plants such as aloe vera, purslane, pomegranate, cleavers, ginger, marshmallow, nettle, mint or dandelion. Juice provides a concentrate, easily assimilated by the body. Cabbage juice, for example, is excellent for relieving peptic ulcers, gastritis, heart burn and ulcerative colitis. Fresh juices provide the best source of vital energy and are often preferable, but practically they can only be used where there are fresh herbs available. 10–30ml can be taken daily.
Herbal Pastes
Crushed dried plants or powder mixed with water or aloe gel can be used to make a paste. Pastes are generally intended for poultices and plasters which can be used externally. Herbs that speed healing and soothe the skin can be made into pastes including calendula, turmeric, slippery elm, aloe vera and gotu kola.
Suppositories
Suppositories can be made easily by mixing powdered herbs with cocoa butter. Warm cocoa butter in a double boiler until it melts, remove from the heat and stir in powdered herbs, enough to make a paste. Mix well then place in the fridge to harden. Next, roll it out until it is about ¾″thick and cut into ¾″ strips which can be inserted into the rectum or vagina. Insert one suppository 2–3 times daily.
The advantage of using suppositories is that the herbal remedy can be absorbed quickly directly into the bloodstream through the mucosa of the rectum or vagina. This not only enables both local and systemic problems to be treated quickly and simply but it also obviates the laborious process of giving herbs by mouth to travel the distance of the alimentary canal before being absorbed.
Making suppositories.
Preparations for External Use
Most herbal constituents are absorbed readily through the skin and the following preparations are designed to enhance this pathway into the body. The easiest way of course to use herbs externally is to apply them directly to the skin as we do when we rub a dock leaf on to a nettle sting.
Juice
The fresh juice of many remedies can be applied directly to the skin. Aloe vera juice, for example can be rubbed on to the skin to soothe burns, bites, and stings. The juice of dock leaves is famous for relieving nettle stings. Greater celandine is a very effective treatment for warts. Just pick a stem and it will immediately start to ooze brilliant tangerine-yellow sap. Cover the wart in the juice every day for three weeks and the wart will disappear.
Ointments and Creams
Ointments and creams can be applied to the skin not only to treat skin problems but also to relieve less superficial problems such as inflamed joints and headaches. Any herb fresh or dried can be included in an ointment using this simple recipe:
1 Melt 50gm (2oz) of beeswax with 450mls (¾ pint) of olive oil in a pyrex bowl over a low heat in a double boiler.
2 Add as much herb as possible to the oil and leave to macerate on the heat for a few hours. After this time the constituents will have been taken up by the oil and the mixture can then be poured through a piece of muslin placed over a jug and then squeezed to extract as much of the oil as possible. The herb can then be discarded.
3 When the oil is still warm it can be poured into clean ointment jars where it will quickly solidify. Seal with an airtight lid and label clearly. Store in a cool, dark place.
Creams can be made up easily by stirring tinctures, infusions, decoctions or a few drops of essential oil into a cream base such as aqueous cream. 2–3 drops of chamomile oil mixed into 2oz (50gm) of cream works well on many types of eczema.
Compresses
A clean cloth or flannel can be soaked in a strong hot or cold infusion or a decoction, a dilute tincture or water with a few drops of diluted essential oil, then wrung out and applied to the affected part. This can help relieve symptoms such as headaches, abdominal pain and colic, backache, boils and painful joints. The treatment needs to repeated several times for good effect.
Poultices
These are similar to compresses but involve using the herb itself rather than an extract of the herb.
1 Place the herb, fresh or dried between two pieces of gauze. If you use fresh leaves, stems or roots, they need to be bruised before being applied. If the herbs are dry, add a little hot water to powdered or finely chopped herbs to make a paste.
2 Use a light cotton bandage to bind the gauze poultice to the affected part and keep it warm with a hot water bottle. Replace after 4 hours and apply about 3 times a day in total.
Some herbs, such as cabbage leaves, can be applied directly to the skin. They need to be softened first by removing any hard stalks or ribs and immersing them briefly in hot water to prevent any discomfort to the skin. Once applied they can be secured in place by a light bandage and left overnight.
Liniments
A rubbing oil or liniment consists of extracts of herbs in an oil or tincture, or a mixture of both. The oils can be infused oils or essential oils diluted in a base such as sesame oil. They are used in massage to relax or stimulate muscles and ligaments, or to soothe away pain from inflammation or injury. They are intended to be absorbed by the skin to reach the affected part, and so they often contain stimulating essential oils such as ginger or black pepper and are therefore not suitable for use on delicate baby skins.
Oils
Essential oils need to be used with care especially with children and babies. They can be used diluted in a base oil such as sesame oil (1–2 drops of oil per 5ml of base oil) for massage and to add to the bath. They can be used in burners to permeate the atmosphere or in inhalations for a variety of symptoms such as colds, catarrh, coughs, insomnia and anxiety.
While essential oils are extracted from aromatic plants professionally by steam distillation, infused oils can be prepared easily at home.
1 Place finely chopped, preferably fresh herbs (make sure they are not wet) in a jar with a tight fitting lid, cover them with an oil such as almond, coconut, olive or sesame, pouring it up to the top of the jar, and then stir well.
2 Add the lid, label the jar with the name of the herb and the date, then leave the jar on a sunny windowsill to macerate for about 2 to 4 weeks. Be aware that if there is moisture on the plant or in the jar, or it is left too long, the oil may go mouldy.
The oil will gradually take up the constituents of the plant; you can see this in action when you macerate St John's wort flowers in oil. In a matter of minutes, the oil will turn a deep red colour. St John's wort oil is a very useful remedy for healing cuts and sores, and when massaged over the affected part, it can relieve painful nerve conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia and shingles. After 2–4 weeks filter the oil through muslin into a clean jug, squeezing hard to extract as much oil as possible from the flowers. Then
