The Starter Alternative First Aid Kit

[MaryN]

When you need to rely on Mother Nature to deal with some basic ailments. You can obtain many items from your garden.

Contents:

Jar of Honey – preferably Manuka, but otherwise local to you and unpasteurised. To help with healing wounds and injuries.

Plantain leaf – dried or fresh. Use to reduce the itch and swelling in insect bites or, say, nettle stings. We all know this one. Said to contain antibacterial and antiseptic properties. Can also be used as a gargle. Leaves can be used whole as temporary bandages.

Hawthorn – use berries or leaves. Helpful for indigestion, stomach pain and anxiety. Be careful in its use, it has an effect on the heart.

Apple cider vinegar. This has multiple uses. The most basic uses include help for upset stomachs; a soothing wash for sore skin; gargle for sore throats.

Willow – use bark. One of the oldest remedies for headache and other aches and pains. Make a tea of the bark – sweeten with honey if needed.

Horsemint, Rosemary and Marigolds help to repel mosquitoes and other biting insects. Crush the leaves and rub them on your skin.

You might know other useful items to add.

[Straight Shooter]

Hello! Mary! Great post! Many thanks!

[Scythe13]

I'd definitely add some Oregano. Make an infusion to help with a cough.

Peppermint, camomile, or both, as an infusion, to help settle the stomach.

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Brilliant thread by the way Mary.

[Geordie_Rob]

Would ordinary shop honey be pasteurised? I tried honey from the supermarket on my eczema a while back it didn't help at all. Maybe that's why it didn't help.

[Straight Shooter]

Horseradish? Any ideas for med use mary? Got loads of it.

[MaryN]

Horseradish is brilliant stuff, S. You know that feeling when you catch a really hot bit and it sort of sandblasts your sinuses? Well, it is used for sinus problems - clears things right out. Because it is a very "warm" plant, it has been used to treat arthritic conditions, respiratory problems (as a poultice or a plaster); chilblains and really stuffy coughs and colds. It can also be used for bladder infections - it has been found to have both antibiotic and antiseptic effects. The usual way to prepare it is by infusing grated root in various liquids - water; cider vinegar with honey; sometimes even milk. I guess it would be to your own taste.

I love horseradish - what would a beef sandwich be without it!

[Scythe13]

I know that fox gloves can be used for treatment of certain heart conditions, but if you get the concentration wrong....you're dead!

[MaryN]

Absolutely, Scythe, digitalis can be lethal if the dose is wrong. It's probably a bit too advanced for a first aid kit unless you are an experienced herbalist.

[Skean Dhude]

(21 April 2014, 20:00)Geordie_Rob Wrote: Would ordinary shop honey be pasteurised? I tried honey from the supermarket on my eczema a while back it didn't help at all. Maybe that's why it didn't help.

It should say on the label if it is pasteurised or not.

I don't know if that would make a difference though although I suspect it wouldn't, when honey crystalizes you heat it up to restore it.