Your Home Medicine Cabinet

It seems like few people keep a lot of medical supplies on hand anymore since most of us have medical care just a phone call away and major drugstores close by. Covid has caused me to re-evaluate what I stock at home. My home medicine cabinet contains a lot of what you probably have: Advil, Tylenol, antacids, a few anti-histamines and some cold medicine. I also have Band-aids and a bunch of wraps, pain relieving creams and various braces because hypermobile people easily hurt themselves. This year I have added a thermometer and a pulse oximeter to help care for those with Covid-19.

In addition, I have eyewash and an eyepatch. I hope you never need eyewash, but if you do, you need it immediately. I got some soap in my eye a year ago and that eyewash probably saved the vision I still have in that eye. Who would ever think organic hand soap could scald the crap out of an eye?

I also keep Drip Drop rehydrating salts and swear by them. If you did not get a good night’s sleep, if you have drunk a bit too much alcohol, if you are under stress or just feeling off, a dose of Drip Drop might just set you right.

In addition, I have what I call my Farmacia, which is Greek for “pharmacy,” and is the basics I keep on hand from the plant world. I do not think medicine and plants are mutually exclusive and prefer to learn about using both medications and plant remedies.

Muscle Spasms / Headaches

I drink a cup of Kava Kava tea. Although marketed for stress relief, I find its best value in its anti-spasmodic properties. When my neck and upper back is clenching, I drink a few cups per day until I get relief. It is delicious with or without honey.

Supporting Calm

I use a motherwort tincture I make from the motherwort in my woods anytime I get an acute situation. By that I mean something happens that stresses me out. When I sit on a plane, park at the dentist’s office, get bad news or am upset, I take a droppers-full or two of motherwort brandy tincture.

Lemon balm tea and tinctures. I grow lemon balm in my yard and dry it for tea and make a tincture with brandy. I find that lemon balm is best for feeling better during long-term situational stress. During the pandemic I drink lemon balm tea with a few drops of a lemon balm tincture every night before I wind down for bed.

In addition, teas that are used for calming include chamomile, catnip / cat mint, mint and lavender.

Injuries and Surgery

I swear by Arnica 30 c, which is a homeopathic remedy. You can also buy arnica cream. Car accident? Dental work? Sprain, strain or larger cut and/or burn? Arnica suggests to your body that you heal.

A must for any farmacia is plantain salve. I love Blossom’s plantain salve. My sister lives in Santa Cruz and they sell it in a farmer’s market nearby. I stock up every time I go but now I see you can buy it online. I have loved every single product I have purchased from them. I use plantain salve on minor wounds, burns and bites.

Yarrow. Blossom’s also makes yarrow salve. Yarrow is traditionally used for deep penetrating wounds like gunshots. I know, I don’t live a gunshot life, but it seems a comfort to have.

Stomach Upsets

Everyone should buy some mint tea and some ginger tea. Both are great with upset stomachs. Ginger is traditionally used for nausea and mint for gas and bloating.

For diarrhea and mild food poisoning, I juice a fresh lemon and drink it straight. I learned that trick in Greece in 1984 and it remains my best home remedy for a bad stomach.

Constipation: There is a tea called Smooth Move. It works. But be careful. Just swish the teabag through the water a couple times and then take it out. This tea works a little too well sometimes.

Slow Digestion. In the early spring your digestion needs a kick start. While there are many sources of bitters, including fresh dandelion and other greens, I turn to Blossom’s Artichoke Bitters.

"Coming Down with Something"

You know that feeling, maybe a scratchy throat or enlarged glands, a back ache or headache that signals your body is fighting something? I use oregano when I feel that way.

I just grow a bunch in a pot and then make a tincture every fall. It is the perfect “I feel like I am getting a cold or something,” tincture. I add fresh lemon and honey and hot water for an oregano hot toddy. It is warming and supposed to be anti-microbial.

Usnea. This lichen grows in the north woods. I generally tincture it in vodka. I use it anytime I feel an infection coming on, especially in the lungs or the pelvic / UTI area.

In addition, I love Wellness Capsules. I always bring these on trips and take them whenever I feel slightly unwell.

If you have questions about really intense or urgent medical issues, call your doctor! If you want more information on the gentle healing support that plants can have, you can contact me. This information is not intended to take the place of personalized medical counseling, diagnosis and/or treatment by a trained physician. Herbs and other botanicals are presently classified by the Food and Drug Administration as foods, not as medicines.