Home remedies

[anicosh]

A great book regarding wildcrafting is "SK Wayside Wildflowers" by Linda Kershaw. It includes lots of herbal uses for various native wild plants.

Oooh, thanks, Doe!  I'm going to look for this book.  What I really need is a guide to take me out into the 'wild' of SK so I can identify some of our plants!

[Phoenixhasricin]

I would love a collection of home remedies.

Papaver somniferum for a pain killer.

[anicosh]

I've found a nice, beginner herbal course (in pdf format) for medicinal uses and applications, which you can find here...

http://www.learningherbs.com/support-files/homeremedysecrets.pdf

I had to sign up for a newsletter to get this link - if it doesn't work for anyone and you don't want the newsletter, message me and I can email a saved copy.

[Earthdog]

Papaver somniferum for a pain killer.

Phoenix, did you get the seeds off of your bagels? 

[Arabi]

Food Poisoning Cure. We've always used this and it has never failed. 2 tablespoons Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar. Just shoot it down. You may throw it back up but enough will get into your gut to kill of the offending bacteria. It has worked every single time we've used it. If you can take the vinegar before you start throwing up, so much the better. You will not throw up and begin feeling better within 15-30 minutes. Safe for kids too.

[MissMachinegun]

^ that's awesome. I wish I'd known that last winter when I had food poisioning so bad I thought it was TSS.

I finished my anti-depression/anxiety tincture a week and a half ago and it has worked wonders for me. It is a mix of skullcap, oatstraw grass, st. john's wort and a pinch of lavender. I dose 20 drops in hot tea, usually chamomile (to evaporate the alcohol--I had to use everclear, ew) only once per day because skullcap is also a diruetic. I use it for one week straight, then stop for a few days, and use again as needed.

Be sure to study these and any herbs for yourself before you use them though. Some can distress an already existing bodily issue--chamomile for example can worsen ragweed allergies if used for more than 8 days consecutively.

If you don't/can't have coffee the shell of sunflower seeds and dandelion root are a good coffee substitute, though they don't produce caffeine (or do they? not sure about the sunflower shells...).

Mosquitoes don't like getting their wings oily, so if you have to be outside you can slather some oil on, or mud. If this doesn't appeal to you you can steep pennyroyal as a tea , put it in a spray bottle and apply every half hour. Do NOT ingest the tea, pennyroyal can be fatal if taken internally. Yarrow, mint and lemon balm are also repellants.

[Lua]

I've just made a tincture of lemon balm and catnip as a mosquito repellent.  It's working nicely.

[peace333]

We've been trying grated garlic in our dog's food to help with fleas.  I'll let you know how it works after some time.  I'm looking for some replacement for store bought skin conditioner or moisturizer.  We spend a lot now , as a society on protecting our skin from UVA and UVB rays and I know from experience backpacking how dry and cracking skin can become.  Since medical care and treatments will be unavailable , in a scenario of survival, does anyone have some good suggestions for skin protection and care?

Being in the medical profession I can speak some about the importance of good hand washing and cleanliness to prevent transference of many organisms. This can't be overlooked while in a survival situation. Without current modes of treatment , we'll have to be even more diligent.

I'm currently studying up on the plants that grow nearby and their medicinal uses. So far I've learned Cat Tails , wild ginger , and wild garlic are nearby and have some uses I'm glad to learn about.

Thanks for your comments, in advance.

[ChaosAndOldNight]

Mullein flowers and leaves for making ear infection oil.

Mullein leaves for making poultices, steam them first then place over chest to help break up flegm.

In an emergency situation, such as airway obstruction due to mucous due to sudden infection or croup in child, get some onions, dig 'em up, grab them from the fridge, whatever, and chop coursely. Cook in olive oil ( or castor) only half way. You want them half raw. Remove from heat, and stir in a thickener. I often just throw in a handful of flaxseeds, to get the mucilage, but you can use corn starch, or even just plain flour if nothing else is on hand. Wait for it to cool so that when placed on the chest it won't burn. Wrap in linen or wool cloth or just a dishtowel, and put over chest. It is preferable to put a hot water bottle up top, but nix if not available. The half cooked onions will absorb into the thin layer of skin, into the lung layers and break the mucous. I have worked this many time, it is emergency medicene that works quickly, and can help to break bronchitis, albeit there are other poultices better suited for some types of bronchitis.

Remember, breaking big infections quickly is a skill, so start practicing on yourself. Ginger, garlic and castor oil is a great one to practice.

2nd and 3rd degree burns can be readily healed. When I have some time, I will post out a technique for dealing with bad burns that is every bit as effective as going to the hospital...provided it is only a section of the body that is burned and not most of it!

[lady-t]

for help in sleeping you can use the leaves of the passion flower plant before it blooms and the foliage and fruit of the vine after it flowers.  you take a teaspoon of the dried stuff and pour a cup of boiling water over it.  let it steep and strain it and drink it before bedtime.

no narcotic hangover.  also acts on nerve endings like when you have shingles.  supposed to help alot.  also helps with asthma because it is an antispasmotic.

[txgal2]

For wasp stings - apply paste of baking soda & water immediately

For mild burns (not sunburns), apply mixture of several drops lavender oil and teapoon of other ordinary oil (olive, coconut); pain will go away immediately.

Honey is said to work on burns as well - but I haven't tried it myself.

To stop bleeding, apply cayenne powder directly.

Cayenne tincture can supposedly stop a heart attack in progress!

[Lua]

Comfrey root powder, mixed with a little honey and a little oil, then mixed with some very hot water - great for a lot of things - burns (even 3rd degree), broken bones (after setting and when there is access to the skin), joint pains, muscle pain.  My grandson was burned badly on the stove when he was two years old - fell into the stove and burned his palm. It was bad enough that if I'd had a car we would have gone to the emergency room. (I have a daughter who has burn scars from a car accident covering most of her body, so I am quite familiar with burns and know when it's bad enough for doctors.)  But, it was winter, his mother had gone to town, we were at the end of a four mile road miles from the highway and so we had to deal with it until she got home. I mixed up the comfrey mix above and got it on there. He instantly stopped screaming.  By the time she got home, we figured it really didn't need to be seen.  We just kept the comfrey poultice on there for several weeks and he healed without a scar. 

[Hawkmoonwinter]

I'd like to sing the praises of garlic.

Whenever anyone in my family gets sick, I take a clove of garlic, mash it up
and pop it in the back of my throat, chase it with 8 oz of water or orange
juice, a teaspoon of honey will help get the taste out of your mouth.

Take one clove with every meal.  Usually, I can't get my family to do it.
They can't stomach the taste.  They will try to hide their sickness from me
because they know I will feed them garlic. Ha!

I hardly ever get sick, if I get sick it's because I haven't taken my garlic.


I have found that the bugs don't like me so much when I take garlic, so I
do it before, during and after camping.
 
*******
My friend takes an old mason jar, cuts up a whole yellow onion, pours
enough honey to cover the onion, then leaves it set for a month.

Stirs it up, uses it for cough syrup.

*****
A sachet of lavender and chamomile sewn into a child's teddy bear or
doll or pillow will help them sleep.

*****
An ice pack wrapped in a towel and placed around the back of your
neck will aid in recovering from heat sickness.  Make sure the ice pack
is touching the carotid arteries.  Follow with a cold shower and another
ice pack.  Stay laying down.

[MissMachinegun]

^ I eat garlic often for the same reasons and find that unless I've not been eating it ticks don't enjoy me so much!

Also I had whooping cough misdiagnosed for 3 or so months last year, raw garlic was the one and only thing that would alleviate my coughs. Had to eat it every hour though, but nothing else worked.

[Lua]

Mullien leaves made into a tea is an excellent cough remedy.  Boil water, pour over leaves, cover and steep for fifteen minutes. Strain (leaves have fuzzy edges that could tickle) and drink.  Worked better for me than codeine.

Sympathies for the whooping cough.  I've had whooping cough several times and it's miserable. (And yes, I was vaccinated.)