CURING THE COMMON CONTUSION
Herbal treatments for scrapes and scratches using arnica and calendula.
HERBAL REMEDIES
RELATED ARTICLES
Summer's BRIDE February/March 2001 The medicinal power of calendula. by Bruce Burnett The word cale...
Here's the second installment of Morton Salt's superior booklet, A Complete Guide To Home Meat Cur...
It's best to avoid getting sunburned, rather than endure the smiting consequences. But if you do sp...
MOTHER'S HERB GARDEN, CALENDULA May/June 1980 Janis Leach Franco Lately, more and more people have ...
Herbal fixes for black 'n' blues.
By Charles Dickson, Ph.D.
Amazing Arnica
—————————————————
Arnica is a native plant of Europe but was imported to
America, where it now grows wild, particularly in moist soil
conditions in mountains and valleys, at elevations ranging
from 3,500 to 10,000 feet. It resembles many other members of
the Composite family, with yellow range sunflower-like
blossoms that bloom from April through September.
Preparations of arnica were listed in the United States
Pharmacopoeia (the official listing of approved drugs in the
U.S.) from the early 1800s to 1960.
Two common names for
arnica are mountain tobacco and leopard's bane, the latter a
reference to the herb's toxicity to some beasts. It can be
fatal to humans if taken internally, so all of the safe
preparations containing arnica are intended for external
use only .
There are three ways to use arnica topically:
in a fluid extract, as a tea bath and as an ointment. To
prepare a fluid extract, measure out six ounces of powdered
arnica flowers, available from herbal suppliers or at some
health food stores, and add to a glass jar containing eight
ounces of grain alcohol, which can be purchased from any
distributor of alcoholic beverages. It should be 90% strength
(180 proof). Mix well by stirring constantly for about ten
minutes, screw a cap on the jar and allow the mixture to set
overnight. This allows the arnica flowers to dissolve more
completely in the alcohol. The next day, strain the mixture
using cheesecloth as a filter. Bottle the resulting fluid and
label. While this is not a pharmaceutical grade tincture of
arnica, it is very effective as a preparation for taking the
extreme soreness out of bruises.
An arnica tea may be made in
even simpler fashion by placing a tablespoon of the powdered
arnica flowers in a cup of boiling water and allowing it to
steep for ten minutes. Use a cheese cloth to filter the
undissolved powder; the remaining warm solution of arnica tea
may be applied to the bruised area. An arnica ointment is
also available for purchase at many herbal outlets and
natural food stores.
Calendula Cure-all
—————————————————