Herbal Home Nursing Basics

03/22/20 • 69 min

It’s not just coronavirus, there’s a lot going on right now! Between the usual circulating strains of flu, some spring colds, and the stirrings of allergy season, plenty of folks are feeling rough. But it’s up to all of us to reduce strain on the medical system right now, so it’s more important than ever that we learn some herbal home nursing basics. These skills can help us to deal with minor issues on our own, so the health care workers can focus where they’re really needed.

Staying hydrated is super important, and herbs can help the water to “stick” much better than plain water on its own. Managing fever is another key function that herbs can support – and these don’t need to be “fancy” herbs, either! Garlic, lemon, ginger, and thyme are enough to cover a lot of bases. A dry cough with a hot fever might mean COVID-19, or it might not, but either way, common herbs and kitchen items can help to relieve the symptom and address the root cause of it.

The core of herbal home nursing basics is to keep vigilant, or attentive to the needs as they change and evolve over time. That, and some simple, easy-to-forget stuff like changing the sheets! Knowing all about these likely needs ahead of time will enable you to prepare with what YOU have for what YOU need. Nothing better than that!

Mentioned in this episode:

The Holistic Herbalism Podcast, Episode 108: Herbs to Supercharge Your Bone Broth
Florence Nightingale, Notes on Nursing & Notes on Hospitals – Two excellent & essential books – and not merely for “historical interest”, either! We think every herbalist should read these.

Herbs discussed include: hibiscus, marshmallow (and common mallow and hollyhock), lemon, ginger, elderflower, lemon balm, mint, skullcap, yarrow, pleurisy root, wild cherry, garlic, onion, & thyme.

You can learn more about supporting sick people with herbs in our Immune Health course. Get beyond echinacea and learn the full complement of herbal actions and nutritional strategies that can build immune resilience, fend off pathogens, or reign in an overactive system.

As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Mentioned in this episode:

The Holistic Herbalism Podcast, Episode 108: Herbs to Supercharge Your Bone Broth
Florence Nightingale, Notes on Nursing & Notes on Hospitals – Two excellent & essential books – and not merely for “historical interest”, either! We think every herbalist should read these.

Herbs discussed include: hibiscus, marshmallow (and common mallow and hollyhock), lemon, ginger, elderflower, lemon balm, mint, skullcap, yarrow, pleurisy root, wild cherry, garlic, onion, & thyme.

As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Previous Episode

A Week In The Life Of Two Herbalists

Whew! There’s a lot going on right now. Between coronavirus, the election cycle, and the approach of spring, we’ve been extra busy and under more stress than usual. This week we wanted to share with you some of the herbs we’ve been relying on to get through. It’s a bit of a smorgasbord!

First up, a friend of ours is undergoing laser eye surgery, and we have some herbs to help make the healing process as quick & comfortable as possible. Supplements, compresses, and gentle healing sprays are all part of the plan.

Then, there’s been a death in Ryn’s family – his grandfather passed away. There’s grief, as well as other emotions, to process and work through. There’s also the funeral! With family & friends coming in from across the country and the world, we’re looking at a large gathering – and of course this is during the coronavirus outbreak. So we’re thinking a lot about community immunity, and daily active immune defense measures we can put into place. Herbs are coming in as steams, decoctions, infusions, fire cider, incense, and room spray!

As if that weren’t enough, allergy season is starting around here, and we’re looking to get our supportive herbs in as soon as possible. Nettle & eyebright tinctures are extra helpful lately.

And finally, we’re taking extra steps to support digestion right now – bitters are front & center.

Herbs discussed include (get ready!): bilberry, chamomile, calendula, marshmallow, hawthorn, linden, motherwort, blue vervain, lemon balm, elder, tulsi, thyme (& friends), lavender, garlic, elecampane, ginger, cinnamon, angelica, reishi, mullein, lungwort, boneset, yarrow, tarragon, nettle, goldenrod, eyebright, & calamus.

We mentioned several of our courses in this episode:

As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Next Episode

Learn Herbalism Like an Instrument or Language

Herbalism is experiential: you have to DO it to KNOW it.

It’s like learning to play a musical instrument – you’re going to sound bad at first! That’s necessary. If you refuse to play anything that isn’t perfect, you’ll never play anything. In herbalism, if you wait until you know everything there is to know, or until you’re 100% sure “it’s going to work”, you’ll be waiting all your life!

Learning herbalism is also a process similar to that of language acquisition. No one can absorb all the grammar and tone of a new language without speaking it. As a beginner you’ll stumble over words, conjugate wrongly, and need a lot of slow, patient repetition from native speakers. As a new herbalist, you’ll mix tea blends that don’t taste good, or try to make a tincture that just doesn’t come out strong enough. That’s ok! In fact, it’s necessary for you to make mistakes to learn well.

A lot of hesitation and uncertainty is driven by negative self-talk, so identifying and quarantining those thoughts is an important skill to develop, too. And of course, throughout all this experimentation, we need to stay responsible. That means building the majority of your work around safe, gentle herbs – and learning your herbal energetics adds a helpful boost here, too.

If you’re looking for experiments to try, why not check out our Herbal Medicine-Making course? It’s full with more than a dozen different methods for going from plant matter to finished remedy. Try a new method today!

As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!