Medicinal plants & home remedies — make your own
Not medical advice. This chapter reproduces proven home-remedy knowledge (Commission E / ESCOP monographs, traditional home remedies) for minor complaints when no pharmacy can be reached.
What works and what doesn't
- Cannot be made at home: antibiotics, insulin, blood thinners, heart and blood-pressure medication, thyroid hormones, painkillers in a reliable dose. The only precaution for these is a supply (chapter 10). Talk to your doctors now about repeat prescriptions for 3 months, especially for older people in the household (chapter 23).
- Feasible and useful at home: teas, ointments, tinctures, rinses, compresses. They help with colds, coughs, stomach and bowel complaints, small wounds, skin problems and sleep problems.
- Interactions: anyone taking medication should ask at the pharmacy now which of the plants below do not go with it (especially St John's wort and willow bark).
The most important mixtures without plants
| Remedy | Recipe | What for |
|---|---|---|
| Oral rehydration solution for diarrhoea (WHO) | 1 l boiled water + 6 level tsp sugar + ½ level tsp salt | prevent dehydration (chapter 10) |
| Saline solution 0.9 % | 9 g salt (1 level tsp ≈ 6 g, so a good 1½ tsp) per 1 l water, boil for 10 min, let cool covered | rinsing wounds, nasal rinsing. Use up the same day |
| Gargle | ½ tsp salt in a glass of warm water | sore throat |
| Steam inhalation | hot water, towel over the head, 10 min (add chamomile or thyme) | runny nose, sinuses. Not for young children (scalding) |
Medicinal plants for garden and balcony
Plant these now. Most are perennial and undemanding.
| Plant | Part / preparation | What for | Caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) 📷 | flowers, tea, steam bath, rinse | stomach and bowel, inflammation of skin/mucous membranes | allergy to the daisy family; not into the eye |
| Sage (Salvia officinalis) 📷 | leaves, tea for gargling | throat/gum inflammation, sweating | do not drink in high doses long-term; not during pregnancy |
| Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) 📷 | herb, tea, syrup with honey | cough, bronchitis | – |
| Peppermint (Mentha × piperita) 📷 | leaves, tea | nausea, flatulence, cramps | not with heartburn/gallstones |
| Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) 📷 | leaves, syrup; fresh leaf crushed | dry irritating cough; insect bites | – |
| Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) 📷 | flowers, ointment | small wounds, grazes, chapped skin | allergy to the daisy family |
| Elder (Sambucus nigra) 📷 | flowers, tea | colds (diaphoretic tea) | berries only cooked |
| Lime/linden flowers (Tilia cordata) 📷 | flowers, tea | colds, cough | – |
| Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) 📷 | root, tea/tincture | restlessness, difficulty falling asleep | full effect only after 1–2 weeks; not with alcohol |
| Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) 📷 | leaves, tea | restlessness, nervous stomach | – |
| St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) 📷 | herb, tea/oil | low mood (mild) | never with antidepressants (serotonin syndrome). Weakens the contraceptive pill, blood thinners, heart medication, immunosuppressants and much more. Makes the skin sensitive to sunlight. Only after consultation |
| Willow bark (Salix alba) 📷 | bark of young twigs (spring), tea | mild pain, fever, joints | contains salicin (related to aspirin): not with blood thinners, aspirin allergy, stomach ulcer, in children, in pregnancy |
| Garlic (Allium sativum) 📷 | raw | supportive for colds | enhances blood thinners |
| Onion (Allium cepa) 📷 | onion poultice (chopped, warm, in a cloth) | earache (on the outside of the ear), cough syrup with sugar/honey | – |
| Arnica (Arnica montana) 📷 | flowers, tincture/ointment | bruises, contusions | external use only, not on open wounds |
| Clove (stock, spice) | chew a clove or dab on clove oil diluted (1 drop in 1 tsp cooking oil) — undiluted it burns the gums; not for children | bridging toothache | short-term only |
Preparation
Tea (infusion): 1–2 tsp dried herb (or 2–3 tsp fresh) per 250 ml boiling water, steep covered for 5–10 minutes so the essential oils stay in. 3 cups a day. Roots and bark (valerian, willow bark): start in cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 5–10 minutes.
Marigold ointment (classic):
- Put 2 handfuls of fresh flowers (or 1 handful of dried) into 250 g lard or 200 ml olive oil.
- Heat briefly until it foams, do not deep-fry. Remove from the heat, leave covered for 1 day.
- Warm gently again, strain through a cloth.
- If using oil, stir in 20 g beeswax so the ointment sets.
- Fill into clean, boiled jars, store cool. Keeps for about 1 year.
Tincture (keeps, easy to dose): 1 part dried plant to 5 parts alcohol (40–70 %, drinking alcohol only, such as grain spirit/vodka, never methylated spirits or isopropanol) in a screw-top jar, steep in the dark for 2–4 weeks, shake daily, strain. Brown glass bottle, keeps for years. Usual amount: 20–30 drops in water, 2–3 × a day. Tinctures are not for children. Never take arnica tincture internally — only diluted 3- to 10-fold for compresses.
Cough syrup: onion or ribwort plantain in slices, layered with sugar/honey in a jar, leave for 1 day, pour off the juice. Take by the teaspoon. No honey for children under 1 year.
Drying: in a shady, airy place below 40 °C until the leaves rustle. Then store dark and dry in jars. After about 1 year the effect diminishes.
Wounds without a doctor
- Stop the bleeding: pressure with a clean cloth, elevate (chapter 1).
- Rinse, rinse, rinse: with boiled, cooled water or saline solution. Remove dirt completely. That is more important than any remedy.
- Cover with a sterile dressing, change daily.
- Seek help immediately (even if it is far) if the wound is deep, comes from a bite, red streaks spread, fever develops, or the last tetanus vaccination was more than 5 years ago for deep, dirty or bite wounds (10 years for small clean wounds). Get your tetanus booster now.
- Medical honey (pharmacy, sterile) is suitable as a wound dressing for small, poorly healing wounds. Ordinary honey is not sterile.
Read on offline
Knowledge packages (via DATEN-LADEN.bat): MDWiki / WikEM (medicine, emergency medicine), Wikipedia (every medicinal plant with pictures), "Field/emergency medicine" (medical handbooks), WikiVet (pets). A printed book on medicinal plants also belongs in your supplies.