Plantain is one of our best herbs for naturally drawing out any kind of infection or toxin, and is especially useful for blood poisoning, insect bites and stings. If you don’t have access to fresh plantain leaves for any reason, using dried plantain is also helpful, although using fresh leaves is always the first choice. Chew it up in your mouth until it gets pulpy, and apply it to your sting or bite. Leave it on for about 10 minutes. It will alleviate the pain and itching.
How to prepare dried plantain for medicinal uses
1. Begin by harvesting making sure to avoid chemically-treated areas. I pick them in my back yard so I can trust they are safe.
2. The sun isn’t the best place to dry herbs in general because it can cause them to lose nutrients. Try to be patient and lay them out on a screen in a well-ventilated place out of direct sunlight. I like to dry them with dehydrate at under 104F for a day.
3. Grind them by food processor or coffee grinder into a powder.
4. Dosage to drink: 1 tablespoon of dried leaves per cup of boiled water, steep 10-15 minutes, and drink up to 3 cups a day. Drink hot to break a fever.
Ways to use
1. Relief from Coughs and Colds (Hot Tea)
A cup of plantain tea from fresh or dried leaves will sooth indigestion, heartburn or IBS. It is calming on all types of digestive disturbances. It is also helpful for UTIs, Bladder infections or kidney infections.
2. Soothe Irritated Eyes (Cold Tea)
Cooled plantain tea can be used as eyewash for red, irritated or tired eyes. Cotton pads soaked in the tea can also be placed over closed eyes to soothe irritation.
3. Relieve Boils and Acne (Poultice or Cold Tea)
Plantain is wonderful in pulling impurities and infection out of skin. It also soothes, reduces inflammation and kills bacteria. Use a plantain poultice as a face mask (mix with water or raw apple cider vinegar to make it a paste) for deep cleansing, and use cooled plantain tea as a facial toner morning and night.
4. Heal Cuts – Draw out infection (Poultice)
An application of fresh leaves or powder over wounds (open or closed), boils, sores, animal bites, scrapes, burns, rashes, eczema, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, etc, will draw out infection, reduce inflammation and pain, help staunch bleeding, and speed tissue healing.
This is not intended to be a medical advice. Please do your own research or consult a specialist you trust for specific concerns.
#plantain #firstaidkit #remedies
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