Natural Health Remedies

Herbs are defined as any plant that is used for fragrant, flavor, or medicinal purposes and Man has been successfully using herbs for medicine for untold centuries. However, with the advancement of modern medicine, herbal medicine has fallen by the wayside partly because it is often thought of as folklore and thus less effective than modern medicine and partly due to conditioning by the major drug companies who want us to purchase their processed and patented pharmaceuticals instead of naturally available medicines. Therefore, as a survival prepper, the two choices available to you are to either stockpile common modern medicines (all of which have an expiration date and some of which are dangerous to take beyond that point) or to take advantage of Nature's cornucopia of natural medicines. In fact, over 40% of the prescription drugs sold in the United States today contain at least one ingredient that is derived from Nature and as many as 25% contain an ingredient derived from a flowering plant. However, due to the structure of patent law in America today, even when modern pharmaceuticals do incorporate natural plant substances, the manufacturer often subjects them to various processes in order to extract single, isolated, chemical components instead of taking advantage of the complex mix of chemical compounds contained in the plant naturally. On the other hand, in many developing countries such as China and India, herbal medicine is widely accepted as both a safe and effective means of treating many medical conditions and many of their traditional herbal cures have been vindicated by modern science. Therefore, in the following section, you will find information on various herbal medicines that can be found in Nature and which were specifically chosen to duplicate the effects of common modern medicines that most people keep on hand in their medicine chests such as aspirin, antacid, antihistamines, and antibiotics. Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that when we are in the field, our bodies are especially susceptible to minor injuries such as cuts, scrapes, and abrasions which can quickly become infected if not treated as well as colds and flu which can develop into pneumonia. Consequently, having a thorough knowledge of the following herbal medicines will not only serve to replace the pharmaceuticals you keep in your medicine chest in the event that they suddenly become unavailable, it will provide you with a means of treating yourself in the field when necessary.

Plant Preparations -

It should be noted that the plants used for herbal medicine are generally most potent when in flower and thus, it is best to harvest them at this time. Also, it should be noted that herbal plants are generally prepared in one of five different ways consisting of expressed juices, poultices, splinting agents, infusions, and decoctions. However, it should also be noted that often times, different parts of a plant are used for different purposes. For instance, infusions are usually made from leaves or flowers and decoctions are usually made from the roots. In addition, you should always prepare poultices, infusions, and decoctions from raw materials immediately prior to use and never keep them for more than 12 hours.

• Expressed Juices are used to treat abrasions, cuts, and rashes and are made by crushing the stems and leaves of a plant to a juicy pulp and then applying only the juice to a wound and the pulp to the infected area around the wound.
• Poultices are used to treat bruises, sprains, rashes, abrasions, and cuts, and are made by crushing the entire plant into a juicy pulp and then forming it into a flat pad which is then placed directly on the injury and covered with a large leaf or two and then bound into place.
• Tisanes (aka infusions) are used to treat ailments internally and are made by crushing the leaves and/or flowers into a juicy pulp (or by drying and grinding them) and then pouring approximately 20 ounces of boiling water over approximately one ounce of herb to create a tisane which is then consumed orally once it has cooled.
• Tinctures (aka decoctions) are used to treat ailments internally and are made by cutting, scraping, and crushing the roots of a plant into a pulp (or by drying and grinding them) and then pouring approximately 1 1/2 pints of boiling water over approximately two ounces of herb to create a tisane which is then boiled until the volume has been reduced by one third.
• Extracts are merely tinctures that have been reduced to either an essential oil or a dried powder and thus, they are a more concentrated form than tinctures.
• Salves are used to treat bruises, sprains, rashes, abrasions, and cuts, and are made by mixing either the dried and powdered form of the plant or the extract with a combination of heated olive oil, beeswax, and vitamin E (acts as a preservative) to create a remedy for topical use.
• Drying & Powdering - Because most herbal remedies are best prepared immediately prior to use, a common way to store and transport them is to harvest them when they are in bloom (when they are the most potent) and then dry and crush them into a powder which can later be used to create poultices, tisanes, tinctures, extracts, and salves.
• Splinting Agents are plants that contains so much starch that they will form a hard shell when properly prepared and allowed to dry. Thus, they are also used to hold poultices in place as well as to help immobilize splinted limbs. They are made by crushing, boiling, and reducing the roots of the Comfrey plant or Solomon's Seal and the resultant is allowed to cool and then packed around the injury.