Monday, August 22, 2011

My Go-To Herbs

I got this email over the weekend and thought I'd do just as asked:

I was wondering if you could tell me what your go-to herbs are for sickness(I'm wanting to prepare for winter). What do you always have on hand and what do you use them for? Maybe you could do a thorough blog post about it;)

Your wish is my command. These are the ones we use all the time:

GSE- This is our antibiotic - we use it as a preventative when we're going on trips, and as a treatment for any kind of virus. It can also be used for fungal infections as well.

Sambucus - Given alongside GSE for colds and coughs. It's an echinacea & elderberry syrup that boosts the immune system.
Emergen-C - Ok, it's not an herb, it's vitamin C in a packet. All sickies get one. We call it Vitamin C juice.
Horehound Extract - For preventing ear infections when child has a nasty cold; or treating ear infections.
Bentonite- For all stomach ills. Whichever end it's coming out of, this will cure it. (Sorry to be gross; I wanted to be clear what it's used for.)

Peppermint - For upset stomachs, drink this tea.
Tea Tree Oil - for any kind of fungus (ringworm, athlete's foot, etc.). Rub a drop or two on it. The fungal infection will disappear in a matter of days.

Wondering how to use herbs? Here's a reminder.

8 comments:

MommaofMany said...

Oh, how timely! I just used GSE for the first time. I used 10 drops in 8 oz water and had the kids drink it. It tastes horrible. Is there a better way to get it down? How much would be an appropriate amount to use for preventative use?

Ginger said...

The GSE link goes to my tutorial, where I answer just those questions. :)
OJ. Never water! Gag!!!

For preventative, I take the minimum dose listed on the bottle.

HTH!

Debbie Fitts said...

Excellent information, thanks Ginger!

~Stephanie said...

Do you use these for all your children? Event the youngest ones? (Solomon is 1)

Ginger said...

I don't use the Emergen-C for Julia (it's 1000 mg of C), but I do use all the rest, yes. When she last got sick, we gave her 1 drop of GSE per day, and the approp dose of Sambucus.
I've also given her a tsp of bentonite mixed with a bit of pure maple syrup when she has tummy issues.

Kidcraze said...

Thanks!
I use almost all of these, except I've never tried the horehound. I'm adding it to my shopping list.

Dusti said...

Have you made your own "Sambucus"? It's not very hard! I made a huge batch last winter and am doing it again this winter.

Ginger said...

I actually have a big bag of elderberries in my cabinet for that purpose, but I looked up the recipe after having just bought 2 bottles of Sambucus. ;) So I don't need to make any yet.
Do you make it with bee propolis?