• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Nourishing Simplicity

Made From Scratch Living With A Measure of Grace

  • About
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Sides and Salads
    • Soups and Stews
    • Main Dishes
    • Condiments and Sauces
    • Ferments
    • Beverages and Smoothies
    • Breads
    • Sourdough
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • Home and Lifestyle
    • Simple Living
    • Intentional Living
    • Seasonal Living
    • Homemaking
    • Kitchen Tips
  • DIY Natural Living
    • Natural Remedies
    • Skin and Beauty
    • Cleaning
    • Essential Oils
      • Fun and Simple Summer DIYs
  • My Books
    • Steeped: Simple Nourishing Teas and Treats
    • The Frugal Secrets of Real Foodies
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sponsors & Affiliates

What to Put in Your Herbal Medicine Chest

November 15, 2012 by Katie Mae Stanley 6 Comments

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, as well as through other affiliate links.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, as well as through other affiliate links.
Today we have a guest post from my dear friend Serafina of A Gypsy Herbal. She gives you a look inside her herbal medicine chest.
When I think Medicine Chest (or trunk, cupboard, et c.) the prettiest images float through my mind. Sparkly bottles, neatly rolled muslin, tiny droppers, various shapes of jars and pots of ointments and oils. I think of something that can’t be opened without wafting scents of peppermint and strong herbs filling the room.
The amount of options for herbal medicine collections, as well as the manner of presentation of a multitude of various herbs and oodles of preparations and information can be overwhelming. So I decided to present the items in my herbal medicine chest simply, alphabetically according to what I’d treat or use them for.

A Gypsy’s Herbal Medicine Chest

  • Aches: arnica extract (into rubbing alcohol), Tiger Balm (though this does contain paraffin petrolatum, so soon to be replaced), Massage Oil (in the works!)
  • Allergies: nettle apple cider vinegar tincture
  • Burns: aloe vera
  • Bleeding, to stop: plantain
  • Bug-be-Gone: Badger Anti-Bug Balm, Vinegar of the Four Thieves spray, tansy white vinegar tincture
  • Bug-bites-Itches: plantain infused grape seed oil
  • Cleansing/infection prevention: tea tree oil, rubbing alcohol, white vinegar extracts
  • Cold coming on: Double-E Immune Booster tea, Dr. Cinnamon Tea, Lemon Drop Tea (high in vitamin C), Elderberry Kombucha, elderberry syrup, Emergen-C Ruby Lemon Honey or Acia Berry
  • Cold Sore/Fever Blister: Stimulating Lip Balm
  • Congestion: Congestion Rub
  • Cough: steam inhalation of mullein, cherry bark syrup
  • Cuts, infection prevention: echinacea salve/oil, Healing Garden Salve, Eden Salve
  • Cuts/nicks: on a minor cut, dried peppermint leaf has helped to stop bleeding when sprinkled on and pressed for a few moments, or secured with bandage.
  • Cramps: Cramp Tincture/Glycerite, Mama’s Red Raspberry Brew
  • Dehydration: Emergen-C Raspberry packets
  • Dried/cracked/sore hands and skin: Soothing Rose Hand Cream
  • Fever: catnip, yarrow, peppermint
  • Food poisoning: activated charcoal (From our sponsor Rocky Mountian Essentials)
  • Gas: fennel seed, activated charcoal, baking soda (dissolve in warm water)
  • Hangnail/dry cuticles: Burts Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme
  • Headache: more sleep! (oh, it won’t fit in the medicine chest? ok, what else can we try?…)  tincture of lavender & white willow bark; candied ginger; temple rub of lavender oil (essential oil mixed with carrier oil such as coconut or grapeseed), or just try drinking more water, can add Emergen-c packet.
  • Healing promotion: comfrey, salt, Garden Salve, Eden Salve
  • Poison bites (spider, bug, snake): plantain, activated charcoal, bentonite clay,
  • Punctures wounds: read more about home-care for puncture wounds (I started here), consider consulting a doctor
  • Skin, dried/cracked: Soothing Rose Hand Cream (coconut oil, rose, calendula, lemon verbena, beeswax, distilled water)
  • sleep, help: Sleep Tight Tea, catnip
  • Sore throat: Throat Coat tea with honey, Ricola throat lozenges (until I make my own)
  • Stress: Stress Zapper Tea
  • Upset Stomach: tea of ginger or peppermint.

Other:

  • Beeswax
  • Lice Treatment: coconut oil with essentials of tea tree and lavender. Tansy apple cider vinegar tincture, lavender, rosemary, sage. Use oil on head, spray bedding, clothing, etc with vinegar tincture
  • Worms/Parasites: capsules of wormwood, fresh ground cloves, black walnut hull as explained at BHS
  • Essential Oils: lavender, peppermint, clove, citronella, lemon, orange, eucalyptus

Instruments and Articles:

  • capsule machine & new capsules (optional, but very useful for charcoal, cayenne pepper, and more!)
  • fabric (latex-free) bandages, multiple sizes including “butterfly” style
  • fabric tape
  • gauze roll
  • matches
  • mortar and pestle or coffee grinder
  • needles/straight pins
  • “non stick” covering pads
  • tweezers
  • rolled, sterilized cotton wraps
  • rice bag (for heat pack-carefully heat in either a low oven for 20 minutes in glass baking dish, or microwave oven for 2-3 minutes)
  • instant cold pack (or keep something frozen on hand)
  • safety pins
  • sharp shears/scissors
  • thermometer
  • waterproof tape
Alright, so I have more things that don’t fit in the quaint handcrafted chest, but I’ll have to share those with you another time…time for a medicine cupboard! Check back next month for part 2.
 

This is for informational purposes, and not intended to be followed as-is. You are responsible to do your own research, consult your own medical advisor/professional, and use caution. Especially before trying anything new or unknown to you.

This post is sponsored by Rocky Mountian Essentials. Please check out their wonderful products! I did receive monetary compensation and a bag of coconut activated charcoal powder in exchange for this sponsorship. 
 
This post is part of Natural Living Monday, Homestead Blog Hop,

You have Successfully Subscribed!

No spam-ever, that's not even real food.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About Katie Mae Stanley

Katie Mae Stanley is the creator of Nourishing Simplicity. She believes that a made from scratch life is possible with a measure of grace. She teaches you to craft simple, nourishing recipes and natural DIY products at home.

Previous Post: « 11 Ways to Use Apples
Next Post: Savory Fig and Walnut Stuffing »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kristin

    August 18, 2014 at 1:12 pm

    Great post. Congrats on being chosen as a featured post on this week’s Wildcrafting Wednesdays! I hope you’ll join us again and share more of your awesome posts.
    http://www.herbanmomma.com

    Reply
    • Katie Mae Stanley

      August 18, 2014 at 9:03 pm

      Wonderful! Thank you for letting us know! 🙂

      Reply
  2. krissy

    August 11, 2014 at 7:10 pm

    This is great! Where did you get the chest from it looks exactly like what ive been searching for!!

    Reply
    • Katie Mae Stanley

      August 11, 2014 at 7:26 pm

      I think Serafina got it at a thrift store.

      Reply
  3. Amanda

    November 25, 2012 at 5:35 pm

    I need my medicine chest to look that organized. I have a big wall o’jars and cabinets of my bulk herbs! It is insane! I love all the wonderful remedies. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Anne Kimball

    November 20, 2012 at 2:14 am

    Hi, I’m Anne from Life on the Funny Farm (http://annesfunnyfarm.blogspot.com), and I’m visiting from Natural Living Monday.

    Wow, you have such a wealth of knowledge! This is very informative.

    Anyway, thanks for posting this. If you’ve never visited yet, I hope you can pop by my blog sometime to say hi…

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

What Are You Looking For?

You have Successfully Subscribed!

No spam-ever, that's not even real food.

My Cookbook

336x280 Affiliate Planner BOGO Ad

AMAZON DISCLOSURE: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Previous Posts

Copyright © 2022 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework