When something just isn’t going right with your health, you have about three options: wait it out, go to the doctors for a prescription, or use over-the-counter medications. However, an increasing amount of people are discovering the beauty of using herbal treatments to solve common and not-so-common medical problems, all the way from a persistent cough to diarrhea. In this article, you will briefly encounter a range of bodily concerns grouped with possible herbal remedies.
The Skin
Sometimes, you simply need herbs to heal pre-existing problems or speed up the healing process of wounds, cuts, and abrasions. This is where comfrey and self-heal can come in handy. Comfrey also helps individuals who are battling acne, boils, fungal skin infections, inflamed skin rashes, and joints that are stiff and aching. As for self-heal, this native European plant has the power to also treat internal bleeding, and hemorrhoids. Ancient Chinese medicine also found self-heal to work wonders on fevers, headaches, dizziness, and vertigo.
Consider the following herbs to treat other concerns that may arise with the skin:
Tea Tree: This herb carries antiseptic properties that disinfect the skin. This is a great remedy for individuals battling ringworm, warts, corns, scrapes, wounds, infected burns, and the stinging bites of insects. Think of tea tree when faced with a chronic infection (like cystitis) and oral infections (like gum disease). Tea tree can also treat a bad case of acne and boils; bring relief to athlete’s foot; as well as calm the irritation that comes with vaginal infections.
Calendula: When you are looking to lessen the itchiness, redness, and soreness of various medical concerns, look towards calendula (also known as pot marigold) to ease your symptoms. Some of the skin ailments that calendula can provide relief for includes sunburn, minor burns, acne, rashes, ringworm, athlete’s foot, cradle cap, and diaper rash. The herb can also soothe the nipples of mothers giving a shot at breastfeeding. Calendula is also used to treat digestive disorders (like peptic ulcers), menstrual bleeding, insect bites, and varicose veins.
Witch Hazel: For a tightened appearance in the skin, turn to witch hazel. The herb has been known to work wonders on people who have skin conditions that bring inflammation and tenderness , like eczema. You may also use this herbal remedy to repair damaged veins; ease the appearance of bruises; clean wounds; and treat hemorrhoids, weeping skin, and blood vessels. Use witch hazel to prepare a lotion that can treat underlying conditions, such as cysts and tumors.
Burdock: When the skin is in need of waste extraction, it is burdock that comes to the rescue. This herb is also known to treat acne, boils, and skin rashes. When used in combination with other herbs, effective cleansing results emerge. To treat pimples, create a decoction using 2 teaspoons of burdock root and 5 teaspoons of dandelion root. Drink the mixture twice per day in 1-cup servings. Other medical ailments that burdock has shown results in during treatment includes mumps, measles, chronic arthritic conditions, eczema, psoriasis, and local skin infections.