Sore Throats:
Gargling with red sage tea can help relieve the pain along with Fenugreek, garlic; lemon and propolis are very useful as well. I like to finely chop 2-3 cloves of garlic, placing on a large spoon and covering with honey. Then I swallow with water. Do this 3-4 times a day and you will see your health improve. Another thing I find to be helpful is boiling hot water, adding fresh squeezed lemons and some honey for flavor and just relax and sip on your tea.
Nausea/ Vomiting:
Drinking teas of basil, lemon balm, or ginger help to calm the stomach. My favorite is ginger tea. I cut small chunks of ginger root, add to my glass water bottle and pour boiling water over it and drink all day. You can use your tea up to 2-3 times before it begins to loose its strength.
If you are pregnant, drink up to 3 cups per day of spearmint or peppermint tea prepared using 1 teaspoon of herbs to 1 cup of water. Also ginger has been used for morning sickness for many years. There are some contraindicates for using ginger during pregnancy. If you wish to try ginger, only use fresh ginger root prepared as a tea and no more than 1 cup per day. DO NOT USE GINGER ESSENTIAL OIL.
Fevers:
Drink teas of borage, chamomile, elderflower, feverfew, hyssop, horehound, lemon, lemon balm, lemongrass, peppermint, rosemary, sage, thyme, or yarrow. My personal favorite is peppermint, because if it’s soothing and cooling effect. Another great trick is to sponge with cold water.
Earaches:
It is very important that you treat both ears, even if only one is troublesome. Rinse out ears with a warm carefully strained infusion of horehound. Also, you can add a few drops of warm mullein oil in each ear or a few drops of warmed infused garlic oil in each ear. (Please see directions for making your own infused oil) Some beneficial herbs for teas are lemon balm, hyssop, and yarrow.
*Soothing Ear Blend*
½ oz Chamomile Flowers (Dried)
1 Cup water
½ Cup almond oil
½ Cup vegetable glycerin
Place the chamomile and water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until half the liquid remains. Remove from the heat, strain, and cool until warm. Add the almond oil and vegetable glycerin. Soak a cotton pad in the blend and insert carefully into the ear. You can halve this recipe if you would like.
Coughs:
There are a few different herbs and recipes for coughs. Thyme, sage, elderflower and peppermint teas are really helpful. Drinking hot blackcurrant drinks along with an infusion of mullein, thyme, yarrow and horehound as a blend. Lastly, the horehound cough syrups, there are a few different kinds depending on what ingredients you have.
Sage, Garlic, and Honey
6Cups of water
2 Tbs Salvia officionalis leaves
2 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
½ Lemon, juiced
Honey to taste.
Boil water and pour over sage, garlic, and lemon juice. Steep the mixture for 5 minutes. Add honey if necessary. Drink at least 3 cups an hour. Fast while using and rest in bed with plenty of blankets to sweat it out.
Horehound Cough Syrup I
1oz Horehound
1oz Licorice
1oz Elecampane
½ oz Hyssop
½ oz Marshmallow Root
Honey to sweeten
Peppermint essential oil: 1 drop to 1 pint of fluid
Prepare a standard decoction using all the herbs except the horehound. Strain and pour over the horehound. Leave the mixture to steep for 10-15 minutes, and then strain and measure. For each cup of fluid, add 1 cup of honey, and then return to the heat and simmer gently in a covered saucepan until the mixture has thickened. Cool and add the peppermint essential oil. Bottle and store in a cool place. Use 2-4 teaspoons as required every 1-2 hours.
Horehound Cough Syrup II
1 Cup Raw Sugar
2 Tbs honey
1 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
½ pt Horehound Infusion
2-3 drops Peppermint essential oil to taste
Combine sugar, honey, lemon juice, and oil over a low heat and simmer until it forms syrup and thickens. When the syrup has thickened, stir in the horehound infusion. Add peppermint oil and remove from the heat. Bottle and store in the refrigerator.
Colds:
Drink plenty of fluids such as water, lemon and honey drinks. Keep warm and get plenty of rest. This preparation of crushed garlic, dash of cayenne pepper, ginger, and honey and lemon juice in the early stages will help throw off your cold. Also, herbal teas of sage, elderflower, ginger, yarrow or thyme teas are very helpful. Vitamins that are good to give your body an extra boost is zinc, vitamin C and Echinacea tincture also helps. My elderberry tincture is very helpful and my sisters and I have used this several times this year with cold/flu that have tried to attack our bodies don’t last. Make the recipe on the side of this blog and use it! Only take 1 tablespoon 4 times a day when feeling under the weather.
Here are a few recipes for building your kids’ immune system.
Immune-Enhancing Herbal Snacks
¼ Cup astragulus Powder (Astragalus membranaceus)
¼ Cup Maca Powder (Lepidium meyenii)
¼ Cup Elderberry Powder (Sambucus nigra)
¼ Cup Powdered Vitamin C
1 Cup Almond Butter
½ Cup Maple Syrup
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend together with a fork. Add a little more maple syrup if too stiff and dry, or a little more elderberry powder if too sticky. Roll heaping tablespoon into balls and then roll in sesame seeds or shredded coconut as preferred by the child. Eat 3-4 each day during cold and flu season, or for a child needing immune support due to frequent infections.
Infusions
1oz dried herbs
1 pint of purified water
Place your herbs into a ceramic or glass teapot. Bring the water to a boil. Do not use aluminum pot. An electric kettle or kettle on the stove is fine. Turn off the heat and pour the water over the herb. Cover the pot and let steep for 10-20 minutes. Strain the tea in a non-aluminum strainer and then drink. Store for NO more than 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Decoctions
1oz herbs or root
1 pint water
Place the water into a pot made from non-reactive material (such as stainless or enamel). Do not use aluminum. Cut or crush the herb or root and add it to water in the pot. Do not cut or crush in advance, as vital constituents can be lost. Turn on the heat to medium. Simmer your decoction with the lid off until the volume of water is reduced by 1 quarter, so three quarters of a pint remains. Cool and strain. Take in divided doses according to the use. Sore for NO more than 72 hours in the refrigerator.
