Disclaimer. I am not a licensed health
practitioner. This is just another post on an item you might wish to
have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your
family as best as possible. No medication, including those available
over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.
Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes
only. It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical
care. A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should
be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.
Patriots--675; Redskins--0. That looks like the scoreboard for one heck of a football game. And if that were actually the case, I sure wouldn't want to be the Redskins. Fortunately for the Redskins, it never happened, but something kind of like it did.
Let's change the team names to Other Americans and Washoe Indians. And while we're at it, let's multiply each side's score by 1,000, so the Other Americans have 675,000 points and the Washoe Indians (still) have 0. And for good measure, let's change the name of the game from football to life. That looks like the scoreboard for most of American history, doesn't it? The whites usually won.
But not always, and in this game, the low score is the winner. So this time, the Washoe Indians absolutely killed it.
The game edition was influenza. The years 1918-1920. The Washoe Indians were living in poverty on the reservations allocated to them. They lacked money for trained doctors and medical care. They definitely lacked good nutrition at times.
And yet, they lost not a single person to influenza. The rest of America, with all their advantages, lost 675,000. What did the Washoe Indians know?
They knew lomatium.
The Washoe Indians used Lomatium dissectum, commonly known as fernleaf biscuit root, a species indigenous to the Great Basin of North America. It is also called desert parsley. Other species, including Lomatium ambiguum, L. bicolor, L. cous, L. foeniculaceum, L. grayi, L. macrocarpum, L. nudicaule, L. orientale, L. simplex, and L. triternatum, can be used identically.
When local doctor Ernst Krebs noticed that the Indians, with all the strikes they had against them, were not dying of influenza, but the whites, with all their advantages were regularly succumbing, he went to the Indians for help. And they taught him how to use lomatium. With that little bit of knowledge, even the patients he felt were beyond hope fully recovered.
Parts used. Most herbalists use just the roots, but the seeds are actually more powerful.
Patriots--675; Redskins--0. That looks like the scoreboard for one heck of a football game. And if that were actually the case, I sure wouldn't want to be the Redskins. Fortunately for the Redskins, it never happened, but something kind of like it did.
Let's change the team names to Other Americans and Washoe Indians. And while we're at it, let's multiply each side's score by 1,000, so the Other Americans have 675,000 points and the Washoe Indians (still) have 0. And for good measure, let's change the name of the game from football to life. That looks like the scoreboard for most of American history, doesn't it? The whites usually won.
But not always, and in this game, the low score is the winner. So this time, the Washoe Indians absolutely killed it.
The game edition was influenza. The years 1918-1920. The Washoe Indians were living in poverty on the reservations allocated to them. They lacked money for trained doctors and medical care. They definitely lacked good nutrition at times.
And yet, they lost not a single person to influenza. The rest of America, with all their advantages, lost 675,000. What did the Washoe Indians know?
They knew lomatium.
The Washoe Indians used Lomatium dissectum, commonly known as fernleaf biscuit root, a species indigenous to the Great Basin of North America. It is also called desert parsley. Other species, including Lomatium ambiguum, L. bicolor, L. cous, L. foeniculaceum, L. grayi, L. macrocarpum, L. nudicaule, L. orientale, L. simplex, and L. triternatum, can be used identically.
When local doctor Ernst Krebs noticed that the Indians, with all the strikes they had against them, were not dying of influenza, but the whites, with all their advantages were regularly succumbing, he went to the Indians for help. And they taught him how to use lomatium. With that little bit of knowledge, even the patients he felt were beyond hope fully recovered.
Parts used. Most herbalists use just the roots, but the seeds are actually more powerful.
Time to harvest. The roots can be harvested at any time of year. However, it is easier to identify the plants in the spring and easier to dig them after a good spring rain. The root must be strongly aromatic, bitter, and oily if it is to be used as an antiviral. Roots from younger plants are not as medicinal as roots from older plants. However, the seeds are medicinal no matter how old the plant is. Keep in mind that if the root tastes good, it's good for food, but not medicine. And younger roots are more likely to taste better. Dry the roots for just a few days and then cut them up. Once dried and well sealed in the dark, they will last several years.
PREPARATION OPTIONS
- Tincture
- fresh root or seeds 1:2 herb to alcohol. Chop the wilted root as finely as possible. Add alcohol/water--70% grain alcohol, 30% water. Let macerate (soak) in cool dark place for 2 weeks.
- dried root powder, 1:5 herb to alcohol/water. Then same as above.
- dried seeds, 1:3 herb to alcohol ratio, 50% alcohol.
- dosage is 10-30 drops up to 4-5x per day. In acute conditions, 10-30 drops per hour.
- Infusion
- This is what the Washoe Indians used. It worked pretty well for them, just going by the numbers. The problem is being able to find the root when you need it, especially if you don't know what it looks like in the winter, under the snow. That's why you want a tincture on hand, just in case.
- Use 1 teaspoon powder in 6 ounces boiling water. Cover and let steep 10-15 minutes. Use 3-4 times per day, or more often in acute conditions.
- The above is what herbalist Stephen Buhner recommends. The following is how the Washoe Indians actually used it.
- Peel one pound of lomatium root. Boil it in water (no mention as to how long) and skim the oil off the top. A large dose of the broth was given to those afflicted with the flu over the course of three days. Within a week, each patient was completely recovered.
- Wound powder
- Use in conjunction with other herbs, like Usnea, juniper leaf, Oregon grape root, and echinacea root or seed, in equal amounts, to make a powder for treating wounds, diaper rash, and athlete's foot.
- Cough syrups
- Lomatium is often combined with several other herbs to produce a very effective cough syrup. According to Ernst Krebs, this cough syrup was more effective than the opiates in use at the time and the effects lasted longer.
For those who do not have lomatium growing locally (it's only found west of the Mississippi), lomatium is pretty widely available in commercial preparations online.
Contraindications. Not for use by pregnant women.
Side effects: About 1 percent of people who use Lomatium dissectum will develop a significant allergic rash. (Other species do not cause the rash.) This occurs only with the fresh root tincture, and only if it is taken alone, rather than in conjunction with other herbs. There is no itching or discomfort with this rash, but it looks bad. The rash begins within eight hours of taking the tincture. It covers the whole body and is deep red to purple. Nothing will make this rash go away, except time, about a week. To avoid the rash, use the dried root for making your tinctures.
Links to related posts:
Book review--Herbal Antibiotics
Book review--Herbal Antivirals
Usnea
Juniper
Berberines
Echinacea
For further reading:
https://med.unr.edu/Documents/unsom/history/greasewood-tablettes/gwt-summer-2012.pdf
Herbal Antibiotics, p 373
© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com
10.16.23
