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Teva Tip 1 - Mullein, Mint and Yarrow
These are three of the plants my family uses to treat head colds and congestion that are a part of the winter season. You can find pictures of them
in any field guide on edible/medicinal plant. We collect the leaves from these plants late August through September and place them in aerated plastic bags to dry. The bags are clipped to a string with a clothespin
and labeled.
When one of the Goldman clan gets a cold, complete with runny nose and eyes, we brew up a cup of tea made from enough leaves to fill the palm of my hand. The
leaves are steeped for 15 minutes in water that has been brought to a boil and then removed from the heat source. It is good to drink the cup of tea within a 15-30 minute time period.
When we feel even
worse or have "stuffed heads," we add several handfuls of a mixture of leaves from the three plants to a pot of water and bring to a boil. When the mixture is steaming, we place a towel over our heads and cover the
pot to make a mini-sauna, breathing in the medicinal steam. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN YOUR FACE IN THE STEAM.
When we are feeling even worse, with flu-like symptoms, we drink a cup of yarrow tea, dress in
several layers of warm clothing and sit in a steam-filled bathroom. The yarrow causes the body to sweat and the extra clothing and steam increase the degree of sweat. I do not know why but the sweating often
relieves the worse symptoms and helps the illness run its course in 2-3 days.
For those of you who tend to get travel sickness, I found a cup of mullein tea prior to a car trip was highly effective in
relieving my children's travel sickness. It worked as well as over-the-counter medication without the dopey side effects.
If you have any questions about these treatments, drop me e-mail at karen@njycamps.org and reference the subject area as Teva Tip #1.
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