HERBS
These are the directions for how to use the herbs listed above.
Infusion: An infusion is used when you need the vitamins and volatile ingredients from herbs. This is made like tea. You use about 1 tsp of the plants that you are needing. Place this is a coffee filter or a tea ball. Pour about 1 cup of boiling water over this. Let this sit for 5 to 13 minutes. To improve the taste (if necessary) add sugar or honey. Use 1 to 4 cups of this a day. The dosage depends on the severity of the problem, and the strength of the herb.
Decoction: This is used when you primarily need the mineral salts and bitter principles of the plants. Use 1 oz of the herb to 1 cup boiling water. Wrap the plant parts you are going to need in a coffee filter and use a bread tie to seal them in. Then add this to a pot of boiling water on the stove. Use a nonmetallic pan for this. Allow this to simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Use this the same way you would use an infusion.
Cold Extract: This will give you the most volatile ingredients and extract only minor amounts of mineral salts and bitter principles. Use 2 tsp of the plant material and 1 cup cold water. Let the mixture stand for 8 to 12 hours, strain and the drink is ready. Take as you would an infusion.
Juice: Chop fresh plants or plant parts up into small pieces and press to squeeze out the juice. Add a little water to the pressed material and press again to get the rest. This is a good method for extracting water-soluble constituents, especially those sensitive to heat. Take within a short time after pressing since the vitamin content declines rapidly and fermentation sets in.
Powder: Grind dried plant parts with a mortar and pestle or other implement until you have a powder. This can be taken with water, milk, or soup; sprinkled on food; or swallowed in gelatin capsules. The most common dose for powders is the amount that you can pick up on the tip of a dinner knife.
Syrup: A basic syrup to which you can add medicinal ingredients can be made by simply boiling 3 lb. raw or brown sugar in a pint of water until it reaches the right consistency. Or you can boil the plant materials in honey or sore-bought syrup and then strain through cheesecloth. Syrup is especially useful for administering medicines to children.
Tincture: Combine 1 to 4 oz powdered herb (the amount depending on the plant's potency) with 8 to 12 oz alcohol. Add water to make a 50 % alcohol solution (you have to know what percent alcohol you started with). According to some herbalists, Everclear is the best alcohol to use. Failing this, you might try one of the higher alcohol percentage Vodka's. Let stand for two weeks, shaking once or twice a day; then strain and pour the liquid into a bottle suitable for storage. Like other alcoholic extracts, tinctures will keep for a long time.
Essence: Dissolve an ounce of the herb's essential oil in a pint of alcohol. This is a good way to preserve the volatile essential oils of many plants, which are generally not soluble in water.
Ointment: Mix well one part of the remedy in powdered form with four parts hot petroleum jelly, lard, or similar substance. For purists, an old method is to boil the ingredients in water until the desired properties are extracted. Strain the liquid, add the decoction to olive or other vegetable oil, and simmer until the water has completely evaporated. Add beeswax as needed to get a firm consistency. Melt the mixture by heating slowly, and stir until completely blended.
Poultice: This is used when you need to apply to a skin area with moist heat. To prepare, bruise or crush the parts of the plant to a pulpy mass and heat. If using dried plants, moisten the materials by mixing with a hot, soft, adhesive substance, such as moist flour, corn meal, or a mixture of bread and milk. Apply directly to the skin, unless the plant is an irritant. (Mustard is a good example of this.) In this case, you would place a cloth on either side of the herbs. A good way is to spread the paste or pulp on a wet, hot cloth, apply, and wrap the cloth around to help retain moisture and heat. Moisten the cloth with hot water periodically as necessary. After removing the poultice, wash the area well with water or herb tea to remove any residue that may have gotten on the skin.
Fomentation: Soak a cloth or towel in an infusion or decoction, wring out the excess, and apply as hot as possible to the affected area. This is less active in its effect than a poultice, but works the same way.
Cold Compress: Soak a cloth or towel in an infusion or decoction that has been cooled, wring out the excess, and apply to the affected area. Leave on until it is warmed by body heat, usually 15 to 20 minutes. Repeat application with a fresh cool compress. Continue until relieved.
Vapor Bath: Vapor baths are suited to providing medication by inhalation, but they can also be helpful in external applications. For an inhalant vapor bath, you need a chair, a pot containing a steaming herb infusion or decoction, something to set the pot on, and enough blankets to enclose you and the whole works completely. Arrange the chair and the pot so that you can hold your head over the pot to inhale the vapors. With your head over the pot, and the blankets around you totally enclosing you, inhale the vapors for 15 to 30 minutes.
