I have had a few emails and questions after my apothecary bag post, so I thought that I would share more about our recent experiences. Lately it seems more and more normal for people to take charge of their own health and find gentle natural healing for everyday bothers instead of always running to the drugstore. This makes me so happy!!! Most of you know that once upon a time I was a pediatric nurse at Children's Hospital, my career as a nurse taught me, above all, that there is a delicate balance between natural healing and modern medicine. My husband also works in the medical field as a firefighter/paramedic and believe me, if you are in an emergency situation you want the wisdom of men like him administering life giving fluids and medicines until you can make it to the hospital. However, I also believe that to be able to treat and heal my family using natural methods (that cause no side effects) is something that I need to learn more about and put into practice.
That's all well and good, but lately I had a conversation with a friend that was afraid to employ natural medicines "in case it didn't work" and then she would feel guilty. You see if a doctor prescribes the wrong "remedy" you have someone to blame. There was also a underlying fear that these man made medicines were stronger and better than homeopathic things. I was actually surprised to find those same feelings in myself!! Me! The hardcore hippie, the mama that has cured dozens of cases of pinkeye, and several ear infections, and staph boils, and terrible diaper rash, and all without ever leaving my home or consulting a doctor! How could I doubt MY ability to heal? Because I was trained to believe that I couldn't. So a few weeks ago I decided that I would explore this deeper and document it better (an apothecary journal) and prove to that part of myself that I CAN do these things. I needed to prove to myself that it wasn't "all in my head" that this stuff really works.
Now of course in the middle of all of this my children got sick. I treated their symptoms using homeopathic remedies and one morning I knew that Tim wasn't getting better. We needed our doctor (who by the way is a DO, and usually gives me a list of foods and herbs along with modern medicine every time we see him), Tim had strep and needed an antibiotic. Thank God for antibiotics! They definitely have their place and so do amazing doctors that support mamas like me! Timothy also had a case of poison oak that was drying up (it had pretty much ran its course at this point and I had been treating it at home) after 2 days on the antibiotic his throat was much better, his poison oak was almost gone, but one sore was left from scratching and he woke up that morning with it red, swollen, angry, and hot, it had turned into cellulitis (a skin infection). This had developed while on the antibiotic so I knew that the antibiotic wasn't going to take care of it. I already had my friend mixing me a remedy for poison oak so I went that morning and picked it up. I soaked the arm in Epsom salt and applied the cream 3 times throughout the next 24 hours. (I also applied immune boost oil blend to his body for obvious reasons.) The results were AMAZING and I was so glad that I documented it! THAT was not "all in my head".
My sister jumped on this train with me and after her boy tested positive for flu got a homeopathic flu remedy. Her husband came home the next day from work and went straight to bed he was so sick, she gave him the flu remedy 2-3 times and the next morning he got up and went to work feeling fine! Her little boy had bounced back in just a day too.
Penny had a runny nose and was extra drooly from being sick so developed eczema on her little face, after 36 hours and 3 applications of the homeopathic cream it's almost completely gone. Not-in-my-head.
Sunday I was at my mother in law's house and one of the children came in screaming. He had been stung by a bee. He was pitiful. We applied a crushed plantain leaf from the yard we taped it on and left it) to the bite and a pain ease oil blend to his body and within 2 minutes he was back outside playing. More amazing than that was the fact that the bite didn't swell and by the next morning you couldn't see the sting at all.
It's not "all in my head", I have proven that to myself, and I hope that a peek into my apothecary journal will inspire you to learn more about how you can heal your family naturally too! If you are interested in where I get my remedies and oil blends look HERE. I can also recommend the book "Backyard Medicine" too (I have the kindle edition). If you have any tips, links, or testimonies about natural healing I would LOVE for you to share them in the comments section of this post! xo, Sam
Comments
Hyland's Poison Ivy/Oak works well. Take by mouth, following instructions, but don't eat or drink for 15 minutes before or after taking. And, don't touch the tablets with your hands (oil from your skin prevents it from working as well). Takes a few doses to really help, but it lessens the itching. We've cured many, many cases with nothing but this and some topical creams to help. Some Bad cases. Takes about a week to completely wipe it out.
Great job on the mothering! Thanks for sharing.
thank you!
thank you to answer