How to use herbals for bandages, after you have them in hand.

smithlabs (70)in #natural-medicine • last year (edited)

I recently gave a bottle of comfrey tincture to a Lady to help her heal. I called days later, and she hadn't used it because she didn't know how. It seems to be a common problem, so it made sense to do a post on it to try to help others too.

First of all, there are many herbal preparations that can be used to treat problems, in fact; too many to address here, but I will give passing mention to some, while I'm passing.

Most people know of a poultice using fresh plants that are crushed, chewed, or ground; and applied directly to a problem area. These are usually covered with some form of bandage, to retain the skin contact. It also aids in changing the plant material which can need frequent replacement.

I won't address them here, because most people can figure that out. Also, fresh plant matter is hard to come by, at times! Most of the herbals I use on the winter, are either powdered of tinctured; as a method of preservation at the peace of potency. One I use often can't be taken internally (arnica taken internally causes tachycardia), so it is processed with isopropyl alcohol to form a lineament.

Here is my personally preferred method of using liquid herbals. I use what is described as a fomentation, which is basically a police with liquid herbals. It can be heated with caution, because some of the herbs are pretty aggressive when heated. I prefer to use room temperature over a longer timeframe.

First , find a convenient cloth to hold the liquid, I like the small makeup removal pads; because they are designed to absorb well, and they are soft on skin.

Next I use packing tape to provide a moisture barrier, because fomentations work best when they stay wet. I place the selected cloth (or pad) on the parking tape like this:

Then I cut them apart, and trim off the excess packing tape:

When I use this pad, I just add paper tape like this:

A word of caution here, since fomentations often must be used for days; you need to protect your skin; that will be under the tape:
IMG_20231203_231728903~2.jpg
I'm not specifically recommending this brand, although it does work well. But there are a number of good skin protectors for sale! I use an alcohol prep pad to clean the area of oil, so thing can stick. Then I use the skin preparation which add a harmless layer for the tape to adhere to, while protecting the skin underneath!

Next, the liquid of choice is loaded into the pad:

In this case it's comfrey tincture. I have use various herbal infusions (teas), castor oil, lineaments, and tinctures on these fomentation bandages.

The loaded pad is then applied where needed:

I sometimes add an elastic bandage over this assembly, if I think it needs extra protection. This was treating carpel tunnel problems here....

You can see the tincture through the packing tape backing:

This allows me to monitor the amount of tincture liquid left in the pad. Also, you can reuse this pad for about 3 days (obviously on the same person); because the dried herb left on the pad will make the next use stronger. Just cut away the previous tape, add new, and retreat the skin before re-applying.

Also, obviously I'm not giving medical advice, nor am I treating any medical condition. I'm simply telling you how I use it myself, and what I've found works!

I also recommend that you study the plants that GOD gave to us for our medicine...it might save someone's life someday!

#prepping #diy #herbals #blog #life #homestead #photography

last year in #natural-medicine by smithlabs (70)

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avdesing (74) last year

I remember when I lived in Argentina, I had a book of medicinal herbs and I am thinking of buying one here in Spain. Each country has some that differ. Many herbs in nature are healing and very good for the body, in different forms, teas, compresses, eating them and many eliminate illnesses, even the most serious ones.

I loved the post, it is very useful, thank you very much @smithlabs ✨