Pain is something we all experience, whether it's from a scraped knee as a kid or those aches and pains that seem to stick around as we get older. Many of these latter problems come from things like unhealthy lifestyles, environmental pollution, lack of sunshine, and eating foods that aren't good for our bones. The resulting inflammation, like a constant fire inside our body, can lead to a severe lack of life quality. The good news is that there are natural ways to soothe this inflammation and find relief.
Three herbs that I personally use are recognized for their potential benefits in pain relief. Comfrey, plantain, and calendula each have a rich history of use, yet their combination possesses remarkable properties that are being harnessed by ordinary gardeners. Here’s a quick rundown on their benefits:
Comfrey is famous for its ability to help bones and injuries heal faster, soothe inflammation, lessen pain, and fix cuts and scrapes. The British Journal of Sports Medicine found that topical comfrey creams are incredibly effective at treating acute back pain, with intensity decreasing by 95.2% within an hour. For Osteoarthritis of the knee, pain was reduced by more than 50% with use. One study study found that even joint sprains responded as favourably to it as synthetic prescription pain-relieving gels. If you can't find fresh comfrey, you can easily buy dried comfrey leaf or comfrey root online. If you don't want to make your own salve, you can find ready-made ones by checking on Etsy, where it’s often made by small-scale cottage industry salve producers.
Great plantain (Plantago major) is a plant with broad leaves native to Europe and Asia, yet now grown worldwide. It's also used as medicine. Its leaves contain special ingredients that can calm down redness, pain and swelling in your skin, soothe bug bites, itchy rashes, and even help kill bacteria and fungi. A study in the Journal of Wound Care discovered that plantain-containing gels can effectively treat foot ulcers and improve tissue repair. As such, it’s a fantastic addition to salves.
Calendula, a flower with bright orange and yellow petals, contains special ingredients like flavonoids and triterpenoids, which are particularly helpful in reducing redness and swelling, making it useful for problems like eczema, wound healing and fighting off germs and fungus. As part of a salve, it helps with skin infections, calming irritations, and inflammations.
When combined, these three herbal powerhouses create a synergistic salve that can address a wide range of skin ailments, from minor cuts and scrapes to rashes and irritations. I personally find that this salve works real well for inflammation within a short period of time. Because of its effectiveness, it’s my go-to for almost anything that pains me.
Note: Arnica is also a potent herbal remedy known for its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties, and is used in most pain relief gels. A review published in the American Journal of Therapeutics found that topical arnica was as effective as ibuprofen in reducing pain and improving function in patients with osteoarthritis of the hand. It’s easy to buy, and if desired, you can add it into the salve as well to make it even more potent.
Now that you understand the benefits, let’s talk about how to make this salve.
Making The Salve
Place the fresh or dried herbs in a jar, cover with oil (I use Olive oil) and then place the jar into a double boiler. Gently heat the water in a double boiler, (crock pot), warming the oil, but keeping it under 140 degrees. It’s important that the herbs infuse (not deep fry), so set the temperature to “keep warm”.
Allow the fresh or dried herbs to infuse in the double boiler for about 24 hours before straining and continuing with the process. (Note: If using fresh herbs, make sure the jar is open during the infusion process so that moisture can evaporate from the herb material).
Once the herbal infused oil is ready, strain it out and using about an 8:1 ratio of oil to wax, put the oil and beeswax in a heat-safe bowl or double boiler bowl, and gently melt it over a pot of simmering water (basically, in a double boiler). Beeswax pistils makes this process easy, but you can also chop some off a large block of beeswax.
Once melted, pour the salves into jars or salve tins.
Allow the salves to cool and firm up for a few hours before using them. You now possess a blend of nature's most potent pain relieve herbs; a salve that’s tangible step towards reclaiming your comfort and well-being. Let its soothing touch serve as a reminder of the power of natural and harmless, yet potent remedies.
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