Conscious Choice: Herbs for Aliens

July 2002 | Herbs for Health

Herbs for Aliens

by Meg McGowan

Last week I got several splinters in my right hand. One was large, and I pulled it out without much trouble. Another was smaller, more deeply embedded. I wasn’t even sure that there was something still under my skin. I couldn’t tell if I was actually seeing a speck or imagining it, except for the pain. The pain told me there was something there. I watched as the area swelled and filled with fluid. As the pressure built up, I went from worrying it occasionally to obsessively poking at it, hoping to speed up the process. When the abscess finally opened up, the fluid beneath rinsed out a tiny dot. The process repeated itself two more times until three infinitesimal fragments of something alien to me had been expelled.

I was struck by the similarities in how our bodies and our psyches react when invaded by that which is not a part of who we are. In Herbal First Aid and Health Care (Lotus Press, 2000), Kyle D. Christensen defines an abscess as "a protective mechanism of the body to prevent further spread of the germs. It is part of the body’s natural immune response. Abscesses may be located internally or externally. The infected body part becomes swollen, inflamed, and tender. Antibiotics can be ineffective in treating abscesses because the site is walled off and circulation and penetration through the blood supply is poor. Abscesses are very painful because of the pressure generated within them."

Experiences that generate beliefs about ourselves, at odds with who we truly are, will eventually work their way to the surface of our consciousness. Pain and pressure indicate the presence of something that has pierced us, gotten beneath our emotional skin, and remained embedded, though we may not be consciously aware of the source. Tears cleanse emotional wounds, carrying away the debris, as the fluid filling my abscess flushed out each alien speck. Until it is cleansed and healed, that part of our self remains walled off, not truly integrated into the whole of our being.

Interestingly, mugwort tea (Artemisia vulgaris) is recommended for bathing abscessed areas before or after applying a drawing poultice. Bathing in mugwort infused bath water also aids in releasing past emotional pain and trauma. In both cases, a mugwort infusion should be used, not mugwort essential oil, which is considered highly toxic. In Back to Eden (Lifeline, 1973), Jethro Kloss suggests "steeping a tablespoonful of mugwort to a pint of boiling water for twenty minutes."

Poultices are an effective treatment for drawing out splinters and other abscesses. A poultice is an external application of herbs — fresh, dried, or powdered — to the affected area. Many poultices are applied warm, although this is not always the case. If dried or powdered herbs are used, they are moistened with water or an herbal infusion to form a paste. If fresh herbs are used, they may be chopped, crushed, chewed, or simmered before applying. A thin layer of vegetable oil may be spread on the skin to prevent sticking. Herbs may be applied directly to the skin, then covered with a gauze bandage, or they may be contained in a gauze wrapping before being applied to the skin. Herbs that stimulate cell regrowth and healing, such as comfrey (Symphytum officinale), calendula (Calendula officinalis), and lavender (Lavandula officinalis syn. L. angustifolia), should not be used until the foreign particles and toxins have been thoroughly eliminated.

The kitchen offers abundant aid for drawing out splinters and infection. Carrot (grated, boiled, and mashed), raw potato, warmed cabbage leaves, fresh tomato or onion slices, honey and oatmeal can all be used effectively. Honey or an oatmeal paste would be my first choice for splinters. Outside the kitchen door, if lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) is growing in the garden, its leaves can be crushed and applied topically. Plantain (Plantago spp.), generally considered a weed, may be found growing in the lawn or in any wild area. It is one of the best as well as one of the most readily available remedies for pulling embedded particles to the surface. The leaves of plantain can be chewed and applied directly to the skin.

From the medicine chest, a green clay paste moistened with water or an herbal infusion can be as effective as plantain. Slippery elm powder (Ulmus rubra) and lobelia (Lobelia inflata) can be combined with myrrh (Commiphora mol syn. C. myrrha) or echinacea (Echinacea spp.) tincture to create a thick paste. Jethro Kloss recommends using one-third lobelia to two-thirds slippery elm bark. He claims, "It is excellent to add lobelia to poultices for abscesses, boils, and carbuncles...[as lobelia] loosens disease and opens the way for its elimination from the body." The Australian bush flower essence Angelsword (Lobelia gibbosa) belongs to the same genus as Lobelia inflata, and it is useful for treating similar conditions within the psyche. Anne McIntyre in Flower Power (Henry Holt, 1996) advises its use "for those who are influenced by thoughts and ideas of other people and feel confused, particularly about spiritual truths. It protects you from outside influences so that you can listen to the inner self and inner guidance both from past experience and present."

Health is maintained not by the absence of touching and being touched by the world, but by our ability to discern what is part of us and what is not, by keeping only what is truly ours and releasing everything else.

DISCLAIMER: Choosing a holistic approach to medicine means choosing personal responsibility for your health care. Herbs for Health offers a doorway through which to enter the realm of herbal healing, an invitation to further investigation on the part of the reader. It is in no way intended as a substitute for advice from a health care practitioner.

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