Useful Herbal Remedies

It is very important for everyone to know how to make a first aid box with useful Herbal Remedies. You may find, as many others have, that herbs become an enthusiasm. Gradually but surely, they take over the entire house. First, it’s only a small space in the bathroom closet; then, a cupboard in the kitchen is cleared.

Next, the entire basement is given over to your herbal wares; and abruptly, the cars are parked in the driveway because the garage is filled with bottles of odd-looking preparations. About this time, your family may be saying, “No more.” But let’s suppose you’re a long way from there and you just want to organize a small kit of useful Herbal Remedies.

What Do You Need for Herbal Remedies?

To make herbal remedies first aid kit, assess the needs of yourself and your family, and any situations that could arise requiring first aid. Do you have young children? What maladies are people in your family prone to? A good kit consists of items that can be used for a variety of purposes. The most basic first aid kit will include the following:

• All-purpose/burn salve (burns, sunburns, cuts, wounds)
• Aloe vera gel normally burns, sunburns, cuts, wounds
• Antifungal salve (cuts, wounds)
• Cold care capsules (colds, sluggish digestion, infections)
• Echinacea tincture (boosting immunity, colds, flu, infections)
• Eucalyptus essential oil (congestion [added to steams], achy muscles, insect repellent, cuts and abrasions, warts, cold sores)
• Garlic oil (ear infections, parasites, colds)
• Green clay powder (splinters, disinfecting wounds, poultices for poison oak/ivy, skin infections)
• Kloss’s Liniment (splinters and slivers, poison oak/ivy)
• Lavender essential oil (headaches, minor burns, and sunburn, insect bites, congestion)
• Licorice root tincture (sore throats, bronchial inflammation, herpes simplex I and II)
• Garlic–Mullein Flower Oil (ear infections, pain)
• Peppermint essential oil (digestive problems, burns, mouthwash, stimulant) 76 Making Your Own First Aid Kit
• Rescue Remedy flower essence (trauma, both emotional and physical can be used externally and internally for adults, children, and pets
• St. John’s wort salve (burns, sunburn, swellings, pain, bruises, achy muscles)
• St. John’s Wort Oil (burns, pain, nerve damage, depression, anxiety)
• Also, tea tree essential oil (congestion added to steams], achy muscles, insect repellent, cuts and abrasions, warts, cold sores, toothaches)
• Valerian tincture (pain, insomnia, stress and nervous tension, achy muscles)

Many of herbs work nicely for minor emergencies. Moreover, to your preferred medicinal teas, stock an assortment of powdered herbs for diverse purposes. Also, they are easy to mix for poultices and to encapsulate as required. Hence, keep your herbal first aid kit in a place that’s readily available to you and your family.

Further, the baskets, sewing boxes, small suitcases, travel pouches, cosmetic bags, and fishing tackle boxes make immense containers for first aid kits. Hence, be sure everything is clearly labeled so that others can use it. You might even wish to create a small first aid book that you keep near your remedies so that others can decipher what to use.

Herbal Remedies from Your Kitchen

Though not everyone has a medicine chest full of medicinal herbs, everyone does have a kitchen. And, generally, that kitchen is filled with medicinal plants. Indeed, many of my favorite medicinal plants have sneaked into the household via the kitchen door, ushered in by the Mistress of Spices, their healing spirits camouflaged in culinary garb.

Most of your favorite kitchen herbs double as well-known healers, respected throughout the ages by various cultures. Many are still used in herbal remedies and even pharmaceutical preparations. Think of how we tend to associate the flavor of certain herbs with assured foods basil with tomatoes, cloves with meat, horseradish with German food. Actually, these herbs were most often used with those foods for medicinal reasons, not for flavor.

For example, basil aids with the digestion of the acids in tomatoes; cloves and other spices helped preserve meat in the days before refrigeration and prevented flies from laying eggs in it. Further, horseradish, long associated with rich, oily cuisine, stimulates the digestion of oil.  Following is a cornucopia of kitchen medicines. See other useful and medicinal kitchen herbs and spices.

1.   Basil

A much-loved tonic for melancholy and low spirits, basil has antispasmodic properties that make it useful for headaches. It is commonly used to treat stress-induced insomnia and tension and nervous indigestion, and it is a well-known aphrodisiac.

2.   Black pepper

Considered one of the great tonics in traditional Chinese medicine, black pepper is warming, energizing, and stimulating. It is indicated for slow circulation, poor digestion, and “cold type” problems such as flu, coughs, and colds. Some people find it an irritant. Jethro Kloss, a famous herbalist of the early 1900s, publicized it as a toxic substance. However, most people tolerate it well.

3.   Cardamom

With a divinely sensual flavor, cardamom, which belongs to the same family as ginger, stimulate the mind and arouses the senses. It has long been careful an aphrodisiac, in part because of its irresistible flavor. In Ayurvedic medicine, cardamom is considered one of the best digestive aids. It is frequently combined as an anticatarrhal (combating inflammation of the mucous membranes) in formulas for the lungs.

4.   Chives

Chives are alike to garlic, though not as potent, so people sensitive to garlic can often like chives’ medicinal and culinary offerings. Like garlic, chives have antiseptic properties, and they also help in the digestion of rich foods and protect the respiratory system.

5.   Cinnamon

Highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine as a warming and stimulating herb, cinnamon is used to boost vitality, stimulate circulation, and clear congestion. It is a well-respected digestive aid, has powerful antiseptic actions as well, and is indicated for poor digestion, colds, and flu. With its pleasingly spicy flavor, cinnamon is often used in medicinal formulas to mask the flavor of less tasty herbs.

6.   Cloves

Clove oil is most famous as an analgesic for toothaches, but the entire clove bud, powdered and applied directly to the gum, is as effective. Aside from its analgesic properties, clove is stimulating, warming, and uplifting. It is used for sluggish digestion and nausea.

• Dill

Dill is one of the most well-known of traditional English remedies for infant colic, extolled in medicinal writings and nursery songs alike. Dill’s warming and comforting qualities are indicated for gas and colicky digestion. This herb is also an old folk remedy for hiccups.

7.   Horseradish

What better natural remedy is there for sinus congestion and head colds? This is my number one favorite. The root is rich in minerals, including silica, and in vitamins, including vitamin C. Its warming antiseptic properties make it the herb of choice for asthma, catarrh, and lung infections. Horseradish is also prized as a digestive aid and is especially useful as a complement to heavy, hard-to-digest meals.

8.   Marjoram and Oregano

This is very calming and soothing herbs. Both marjoram and oregano are used for nervousness, irritability, and insomnia due to anxiety and tension. They are great to drink as a tea either in combination or singly when you’re feeling edgy or to calm butterflies in the stomach. These delicious herbs also have antispasmodic properties that can be used advantageously for digestive and muscular spasms.

9.   Parsley

This superb garnish should never be left slighted on the side of a platter. It may be, in fact, the most nourishing item on your dinner plate. Also, it is rich in iron, beta-carotene, and chlorophyll. Parsley is used to treating iron-poor blood, anemia, and fatigue. It will enhance immunity and is indicated when you are prone to infections.

The main herb for bladder and kidney problems, it is a safe, effective diuretic. Parsley is used for serving to dry up a mother’s milk during the weaning process. Also, it is effective as a poultice for mastitis or swollen, enlarged breasts. Because of this, you should not use parsley in any quantities when nursing, as it may slow the flow of milk.         

10.                Rocket (Arugula)

Imagine the delight when you discovered that arugula, one of much favorite salad green, was a famous sexual stimulant and tonic. I’m not sure whether to indulge more or be more temperate in my servings.

11.                Thyme

This is the best herb we have for stimulating the thymus, a major gland of the immune system. Thyme is a great pick-me-up when you have low energy. Its antispasmodic properties are useful for lung problems and for convulsive coughs, such as whooping cough.

It’s an excellent remedy for sore throats (combined with sage), head colds (combined with horseradish), and stiffness related to chills. Thyme also helps stimulate the body’s natural defenses and, combined with echinacea, boosts the immune system.

12.                Turmeric

This is one of the best herbs for immune health. It is often overlooked because of the huge popularity of echinacea. But, for many centuries, it has upheld its reputation for its immune-enhancing properties and is highly regarded for its anti-tumor and antibiotic activities. In East Indian medicine, it is valued as a blood purifier and metabolic tonic.

Turmeric is used to regulate the menstrual cycle and relieve cramps, reduce fevers, improve poor circulation, and relieve skin disorders. Though, it is highly valued as a first aid treatment for boils, burns, strains, swelling, and bruises. Also, Read - Herbs and Foods

Time Limit – Human Experiences to Guide Future Generations

Historians interpret the past in several different ways. For some Time Limit, it is a repository of substantial human experiences to guide future generations to avoid certain mistakes and make a correct judgment about ensuing or prevalent issues. From the knowledge of the past, nations could learn how to establish social and political institutions to serve society.

When a change is in order, state institutions must adapt themselves according to the new needs for they’re optimal utility. But sometimes change is resisted and the past is glorified to such an extent that it becomes an obsession with nations. They become blinded to the present and hence unable to assess and analyzed they’re present conditions under the changing circumstances.

Some historians believe that the past becomes a burden when it is preserved as a sacred heritage as this prevents change in society. People remain so intoxicated with the grandeur of the past that they are oblivious to the present day challenges. According to the French philosopher, Descartes, those who travel and spend time outside they’re country become strangers to they’re own society. Similar, those who pay too much attention to the past become incapable of understanding the present.

Historians present the example of the United States which appeared on the map of the world as a new country carrying no burden of the past. It inherited no grand, old monarchy, aristocracy or feudalism. Here lay an opportunity to construct culture right from the beginning with fresh energy and vitality.

However, with the passage of time, the past crept in with values of imperialism, genocide, violations of human rights, overthrowing other sovereign states and other acts of exploitation and oppression. Within a short span of time, the American past, in turn, became as burdensome as that of the other old world countries.

When the French revolution wiped out monarchy and laid down the foundation of a new society, the conservative classes of England felt threatened as they were concerned about losing they’re status. Edmund Burke refuted the revolution in his book Reflection on the French Revolution, arguing that it destroyed centuries-old traditions of the French society, creating a void which would only lead to disorder and chaos.

What he meant was that building a new culture is not an easy task. In the absence of values and institutions, society confronts disturbance and anarchy. He convinced the reader that as a traditional society, England should keep it’s traditions intact as they have evolved over a long period of time. His ideology appealed to the ruling classes who resisted change.

Newly independent countries of Asia and Africa remain in a dilemma whether to get rid of they’re colonial and pre-colonial past and rewrite the history with a fresh perspective, making independence the focal point or to adjust the past with the present. Therefore, while some reject the colonial past of history, others retain it as a part of history and integrate it with they’re mainstream of historical narratives.

A group of historian argues with the concept that nations can learn from the past. According to them, there is a difference between the past and present-day cultures so the past can neither be revived nor repeated, society has to solve it’s problems in it’s present-day context and not in the light of experiences.

History has a limit as it does not cover each and every event that happened in the past. In it’s early phase, the chronicles of rulers and the privileged classes were recorded as they were regarded as history makers. Political events were emphasized instead of society and culture while other classes were either marginalized or ignored.

David Hume, the English philosopher, and historian present a new angle in documenting history by highlighting the role of commerce in history. He discussed the contribution of merchants and traders in reshaping history. Another breakthrough was made by German historians at the University of Gottingen who unfolded the rule of guilders, peasants, and workers in creating history.

Although history has broadened it’s scope it still has Time Limit when interrupted by ideology alone.  When history is written under such a framework, it has to be distorted to justify it. Consequently, it loses it's credibility. Read More – Qutub Minar – Most Imposing Monuments in India

House Wren vs Carolina Wren

Many birders confused about the difference between Carolina Wren vs House Wren. They have close resemblance make them difficult to identify.

Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a beautiful small bird having rusty upperparts, cinnamon underparts, and a different white eye-stripe. The Wren is about 4.9 to 5.5 in long, with an 11 in wingspan and a weight of about 18 to 23 g. The male and female birds are identical in plumage. However, the male is every so often slightly larger. Carolina Wren is a stocky and large-headed sparrow size bird with a bold white stripe above the eye.

And it is warm rusty brown above and buffy cinnamon below dark brown bars on wings and tail and white chin, throat and upper breast. It is a large wren; the second largest in the United States species after the cactus wren. The bird preferred habitat is in dense cover in forests, farm edges and suburban areas. Carolina Wren song is a bold “teakettle, teakettle, teakettle.

The bird songs can be confused with the Kentucky warbler. When Carolina Wren finding a mate, he tries to make pairs and maintain a territory and stay together for several years. The diet consists of invertebrates, such as beetles, grasshoppers, true bugs, katydids, spiders, ants, bees, wasps, small lizards, frogs, vegetable, and fruit pulp and various seeds.

Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a beautiful small bird having rusty upperparts, cinnamon underparts, and a different white eye-stripe.

House Wren

The House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) is a small songbird of wren family. The bird is generally a dull grayish-brown with darker barring on the wings and tail. The bird eyebrow line is faint, the bill is thin and slightly de-curved, and the tail is longish and often kept cocked. Hence, the bird is overall a brown, darker above and lighter below and pale streak above the eye.

It has a light eye ring and there back wings have dark narrow dark barring long bill, yellow at the base and black at the tip. Narrow black barring on tail, hence the bird song is an energetic, flutelike melody of gurgling outbursts.  This is the most widely distributed bird in the Americas. It's taxonomy is highly complex and some subspecies groups are often considered separate species.

An adult bird size is 4.3 to 5.1 in long, with a 5.9 in wingspan and weigh about 10 to 12 g. The House Wren is rich bubbly songbird and commonly heard during the nesting season but rarely afterward. This bird mainly eats insects such as butterfly larvae, spiders and snails. The House wrens rarely attend mixed-species feeding flocks. As a birdwatcher, you should know the Carolina Wren vs House Wren Source: Wikipedia

The House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) is a small songbird of wren family. The bird is generally a dull grayish-brown with darker barring on the wings and tail.

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Pink Trumpet Tree

The eye-catching Pink Trumpet ‘Tabebuia heterophylla’ Tree grows at a reasonable rate from a slim pyramid when young to a broad silhouette, 20 to 40 feet tall. The palmately compound, green leaves are evergreen throughout most of its range but may be briefly deciduous as the new leaves emerge. The showy display of pink or white, bell-shaped blooms appears throughout the spring and summer and is followed by the production of long, slender seedpods.

General Information

Scientific name: Tabebuia heterophylla

Pronunciation: tab-eh-BOO-yuh het-er-oh-FILL-uh

Common name(s): Pink Trumpet Tree

Family: Bignoniaceae

USDA hardiness zones: 10 through 11

Origin: not native to North America

Uses: large parking lot islands (> 200 square feet in size); wide tree lawns (>6 feet wide); medium-sized parking lot islands (100-200 square feet in size); medium-sized tree lawns (4-6 feet wide); recommended for buffer strips around parking lots or for median strip plantings in the highway; near a deck or patio; small parking lot islands (< 100 square feet in size); narrow tree lawns (3-4 feet wide); specimen; residential street tree; the tree has been successfully grown in urban areas where air pollution, poor drainage, compacted soil, and/or drought are common

Availability: generally available in many areas within its hardiness range.

Description

Height: 20 to 30 feet

Spread: 15 to 25 feet

Crown uniformity: irregular outline or silhouette

Crown shape: oval

Crown density: open

Growth rate: medium

Texture: medium

Foliage

Leaf arrangement: opposite/sub-opposite

Leaf type: palmately compound

Leaflet margin: entire; undulate

Leaflet shape: elliptic (oval); oblong

Leaflet venation: pinnate

Leaf type and persistence: evergreen; semi-evergreen

Leaflet blade length: 2 to 4 inches

Leaf color: green

Fall color: no fall color change

Fall characteristic: not showy

Flower

Flower color: pink; white

Flower characteristics: spring flowering; summer flowering; very showy

Fruit

Fruit shape: elongated; pod

Fruit length: 6 to 12 inches; 3 to 6 inches

Fruit covering: dry or hard

Fruit color: brown

Fruit characteristics: does not attract wildlife; no significant litter problem; persistent on the tree; showy

Trunk and Branches

Trunk/bark/branches: grow mostly upright and will not droop; not particularly showy; should be grown with a single leader; no thorns.

Pruning requirement: requires pruning to develop strong structure

Breakage: susceptible to breakage either at the crotch due to poor collar formation or the wood itself is weak and tends to break.

Current year twig color: brown

Current year twig thickness: medium

Wood specific gravity: 0.55

Culture

Light requirement: a tree grows in full sun

Soil tolerances: clay; loam; sand; acidic; alkaline; well-drained

Drought tolerance: high

Aerosol salt tolerance: moderate

Other

Roots: surface roots are usually not a problem

Winter interest: no special winter interest

Outstanding tree: the tree has outstanding ornamental features and could be planted more

Invasive potential: little, if any, the potential at this time

Pest resistance: no pests are normally seen on the tree

Use and Management

Pink Trumpet Tree is well suited for use as a street tree or for other areas such as in parking lot islands and buffer strips where temperatures are high and soil space limited. They will create a canopy over a sidewalk when planted on 25 to 30-foot centers if they are properly pruned. Develop high, arching branches several years after planting by removing the lower, drooping branches. This branching habit may take several prunings to accomplish. Pink Trumpet Tree can also be used as a shade tree for a residential property near the patio or deck, or it can be planted to provide shade to the driveway. The tree will provide lasting shade plus the added benefit of a sensational seasonal color show.

Moreover, Pink Trumpet Tree should be grown in full sun on just about any well-drained soil, wet or dry. Established trees are moderately salt-tolerant and highly drought tolerant. This tree is reported to be more tolerant of urban conditions than the Yellow Trumpet Tree. Propagation is by seed or by vegetative methods. Vegetatively propagated trees would help ensure that trees bloom at the same time. Seed propagated trees flower at different times. As far as no Pests and Diseases are of major concern. CP