Other Forms of Remedies
The foundation mixtures covered in Chapter 13 serve as the base for many of the following remedies. As with all remedies that are stored, be sure to label them with the date, the herbs that you used, and anything else that was added.
Bath Oils and Salts
In the bath, essential oils help to relieve stress, pain, and muscle aches. A carrier oil provides even distribution of the essential oil when it is to be used in water. For a healing beauty bath, mix essential oils with milk instead of a carrier oil. The fat in milk acts like a carrier oil and absorbs essential oils, which become diluted as they are dispersed throughout the milk. Use twelve to thirteen drops of essential oil in an ounce of carrier oil or milk, and then add it to your bath.
In addition to carrier oils and milk, essential oils can be mixed with salts. Epsom salts are healing on their own and make a good medium for essential oils. Coarse sea salt can also be used. Salts contain minerals that aid in the release of toxins from the muscles and joints, which is beneficial when dealing with infectious illnesses, rheumatism, and arthritis. Of course, salts also promote relaxation.
Basic Recipe for Bath Salts
2 cups Epsom or sea salts
2 tablespoons baking soda (optional)
10–15 drops essential oil
Place the dry ingredients in a glass bowl. Add the essential oil and mix thoroughly. Store the bath salts in a jar with a tight lid. The optional baking soda helps to soothe the skin. To use the salts, add a handful or two under the running tap to dissolve them.
Compresses
Compresses can be used hot or cold. Warm compresses relax muscles and soothe aches and pains. They also relieve tension and increase circulation. Cold compresses are used to treat bumps, bruises, and sprains by reducing swelling and inflammation. They also reduce fevers and ease headaches.
A tea or infusion of herbs can be used to soak a face cloth that is then squeezed out and laid over the area that needs treatment. Alternatively, 5 or 6 drops of essential oil in a tablespoon of carrier oil can be added to 1 quart of hot or cold water. Give the water a swish before dipping in the cloth. Whichever method is used, the cloth should be dipped in the infusion or water with essential oil to freshen it every ten to fifteen minutes.
Fomentation
Alternating warm and cold compresses is a remedy called fomentation. It is used to manipulate the flow of blood in an area of the body. Start with a hot compress for about five minutes to relax and open the capillaries. Follow with a cold compress, which causes the capillaries to constrict and push blood out of the area. Leave the cold compress on for two or three minutes. Replace the cold compress with a fresh warm compress, which will open the capillaries again, bringing fresh blood into the affected area. Continue alternating the compresses for fifteen to twenty minutes. This is especially helpful for treating low back pain, muscle strains, and kidney stones.
Creams
A cream is a combination of oils and an herbal infusion that nourishes and heals the skin as it is absorbed. Shea butter and a little bit of beeswax serve as the base to thicken the mixture and give it a creamy consistency. The amount of shea butter, beeswax, and oil may vary according to your preference.
The easiest way to make a cream is to use a mason jar in a saucepan of water that is at least half as deep as the jar is tall. The instructions on how to make a cream provides two sets of ingredients: one is for making the cream with an herbal infusion; the second is for making it with essential oil.
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Basic Recipes for Cream |
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Ingredients using herbal infusion |
Ingredients using essential oil |
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½ cup shea butter |
½ cup shea butter |
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2–3 beeswax pastilles (pellets) |
2–3 beeswax pastilles (pellets) |
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½ cup almond, coconut, or other oil |
½ cup almond, coconut, or other oil |
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1 cup herbal infusion |
1 cup distilled or filtered water |
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2 teaspoons essential oil |
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Place the shea butter and beeswax pastilles in the jar and warm over low heat. When the butter and beeswax begin to melt, add the oil and stir gently with a fork. When everything has melted, remove from the heat and stir. Let the mixture cool slightly, pour it into a blender, and add either the herbal infusion or the water and essential oil. Whip it to get a light, creamy consistency. You may need to experiment with the amount of oil to get a consistency you like. Transfer the cream to a jar, allow it to cool, and then store.
Diffusers and Vaporizers
Diffusers and vaporizers provide the means to disperse essential oils into the air. Vaporizers are usually ceramic with a small bowl on top and a space for a tea light candle underneath. It works by placing a few drops of essential oil in the bowl, which is then warmed by the candle flame. As it warms, the essential oil will evaporate. Diffusers are electronic, which makes them safer than candles for heating oil, especially if you want to use it at night or in a child’s room. Most diffusers have settings to adjust the rate of evaporation.
Obviously, this scents the air and is generally what comes to mind when we think of aromatherapy. While it is a great way to use lavender or other essential oils to relieve stress and enhance well-being, there is much more to it. Essential oils with antiseptic qualities also kill airborne bacteria. Because essential oils in the air are absorbed into the body, oils that fight infection or relieve congestion can be used this way. It is a good way to fight colds and flu, and to treat asthma or bronchitis. In addition, some oils can help repel insects, making this an ideal way to use them in the summer.
Reed Diffusers
A gentle, safe, and off-the-grid method is to use a reed diffuser. It takes a little longer to disperse the essential oil into the air, but it is a nice alternative to commercial air fresheners. There are just a few things you will need to make a reed diffuser:
• A glass or porcelain container
• Reeds
• Carrier oil
• Essential oil(s)
A short glass or porcelain jar or a vase with a narrow neck works best. Plastic should be avoided as chemicals from the plastic container can leach into the oils. A wide-mouthed jar with a cork can be adjusted by drilling a hole in the cork so it is large enough to accommodate the reeds. There are several types of reeds on the market, however, rattan reeds work best as they are porous and wick the oils more evenly. The reeds should be at least twice the height of the jar.
Choose a light carrier oil for the base as thicker ones are not drawn up the reeds as easily. Sweet almond oil is often recommended, but I have found that sunflower, being a very thin oil, works best. If you are using more than one essential oil, blend those together first and then give them about a week for the combined scent to mature.
Pour ¼ cup of carrier oil into your diffuser jar, add 2 teaspoons of the essential oil or oil blend, and swirl to mix. Place the reeds in the jar and turn them a couple of times the first day to diffuse the scent. After that, turn them once a day or every other day. Over time, you will need to add more oil to the jar. When the reeds become saturated, replace them.
There are several things to avoid when making a reed diffuser. First, the fragrance oils on the market for reed diffusers are synthetic and not essential oils. Some of them may smell nice, but they are made from chemicals, not plants. The commercial base oils for reed diffusers are also usually chemical-based. Mineral oil and dipropylene glycol are sometimes recommended as a base but avoid these for the same reason.
Foot Soaks
Infusions and essential oils, either diluted in a carrier oil or bath salts, can be used for footbaths. A warm or hot footbath increases circulation, aids in healing a cold or flu, and helps deal with insomnia. Odd as it may seem, a foot soak helps relieve headaches. Even soaking your feet in plain warm water helps to draw blood down to the feet, which relieves pressure in the head. A cool foot bath is a good perk-up on hot summer days when feet can be sweaty and sore.
Liniments
Like a tincture, a liniment is made with alcohol, however, a liniment is for external application only and should never be taken internally. A liniment is used to relieve the pain of stiff joints, sore muscles, strains, and sprains. It also aids in healing bruises and disinfecting wounds. A warming liniment can be made with cayenne to relieve pain and stiffness; a cooling liniment can be made with peppermint to reduce swelling and inflammation. To use a liniment, rub it onto the affected area or saturate a washcloth to use as a compress.
Rubbing alcohol, or isopropyl alcohol, is often recommended as the base for a liniment and is very effective. However, it can dry the skin, and for some people it can be an irritant. Witch hazel makes a good liniment base as it contains a low amount of alcohol. As an alternative, use witch hazel water and isopropyl alcohol so you can mix them and control the amount of alcohol in the liniment. White vinegar can also be used as a liniment base. Be sure to label your liniment for external use only.
Basic Recipe for a Liniment
4 tablespoons herb
1 pint alcohol, witch hazel, or other base
Place the herbs in a jar and pour in the alcohol. Set aside for 4 to 6 weeks, giving the jar a good shake every day. Strain, then store in a dark bottle.
Medicinal Honey
Honey is a good way to administer herbal remedies, especially to children. Quite simply, it is an infusion made with honey instead of water or oil. There are two ways to make a medicinal honey. The herbs can be crushed or chopped and put directly into the honey or they can be tied into a piece of cheesecloth or muslin for easy removal. Herbs placed directly into the honey can be strained out before storage or left in. Fresh herbs should be removed before storage because of their water content.
Basic Recipe for a Medicinal Honey
½ cup dried herb, crumbled
or ¾ cup fresh herb, chopped
per cup of honey
Pour the honey into a slightly larger mason jar and set it in a saucepan of water that is at least half as deep as the jar is tall. Warm it over low heat until the honey becomes a little less viscous, and then add the herbs or herb sack. Use a butter knife to stir loose herbs throughout the honey or to push the herb sack down so it is covered. Continue warming for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, set aside, and when it is cool put the lid on the jar. Store out of the light at room temperature for a week.
If you are going to remove the herbs, heat the honey again and then strain it into a new jar or remove the herb sack. Squeeze the herb sack to get as much honey as you can out of it. The honey can be stored in a cupboard for up to 18 months. A spoonful of honey can be used in tea or taken straight.
Things to Know When Buying Honey
When purchasing honey, there are a number of things to keep in mind, especially for medicinal uses. Words like “pure” and “natural” on honey labels sound good; however, unlike “organic” there are no government standards for these classifications. In addition, the czars of marketing would have us believe that good honey is golden and clear but this is not usually the case. Honey can range in color from very light to dark mahogany and in consistency from watery to thick to crystallized. Like taste and aroma, the color depends on the plants and flowers the bees have dined upon.
Good honey is cloudy, not clear. This is because of its pollen content, which gives honey its valuable enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. A traditional filtering process catches bee parts, wax, and debris from the hives but leaves the pollen in the honey.
The problem is that retailers want a product that has a long shelf life and many packers want to use the cheapest honey to increase their profit margins. A commonly-used process called “ultra filtering” not only heats and waters down the honey but also removes the pollen. In addition to taking away this healthy component, removing the pollen removes the only way to identify the source of the honey. There is no way to tell if the honey came from a country with low standards and regulations regarding pesticides or from a country where pollution and contamination may be a problem. To make matters worse, some honey has additives such as corn syrup.
The best sources for good honey are local beekeepers or local farmers markets. If that doesn’t work for you, try health food stores or supermarkets where you can get organic honey. Read the labels to be sure you are buying honey and not a honey-flavored product.
Also, be critical. For example, a monofloral honey can be quite nice and it is often expensive. Monofloral is a type of honey where the predominant flavor and pollen comes from one type of flower. Unfortunately, this can be faked. One time I was excited to find a lavender honey less expensive than expected only to read the label and discover that instead of a monofloral honey, lavender essential oil had been added. Needless to say, I did not buy this deceptive product.
When it comes to storing honey, it is best to keep it at room temperature and not in the fridge or cool cabinet. Also, like many foods, it is better to store honey in a glass jar rather than plastic. Unfortunately, it is best to part company with the little plastic squeeze bear.
Ointments, Salves, and Balms
Ointments, salves, and balms are basically the same but differ by the amount of solidifier, such as beeswax, used to thicken them. An ointment is the least firm with the consistency of pudding. The advantage of an ointment is that it is easy to apply. A salve has a firmer consistency, and a balm is very firm. Unlike a cream, these preparations are not absorbed as much and form a protective layer on the skin.
The solidifier for these preparations can be beeswax or jojoba. The instructions on how to make these preparations provides two sets of ingredients. One is for making them with an infused oil; the second is for making them with essential oil. These preparations will keep for several months to a year.
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Basic Recipes for Ointments, Salves, and Balms |
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Ingredients using an infused oil |
Ingredients using essential oil |
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¼–½ cup beeswax or jojoba |
¼–½ cup beeswax or jojoba |
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1 cup infused oil |
1 cup carrier oil |
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2 teaspoons essential oil |
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Place the jojoba or beeswax in a mason jar in a saucepan of water that is at least half as deep as the jar is tall. Warm it over low heat, and when it begins to melt, add the infused oil. Stir gently with a fork for about 15 minutes. If you are making it with essential oil, add the carrier oil on its own as you would the infused oil. Add the essential oil when you remove the jar from the heat and stir.
To test the thickness, spoon a little of the mixture onto a plate and put it in the refrigerator for a minute or two to cool. Check the thickness. If you want it firmer, add more of the solidifying ingredient. If it’s too thick, add a tiny bit of oil. When you are happy with the consistency of your preparation, let it cool, and then store in a cool, dark place.
Poultices
A poultice is an herb paste that is applied to an affected area. It can be used to ease muscle or nerve pain, insect bites, rashes, burns, and swollen glands. A poultice draws impurities out of infected wounds or boils. It must be made fresh each time it is needed.
Basic Recipe for Fresh Herb Poultice
½ cup fresh herb, chopped
1 cup boiling water
Chop and mash the herbs before adding them to the water. Stir and let simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Let it cool and then strain the liquid away to make a paste.
Basic Recipe for Dried Herb Poultice
1–2 tablespoons dried herb, crumbled
enough water to moisten
Crumble or grind 1 or 2 tablespoons of dried herbs. Boil water and add just enough to moisten the herbs to make a paste.
When the poultice is cool enough to handle, cover the skin with gauze and spoon a sufficient amount of the poultice on so it covers the affected area with a thick ¼- to ½-inch layer. Cover with another piece of gauze to keep the poultice in place, and then put a towel over it to keep the warmth in. Remove the poultice when it becomes cool. Apply a poultice 1 to 3 times a day, making it fresh each time.
Powders and Capsules
A blender, food processor, or flour mill can be used to create an herb powder from dried herbs. Store the powder in a tightly closed glass jar out of sunlight. Powders can be used to make herbal butters and breads and as a seasoning for food. Powders can be mixed into other preparations and some can be used for first aid.
In powdered form, herbs can be taken in capsules, which is easier if you do not like the taste of a particular herb. Valerian is one such plant that many people prefer to ingest in capsules. Gelatin and vegetarian capsule cases are readily available in many health food stores and online. Capsule size “00” is commonly used for powdered herbs. Two capsules are considered a standard dose for adults. One capsule holds approximately 250 milligrams.
The most important thing when filling capsules is to have dry hands, otherwise the capsules will stick to your fingers. There are two halves to a capsule: one is longer and slightly narrower (the bottom); the other is shorter and slightly wider (the cap) to fit over the bottom half. To fill, sprinkle a small mound of powder on a saucer and scoop as much powder as you can into the bottom half of the capsule.
Another way to fill them is to use a small piece of paper to make a tiny funnel so you can pour the powder into the bottom half. Either way, when you get as much herb powder into the capsule as you can, slide the halves together. Store capsules in a dark, airtight glass container in a cool place.
Sleep Pillows
If you want the advantages of herbal aromas at night but don’t want to leave a diffuser running, a sleep pillow is a good option. A sleep pillow is a small pillow stuffed with herbs that is placed beside your regular pillow at night. You don’t even need a sewing machine to make one as they can be stitched by hand.
Five inches square is a good size, but you can make one bigger or smaller or in any shape. Cotton fabric is easy to work with and is available in many colors and designs. Choose something that you find soothing.
Fold the fabric in half with the “right” sides (the side with the pattern, darker design, or color) facing each other. Pin the fabric to hold it together. Using a ruler and pencil, measure and draw the shape of the pillow, making it about half an inch larger than the finished size on all sides. That will be your cut line. Draw another line half an inch inside the cut line to serve as your sewing line. Using scissors, follow the first line you drew to cut the fabric. Stitch around all sides (assuming the pillow is a square or rectangle), leaving a two-inch opening on one side. Turn the fabric inside out through the opening, putting the stitching and unfinished edges of fabric inside. The brighter color or design of the fabric will be on the outside. Stuff the pillow with dried herbs, and then tuck the edges of the opening inside and stitch it closed.
A sleep pillow can be freshened from time to time with a couple of drops of essential oil. When not in use, store the pillow in a plastic bag or container so the herbs will continue to infuse the fabric with their aroma and hold the fragrance. Warming the pillow in a microwave before use helps bring out more fragrance.
Steam Inhalations
Because steam and antiseptic ingredients help clear the respiratory airways, it is a good way to treat congested sinuses as well as chest infections. Facial steams for the skin help to deep clean pores and add moisture. The combination of steam and herbs or essential oils is also a good way to cleanse the air of a sickroom and to humidify or freshen a room in the winter.
The recipe for making a steam inhalation provides two sets of ingredients. One is for making it with herbs, and the second is for making it with essential oil. Because the essential oil is not going to be used directly on the skin, diluting it in a carrier oil is not necessary.
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Basic Recipes for a Steam Inhalation |
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Ingredients using herbs |
Ingredients using essential oil |
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1 quart water |
1 quart water |
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7 tablespoons dried herbs |
5–10 drops essential oil |
Add the herbs to boiling water and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. If you are using essential oil, add it to the water after removing it from the heat.
For a facial steam or when treating respiratory problems, place a bath towel over your head to create a tent above the steaming water. Keep your eyes closed and don’t move your face too close to the water. Stay under the tent for three minutes or until the water cools. If it feels too hot, lift the towel to allow cool air into the tent.
If you are using it to cleanse and humidify the air, place the saucepan in the room where it is needed. When it cools, the mixture can be reheated for more steam.
Syrups
Syrups are soothing and good for treating sore throats as well as coughs. They are also an easy way to take medicine. A dose is usually one teaspoon. Syrups can be made with dried herbs, a tincture, infusion, or decoction. When making a syrup with dried herbs, you may need to adjust the amount of honey to get a syrup consistency that you like.
Basic Recipe for a Syrup Using Dried Herbs
4 tablespoons dried herbs, crumbled
½ cup honey
1 quart water
Put the herbs in a saucepan of water and bring it to a simmer. Keep it on low heat until the volume is reduced to a little less than half. Strain out the herbs, return the liquid to the saucepan, and add the honey. Warm it on low heat, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Let it cool a little and then pour it into a jar. Store in the fridge where it will keep for several weeks.
Basic Recipe for a Syrup Using a Tincture
2–4 tablespoons tincture
1 cup honey
Warm the honey in a double boiler over low heat. Add the tincture and continue heating it on low for 10 to 15 minutes. Let it cool, and then bottle it and store in the fridge for up to 6 months.
Basic Recipe for a Syrup Using an Infusion or Decoction
2⁄3 cup infusion or decoction
1⁄3 cup honey
Combine the ingredients in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until the honey is less viscous and the mixture is smooth. Cool and store in the fridge. It will keep for several weeks.