The Herbmonger

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Foiling Fungal & Viral Infections

With the use of some common herbs and common sense, you can do battle against fungal infections. Garlic (Allium sativum) will banish most fungal infections. It is worth putting up with the smell, but don't use it -- in any form -- on broken skin. Garlic juice, as an ointment, or garlic vinegar will be efficacious. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and marigold (Calendula officinalis), are also good antifungals. Use them powdered in baby's talc (or cornstarch) for athlete's foot. Chamomile vinegar, recipe below, is good for groin infections.

Chamomile Vinegar Wash

Two varieties of chamomile are used in medicine. German or wild chamomile, Chamomilla recutita, and Roman or double chamomile, Chamaemelum nobile.

German Chamomile, (from Köhler's Medicinal Plants, 1887). Image from Wikipedia.

German Chamomile
(Chamomilla recutita)

Roman Chamomile, (from Köhler's Medicinal Plants, 1887). Image from Wikipedia.

Roman Chamomile
(Chamaemelum nobile)

Method:

Add a handful of chamomile flowers to 570ml (1 UK pint, 20 fl oz) of cider vinegar.
Steep for 2 weeks. Strain, bottle and label.

Grandmother's injunction to, "wash behind your ears", applies to other intimate parts of the body as well.

Dosage:

Use 1 teaspoon to a cupful of water as a regular wash for the genitals, to restore skin pH, and discourage fungal infections.
Use 2 teaspoons to a cup of water as a douche, or a wash, for vaginal or penile thrush-- or other itchy conditions in the area.

Chamomile Wash For Travellers

To prepare lint wipes for travelling, use 3 teaspoons of the chamomile/cider vinegar wash to a cup of water. Cut pieces of lint to just fit an airtight tin and sprinkle enough of the mixture onto each piece to just dampen it.

Cream For Fungal Infections Of The Nail Bed

These infections result in discoloured and misshapen nails. They can be very stubborn and difficult to eradicate. Once diagnosed, you must persist with the cream for a few months.

Ingredients:

10ml (2 tsp) Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) tincture
20 drops Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) Essential Oil
20 drops Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) Essential Oil
2.5ml (0/5 tsp) St John's Wort (Hypericum perfoliata) infused oil. Olive oil makes an acceptable substitute.
25gm or 1oz (which actually equals 28.36gm) of emulsifying cream or any good, neutral hand cream.

Method: Add the ingredients, one by one, to the cream. Add slowly, stirring all the time. This makes about 50ml nail bed cream.

Dosage: Rub, sparingly but well into the skin around the nails twice daily.

Notes: The antifungals in this cream are tea tree and thyme. The horsetail tincture will provide silica -- nature's healing agent as it assists in the regeneration of connective tissue -- the skin being your first line of defence. St John's Wort infused oil is added as an anti-inflammatory to aid in the healing process, as inflammation impedes healing.

Antiviral Cold Sore Lotion

This recipe is based on using the flowering tops from St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum). This herb has various actions, and they depend upon when the plant or plant parts are harvested. The main constituents with antiviral actions are hypericin and pseudohypericin, and these are found at their highest levels when the flowers are in blossom. It's too early in the year to make this now, but it's such a good remedy, make a note in your diary for next June.

St John's Wort Flower
(Hypericum perforatum)

Ingredients:

30 gm fresh St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum), flowering tops
10 gm Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum), leaves and flowers
10 gm Myrrh resin (Commiphora molmol)
Small sprig of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Vodka or brandy, sufficient to cover

NB: If you don't have access to Herb Robert, any of the small wild Geranium species will make a reasonable substitute.

Method:

Grind the myrrh to a fine powder in a mortar.
Add a small amount of the alcohol and pound together.
Add the fresh herbs and pound until the leaves and flowers are well bruised.
Put everything into a clear glass jar.
Pour on enough of the alcohol to cover the dry ingredients.
Put the lid on the jar and stand it in a sunny place.
Shake from time to time.
After 28 days, strain into an amber bottle, label and date.

Herb Robert
(Geranium robertianum)

Dosage and uses:

To use, dab onto the skin at the first sign of a cold sore. Repeat every few hours if necessary.

This lotion also works on genital herpes and can help with shingles if applied at the first signs or after the blisters have dried.

A note about the herbs: St. John's wort is antiviral and a nerve strengthener. Herb Robert is antiviral, antiseptic, and astringent. Myrrh is antiseptic and healing. The resin seals the other herbs in place. Rosemary is antiseptic and a stimulant.

Coming Next Month.....

We look forward to the sunny, summer bounty to come, with part 1 of a 2 part article on the uses of Calendula (Calendula officinalis) to make ointments, creams and tinctures.

Herbal Remedies: A Practical Beginner's Guide to Making Effective Remedies in the Kitchen.

The Herbmonger first appeared on the Herb Society website in 1998 and continued until about 2002. It is the creation of Christopher Hedley AHG and Non Shaw. And reappears back on the Herb Society website with the kind permission of Chris and Non. Both are practising medical herbalists in London and have co-authored Herbal Remedies: A Practical Beginner's Guide to Making Effective Remedies in the Kitchen. Parragon Press, 1996 ISBN-10: 0752577514 .

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