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I have read through the bush medicine and noticed a lot of treatment is geared towards natural items compared to modern OTC. I appreciate the natural products but I like the convienance and safety of modern stuff. There is no guessing on the doseage such as mg/kg. Not sure how to quantify a natural product to have a safe dose. I know that OTC will work. Im interested to see others ideas on the topic.
I guess it depends on what you were raised with so that's what you know and trust. I'm a "modern" medicine guy myself. Take 2 aspirin and call someone else in the morning.
We use both. Because getting to a doctor is difficult for us, we try to nip problems in the bud as soon as possible. So when something ails us or the dogs, we start off with homeopathics and herbs. That helps with most things, also your body tends to heal itself withing 3-7 days. If it can't and our our stockpile of remedies doesn't help, we go see a doctor or vet.
Herbs I use a lot (and yes, you do have to experiment with what dosage works, especially if you collect them yourself):
-arnica flowers (made into an ointment for bruises, aches and sprains)
-willow bark (taken as tea against pain and an antiseptic)
-highbush cranberry bark (taken as tea against cramps and muscle pain)
-lousewort leaves and flowers (taken as tea to relax muscles)
-wild rose petals (made into a skin cream)
-cottonwood buds (added to ointments as a preservative, also has healing properties)
-yarrow flowers and leaves (as tea to induce sweating and crank up the metabolism, as a poultice to stop bleeding)
-mullein flowers (as tea against coughs)
-coltsfoot leaves (as tea against coughs)
-eyebright leaves and flowers (infusion as an eyewash for irritations)
Those are our mainstays that work well for us. According to what the problem is, we mix and match based on the plants' properties - a great tea against backpain, for example, is willow, highbush cranberry, lousewort and yarrow. There are obviously limits to what you can achieve with herbal remedies, but I love walking out into the pharmacy that grows all around our cabin and collecting what we need :)
There are some that spend a lifetime learning and using natural meds( no different than a Doctor)....a lot of which now have a modern pre-packaged version.
Although a good thing to study and know....can be a very dangerous thing to depend on.
Unless I know for sure what something is, how to perpare it and what it does, or supposed to do....I leave them alone.
I use a bit of both, but I was raised using that. Like Rick said, it all depends what you're comfortable with.
I agree that the modern OTC medicine is without a doubt more convenient. However, there are going to be times when you won't always have all of the OTC medicines and supplies you may need. It's a good thing to be educated on bush medicine to some extent. I always carry Medicine for the Outdoors from Elsevier Health in my first aid/emergency kit. This book is a great guide to help you deal with medical emergencies in the wilderness.
I grow and forage most of our medicines. I grew up with this, began learning the plants while toddling and my best books are from the turn of the last century through the 1960s. Most herb books printed later, because of liability issues, list the most valuable plants as "poisonous." Well, duh, drugs ARE poison! Look at the list of possible side effects BigPharm keeps in small print!
I don't like to buy herbs, either. I don't know how old they are, what conditions they're subjected to while processing or if its even the same plant I want. Locally grown is best.
The hard part is getting a correct diagnosis at the clinic if things go waunk. Our Dr. only practice naturopathology now, but he's only there twice a month. He and I swap recipes and information all the time.
By keeping good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle we keep problems to a minimum.
Best medicine by far!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Crabapple Plum
I have a one medical plant book. After studying it for a bit I figured I should just make a tea out of every edible I know and it would cure about everything! ...lol.
Wish I had your knowledge and experience!
If I even bought a head of lettuce from the store it would be the one that had E-coli all over it! I sure as heck ain't gonna go pickin and eatin out in the woods. I'm just well aware of my level of ignorance.
All grocery store produce is crawling with coli bacteria. From the dirt it's grown in, the polluted water it's irrigated with, pickers, handlers and OTHER CUSTOMERS who don't wash their hands after wiping their butts.Quote:
Originally Posted by wtrfwlr
Good thing we have healthy immune systems, it's a dangerous world.
I used to pick Morrels in the spring when I was turkey hunting but always gave the to a mountain lady up there cause I was scared to death to put one in my mouth. I've just never had anyone around to teach me. I won't trust books or myself enough to learn on my own.
And you are so right to do that. In fact, may I be so bold as to suggest that in the future you send all morels to me. I will evaluate them for you and send the good ones back. I should point out that there are not many good ones. Some years, none at all.
Well Mr. Rick, you are more than welcome to each and every one I find. Would you mind too much pitching in a little for the freight? I wouldn't normally ask but since I usually find so many and they are almost always large it could get pretty pricey Ya know.
*Do you have access to a truck dock?
Uh, yes indeedy. I went to this a few years ago. Believe it or not, those trailers are full of bad morels. But I'm on top of it!!
http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-ge...-Warehouse.jpg
That may suffice? We'll try it for a spring and see.
And it's hard to find someone you trust to know what they're doing when it comes to fungi! We have several edible mushrooms around here but I only pick chantrelles and oyster mushrooms. We have morels, but there is a look-a-like that is toxic.Quote:
Originally Posted by wtrfwlr
If you're just starting out learning about wild edibles, the weeds in your garden are a good place to start. I learned once you declare a plant a valuable food source, it automatically becomes scarce. Saves on the weeding.
Thanks for the tips C Plum. I think I will do just as I have done until such time as I find someone to "hold my hand" so that I can get first hand experience. I'm usually gung-ho about most everything but not that.