Numen Resource Guide
photo by Larken Bunce
Herbal First Aid Kit
by Sandra Lory, Herbalist and Food Educator, Mandala Botanicals, Barre VT. © 2009
Miscellaneous
- Hydrogen peroxide to clean wounds
- Dr. Bronner's or other biodegradable soap
- Matches, needle and thread, safety pins, tweezers, Band-Aids or other adhesive bandages, gauze and tape, chopsticks, spoon, fork, bowl, a sharp knife (watch out for airport confiscation, though)
- Smudge bundle and/or medicine/prayer bundle, protective stone or amulet
- Hot water bottle for swelling, tension, and fear relief; for comfort and warmth
Herbs to Include
For calming in an emergency
- A flower essence remedy for calming in emergency situations, such as Rescue Remedy, self-heal flower essence, or red clover flower essence (for calm & centeredness in chaos)
- Spike lavender essential oil (calming, aromatherapeutic, and can be applied directly to burns, inflammation, wounds, and bites). Spike lavender is the strongest anti-bacterial lavender.
photo by Larken Bunce
For immune-boosting properties
- Zinc lozenges — take at first sign of strep or sore throat, for up to 3 days only
- Echinacea tincture or other immunity-enhancing/antiviral tincture/antihistamine — important for plane rides and during transport where the air is recycled; good preventative medicine; refer to handout on immune support for a list of other appropriate immunity-enhancing herbs. Spilanthes (tincture or dried herb) is a great antiviral, immune boosting, and antibacterial herb that can be exchanged with echinacea; it is specific for teeth and gums and can be squirted full strength (as a tincture) onto skin or teeth.
- Propolis (resin or tincture) or organic goldenseal root (tincture or powder) or goldthread/coptis tincture — strong antibiotics for bad infections
- Sea salt — for gargles and soaking wounds, cold feet, etc.
- Garlic (fresh, dried, or tinctured) — optional
- Raw honey — antibiotic and for burn relief; optional as can be messy if not in a tightly sealed container
For muscle, tissue, and nerve injuries
- Arnica flower (homeopathic or oil or liniment) — for muscle and tissue damage
- Saint John's wort oil, tincture, liniment, or homeopathic — for nerve and blood-vessel damage
- Traumeel (herbal homeopathic blend) — for injuries and emergency traumas; available in cream and tablets
For pain relief
- Traumeel (see above) — you can make your own homemade dilute tincture with Saint John's wort, yarrow, and arnica
- Crampbark or valerian root (dried or tinctured) — chew dry plant, drink tea, or ingest tincture frequently, every hour if needed
- Arnica — homeopathic or dilute tincture
- Chamomile (dried or tincture) — antispasmodic, settles the tummy, pain-relieving
- Wild lettuce leaf tincture, meadowsweet tincture, kava, valerian, or other anodyne
For digestive issues
- A bitters blend such as burdock, yellow dock, and dandelion root (tincture or dried), or a tummy blend with ginger, lemon/orange peel, chamomile, fennel seed, and catnip
- As an alternative to the above tincture, fennel seeds or ginger chews travel easily and are quick nausea treatments
- Blackberry root/white oak bark or meadowsweet leaf tincture for diarrhea
- Sweet Annie, wormwood, or Epazote for intestinal parasites and worms, also malaria prevention
- Slippery elm bark powder or marshmallow root — mix with beverage or prepare as tea to soothe the GI tract and stomach lining if inflamed or raw
- Miso paste to keep digestive flora healthy during travel; dissolve 1 teaspoon in a cup of hot water; is very grounding and alkalizing
- Seaweed, milk thistle seed tincture or caps, charcoal tablets, homeopathic ipecac — poison antidotes
- Spirulina, dried comfrey, dried nettles, or a green drink powder — helps rejuvenate the body tissues, respiration, elimination, digestion, and raises energy level by enriching the blood
For topical first aid
Jethro Kloss's Herbal Liniment—a classic liniment recipe:
- 1 ounce echinacea powder
- 1 ounce organically grown goldenseal powder
- 1 ounce myrrh powder
- 1/4 ounce cayenne powder
- 2 cups alcohol (vodka, brandy, gin, etc.)
Combine the powdered herbs. If starting with dried herbs that are not powdered, use a coffee grinder or Vitamixer to grind them as fine as possible. Cover with alcohol, leaving 2 inches of space between the surface of the alcohol and the rim of the jar, and put a lid on. Shake daily for one month, and then strain the liquid, composting the herb. Bottle and label your liniment, recording the ingredients, date, and any other info you'd like to include. Use this liniment as a disinfectant, to ease rheumatism and sprains, and to heal wounds, bruises, and burns. If you'd like to make a local version of this recipe, simply omit the myrrh, and use locally grown echinacea, goldenseal, and cayenne infused in Sunshine Vodka or another locally made alcohol. By omitting myrrh you can also use this blend as an immune-stimulating tincture for internal use.
- Yarrow (dried or tincture) — stops bleeding and drives out a fever; moisten leaves with saliva (chew 'em!) first if applying to open wound. A MUST-HAVE.
- Plaintain (dried or tinctured) – pulls out venom or infection close to the skin surface; tobacco is also a great drawing agent
- A skin salve, all-purpose, antifungal or antibacterial — look for salve containing herbs such as calendula, yarrow, plaintain, St. John's wort, black walnut, comfrey, usnea, etc.)
- Lavender oil (see above) — can also be used in foot soaks and face steams; massage into aching areas with a carrier oil or salve
- Tea tree oil or Thieves oil — potent antifungals and antiparsitics; look for ingreadients such as rosemary, thyme, lemon, eucalyptus
- Sea salt — for soaking infected skin soaks, rinsing throat and nasal passages, food preserving; a myriad of uses
- Raw local vinegar — a skin cleanser, digestive purifier, and immune booster
A Mini First Aid Kit
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Yarrow herb or tincture
- Calming fower essence like Rescue Remedy
- Plantain or tobacco
- Spike lavender, tea tree, or Thieves essential oil
- An immune tincture or Kloss Liniment Tincture
- Arnica dilute tincture or Homeopathic
- Wound salve
- Fennel seeds or ginger chews
