The Medicinal Uses of Calendula

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.


Calendula officinalis is a bright, yellow-orange flower in the marigold family.  It is very easy to grow and thrives in full sun with good soil, but also does well in less-than ideal conditions or with little care.  Harvest the flowers on a dry, sunny day, if possible.  The medicine is strongest when the buds are just opening, and the stickier they are, the better.  The flowers are edible and often added to salads and soups. Calendula is a powerful antiviral, yet it is safe enough for babies. 

Calendula has a wide range of medicinal applications and just as wide an array of preparations for usage.  It is used to treat dermatitis, diaper rash, shingles, and minor wounds--cuts, scrapes, bruises, and bites; to reduce inflammation in joints and relax muscle spasms; for abdominal cramps and constipation; to treat ear infections, sore throats, and gingivitis;  and for hemorrhoids, duodenal and gastric ulcers.

Tincture.  The tincture is best prepared using fresh flowers, in a 1:2 ratio, that is, one part blossoms to two parts alcohol (70%)  It can also be prepared with dried flowers in a 1:5 ratio.  Per Stephen Buhner (author of Herbal Antivirals) the dosage is 5-30 drops, up to four times per day.

Oil.  Calendula oil is used topically to treat skin rashes, eczema, and inflamed lymph glands. To prepare the oil:

• Let freshly picked blossoms wilt for about 12 hours.
• Loosely fill a canning jar with the wilted blossoms.  
• Pour melted coconut or olive oil over the top.  
• Put on a lid and place in a sunny location to let the oil infuse for one month, shaking daily.
• Strain the flowers and pour the oil into a clean jar.  
• Store in a cool, dark place.

Creamy salve.  A creamy calendula salve is used to manage superficial skin issues, such as minor burns, cuts, rashes (including diaper rash), dermatitis, ringworm, and athlete's foot, as well as reduce inflammation in joints and relax muscle spasms.  To prepare a creamy salve:

• Melt 8 ounces calendula oil and 2 ounces grated beeswax or pastilles in a double boiler.
• Add 5 drops lavender essential oil.  
• Pour into a small jar, put the lid on, and store in a cool, dark place.

Salve.  Just this morning, I woke up with an incredible itch on my ear; I figure something bit me as I slept.  It was itching something fierce!  I used some salve a friend (thanks, Lisa!) made for me last year, and the itching ceased immediately.  And it hasn't come back. (It's now been almost 12 hours.)  (Little update:  The itching returned about 9PM last night, so I reapplied more and went to bed.  I must have rolled over and been sleeping on my ear and woke up itching.  Reapplied more at 1AM, went back to bed, and made sure to stay off that side.  Still fine now at 7AM.)  To make a salve, follow the directions for the creamy salve above, but use only 4 ounces of calendula oil.  Pour into a jar or lip balm tubes.

Infusion.  An infusion is used internally to alleviate digestive irritation, abdominal cramps and constipation, ulcers, bladder infections, menstrual cramps, measles, and chickenpox.  It is also used as a mouthwash or gargle for mouth lesions, gingivitis, and sore throat.  And it can be used as a wash for treating wounds.  Prepare an infusion by steeping 2 teaspoons of calendula in boiling water for 10 minutes. 

Poultice.  A calendula poultice provides significant relief for shingles and minor wounds.  To prepare a poultice, soak a clean cloth in a calendula infusion and place it over the wound or rash. 

Contraindications.  Not to be used internally by pregnant women or those wishing to become pregnant.

Cautions.  Calendula may lower blood pressure.  It may also cause drowsiness.

Links to related posts:
The Medicinal Uses of Comfrey
How to Make a Salve


For further reading:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16906636 (abdominal cramps and constipation)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19601397 (wound healing)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3917203 (dental plaque and gingivitis)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16677386 (cancer treatment)
https://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/jco.2004.07.063 (acute dermatitis in cancer)

Dr. Patrick Jones, The HomeGrown Herbalist, p 109-111.
Rosemary Gladstar, Medicinal Herbs:  A Beginner's Guide, p 112-116
Dr. Stephen Buhner, Herbal Antivirals, p 367.

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com  

13 december 2020

Herbal Delivery Methods

There's a bit less medicinal herb harvesting and medicine making in the winter, so I thought for today I'd cover definitions for all the odd terms used by herbalists and which they seemingly assume that all their readers fully understand.  Which might be okay if they all agreed on the definitions, but once you start doing some study, you gradually realize that they don't.  It can make learning difficult, to say the least.

First off, in medicine, whether herbal or conventional, the medicine has to get to the tissue to be effective.  It has to get there in sufficient amounts before it is eliminated from the body.  Sometimes that means taking increased amounts of a medicine so that gets past the stomach or kidneys or liver to where it needs to go.  In the very early days of penicillin, when it was expensive and slow to manufacture, patients were given large quantities of the drug, most of which was perceived as waste by the body and eliminated by the kidneys in the urine.  Because penicillin was so valuable, the urine of patients taking penicillin was collected so that the penicillin being eliminated could be filtered out and re-used.  Only small amounts of penicillin got past the kidneys and into the bloodstream where it could do its work. 

Of course, herbs are eliminated from the body in the same way.  However, it's sometimes easier and more effective to use different methods of administering herbs to get them to the tissues they need to go to.  That's one reason for all the new terms encountered when dealing with herbs.

Another reason is that different processes are necessary to extract the active constituents of herbs so that they can be used as medicine.  And all these processes have their own names and definitions.  Of course, it would be nice if herbalists would all agree on the exact definitions.  That would make life easier.  (But why do that?  Ugh.)  So just keep this in mind when you read herbal medicine books and articles.  It will ease the frustration.

Extract:  Kind of a generic term, usually implies an alcohol extract, but some chemical constituents are extracted with water.  And some herbalists will use this term with glycerin and vinegar as well.

Tea:  Boiling water is poured over dried herbs, generally leaves and flowers (which are usually in a tea bag or tea ball), and the heat and water extract the active constituents. Taken internally.

Infusion:  Best as I can tell, an infusion is the same thing as a tea.  But teas are old-fashioned, while infusions sound so much cooler.  Taken internally.

Decoction:  Sometimes used interchangeably with tea and infusion.  However, real herbalists insist that a decoction is much more concentrated than a tea or infusion, and/or that decoctions are made more from roots and woodier plant parts.  (Note:  Decoction always appears with a red squiggly line underneath it, as most word processing programs refuse to recognize it as a real word.  But it is used by herbalists everywhere, so even if Bill Gates and Merriam-Webster say it isn't a real word, you'll still want to understand what herbalists mean by it.)  Taken internally.

Poultice:  A cloth dipped into an infusion, wrung out, and placed on a wound or swelling.

Plaster:  Herbs, usually wet, placed directly on a wound or swelling, and held in place by a bandage.

Tincture:  Alcohol is used to extract the chemical constituents of the herbs.  Some constituents can best or can only be extracted by alcohol.  Some are extracted well with lower proof alcohols (like 80 proof) and others want the hard stuff (pure grain alcohol, 190 proof, and illegal to sell or purchase (in some states), manufacture (DIY--moonshine, all states), but not illegal to possess.  Fortunately, the alcohol is a fantastic preservative and tinctures are effective for several years.  If you don't want to have the alcohol itself getting into your system, add the drops of tincture to boiling water.  The alcohol will instantly dissipate and evaporate.  Because these take up to several weeks to make, you want to have them ready before you get sick.  Tinctures can also be made with vinegar, but vinegar does not extract the medicine as well as alcohol does, and they usually have a shelf life of only six to twelve months.

Glycerite:  Or glycerin tincture.  Vegetable glycerin is used to extract the chemical constituents instead of alcohol.  Like vinegar, it is not as efficient at extracting the medicine and has a similarly short shelf-life.  But it is good for making syrups, and especially good for making medicine for children, who might only take a tincture once and then say they'd rather die than take it again.

Salve:  Dried herbs are infused in oils, usually for a few days, and then strained out and discarded.  The oil is then gently heated and combined with beeswax to make topical treatment for external wounds.

Eyewash:  Diluted tea or infusion to treat infections and irritations.

Essential oils:  All the rage right now.  Highly concentrated extracts of chemical constituents.  Most are not advised for internal use.  Can be quite useful, but difficult for the average person to grow enough herb to produce even the smallest quantities of essential oil. 

Hopefully today's post has shed some light rather than muddying the waters.

1 march 2021

Medicinal Uses of Plantain

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.

This article is on the medicinal uses of the weed plantain (Plantago spp,), rather than the fruit that looks like a banana.

Harvest:  For fresh use, pick when you need it.  To dry for later use, gather plantain leaves after the flower spike has formed. Plantain leaves are eaten fresh in salads or cooked and eaten like spinach.  The seeds from the flower stalks can be sprinkled on food to add fiber to the diet.  However, plantain's greatest value comes from its medicinal properties.

Medicinal Use:  Plantain in its various forms has been used historically to treat:

• asthma, bronchitis, emphysema
• fever
• bladder problems 
• hypertension
• rheumatism
• venomous bites or stings (snake bites, bee stings)
• contact dermatitis (poison oak, ivy, sumac)
• sores and wounds
• burns

SPIT POULTICE:  

• Insect bites and stings.  Everyone in the family should know where plantain is growing in the yard and how to make a spit poultice with it in an emergency.  Pick the leaves, chew them a bit, and slap them on to relieve the pain and itching from bug bites and stings and poison ivy, oak, and sumac.  Secure in place with gauze and tape.  If you're using this on another person who is going to be squeamish about having your saliva on his body, crush the leaves in your hands or with a rock and then apply directly to the skin.  It takes a little longer, but squeamishness has its price.  While you're treating the patient, especially if the patient is young, distract him from the pain by telling him how the poultice works.  Something along of the lines of, "Crushing the leaves releases the mucilage, which soothes the pain.  The anti-inflammatory effect reduces swelling.  Because the spit poultice also draws out toxins, the venom that makes you itch, the sooner it is applied, the faster and better it works."  Replace as needed to relieve pain.
• Contact dermatitis (poison oak, poison ivy, poison sumac).  Apply a poultice immediately and leave on for 30-60 minutes.  Then wash the area with plantain tea (see below).  Finally, apply a plantain sludge.  Replace as necessary.  
• Burns.  After cooling in running water for 10-15 minutes, apply a poultice and secure with gauze and tape.  Two hours later, follow up with a plantain salve (see below).   

INFUSION
In most of the country, plantain is a weed that grows in abundance, and as such can be used for chronic conditions.  We have so little of it that we're saving it for insect bites and stings.  However, if you've got a lot of it, here's how it can be used.

Internally:  Steep 1/2 cup of fresh or 1/2 teaspoon of dried plantain leaves in 1 cup of boiling water, covered, for 10-15 minutes.  Strain to remove leaves.  Add honey or sugar if desired.  Drink three times per day to relieve:

• diarrhea, stomach ulcers, IBS, gastritis
• colds, hay fever, asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, influenza, fever, sinusitis, coughs
• hypertension
• rheumatism, goiter
• PMS, irregular menstrual flow
• bladder problems, cystitis, kidney stones,
• irregular liver and kidney function (only 1-2 times per day)
• blood sugar swings in diabetics

Externally:  Prepare the infusion as above, without adding sweetener.  Use the plantain tea in the following ways:

• wash wounds, rashes, eczema;
• gargle to reduce mouth ulcers and throat pain and infection (2 tablespoons 4 times per day);
• wash eyes to relieve irritation.

SALVE
Using the fresh leaves is generally the easiest way to go.  After all, you get just the right amount and you don't have to store it inside anywhere.  And then have to try finding it quickly.  But, we're preppers.  And sometimes you can't find plantain outside when you need it.  Like when winter lasts nine months. This salve combines the healing effects of plantain with the soothing properties of coconut or olive oil.  Use the salve for:

• rashes, eczema, psoriasis, contact dermatitis;
• burns and blisters;
• insect bites and stings;
• acne and boils;
• cuts;
• sprains;
• hemorrhoids;
• drawing out thorns or splinters;
• reducing scarring on more serious cuts and scrapes;
• dandruff (rub into scalp, leave on for an hour, wash hair).

Here's how to make your own plantain salve:

• Fill a glass jar to the top with washed, dried, and crushed fresh leaves, or half full with dried leaves.  
• Add in melted coconut oil or olive oil to cover the leaves.  
• Replace lid and let sit in the sun for two weeks.  
• Warm oil if necessary and strain out the leaves.  
• In a double boiler, melt one ounce of beeswax per seven ounces of infused oil to make a firmer salve.  
• Store in a cool, dark place. 

TINCTURE:
Use a plantain tincture for the following conditions:

• For internal use, 10 drops in 1 cup water, 3 times per day:
• upper respiratory infections (best if tincture is added to hot water with a spoonful of honey;
• gastrointestinal complaints;
• sore throat, 10 drops in 2 tablespoons water and gargle or swish for 30 seconds.
• For external use:
• dilute 10 drops in 1 tablespoon water and apply to boils, acne, and sores to prevent infection and promote healing.

Here's how to make a plantain tincture:

• Wash and dry fresh leaves, crush them, and put them in a glass jar.  Pour 100-proof alcohol into the jar, completely covering the leaves and filling the jar.  Replace the lid and shake the jar well.  Place the jar in a cool, dark place, and shake it every day for 6-8 weeks.  Strain out plantain leaves and pour tincture into a clean jar.  Label and date.  Your tincture should last for at least 2-3 years.  

DECOCTION:
 A decoction of plantain roots is used in treating everything listed above, so I'm not going to repeat the list here.  However, the roots are a little stronger in treating two important conditions.  Prepare a decoction by putting one tablespoon of washed plantain root in a small pan.  Add one cup of cool water and bring it to a boil.  Boil for 30 minutes.  Cool to drinking temperature and strain off the plantain roots.  Drink the decoction.  Use this decoction for the following:

• Smoking cessation as needed.  Apparently it causes a natural aversion to tobacco.  
• Venomous snake bites.  In addition to applying plantain spit poultices to the bite, also make this decoction for the patient to take internally.  
• Ringworm.

DRIED SEEDS:
The seeds can be dried and infused in water for a soothing eye wash (after the seeds are removed), as a laxative, and for intestinal worms in children.   Plantain seeds also help reduce nicotine cravings for those trying to quit smoking. 

Contraindications:  Plantain is considered a very safe her to use; however, it may cause minor dermatitis in some individuals.  Because there is no research indicating its safety, pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid using it.

Links to related posts:
Echinacea
Snake Bites
Spider Bites 
Kidney Stones
Cream of Tartar and Smoking Cessation  

For further information:
https://www.verywellhealth.com/plantain-benefits-4579819
https://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/plantain-herb/
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-677/great-plantain
http://herballegacy.com/Ahlborn_Medicinal.html
https://wellnessmama.com/4638/plantain-herb-profile/
Sam Coffman, The Herbal Medic.
Dr. Patrick Jones, The HomeGrown Herbalist, pp 159-164.
Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs, pp 190-191.

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com

9 october 2023