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

The Medicinal Uses of Red Raspberry Leaf

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.


When my family and I talk about the five years that we lived in Missouri, we usually mention the only three good things about our time there, the three F's:  friends (a few great friends), fireflies (who doesn't love them?), and fireworks (the most phenomenal displays I ever saw were put on by a lawyer friend from church--nothing at Disneyland, or at city/county Fourth of July events, or even Michael Milken's personal event at Lake Tahoe--no, we weren't his guests, just on a neighboring section of the beach--could come close to this lawyer's show).  But as I begin this post on raspberries, I remember how prolific the raspberries in my garden there were.  I spent a couple of hours three times each week during harvest season to pick them.  Wow, I miss those raspberries.

And as delicious and desirable as those raspberries were, the true treasure was in the leaves.  Little did I know then.  Raspberry leaves are loaded with vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, and E, as well as the essential minerals iron (one ounce of raspberry leaves yields 18% of the RDA for iron), magnesium, potassium, zinc, and calcium.  For this reason alone you are really going to want these gems growing on your property in addition to being able to find them elsewhere.

Time to harvest:  Raspberry leaves should be harvested in the summer, rinsed, and dried well in a dehydrator or in the shade.  Insufficiently dried leaves can become toxic.

Fortunately, raspberry leaves are very easy to use.  Their active constituents are, in contrast to many other herbal remedies, extracted with water.  No alcohol involved.

Infusion:  One to two teaspoons of dried leaves per cup of boiling water.  Let steep for fifteen minutes. Drink three to four cups per day for treating diarrhea, incontinence, PMS symptoms, leg cramps, gout, and arthritis. It is particularly useful for easing painful menstrual cramps and regulating menstrual flow, especially when taken regularly.  Historically, raspberry leaf tea was used to ease labor pains, improve the quality of contractions, and help build a good supply of breast milk.  Though some sources suggest it can be used for treating morning sickness and nausea, it should be used with caution and only under the direction of a licensed medical practitioner during the first and second trimester of pregnancy. 

Decoction:  Steep five tablespoons of raspberry leaves in one quart of water for fifteen minutes.  Use as a rinse or gargle to treat tonsillitis, canker sores, cold sores, gingivitis, and sore throat.  This same decoction can be used for treating eczema, acne, dermatitis, and itching of the skin.  The cooled and filtered decoction is used to treat conjunctivitis of the eyes.

Poultice:  Dip a clean cloth into the decoction above and apply to minor wounds, varicose veins, and minor burns like a sunburn.

Contraindications:  Raspberry leaf is not for internal use in people with gastritis or peptic ulcer, or those with uterine fibroids, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, or endometriosis. 

For further information:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1016/S1526-9523%2801%2900095-2
https://www.drugs.com/npp/raspberry.html#fandc-np5263.b2
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/red-raspberry-leaf-tea#bottom-line
https://theherbalacademy.com/3-raspberry-leaf-benefits-for-women/


© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com

12 september 2022

27 september 2020
 

The Medicinal Uses of Honey

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.

A simple online search for the medicinal uses of honey yields dozens of hits, if not hundreds, including all the health benefits of honey.  It's touted for helping with all manner of problems, from acne to weight loss.  We'll stick with what honey is most especially used for in a true medicinal sense when our society has collapsed.  After all, our honey supply may be limited and taking a teaspoon every day for allergies or in the evening to sleep better will exhaust our stores quickly.

First off, studies have shown that honey is more effective at quieting a cough in children than any over-the-counter cough syrup. Parents also reported that their children slept better.  (However, honey should never, under any circumstance, be given to a child under 12 months of age.)  In addition, it should be noted that the FDA has recommended removing many children's OTC cough syrups from the shelves because of adverse reactions.  Fortunately, we have honey, which is safer, more effective, and cheaper.  Just a teaspoon or two is all that is needed.  And it works for adults as well.  Also, honey tea does a tremendous job soothing sore throats.  Just remember, when making your tea, boil the water first, remove from heat, and then add the honey.  Boiling the honey itself will reduce or entirely negate many of its medicinal qualities.

Dr. Joseph Alton, author of The Survival Medicine Handbook, notes that honey was used to treat asthma in the 19th century.  Patients were directed to breathe deeply from a jar of honey, and improvement usually occurred within a few minutes.  To decrease the number of future episodes, doctors advised drinking one teaspoon of honey in twelve ounces of water three times per day.

As far as healing wounds goes, honey works in much the same manner as sugar, which was discussed last week.  Wounds, especially chronic wounds that aren't healing, have an alkaline pH, which provides an ideal breeding ground for bacteria, especially MRSA.  Honey (and sugar) are acidic, so they alter the pH and this kills the bacteria.  Honey may be spread directly on a wound and over the surrounding edges, but it will probably be more comfortable for the patient if the honey is spread on some gauze first and then applied to the wound. 

Honey is also an excellent treatment for burns, whether first- or second-degree, and may even be used with third-degree burns when there is no higher care available.  After the burned area has been cooled with running water for 15 minutes (not just immersing the wound in water, but running water), apply a generous amount of honey.  For third-degree burns, make sure this is very thick and covering the entire burn.  Per Dr. Alton, cover the honey with cling plastic wrap (the colored stuff found around Easter and Christmas is thicker and easier to manage) or a waterproof dressing and tape in place.  If the dressing begins to fill with oozing fluid, change the dressing.  The worse the burn, the more often the dressing will need to be changed, but make sure to change the dressing at least three times per day.  Continue for at least seven to ten days.  Do not wash off the honey for at least 20 days (unless the burn has healed).  Add more honey as needed, always making sure that there is a thick layer that goes beyond the edges of the burn to prevent infection and promote healing. 

So what kind of honey should you use?  What is best?

You can buy ridiculously over-priced manuka or Medihoney if that makes you more comfortable.  Manuka is what is most often used in medical studies.  But regular doctors like Dr. Alton and those who have taught the classes I attended say we can use any pure, raw honey.  Your best bet for getting real raw honey is going to be from a local beekeeper.  An awful lot of grocery store honey is adulterated with high fructose corn syrup, glucose solutions, or even just water.  There are numerous tests you can perform at home to determine if your honey is pure or adulterated, but I'm not going to go into those.  For me, the true test, the easy test, is if the honey has crystallized either partially or completely.  The fake stuff will never crystallize.  The real stuff almost always will eventually.

A couple of years ago my in-laws were going through their old food storage and were getting rid of two forty-year-old four-gallon tins of honey.  They were planning to give it to their youngest daughter to feed her livestock.  Fortunately, my husband stopped by first and brought them home for us.  (We have livestock, too, but not as much as his sister.)  And to heck with the livestock, that honey was for us.  So I asked Dr. Steve about using this really old honey medicinally on wounds.  His reply was that as long as it was pure (the honey was completely crystallized), there was no problem at all.  

In our trailer this summer, I found some older, unopened one-ounce jars of honey that I had totally forgotten about.  They're the little jars that come in gift baskets, or with room service in a hotel.  Anyway, they had partially crystallized, so I knew they were pure and put them in our medical kit.  If you have some jars or packets of honey lying around at home and you're wondering about whether they're pure, try putting them in the fridge or freezer.  If they are pure honey, they will crystallize.

Note, again.  Honey should never be given to children under the age of twelve months. 

For further reading:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18666717
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15944502
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23216146
https://www.livescience.com/7446-honey-works-cough-medicine.html
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/293638941_Medicinal_Uses_of_Honey

30 january 2023