Prescription for Learning Herbs

The following is my perscription for learning about herbs and using them effectively.

1. Stop buying herbs and and natural medicines

Instead learn what herbs are growing in your own yard or in the local forest around you if you live in town, however even city folk will have a number of medicinal herbs in their own yard.

Everyone will have some plantain, dandelions, and even pineapple weed in their yard. Learn to use just those herbs. The natural world of healing is so vast and varied that it is too easy to let your eyes glaze over with the sheer volume of information out there. Use what you have in your own yard or what you can get nearby. It will always be there and will be the cheapest confidence boosting thing you can do.

2. Gain confidence in herbal medicines by using them. Yes I know that sounds like a no brainer and it can take some courage and persistance when you are first starting out. I know that for a long time I just simply stored store bought herbs in the cupboard and only used them half heartedly still relying heavily on allopathic medicine.

Know what to do for common childhood complaints such as ear aches and stomach upset, colds etc. Then have the stuff ready at the first sign of a problem. As you use them and are sucessful with them you will grow in confidence.

Example: Our dog last year went wandering off and came home the next day with his head split wide open exposing his skull. Apparently he was grazed with a bullet. My friend told me he would die if we didn't call a vet. Instead I applied liberally cayenne pepper covering the wound with aloe vera and honey as a carrier for the pepper. The dog healed perfectly in a few days. This really boosted my confidence in what I know works and what I know works as well as the allopathic counterpart.

Another example: In Liberia my youngest son Joe got a flesh eating tropical ulcer on his toe. The flesh was gone almost to the bone. I applied aloe vera liberally and kept it clean and in two days it was healed with healthy pink skin growing.

Last example: I have used faithfully the juice of fresh squeezed garlic in the ear of my kids for ear infections and it has worked perfectly every time. I even used it once on my husbands middle ear infection it healed almost immediately.

If I had to do it all over again I would start out with the following herbs:

1. Garlic!!!! There is a saying in our house that garlic cures everything!

2. Aloe Vera

3. Pine needles

4. Yarrow

5. Mullien

6. Plantain

7. Dandelion

8. Cayenne Pepper (most people don't have this growing in their yard but it is easily accesible).

9. Milk Thistle



So all that to say, learn what grows around you and what is most easily accesible and then study just those herbs as you grow in confidence you can add new herbs to your knowledge.

- The Herb Girls