In a survival situation you will have
to use what is available. In using plants and other natural remedies, positive
identification of the plants involved is as critical as in using them for food.
Proper use of these plants is equally important.
Terms and Definitions
The following terms, and their
definitions, are associated with medicinal plant use:
Poultice. The name
given to crushed leaves or other plant parts, possibly heated, that you
apply to a wound or sore either directly or wrapped in cloth or paper.
Infusion or tisane or tea. The preparation of medicinal herbs for internal or external
application. You place a small quantity of a herb
in a container, pour hot water over it, and let it steep (covered or
uncovered) before use.
Decoction. The
extract of a boiled down or simmered herb leaf or root. You add herb leaf
or root to water. You bring them to a sustained boil or simmer to draw their
chemicals into the water. The average ratio is about 28 to 56 grams (1 to
2 ounces) of herb to 0.5 liter of water.
Expressed juice.
Liquids or saps squeezed from plant material and either applied to the
wound or made into another medicine.
Many natural remedies work slower than
the medicines you know. Therefore, start with smaller doses and allow more time
for them to take effect. Naturally, some will act more rapidly than others.
Specific Remedies
The following remedies are for use
only in a survival situation, not for routine use:
Diarrhea. Drink
tea made from the roots of blackberries and their relatives to stop
diarrhea. White oak bark and other barks containing tannin are also
effective. However, use them with caution when nothing else is available
because of possible negative effects on the kidneys. You can also stop
diarrhea by eating white clay or campfire ashes. Tea made from cowberry or
cranberry or hazel leaves works too.
Antihemorrhagics.
Make medications to stop bleeding from a poultice of the puffball
mushroom, from plantain leaves, or most effectively from the leaves of the
common yarrow or woundwort (Achillea millefolium).
Antiseptics. Use
to cleanse wounds, sores, or rashes. You can make them from the expressed
juice from wild onion or garlic, or expressed juice from chickweed leaves
or the crushed leaves of dock. You can also make antiseptics from a
decoction of burdock root, mallow leaves or roots, or white oak bark. All these medications are for external use only.
Fevers. Treat a
fever with a tea made from willow bark, an infusion of elder flowers or
fruit, linden flower tea, or elm bark decoction.
Colds and sore throats. Treat these illnesses with a decoction made from either plantain
leaves or willow bark. You can also use a tea made from burdock roots,
mallow or mullein flowers or roots, or mint leaves.
Aches, pains, and sprains. Treat with externally applied poultices of dock, plantain,
chickweed, willow bark, garlic, or sorrel. You can also use salves made by
mixing the expressed juices of these plants in animal fat or vegetable
oils.
Itching. Relieve
the itch from insect bites, sunburn, or plant poisoning rashes by applying
a poultice of jewelweed (Impatiens biflora) or witch hazel leaves (Hamamelis
virginiana). The jewelweed juice will help when applied to poison ivy
rashes or insect stings. It works on sunburn as well
as aloe vera.
Sedatives. Get
help in falling asleep by brewing a tea made from mint leaves or
passionflower leaves.
Hemorrhoids. Treat
them with external washes from elm bark or oak bark tea, from the
expressed juice of plantain leaves, or from a Solomon's seal root
decoction.
Constipation.
Relieve constipation by drinking decoctions from dandelion leaves, rose
hips, or walnut bark. Eating raw daylily flowers will
also help.
Worms or intestinal parasites. Using moderation, treat with tea made
from tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) or from wild carrot leaves.
Gas and cramps.
Use a tea made from carrot seeds as an antiflatulent; use tea made from
mint leaves to settle the stomach.
Antifungal washes.
Make a decoction of walnut leaves or oak bark or acorns to treat ringworm
and athlete's foot. Apply frequently to the site, alternating with
exposure to direct sunlight
MISCELLANEOUS
USES OF PLANTS
Make dyes from various
plants to color clothing or to camouflage your skin. Usually, you will have to
boil the plants to get the best results. Onion skins produce yellow, walnut
hulls produce brown, and pokeberries provide a purple dye.
Make fibers and
cordage from plant fibers. Most commonly used are the stems from nettles and
milkweeds, yucca plants, and the inner bark of trees like the linden.
Make fish poison by
immersing walnut hulls in a small area of quiet water. This poison makes it
impossible for the fish to breathe but doesn't adversely affect their
edibility.
Make tinder for
starting fires from cattail fluff, cedar bark, lighter knot wood from pine
trees, or hardened sap from resinous wood trees.
Make insulation by
fluffing up female cattail heads or milkweed down.
Make insect repellents
by applying the expressed juice of wild garlic or onion to the skin, by placing
sassafras leaves in your shelter, or by burning or smudging cattail seed hair
fibers.
Plants can be your ally as long as you
use them cautiously. The key to the safe use of plants is positive
identification whether you use them as food or medicine or in constructing
shelters or equipment
