What are the must haves in your herbal medicine cabinet?

[thrillofhope]

The rules: You must give *specific* directions for use. No one is allowed to say, "I use XYZ essential oil for sleep." It needs to be more like, "I dilute # drops of XYZ oil in # drops (or give us a ratio) of ABC oil and apply to my feet for sleep." Got it? Okay! Let's go!

I use lavender and TTO for respiratory problems (primarily because those are the only oils we have right now. ). DD gets a really croupy cough, and I put her in a hot shower (as hot as a four year old is safe in) and sprinkle a bunch of TTO and lavender oil on the shower floor (maybe 10-15 drops of each). The smell lasts a long time and really seems to help. She just sits in the shower and breathes.

[mamacat]

Does it have to be just oils or herbs? My go tos are Epsom salts and Bentonite Clay.Epsom Salts great for soaking sore bruised sprained body.My son healed a bad case of ringworm on feet by using them each night. Clay good for insect bites or stings,upset tummy.

[keeper4ever]

[Aerynne]

A dropperful of milk thistle extract in a shot glass of water is great for food poisoning.

When I feel a cold coming on, I put 15-30 drops of cayenne extract in a shot glass of water, take a hot shower, then another dose of cayenne. Bundle up and wait for the cold to go away within hours.

A few drops of eucalyptus oil in a humidifier makes stuffy kids and adults breathe well all night long.

[MidnightCafe]

I use 8-10 drops of eucalyptus oil in the bath for anyone with congestion. I also will us 5 drops in an infuser for the same reason.

A few teaspoons of oregano simmered in a few cups of water on the stove with cinnamon sticks is also good for colds & congestion. Add honey to taste. It's kind of nasty otherwise.

My DH uses echinacea tincture when he feels a cold coming on (follow directions on the bottle). It works very well for him. It bothers my stomach. So, I don't use it.

We all drink ginger tea or mint tea for stomach upset. Typically we just buy the yogi tea brand, but I *have* made ginger tea from scratch by boiling ginger root in water. You can keep a chunk in ginger root in your freezer for a long time. Just cut off a piece and boil it to make tea. Again, add sweetener to taste.

Ginger tea also opens your blood vessels and warms you in the winter! Other favorite warming teas in my house: Good Earth & Bengal Spice.

Vespera has used St. John's Wort tincture for wintertime blues - again, according to the directions on the bottle.

We use grapefruit seed extract for possible ear infections (or garlic oil, but nobody here is a big fan of smelling like garlic). Put a drop or two in the painful ear.

Clove oil diluted in a carrier oil (like almond) is good for mosquito bites - 1 drop per tablespoon of oil.

We use arnica gel for bruises. This stuff is miraculous!

Black Tea bags soaked in warm water & gently squeezed out can be placed over the eyes to draw out Pink Eye infection.

I know there are more...but this is what I can think of offhand...

---------- Post added at 05:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:57 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Aerynne

A dropperful of milk thistle extract in a shot glass of water is great for food poisoning.

I need to remember this!

---------- Post added at 05:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:00 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Aerynne

When I feel a cold coming on, I put 15-30 drops of cayenne extract in a shot glass of water, take a hot shower, then another dose of cayenne. Bundle up and wait for the cold to go away within hours.

I have been afraid of using cayenne, but I've read such great things about it. Does it upset your stomach because of the spice?

[thrillofhope]

Originally Posted by mamacat

Does it have to be just oils or herbs? My go tos are Epsom salts and Bentonite Clay.Epsom Salts great for soaking sore bruised sprained body.My son healed a bad case of ringworm on feet by using them each night. Clay good for insect bites or stings,upset tummy.

No, it doesn't. It can be anything you find necessary for keeping on hand. I'm just trying to increase my natural repertoire.

[derdsgirl]

[peekaboomama]

My go-to skin ointment is roughly 4oz pure unrefined coconut oil as a carrier for ~25 drops TTO. Make sure it's well stirred. I use this as a daily moisturizer (I used to have really bad acne that's finally cleared up. I use it only once a day. The other time I use plain CO), on eczema, and for mild itchies in the girly region. When Boo was still in diapers, this was our diaper ointment as well on the very rare occasions we needed it.

From personal experience, this diluted blend works way better than pure TTO. I was using that to spot treat acne and blended with CO gave me better results much quicker.

[celestial princess]

Plantain (one leaf, chewed up) as a poultice for any kind of insect bite/sting.

Lavender oil, straight, applied to any scrape or skin infection.

Garlic lemonade (courtesy Aviva Jill Romm in Naturally Healthy Babies and Children) for incipient respiratory infection: 2-4 cloves minced garlic steeped for 30 mins in 1 qt H2O just off the boil; strain and add juice of .5 lemon (or a whole one, depends on taste) and .25 c honey. Drink warm or room temp.

I had some kind of recurrent fungal skin infection on my hand. I used grapefruit seed extract, diluted according to package directions for skin treatment, any time I washed my hands and it got rid of it. I also used that in combination with lavender oil to treat Candida on my DD.

ARNICA! For anything that's "gonna leave a mark." (Remember that scene from Tommy Boy? LOL)

Throat Coat/Gypsy Cold Care/Breathe Easy - really, any of the Traditional Medicinals brand teas that I have used have been great. You can some times find them at Kroger on mark down - I stock up!

That's all I can think off of the top of my head. I do recommend Naturally Healthy Babies and Children - I keep it as a reference and even take it on vacation with me. she has a cold and flu remedy in there that I made before as an herbal syrup (she has it listed as a combination of tinctures) that works GREAT!

[shaslove]

We do one dose of elderberry syrup/daily when fighting a cold. Also tea bags (black) for mouth sores-steep in cold water lightly & hold in mouth.

[staceylayne]

We dont get sick much and I tend to be a drink some water and wait it out (or put a bandaid on and leave it alone) person. Would love to have more go-to remedies that are actually effective. My girls often ask for "cream" for unseen booboos and I'll just use CO or calendula cream...but mostly for the placebo effect.

I did use some arnica cream when D was kicked by a horse and was stunned at how little bruising occurred. I'm sold! (But my kids are more likely to have scrapes and cuts and it's not for use on broken skin. So waiting to get to use it again.)

---------- Post added at 11:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 PM ----------

Hope, lavender and tto are the only oils I have too! Looking to expand my reportoire as well! Thanks for starting this thread!

[mom2boys]

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[peekaboomama]

What's your favorite brand for essential oils? I need new TTO, and I'm going to add lavender and eucalyptus to my cabinet.

[delightedmama]

What's the formula for thieves oil in coconut oil to rub on the feet of someone with a fever?


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[heartofjoy]

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