Herbal Remedies

Introduction

Herbal remedies - or herbalism - involves the use of medicinal herbs to help cure or alleviate suffering as caused by illnesses or ailments. It is a practice which is a great deal older than Western orthodox medicine, which constitutes pharmaceutical drugs prescribed to treat a patient's symptoms. Many of these drugs were originally derived from plants, although it is not a subject much talked about. Although other ways of treating health also use herbal remedies - for example, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM for short) and Ayurvedic medicine (the traditional healing system of India) - these will not be mentioned in this article for several reasons. The first being that those are unfamiliar to me, the second being that this article is concerned with the traditional way of treating illness as practised in the UK and Europe before pharmaceutical medicine drove up the road. Although there is a great deal of information waiting for curious eyes to find it, both in books and on the web, on the subject of pharmaceutical medicine, the topic will only be touched on in passing.

Herbal Healing?

Today's Western orthodox medicine seems to be in stark contrast to the traditional medicine of a couple of centuries ago. However, it must be said that much of today's pharmaceutical medicines are derived from plants. For example, the drug aspirin was derived originally from the bark of the willow tree, whilst digitalis was originally got from the foxglove. Some other examples can be found on http://www.rain-tree.com/plantdrugs.htm#.VZuTIvmFmhY. 

According to Herbalism, by Christopher Robbins, p.68, herbalists '...normally choose herbs for prescriptions on the basis of their actions on the body, and not because they match the patient's symptoms.' In other words, the herbalist will try to match the herb to what may be seen as the underlying cause behind the symptoms the patient presents them with. For example, if a person came up to the herbalist with symptoms that were seen as relating to a sluggish liver, they may be given liverwort to encourage their liver to function, rather than being given remedies that tackle the immediate problem. This is, of course, contrary to how practitioners of orthodox Western medicine practice. Medical doctors would prescribe the patient with medicines that are supposed to tackle with the symptoms. 

   Herbalism is one of the types of complementary therapies in which the whole person is considered, and not just their physical ailments which afflict their well-being. This is called the holistic approach and is the principle adopted by most complementary therapists. Indeed, the mental, spiritual, emotional and psychological aspects of a person are taken into account, not just their physical state as well their nutrition. The herbs given for ailments are tailored to the person being treated, to address the ailment on these dimensions.

     Although herbal remedies do not have side-effects - unlike pharmaceutical drugs - not all of them are suited to everyone. For example, some herbs are supposed to avoided in pregnancy - a fact which also goes for some aromatherapy oils. These are best looking into at length, should a pregnant woman take herbal remedies or aromatherapy oils. Also, some people may be allergic to some plants - which means that they can't take a particular herbal remedy. However, such allergies should be listed in the first session with the herbalist, as that is the time when they need a detailed background of the person's health, which included any allergies. This means that the herbalist should be able to prescribe remedies that are from herbs that the person is not allergic to.

 Taking herbs

Although herbs can be taken as "supplements" taken in tablet form, that is not the best way to truly enjoy their benefits. 

Poultice - A poultice is made by grinding up the dried herb, adding water - sufficient quantity to make it into a paste - then it is applied on the afflicted area with a bandage wrapped over to keep it in place.

Infusion - The herb - which can be dried or left fresh, but washed - is placed in a mug and hot boiled water is poured on top. The leaves are left to rest in the mug then taken out after about five minutes. They are then taken out and the tea is then drunk.

Tincture - These are made by chopping up the herb. This is then put into a clean jar of suitable size, with spirit mixed with water added. Ensure that this is labelled clearly. This mixture is then left in a cool, dark place for two weeks and the liquid is strained through a sieve into small, glass bottles that are clean. Label these with the name of the substance, e.g. 'lavendar tincture' and date made. Make sure you know how much to take of the tincture.

Herbal Remedies, by Christopher Hedley and Non Shaw gives an excellent account of how to make these, as well as how to make ointments and creams. However, the tincture of poultice of a herb can be applied externally if mixed with aloe vera gel, which can be obtained easily.

Some herbs and their uses

Aloe Vera - Can be used for burns, wounds, stings, bee stings, sun burn, burns, diabetes, antiseptic, antibacterial, astringent, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-tumour, anti-viral, blood sugar lowering, breastplate angina, bronchitis, bruises, cerebral trauma, coronary insufficiencies, cystitis, decongestive, diuretic, headaches, heart palpitations, hypertension, hysteria, inflammation from insect bites, insomnia, kidney infections, liver protection, lung virosis, moral depressions, muscle aches, nephritis, neurosis, nightmares, night terrors, paresis, rheumatic pain, semiparesis, sprains, superficial phlebitis, wound healing, haemorrhage, irritable bladder, bleeding... the list goes on and on! For burns, stings, etc. it can be applied externally. This is done by applying the gel from the leaves, which, although best fresh from the leaf if a plant is available, can be purchased from natural health shops. Aloe vera can be taken internally - as a tea made from the leaves.

Blackcurrent - in Grow Your Own Drugs, p.158, Wong says is

'...used to treat long-lasting inflammatory skin conditions like eczema, as well as PMS, breast pain, mild hypertension and rheumatic disorders. Blackcurrent oil outperforms evening primrose oil, though it needs to be taken over 6 months for best effect. As the oil comes from the seeds, it's probably easier to buy rather than make at home, as you'll need very large quantities of fruit. You can, however, make the leaves into a tea for use as a mild diuretic, to lower blood pressure and alleviate inflammatory sore throats. The berries themselves are also antiviral, protecting against flu.'

 

Chickweed - in Herbal Healers, p.16, Kindred tells us: 'Use an infusion of the leaves to soothe all inflammations of the digestive system, including stomach ulcers, colitis, cramps. It has an affinity to the lungs, and is helpful for bronchitis, pleurisy, coughs and hoarseness.' 

Milkwort - According to p.37 of Lust's About Herbs, milkwort '...is used for its milk-giving properties...'. Its root, when powdered, '...is prescribed for pleurisy, and in cases of dropsy three teaspoonfuls an hour of a decoction made from the roots has proved successful.' 

For more information on herbs, there is a list of recommended books for further reading at the end of the article.

 

Folk names

Sometimes, the folk names given to plants gives an indication of what their traditional uses in herbal remedies might be. But it is not always the case, and discrimination and logic must be exercised. To illustrate, lemon balm also goes under the name of Bee balm. This does not, however, mean that the plant is good for bee stings, or anything to do with bees. A bit of research may reveal why it has its namesake, as well as further investigation that shows that it is not necessarily good for treating bee stings. Usually, plants' names that suggest their herbal properties, include the Old English wort, which means, according to the Oxford English dictionary, means 'herb, plant', although, as the small list below will show, this is not always the case. 

Bone-set - Comfrey

Bruisewort - Daisy
Eyebright - A remedy recommended by herbalists for eye problems.
Feverfew - A remedy still recommended today by herbalists for treating headaches, migraines and fevers.

Heartsease - Wild violet

Knitbone - Comfrey
Liverwort - Used for ailments of the liver.

Lungwort - Common lungwort
Milk thistle - One use of this spiky plant is to take this (that is, the inside of the plant, which has the spiky outside sliced off) to increase the mother's supply of milk.
Milkwort - Traditionally, this was (and some people still use it as such) the remedy for increasing the mother's supply of milk

Motherwort - Recommended for motherly/female ailments
Pilewort - Lesser celadine

Piss-in-the-bed - Dandelion (in herbalism, dandelion is a diuretic!)

Ribwort - English plaintain
Scabwort - Elecampagne
Spleenwort - A type of fern, which, according to Wikipedia, 'was useful for ailments of the spleen, due to the spleen-shaped sori on the backs of the fronds.' However, I can't find any confirmation of this in books. Nonetheless, a branch of herbalism believed that if a plant resembled, in some way, a body part or ailment (e.g. the spleen, or piles), then that plant must be a remedy for the ailments of that body part, or for that condition.
Wormwood - This plant has been traditionally used to treat worms, as well as other parasites.

Applications

 

These 'case histories' below are completely fabricated but designed to illustrate how, practically, herbal medicines may be taken for real ailments.

 

Daisy has sore, tired eyes which are irritated by constantly watching television. Although she has stopped watching television after realising how bad her eyes felt, her eyes are still feeling sore and tired. 

She is prescribed eyebright, a herbal powder she is advised to mix in water and have a daily eye-bath twice a day, or each time her eyes feel tired. One or two teaspoons mixed in warm water carefully splashed on the closed eyes. 

Other advice: Daisy could give Bate's Method a go, to see if that can improve the condition of her eyes. Although it may benefit those with short or long sightedness, it may help her eyes to get better and recover from excess strain. 

Luke has worms. He is a black Labrador dog. His owner, Jane, who is a practising herbalist, decides to give him powdered wormwood in his dog food, twice a day, for a few weeks. She has also heard that one hundred pumpkin seeds, when eaten, can cure an outbreak or worms. She grinds these and mixes them into Luke's dog food. 

Penny is recovering from having broken her ankle. She applies the poutlice of comfrey onto her trouble ankle and takes comfrey tea internally.

Jake, a 5-year-old boisterous, rowdy lad is constantly covered in bruises. His parents apply poultices of bruisewort (daisy) onto the bruises, which help to reduce inflammation and pain.

Who was Nicholas Culpeper?

Culpeper is one of the most well-known herbalists of today. He was the author of Complete Herbal, a book which lists descriptions and uses for countless different herbs and plants that were available in his time. Today, the Complete Herbal is still available to buy, due to re-publication. His book provides an interesting insight into his herbal knowledge which also accommodated knowledge of astrology in relation to the planets. 

He was born in 1616 and died in 1654.  According to the Science Museum website, he was '...an English apothecary and physician.' Also, he '...published books in English, giving healers who could not read Latin access to medical and pharmaceutical knowledge.'

According to the Skyscript website, 'At the age of ten Nicholas started reading astrological and medical texts from his grandfather's library. In particular Sir Christopher Heydon's Defence of Judicial Astrology (1603) greatly impressed him. He was fond of reading and looking at the illustrations in William Turner's New Herball (1568). From his early teens he was familiar with all the local species of herbs that grew in his part of Sussex. BY 13 he was an avid reader of many of the books available in the library.'

Culpeper's book, Complete Herbal, was known as The English Physician, according to the Science Museum website. This had been first published in 1653. 

References

Herbal Remedies - by Hedley, Christopher and Shaw, Non

Nature's Medicines - by Digest, Reader's

The Country Way of Cures and Remedies - by Page, Robin

Grow Your Own Drugs (As seen on BBC) - by Wong, James

Herbal Healers by Kindred, Glennie

About Herbs - by Lust, Dr Benedict

Culpeper's Complete Herbal - by Culpeper, Nicholas

Neal's Yard Natural Remedies - by Curtis, Susan; Fraser, Romy and Kohler, Irene

Herbalism - by Robbins, Christopher

Nicholas Culpeper  

Science Museum 

Skyscript

Edible Wild Food