Many modern medical practices used to be labeled as witchcraft. The use of "remedies" was looked down upon and discouraged, and even punished. If you were suffering some ailment it was a penance for something you did wrong. The use of minerals and herbs to heal the body was devilry. Even midwives were considered evil because the suffering of a woman in labor was placed upon all women for the punishment of Eve for her part in the Original Sin. Labor pain was a punishment for all women due to one woman's supposed rebellion against the Christian god, and she was supposed to remember this and not try to ease it. (Obviously women didn't come up with this rule and if men had to have pain as well it wouldn't exist!) But however the use of home remedies is just old timey folk medicine! Passed down from mother to daughter or father to son.
The use of herbs is no different than taking a pill other than it's a natural remedy and not some crazy mixture of chemicals spun together to do the same thing! Herbal healing is wonderful in the fact that our mother Earth provides us with ways to assist our bodies towards healing and getting better!
There are things for the stomach aches like peppermint tea, Angelica, and Caraway for heartburn, blackberry and raspberry leaf teas, bananas, and rice for diarrhea, and ginger and chamomile tea for nausea! If you have a headache there are things to fix it. If you have a wound there are "astringent plants" that when brewed can clean and heal the wound, but it's not just plants with healing properties. You can do what Egyptians did and spread a little honey on it. Honey has antibacterial properties and acts just like any over the counter antibiotic cream! And while I'm on the subject of honey, if you have seasonal allergies you can buy a good locally produced honey (within 25 miles of your home) and take a tablespoon of the honey every day. The bees use pollen from the plants causing your allergies and it helps relieve them. (Honey should never be given to children under 5 years of age due to the small amounts of salmonella in it). There is so much in nature that is good for your body instead of pumping it full of artificial chemicals. I'm not telling you to stop taking needed medicines but there are herbal remedies that can assist with the efforts of those medicines. Natural aids for blood pressure, mood/behavior disorders, things that can help relieve symptoms of cancer treatments, there are even natural birth control remedies which is what got herbal medicines labeled evil! If you are being treated for anything like depression or bodily ailments like high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol you may wish to seek the advice of your doctor on including, along with your usual medications, herbal supplements in your daily routine. I would advise always using caution with any herbal remedies and doing a little reading up on it before taking anything. There could be interactions and unwanted side effects on your regular medications. Pregnant women and children should use the most caution. As I said there are herbal birth controls and that would not be a good thing for a pregnant woman! As well as children's weight and general health should be considered. As always with children a pediatrician should be consulted first to be sure the right actions are taken for their health.
I run a small home business producing made to order home remedies for everything from dandruff to psoriasis! It is best to make them for each individuals due to the various differences person to person that could be causing the ailments! I use home grown herbs and natural oils and waxes as carriers. Everything I make is vegan, unless it is asked that I use animal products in them. I've found that if you use natural soy waxes and olive, grape seed, or other plant based oils it increases the shelf life of the remedy! Not to mention animal lards require refrigeration and aren't pleasantly scented!! I sometimes use bee's wax and honey from a local farmer who takes very good care of his bees! I try to insure that my products are to the highest standards I can.
Blessed be,
Lady Alice