 |
| Not a great picture - the chickweed in my garden is only starting to come through after a hot, dry summer. I actually had trouble finding some to take a photo. |
Simon came off his mountain bike a few days ago and gave his knee a good whack (no external abrasions). All was well, if just a bit sore from the bang, but two days later his joint was sore, flaming red, and hot. It was obvious there was inflammation, but I was also a bit concerned there could be some sort of internal infection brewing. First up he drew around the red area (it was about 15cm long and 7-8cm wide just to the lower side of the knee), just so we could keep an eye on it. I then thought to pull out my herbal books to see if a poultice could help (it was 11pm Friday afterall, so really just a wait and see anyhow since he was otherwise fine). Susun Weed suggested a chickweed poultice as being particularly useful for sore, painful, "hot", and inflamed joints (the saponins in the chickweed has the ability to open cells and draw out infection).
So, off out to the garden we went and gathered up a large handful of chickweed (I had weeded around a patch just a few days before so knew right where to go). We laid it over the red area (just lightly crushed in my hand, and it was already wet from the rain), wrapped a cotton cloth over it and secured it on with a piece of strapping and safety pin. Susun suggests that 10mins to 3hrs is all that is required. Simon went off to bed and I said he could remove it if he woke later on (which happened to be about 2hrs later). In the morning we had a look and there wasn't a trace of redness and the swelling had gone down.
I guess it's entirely possible that this would have been the outcome without the poultice, but it was good to know that it didn't "fail" either.
Chickweed has many uses including treating inflammatory skin conditions (hives, eczema, itchiness, abrasions and wounds, boils, burns), colds and flus (dissolves and expectorates thickened membranes), stomach ulcers, inflammed bowels, sore eyes (conjunctivitis).
Edible: It can also be added to salads (the tender young bits are best), made into pesto, added to green smoothies or in place of spinach in a hot dish. It's packed with nutrients - sure makes sense to use a "weed" that seems to grow freely in most gardens without effort!
4 comments:
It is AMAZING for excema, which my daughter had a lot in her early years!
I'm very impressed with your herbal area from your last post and reading this story on chickweed Nikki.
Have you tried growing elecampane?
Breezybree, great to hear that you had success with using it for eczema. How did you apply it? I have read of making a chickweed tea and bathing in it?
Thanks Sandra! I find this the easiest and most effective way of learning about the different herbs and their properties - using it and seeing for myself. I'm sure I'll remember all about chickweed now lol.
You have reminded me that I did have a cutting for elecampane, but I have no idea where it is! Will need to do a google and see if I can find any remains in my garden tomorrow. Is there something you particularly like about that one?
I'd read of elecampane's properties for lung/bronchial/asthmatic problems and so ordered some seeds a few years ago. They did nothing and I was reminded of this when Laksmi our natural therapist mentioned it and it turned out she had tried growing it without success also.
Post a Comment