Twice a year my family goes camping at an event called
Earthskills Rendezvous. At this event
there are several well trained healthcare providers in the holistic
approach. Even though, there are
wonderful care givers at the event I always pack my own family first aid
kit. Every trip looks a little different
and every trip I can better tweak my herbal bag, but for this trip I took:
Redmond Clay- I love this stuff, and one day I will do a post just on it. We use it for upset stomach, burns, stings, diaper rash, and poison ivy
Elderberry Tincture- to fight off colds
Echinacea Tincture- for immune support and to clean wounds
OnGuard Essential oil blend- immune support and cold
fighting
Essential oil travel set- has a collection of oils that have several uses
Past Tense essential oil blend- for headaches
Emergen-C-immune support
Arnica salve- for sore muscles and bruises
Throat Coat tea by Traditional Medicinals
The trip went well for several days, and we only used the Echinacea
to clean two small knife cuts and Past Tense for a sun/dehydration
migraine. On day three my husband came
down with a cold, and he is very susceptible to it moving to his chest. We weren’t very diligent and I didn’t have
the syrups I usually treat him with so he went to the first aid. They gave him some lovely tincture blends for
immune system support and cold fighting. Great!
Well, with my husband’s tendencies it wasn’t enough. Very quickly his cold went to his chest and
was a very violent wet cough. This gave him
great discomfort and me great concern. I
decided to brainstorm and treat with what I did have. A wonderful friend loaned me a pot to boil
water in and I made a steam out of tea tree, lemon, peppermint and Breathe essential oil blend. I rubbed
his chest and neck with Onguard and Breathe, and also applied OnGuard to the soles of his feet. Then I got him to take my Elderberry tincture
along with the camp's First Aid tincture blend.
His coughing soon settled and he was able to sleep. I was so thankful, because it was very
violent, and he was having a hard time catching his breath. About four hours later, he woke and started
coughing again. The treatment had worn
off so I re-dosed him with everything and he settled back down. This was the cycle for the rest of the night,
but by morning he was MUCH better! I was
so thankful for my bag of herbs, but I missed my thyme treatment. The next day there was a bizarre put on by
the campers and one man brought his wildcrafted Mullein, so I bought a small
sample amount to make a tea if my husband’s coughing got worse. We are home now and I have him on my usual
treatment for his chest colds http://theherbalhutch.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-first-herbal-remedy-i-make-each-fall.html. This trip showed me one area that was lacking
in my herb kit, so I will soon be making a thyme tincture to fill this
need. I know there are other herbs for
chest congestion, but so far thyme has worked wonders for my husband so I plan
to start there for now.
What Herbs would you take into the woods with you?
Jill, The Herbal Hutch
