Cathy’s Wealth of Health: Treatment of Minor Injuries with Herbs and Food
By Cathy McNease, Dipl CH, RH
Summer time finds us spending more time outside at play in the long days, and sometimes that leads to an injury. Many simple home remedies can alleviate suffering. What follows are some simple remedies to help with the booboos of summer. Once the very hot days arrive, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, lemon juice and mung beans, can all be used to prevent dehydration and overheating. A large natural food store or Oriental market will have all of the remedies mentioned.
Simple Herbal Home Remedies for Common Ailments
Abdominal pain: valerian; chamomile; fennel; ginger; cinnamon; peony + licorice
Anxiety: valerian; chamomile; poppy; passion flower vine; Cal-Mag;
Bee stings: clay; plantain; aloe; vinegar + baking soda
Bladder infection: uva ursi; marshmallow; dandelion; cranberry; coptis; D-Mannose
Bleeding: tienchi; comfrey root powder; cayenne; seaweed; yarrow; charcoal
Bruises: tienchi; turmeric; Zheng Gu Shui liniment; fresh ginger poultice; arnica ointment
Boils: clay; dandelion; honeysuckle; coptis; goldenseal; violet leaf
Burns: honey; aloe; calendula; lavender oil; Ching Wan Hung burn ointment
Colds: Fever more- mint, echinacea; lemon balm; feverfew; honeysuckle; Yin Qiao
Chills: more- fresh ginger, garlic, cayenne;
Cold sores (herpes simplex): isatis leaf or root; lemon balm (melissa); tree tree oil
Colic: fennel; ginger; catnip; chamomile; mint
Constipation: honey; olive oil; aloe gel; Triphala; flax seeds; psyllium husks (+water)
Cough: eucalyptus oil (steam), ginger; garlic; licorice; mullein, marshmallow root; apricot seeds; honey (dry cough); pears; Planetary Old Indian Syrup
Cuts: tienchi; calendula; comfrey; dandelion; plantain; coptis; goldenseal
Diarrhea: white rice; pectin; probiotics; black tea; blackberry or raspberry leaf; Huang Lian Su Pian; kudzu; if watery and cold- Chinese yam, cinnamon; if hot and burning- slippery elm
Dysmenorrhea: valerian; turmeric; ginger; saffron; dang gui; peony; motherwort
Earache: mullein oil; garlic oil; echinacea; Bi Yan Pian
Fever: feverfew; mint; elder; honeysuckle; echinacea; lemon balm; Yin Qiao; Vit.C; if due to weakness-American Ginseng
Flu: see “colds”: boneset; Arnica oil (for massage); Oscillococcinum; isatis
Food poisoning: honeysuckle; fresh ginger; perilla; garlic; charcoal; Huo Xiang Zheng Qi Wan (also for stomach flu); Huang Lian Su Pian
Fungal infection: pau d’arco; tea tree oil; Citricidal; vinegar; thyme
Hangover: mung bean; shen qu; umeboshi-kudzu broth; pears; B vitamins; water
Headache: Chuan Xiong Cha Tiao Wan; feverfew; White Flower Oil; peppermint
Heartburn: goldenseal; Huang Lian Su; cuttlefish bone; DGL licorice tablets; slippery elm
Indigestion: chamomile; mint; hawthorn; papaya; Curing Pills; umeboshi plum
Insomnia: chamomile; valerian; scullcap; Suan Zao Ren Tang; Cal-Mag; passion flower vine; hops; Planetary Herbal’s Valerian Easy Sleep
Liver injury by Tylenol: prevent with burdock root; milk thistle seed
Nausea: fresh ginger; chamomile; mint; Huo Xiang Zheng Qi Wan/Shui
Nerve pain (tooth, smashed finger, stubbed toe): St. John’s wort oil, tincture, or homeopathic (Contraindicated with many pharmaceuticals including birth control pills, anti-depressants, chemotherapy drugs and blood thinners)
Parasites: garlic; pumpkin seeds; walnut husks; wormwood; Citricidal
PMS: Xiao Yao Wan; chasteberry; peony; cyperus; Cal-Mag
Poison Oak: mugwort; clay; dandelion; calendula; Yin Qiao; vinegar; oatmeal baths; Xiao Feng San; plantain leaf; jewelweed
Shock: 911!; Rescue Remedy; if limbs are limp and cold- ginger, ginseng, cayenne
Sores: calendula; comfrey; plantain; tea tree oil; coptis; goldenseal; Manuka honey
Spider bites: charcoal paste; coptis; golden seal; plantain; vinegar + baking soda
Staph/Strep infections: tea tree oil; echinacea; garlic; lavender oil; coptis; Manuka honey; Citricidal
Throat pain: licorice; mint; burdock; salt water gargle; isatis root/leaf; Yin Qiao
Vaccination reactions: echinacea; Thuja (homeopathic)
Vaginal infections: tea tree oil; Citricidal; white vinegar (not cider); Yin Care
Viral infections: echinacea; ginger; honeysuckle; Citricidal; garlic; Yin Qiao; isatis root or leaf
Vomiting: fresh ginger; mint; chamomile; Huo Xiang Zheng Qi Wan
Wounds: calendula; comfrey; tienchi; dandelion
Yeast infections: tea tree oil; Citricidal; pau d’arco; garlic; probiotics
Please note that these remedies are provided as educational and anecdotal information and are not intended to replace care by a medical professional. If a simple ailment does not improve in a short amount of time, more specific diagnostics may be indicated.
This Second Edition of In Harmony with the Seasons includes a new introduction and seven additional chapters offering Tools for Sanity. It brings us current in the author’s life, adding lessons learned and knowledge acquired since the First Edition’s publication.
In Harmony with the Seasons is a collection of writings on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that represents the culmination of a life spent as a teacher and practitioner of this medicine. Practical advice is given about relieving common health complaints, using foods, herbs, and lifestyle adjustments. To be in harmony with the seasons is to be connected to the natural world, and thus, our own bodies. Nature heals. This collection will give you tools to facilitate that process. TCM Practitioners will enjoy the Chinese dietary guidance, based on organ (Zang-Fu) imbalances. Plant lovers and gardeners will be interested in the botanical families of foods and herbs. Using the lens of TCM, these articles are intended to inform and inspire individuals on a quest for better health, physically, emotionally and spiritually.