Herbal Medicine Trends and Traditions

                                         



I received this book for my birthday and am really enjoying it. Trends and Traditions is very in-depth and covers the uses for over one hundred herbs. It includes instructions on  wildcrafting, preparations, dosage and cautions. The section on tinctures, salves, teas, ointments, syrups, etc is extremely thorough and covers methods not taught in my other herb books. It explains how and why the hebs work rather than just a list of herbs to use for different ailments. There is a section in the middle with color pictures for identifying herbs. The book is very well laid out and organized, making it easy to find the information you need. In my opinion it is very reasonably  priced for the vast information it contains!


 

The Wonder's of Garlic (part two)

As a mom to five I’ve spent many nights walking the floor with sick kids. Sometimes it seems like you can put them to bed perfectly healthy and two hours later they wake up with a miserable full-blown cold. Whether it’s the middle of the night or during the day, garlic is a quick, simple and effective way to help them to a speedy recovery.

For adults and children able to eat solid food, the best way I’ve found to give garlic is orally. Chop it finely and swallow it like you would a pill with water or juice. For children, mixing it with honey makes it taste better (never give honey to infant under one.) For adults I usually chop a whole clove, but for children one quarter to half a clove seems plenty. Garlic is an emetic (to much will make you vomit) so start with a small amount at first. Make sure to take the garlic several times a day until all the cold symptoms are gone.

Getting a baby to take garlic orally is next to impossible. Thankfully you can get garlic into their system be using a compress, which is super simple and fast.

Start by crushing and chopping one or two garlic cloves finely. Place the chopped garlic between several layers of paper towel and wet the paper towels with warm water. Hold the compress against the baby’s chest or back until the compress cools. Check for redness since garlic can burn their sensitive skin. Rubbing a little oil on their skin before using the compress can help protect it. Repeat with a fresh compress several times a day.

Another way to get garlic into a baby or young children that can’t be persuaded to eat garlic is to make a salve. Mix three tablespoons coconut oil, three tablespoons olive oil and three table spoons chopped fresh garlic. Blend the mixture with a stick blender for two to three minutes and strain. This can be stored in the fridge for one or two weeks. Use by rubbing the oil on the bottom of the child’s feet and covering their feet with old socks. This seems to work well for young children but in my experience needs to be repeated every couple of hours to be effective. Your little ones won’t smell too good but it’s well worth getting rid of that runny nose!

Tummy Calmer

Even the healthiest, breast-fed only baby gets an occasional tummy ache. When my babies have a tummy ache, the best natural soother I’ve found is a homemade catnip/fennel tincture. I was scared to start making my own tinctures. It sounded difficult and expensive. It turned out to be simple, inexpensive and pretty fun. Here’s how I make ‘Tummy Calm” for my little ones.

You will need

1 pint-sized jar

1/4 cup dried catnip

1/4 cup fennel

hot water

glycerin

crockpot

dishcloth

Put the catnip and fennel into the pint jar. Cover with just enough water to wet the herbs. Fill the jar with glycerin leaving one inch of head space. Stir well to get out any bubbles. Place the dishcloth in the crockpot and put the jar on top. Fill the crockpot with water making sure not to completely cover the jar. You don’t want any water getting into the tincture. Turn the crockpot on low, leave for three days or until you can really smell the herbs. Make sure to keep plenty of water in the crock pot and shake or stir the herbs daily. After three days cool and strain the tincture. Store in a cool dry place for up to one year.

I use a quarter to a half teaspoon for a baby as needed. An older child usually needs more. Both the fennel and the glycerin are sweet and my babies seemed to like the taste.