externally.

It is made from St.John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) flowers and olive oil (extra virgin), put in a closed jar and left in the sun for few weeks (2-3), until it becomes red. Then strained and kept in a glass bottle (dark), can last up to 2 years.

This way you get more oil cheaper, but it also can be bought in drugstores, other stores with such remedies.

Olive oil by itself is good for skin and lubrication (things and body), in combination with St.John's Wort they make a very good oil.

For pain and inflammations this oil can be applied where necessary and put a leaf of cabbage on it. Heat the leaf before puting. Wrap with something (bandage, shawl) and keep it warm. After a while check the leaf, if it's dried (burned) replace it if necessary.

My favourite herbal tea

Herbal mixture made from camomile, nettle and yarrow is my favourite herbal tea by taste and strength. I drink it from time to time just as a prevention, or as a remedy to cure or to relieve a symptom.

It is good for allergies (respiratory, etc), cold, preventing urinary infections (bladder). It relieves PMS symptoms and menstrual cramps if you drink it few days (or a day depending on the problem) before a period.

Can also be used for lots of others symptoms and diseases, for witch this herbs are good for, and the list is long.  Camomile, nettle and yarrow are very strong herbs, used together they make a tea with good taste and you get a part of curative properties from each herb.

To make tea take a bit of each plant (dry), so that you get about one teaspoon of mixture. Put one teaspoon of mixture in a cup of boiled water, leave it covered for 2 minutes, than strain it.

For me this herbal mixture is a good evening tea, especially when it's cold out side.

Camomile (Matricaria chamomilla)

Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

HERBAL TEA FOR ENERGY

   To lift your energy level, drink every morning herbal tea of rosemary, thyme and sage.

   Make one cup of every herb, use their leaves.

   Preparation: put one teaspoon or tablespoon (depends on your taste) of herbs in one cup of boiled water. Cover it and leave for 5-15 minutes, than strain it.

   Sweeten the tea with rosemery honey. Therapy should last for 10 days.

Herbal tea for better memory

This is an excellent herbal tea for better memory.   
 Mix together 4 tablespoons of aniseeds, 4 tablespoons of mint leaves and 4 tablespoons of lemon balm leaves. Keep it in a closed jar.

    Take 2 tablespoons of mixture, put it in 2 cups of water and leave it on the fire until it boils. Remove from fire and cover it. Strain after 20 minutes.

    Drink 2 cups a day, before main meals ( warm or cold, with honey or without), for 10 days.

Bath for tired feet

After a long day a foot bath is sometimes just the thing we need. By relaxing your feet all of your body will feel more relaxed and easy.

Make a mint tea : take 2 tablespoons of dry mint (or fresh) and put it in a cup of boiled water, leave it covered for 10 minutes. Strain it and make a foot bath with the mint tea, one handful of sea salt and warm water. Mint tea can be replaced by mint essential oil (3-4 drops), but tea is more effective.

Keep your feet in for 15-20 minutes, or longer if you want. Make sure that the water is warm, not to hot or mild. After a foot bath you can rinse your feet.

In the original recepie 2 handfuls of green clay go into the bath too, and after the bath feet are showered with cold water (not to cold). Massaged the feet with a cream of algae. It's recomended to rest for 5 minutes with lifted feet. Original recepie is by Rika Zarai.

The simplified recepie is also good, if you don't have mint, make a bath just with salt and warm water.