Medicine chest herbal help : Colds and Flu

Diffused Rosewood for colds and flu

Rosewood is also a great essential oil to diffuse during meditation.
Calming yet does not promote drowsiness. A relaxing oil, it calms the mind as it stabilizes the centralnervous system.

rosewood essential oil

Try using in a diffuser or aroma lamp to keep colds, coughs and sinus problems at a minimum this fall and winter.

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Cold relief Bath

This bath can be a lifesaver when you’re not feeling well, especially when coming down with a cold.

To a warm bath, add 4 drops Lavender and 4 drops Tea Tree. 

Get plenty of rest and you'll be back to your old self in no time!

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Pine needle Tea

This tea is refrshing and loaded with vitamin C.
pine needles can be found all year around in the woods. Please take from as high up as possible as the deer also feed on them.

pine needles cut into 1 inch pieces

Best to use a coffee brewer with filters.

Take a had full of pine needles and cut into inch long sections and rinse under cold water. Place the needles in a coffee filter, put in enough water for about five cups, and proceed as usual. When brewer is finished, toss out the needles, and pour up your tea -can be sweetened with honey or sugar to taste, then refrigerate. Or you may prepare as any hot tea beverage , a cup at a time.

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Althea officinalis- (MarshMallow) Cough syrup:

Place 3 tbsp. fresh crushed althea herb in ½ cup cold water, let stand 8 hours. Press and strain, add to honey and lemon. Take in tbsp. doses as often as needed.

Althea officinalis- (MarshMallow) Tea:

To 1 cup cold water add 3 tsp. dried herb or root, or ¼ cup fresh herb,
let stand 8 hours. Press and drain, warm, and sweeten to taste.
NOTE

The root is used dried then ground into a powder, made into a paste and roasted to make the sweet 'marshmallow' . When boiled and then fried with onions it is said to make a palatable dish.

The water left over from cooking any part of the plant especially the root, can be used as an egg-white substitute in making meringues, it is concentrated by boiling until it has a similar consistency to egg white.
Mallows are analgesic, antitussive, demulcent, diuretic, febrifuge, highly emollient, slightly laxative and odontalgic.

Mallow or  Hibiscus tea is well known in alternative medicine for its use as a demulcent to soothe throat inflammations and laryngitis, as an expectorant for coughs and bronchitis.

It is used in the treatment of dysentery, lung ailments and urinary ailments. The tea is also taken for gastritis and enteritis or used as an enema for intestinal inflammations, and is an excellent laxative for young children.

Used externally to wash wounds and sores or made into an emollient salve or poultice to soothe skin inflammations.

The root is used as a toothbrush or pealed and given for teething children to chew.

A decoction of the roots has been used to treat fevers and to reduce blood pressure.

The seeds are also chewed as a nervine, stomachic and to sweeten the breath, also said to be aphrodisiac.

Fragrant flowers are also used in potpourri.