Applications for Herbal Remedies

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Preparations for external use
The skin is highly absorbent constituents of any herbal preparation applied to it will be carried by tiny capillaries under the skin surface into the bloodstream and then round the body. There are various ways in which you can employ this pathway into the body.
Herbal baths
A fragrant warm bath is a wonderfully luxurious and relaxing way to take herbal medicines and a very easy way to treat babies and children. You can hang a muslin bag filled with fresh or dried herbs under the hot tap. Alternatively you can add strong herb infusions to the bathwater. Soak in the water for 15-30 minutes. You can also add a few drops of your chosen essential oil to the bathwater always dilute the oils first for babies and children, or if you have a sensitive skin.
In a herbal bath the plant constituents are absorbed through the skin's pores which are opened by the warmth of the water. Volatile oils are carried on the steam to be inhaled through the nose and mouth into the lungs and from there into the bloodstream. From the nose, the oils send messages via nerve receptors to the brain and have a rapidly relaxing and soothing effect, easing mental and emotional strain. Lavender, chamomile, and ylang ylang are wonderfully relaxing and smell lovely, while rosemary is also relaxing but has a stimulating edge sending blood to the brain and enhancing alertness.
Hand and foot baths
Our hands and feet are very sensitive areas, with plenty of nerve endings. Despite some thickening of the skin from use herbal constituents pass easily from these areas into the bloodstream.
Mustard foot baths are an old English remedy for all afflictions of cold and damp, from colds and flu to poor circulation and arthritis. The famous French herbalist Maurice Messegue advocates this therapeutic pathway for the use of herbs in his several books on herbal medicine and recommends foot baths for eight minutes in the evening and hand baths for eight minutes in the morning.
Hand and foot baths are excellent ways to treat babies and children who only need to remain in the water for half the time recommended for adults - four minutes in the morning and again in the evening.
Salves and creams
To make a simple salve, herbs are macerated in oil. Put 16 oz (450 ml) of olive oil and 2 oz (50 g) of beeswax into a heatproof dish, add as much of the herb as the mixture will cover, and let it heat gently for a few hours in a bain-marie. This allows time for the constituents of the remedy to be absorbed into the oil. Press out through a muslin bag, discard the herb, and pour the warm oil into jars where it will quickly solidify.
You can also make up creams very easily by stirring tinctures, infusions, decoctions or a few drops of essential oil into a base of aqueous (water-based) cream from the pharmacist.
Ointment
An ointment contains only oils or fats, but no water, and unlike cream it does not blend with the skin but forms a separate layer over it. Ointments are suitable where the skin is already weak or soft, or where some protection is needed from additional moisture, as in diaper rash. Ointments were once made from animal fats, but petroleum jelly or paraffin wax is suitable.
• Melt the wax or jelly in a bowl over a pan of boiling water or in a double saucepan, stir in the herbs, and heat for about two hours or until the herbs are crisp.
• Pour the mixture into a jelly bag or cheese-cloth, fitted securely with string or an elastic band to the rim of a jug.
• Wearing rubber gloves, as the mixture is hot, squeeze it through the jelly bag into the jug.
• Quickly pour the strained mixture, while still warm and molten, into clean glass storage jars.
Poultices
A poultice is a soft, damp mixture applied to part of the body. You can use fresh or dried herbs as a poultice, placed between two pieces of gauze. When using fresh leaves, stems or roots, make sure to bruise or crush them first. When using dried herbs, add a little hot water to the powdered or finely chopped herbs to make a paste to spread over the gauze.
Then bind the gauze poultice to the affected part using a light cotton bandage and keep it warm with a hot-water bottle. You can use cabbage leaves in this way for painful, arthritic joints or tender, engorged breasts, while a bran poultice will ease mastitis.
Compresses
Take a clean cloth or towel, and soak it either in a hot or cold herbal infusion or decoction, or in water to which a few drops of essential oil have been added. Then wring it out and apply to the affected area, such as the site of a headache, period pain, backache, inflamed joints, or varicose veins. Repeat several times for good effect.
Liniments
Liniments, also called embrocations, are rubbing oils used in massage to relax or stimulate muscles and ligaments or soothe away pain from inflammation or injury. They consist of extracts of herbs in an oil or alcohol base, or a mixture of herbal oils and alcohol tinctures of your chosen herbs. They are intended to be absorbed quickly through the skin to the affected part and for this reason often contain stimulating oils or cayenne to increase local circulation.
Oils
Essential oils are extracted from aromatic plants by a process of steam distillation and so cannot be prepared at home. You can buy them from many different sources including health food shops and mail order companies.
You can easily make herbal oils, however, by infusing finely chopped herbs in a pure vegetable oil such as almond, sunflower or olive oil, for about two weeks. Place the herbs in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and cover them with oil. Place the jar on a sunny windowsill and shake it daily. Gradually the oil will take up the constituents of the remedy you use. After two weeks or more, filter the oil and press the remainder out of the herb through a muslin bag. Store in an airtight dark bottle.
Oils can be used for massage, and are a particularly easy way to give herbs to children. A few drops of essential oil can be diluted in a base oil (2 drops per 5 ml). You can also put five to ten drops into a bowl of hot water for inhalations, into a little water to use as an aromatic or disinfectant room spray, or in a facial steamer for cleaning the skin.
Infused Oils
Active plant ingredients can be extracted in oil, for external use in massage oils, creams and ointments. Infused oils will last up to a year if kept in a cool, dark place, although smaller amounts made fresh are more potent. There are two techniques: the hot method is suitable for comfrey, chickweed, or rosemary, and the cold method for marigold and St. John's wort. If possible, repeat the process for cold infused oil using new herb and the once-infused oil, leaving to stand for a further few weeks before straining.
• Hot Infusion:
o Put the oil and the herb in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water or in a double saucepan and heat gently for about three hours.
o Pour the mixture into a jelly bag or cheesecloth fitted securely to the rim of a wine press and strain into a jug.
o Pour into clean, airtight storage bottles, using a funnel if necessary.
• Cold Infusion:
o Pack a large jar tightly with the herb and cover completely with oil. Put the lid on and leave on a sunny windowsill or in the greenhouse for two to three weeks.
o Pour the mixture into a jelly bag or cheesecloth, fitted securely with string or elastic band to the rim of a jug.
o Squeeze the oil through the bag. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with new herb and the once-infused oil: after a few weeks, strain again and store.

 

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Internal Applications for Herbal Remedies

Preparations for internal use
Apart from culinary use, herbs can be taken internally as teas, tinctures, or in tablet form.
Infusions
These are made in the same way as a cup of tea using the soft parts of plants -the leaves, stems and flowers: The standard dose is 1 oz (25 g) of dried herb, or 2 oz (50 g) of fresh herb to 1 pint (600 ml) boiling water. You can vary this according to taste - it is important to make your herb teas palatable so that you drink them regularly when you need to. Put the herbs in a warmed teapot, pour on boiling water, leave covered to infuse for ten minutes and then strain. A cupful is generally taken three times daily for chronic conditions, and six times daily or more in acute illness. An infusion will keep for up to two days in a refrigerator.
Some herbs, particularly those with a high mucilage content, such as comfrey, need to be prepared in the same way but with cold water. Most infusions are taken hot, except when treating the urinary system, when they need to be drunk lukewarm to cold.
When making infusions you can blend several herbs together to make a tasty brew; the addition of aromatic herbs such as mints, lemon balm, lemon verbena, fennel, lavender, and licorice to more bitter medicinal herbs is recommended to make them more palatable, especially for children.
Decoctions
These are similar to infusions but prepared from the hard woody parts of plants, such as the bark, seeds, roots, rhizomes, and nuts, which require greater heat to impart their constituents to water. Break or hammer them first with pestle and mortar, or chop them if fresh, then place in a pan with the water, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for ten minutes and strain. Use a little over a pint of water per ounce of herb to make up for any lost in the simmering. The dosage is the same as for infusions.
Syrups
These are often preferred by children. Give two teaspoons (double for adults) three or four times daily in chronic problems and twice as much in acute illness.
You can use an infusion or decoction to make a syrup by mixing 12 oz (325 g) sugar into a pint (600 ml) of the liquid and heat until the sugar dissolves. Store the syrup in a refrigerator. Alternatively, you can weigh your infusion or decoction and add a quarter of its weight of honey to it. Heat this slowly and stir as it starts to thicken, skimming off scum that forms on the surface.
Another way to make syrup is to pour a pint (600 ml) of boiling water over 2 1/2.lb (1.25 kg) of soft brown sugar and stir over a low heat until the sugar is dissolved and the solution starts to boil. Remove from the heat. Add one part herbal tincture (see below) to three parts syrup and this will keep indefinitely.
Tinctures
These are concentrated extracts of herbs, usually using a mixture of water and alcohol to extract the constituents of the remedy and act as a preservative. The ratio of alcohol to water varies from one remedy to another; 25 per cent alcohol is used for simple glycosides and tannins, while 90 per cent alcohol is needed for resins and gums.
To make a tincture, use dried herbs at a ratio of one part herb to five parts of liquid, or fresh herbs at a ratio of one part herb to two of liquid. Place the herb in a large jar and pour the alcohol and water mixture over it. Leave to macerate, shaking daily for two weeks. Then, using a wine press, press out the liquid and discard the herb - which makes very good compost. Store in labeled, dark bottles or glass jars, away from heat and light.
When making tinctures at home you can use undiluted alcohol such as brandy, gin or vodka. Alternatively you can use glycerol (glycerine) which gives a sweet taste to the extracts and makes them more palatable. Use equal parts of water and glycerol for dried herbs, and 80 per cent glycerol for watery, fresh herbs such as borage to ensure they do not deteriorate or become contaminated by infection.
A standard dose is one teaspoon of tincture diluted with a little water with or after food three times daily in chronic conditions, and every two hours in acute illness. Children should be given half dosages, and babies a quarter of the adult dose.
Tinctures generally keep well for about two years, and although more time-consuming to prepare than teas, they have the advantages of being easy to store, and of needing to be taken only in small amounts.
Tinctures can also be used to make gargles and mouthwashes, lotions and douches. Use half to one teaspoon in a cupful of water two or three times daily in chronic problems and every two hours for acute conditions.
Suppositories
Both local and systemic problems can be treated quickly and simply by this method. Suppositories bypass the alimentary canal and are absorbed quickly into the system. The herbal remedy is absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the mucosa of the rectum.
You can prepare suppositories easily at home by adding finely powdered dried herbs to a base of melted cocoa butter. Pour this into moulds, made in the required shape from aluminium foil, and allow to cool. Store in a refrigerator. It is a good idea to make a row of suppositories in the foil at one time.
Tablets and capsules
Herbs in tablet or capsule form can often be bought from herb suppliers or health food shops. You can also make capsules at home using gelatin capsules filled with powdered mixtures of the herbs you require. The process is made easier by using a capsule maker which enables you to make up a large quantity at a time. The two standard capsule sizes are 0 and 00. Size 0 holds about 0.35 g of powder, so that three capsules should be taken three times daily to achieve the standard dose. Size 00 holds about 0.5 g of powder, requiring two capsules to be taken three times daily.