Herbal medicine also called botanical medicine refers to using a plant’s seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers for medicinal purposes. Herbalism has a long tradition of use outside of conventional medicine. It is becoming more mainstream as improvements in analysis and quality control along with advances in clinical research show the value of herbal medicine in the treating and preventing disease.
Top 11 Herbs For Medical Emergiences
1. Aloe Vera
Medicinal Properties:
- Burn relief
While bitter aloes can help heal the insides of your body, it’s the gel of the Aloe Vera plant that works wonders for healing external burns. Although more serious burns require further medical attention, putting Aloe Vera gel on sunburns or oven burns helps to cool the burning sensation and heal the damaged skin to prevent peeling. Aloe plants are easy to keep in the house because they require very little water, and you’ll be surprised at how often they come in handy!
2. Juniper Berries
Medicinal Properties:
- Diuretic (that is to say, it makes you pee)
- Destroys bacteria in the kidneys and bladder
- Urinary disinfectant
These herbs increase the flow of urine and help to clear bacteria from the urinary tract, which helps to cleanse both the tract and your body of toxins. This is especially great when the tract is partially blocked by a kidney stone that is forming. Take this herb by making a tea out of 1-3 tablespoons of crushed berries, and drinking once a day.
3. Ginger, Peppermint and Fennel
Medicinal Properties:
- Helps heartburn
- Aid digestion, relieve gas, digestive cramps
- Stops nausea and vomiting
All of these herbs are perfect for digestion, which makes them great to have after a normal meal. A ginger or peppermint tea is great to have at night to ease digestion, and fresh ginger or peppermint leaves can be eaten raw to relieve more intense indigestion.
4. Slippery Elm Bark
Medicinal Properties:
- Reduce inflammation
- Absorb poisons in the intestinal tract
- Cures ulcers
This is a lesser known herb, but one that has incredible healing potential, especially in the digestive tract. It has been known to cure serious digestive problems like dysentery and stomach ulcers. If you’re having trouble keeping food down due to nausea, mix a few tablespoons of crushed elm bark with water to create a sticky paste. This mixture will have a noticeable effect on your symptoms.
5. Milk Thistle and Barberry
Medicinal Properties:
- Protects from liver damage, inflammation, disease, and degeneration
- Protect against hepatitis
Bitter herbs like these stimulate the digestive tract, and help to stimulate the liver. They also promote the secretion of bile, which is great for flushing out the gall bladder. To treat or ease painful gallbladder attacks, make a tea with equal parts milk thistle and bitter aloes (about 1 tbsp. of each), and eat 1-2 cloves of garlic. The different healing properties of each of these herbs should aid the cleansing power of the milk thistle, and help to clear your system.
6. Bitter Aloes/Senna
Medicinal Properties:
- Cure constipation
- Clear bowels
- Prevent appendicitis, liver and gall bladder congestion
Aloe can be purchased in capsules, so they can be easily taken when to aid digestion on a regular basis. You can take one capsule of aloe after dinner to detoxify your system. These capsules can be taken with herbs that relive and move gas, such as ginger root, peppermint leaf and fennel seeds.
7. Raw Garlic and Echinacea Roots
Medicinal Properties:
- ancer preventative and cure
- Immune system booster
- Anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties
- Cures infections, allergic reactions
- Alleviates colds, fevers and the flu
You can actually eat about ½ to 1 clove of garlic every day to maintain your body’s immune system and prevent internal infections. To treat external mild infections like athlete’s foot and ear infections, you can prepare a garlic oil that can be put right on the site of the infection. This garlic oil can be made with finely chopped garlic cloves (about six of them) and olive oil. This mixture should be left for 3 to 4 days, than strained.
8. Lobelia
Medicinal Properties:
- Seizures, fits, convulsions
- Asthma, bronchial dialator
- Cramps
Lobelia is a weed that has inflated seedpods, and acts as a cathartic for the whole body. This means that it relaxes muscles and purges the body of toxins, which makes it an effective way to treat seizures and breathing problems. For regular health maintenance, just add 5 drops of lobelia to water or juice and drink once a day.
9. Fresh Hawthorne Berries
Medicinal Properties:
- Prevents and cures heart disease and heart attacks
Hawthorne berries contain certain phytochemicals that have been hailed by the medical community worldwide for their ability to prevent the heart from degeneration, and help it to heal after an attack or failure. Hawthorne berries can be boiled in water for a warm cup of tea, or as a spoonful of crushed berries. If you’re at risk of heart disease, this herb is definitely one to add to your diet.
10. Cayenne
Medicinal Properties:
- Stops internal and external bleeding
- Prevents heart attacks
- Prevents strokes
One of the foremost properties of cayenne is its ability to stop cuts from bleeding. The pepper can be rubbed right on an open wound, stop blood loss within seconds. Amazingly enough, it can also be used to stop, or ease a heart, through the consumption of 1 tablespoon mixed in a glass of water.
11. Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
Medicinal Properties:
- Helps improve memory
- Natural blood thinner
- Effective in treating dementia
Laboratory studies have shown that ginkgo improves blood circulation by dilating blood vessels and reducing the stickiness of blood platelets. Ginkgo may be especially effective in treating dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease) and intermittent claudication (poor circulation in the legs).
Sources:
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/treatment/herbal-medicine
http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/emergency-herbal-first-aid-kit.html?t=SOE
http://buynongmoseeds.com/top-11-organic-herbs-to-use-for-medical-emergencies/