What helps bruises?

Many years ago, I was talking to a family member about herbs which help with bruising when my husband’s nephew interjected, “Why do you bother, the body deals with bruising all by itself.”

Our nephew is a doctor and not interested in herbs. I’d forgotten he was nearby when I began the conversation but his question made me stop and think. Why would we intervene in a situation which will resolve itself given enough time?

Bruises happen. When we knock against something, fall over, damage to our skin or underlying tissue results in two major actions within the body. The damaged cells are removed and new cells are created to take their place. We can see this as the damaged area changes colour, becomes inflamed, maybe hot to the touch and/or swollen and we feel pain if we try to touch the damaged area.

Sometimes the trauma causes damage to underlying structures, not just soft tissue. Cartilage may be torn, ligaments damaged, bones broken or fractured or blood vessels severed. In such cases, trips to A&E are always advised to diagnose through x-ray, CT scan or MRI exactly what has occurred. Similarly, if there is any hint of abuse, professional help must be sought so accurate records and evidence can be acquired and the victim offered safety.

Head, neck and back injuries, especially those where spinal damage is suspected are other areas where expert advice must be sought since the first hour post event is the most crucial in preventing life-changing effects. The patient must not be moved except by experts.

Having said all this, bruises remain and there are several plants which can provide help and support to the body to assist in the healing process.

There are two herbs which stay at the top of my first aid provisions. Yarrow (achillea millefolium), because of its anti-inflammatory properties and, as Jim Macdonald said, “yarrow knows what to do with blood.” My other go-to is plantain, both narrow leaf and greater (plantago lanceolata and p. major). It’s drawing properties help to ensure the damaged area doesn’t have any foreign objects, it helps with cell production and has the ability to retain moisture in dry tissues.

These two herbs are usually given as a poultice or salve and also internally as part of a tincture or tea, depending on whether the patient can tolerate alcohol.

The third herb I use externally is comfrey. It’s speedy cell-rejuvenation means this is not one to be applied within the first 24-36 hours, as it can regrow skin cells over dirt or fuse bone before it has been correctly set. After that time, it is really useful.

These three herbs form my “old wound” salve because they will also deal with bruises which refuse to heal or leave unwelcomed scars. Their power has also been proved on the energetic level as one of my apprentices uses them as a tea and a smudge to help resolve/come to terms with emotional scars left from childhood abuse, especially when the abuser is no longer alive. She has also used them as a tea with hawthorn and linden when setting up or strengthening boundaries.

If the bruise is involved with connective tissue, Solomon seal (polygonatum multiflorum) is another herb to add to the mix. American herbalists David Winston, Matthew Wood and Jim MacDonald have written at length how helpful Solomon Seal can be with rejuvenating joints, cartilage, connective tissue and tendons in conjunction with agrimony. Agrimony (agrimonia eupatorium) is there not only because it has styptic qualities like yarrow, but also helps with pain due to constriction.

Dylan Warren-Davies, writing as “A Welsh Herbal” on Facebook says “Solomons Seal is traditionally ruled by Saturn, which like comfrey, makes the herb valuable in treating musculoskeletal injuries. In combination with other Saturnine herbs like horsetail and mullein root as an infusion it can speed recovery of sprains, strains and broken bones. It also has been used to apply topically to remove bruising.”

I thought this use of Solomon seal was relatively recent, so it came as quite a shock to read J Arthur Gibbs describing a visit to an old gentleman in his “A Cotswold Village” who reeled off a list of herbs for different ailments including “Solomon seal for bruising”. The book was published in 1898, it’s thirty year old author dying the next year following an unsuccessful hernia operation complicated by an undiagnosed heart condition.

Given that Solomon seal is a North American native, it made me wonder whether its properties were introduced to the UK along with other Thomsonian doctrines, but the UK usage was well-known to both Culpepper and Parkinson so would have been embedded in village herbal lore. Bruton-Seal also notes Gerard’s misogynistic comment that it was useful for bruising “from fals or women’s wilfulness in stumbling on their hastie husband’s fists”!

The other herb well-known for bruises is elder leaves (Sambucus niger) but I have been using the infused bark oil for the same purpose with very good results. This came about because I needed something for bruising in the middle of winter when no leaves of any plant were visible. It worked for me, so I added it to the apprentice tasks and they all reported how quickly the bark oil reduced bruising.

One of the forgotten herbs which I have been adding to my bruise and joint tinctures is bugle (Ajuga reptens). In Culpepper’s day it was well known for falls and inward bruises for dissolving congealed blood. Parkinson recommended it for broken bones and dislocated joints but by the late 19^th century it had fallen out of favour.

My knowledge and use came from Julie Bruton Seal and Mathew Seal in their book, “Wayside Herbs”. I happened to be walking into the Birmingham Botanical Gardens for a Herbal History Society seminar some years ago and met Julie in the car park. She was telling me enthusiastically about bugle when we met up with one of the speakers, Christina Stapley.

Christina was in such pain from her shoulder that she didn’t think she would be able to deliver her presentation. Julie had a bottle of bugle tincture in her handbag and persuaded Christina to let her rub it on the affected area. Twenty minutes later, the pain was gone and Christina’s session was by far the best one of the whole day!

I made my first tincture that year from bugle harvested from Buckland churchyard, next to the manor house where my great-grandmother was brought up. The plant then emerged at the Sanctuary and has grown there energetically ever since. Julie notes its use for realigning joints, especially the spine and releasing trapped nerves. I’ve been adding it to all my joint tinctures and have noticed it has very positive effects in reducing “bile dumps”, which is an added digestive bonus.

When bruising is extensive and long-lasting, it is time to consider other plants to throw into the mix. Chilli, cayenne (capsicum sp.) gets blood moving at all levels. It can be very effective where bruising is deep down and can act to transport the active ingredients of other bruise herbs to help resolve the issue.

A chilli tincture is easy to make, but care must be taken to have the room well ventilated and wear gloves if possible. I made my tincture from Scotch Bonnets, chopping them in the processor before adding the vodka. When the top of the processor was removed, the airborne particle affected my eyes so badly, I had to open the kitchen window and then lie down for half an hour before I could carry on!

When I was treating my husband for extensive bruising and a swollen knee after an altercation with a ball during Walking Football, I only had chili in tincture form, so that went into his thrice daily medicine and ginger oil was added to his bruise salve.

A very effective herb for use with children and vulnerable elders is daisy. The flowers and leaves combine to make a double infused oil which can be made into a salve on its own or mixed with self-heal (prunella vulgaris) or mugwort (artemisia vulgaris).

Many people rely on homeopathic arnica for bruising. It is very effective and easily available from all chemists. You can make your own tincture if you have access to the arnica plant but remember it is poisonous and should only be applied externally in drop doses rubbed into the skin.

In conclusion, the body will heal any bruises it sustains but there are a number of plants which can help support and speed up the process.

References

Bruton-Seal, J and Seal, M The Herbalist’s Bible Merlin Unwin Books 2014

Bruton-Seal, J and Seal, M Wayside Medicine Merlin Unwin Books 2017

Gibbs, J. A  A Cotswold Village Nonsuch Publishing 2005

Warren-Davis, D ‘Reflections on Solomon Seal’ from A Welsh Herbal | Facebook

 

 

 

 

 

  

Plantain and Stings

Anyone would think from the paucity of posts on this blog in the past couple of years that I have given up on herbs. Nothing could be further from the truth. Admittedly, most of my energy now goes into creating new fiction since the pandemic restrictions made it impossible to continue holding workshops and taking on new apprentices. Herbs are still part of my life and help me cope with the myriad of challenges we have faced this year.

Plantain continues to sustain me. Both the greater and narrow-leaved varieties have set themselves up in my garden. I was very surprised to see them edging the flower beds and snuggling up to the lovage in the middle of the largest raised bed underneath the laurel hedge, but I have been so grateful they are there. Every time my husband bruises himself or strains a muscle, the plantain is there, either to chew up for a spit poultice or to gather for another batch of double infused oil for salves. It never disappoints.

This past month has brought several wasp and bee stings. It was interesting to see how my sister’s leg swelled and produced a crimson patch bigger than a hand when she was bitten by two wasps at the same time. I’d made sure she knew what plantain was but the pain was too much for her to move and her husband had recently strimmed the whole garden, thus removing all the easily accessible plants. She finally succumbed to anti-histamines three days after the stings but the angry, crimson swelling took at least two weeks to disappear.

My first bee sting happened at our festival, over a month ago. The poor bee must have mistaken my green sleeve for a plant and didn’t appreciate being squashed when I moved my arm. I managed to poultice it straight away but didn’t renew it until the following day, so there was a red, angry patch for about a week, but no swelling or heat.

You would think I might learn from experience but no. My father’s house has been plagued by wasps these past few weeks. One decided to crawl up inside my trouser leg whilst I was interviewed a lady to become part of my father’s care team as he is now very frail and has difficulty eating.

Of course, the wasp stung me when I touched it to see what was tickling my leg. I’ve done a lot of interviewing in my lifetime, but this was the first times I’d ever had to say, "Excuse me for a moment while I go outside into the pouring rain and find some plantain to chew for a spit poultice." 

The poultice was duly fixed, but I was too busy to change it until the following day, which wasn’t enough so again I had a nasty red patch. This time I treated it on the evening of Day 2 with a salve made from fresh plantain and yarrow. I’d made it for my father, gathering the plantain from the field and the yarrow from an overlooked patch behind a stone wall.

Those double infused oils took up one day, then the following morning I melted some gifted raw beeswax, poured it through one of my late mother’s stockings and then left it to set. It produced 12oz of wax, admittedly still attached to some honey, but it will all get used.

The salve was made especially for my father’s itchy legs but after one application he complained it made them worse so I took it home. I was very grateful it was there to address my wasp sting. Five days later of applying it night and morning there is just one tiny, raised spot when the venom was injected. The red area which must have measure 2-3 inches has disappeared.

I love herbs!

Many years ago when I was trying out some stories about herbs for children, I adapted an English translation of Plantain’s portion of the Anglo-Saxon Nine Herb Charm.

Plantain growing on the floor,

Rib-shot leaves you grow so small

See how we dance over you

See how bulls prance over you

Carts rumble over you

Ladies ride horses over you

Small you may be

But strong your leaves

You draw out poisons

And stings from bees

Special plantain, mother of herbs

You help us heal, all over the world.

  

What are you harvesting now?

Once again, a year is racing by and the fifth month already begun. If we turn away and blink, another plant has bloomed and disappeared while others stay with us for a longer duration.

I always think of May as the green month as there are so many different tones of a single colour. Each tree has its own particular shade building up a living palette amongst the landscape. In hedgerows, crabapple has thrown a white garment over her branches and the hawthorn blossom is glistening brightly against the vibrant leaves. We’re still waiting for elder and crampbark flowers but they will soon be here along with the blushing pink of dog rose.

For me, May heralds the urge to harvest. Plantain, cowslip and ground ivy from the fields, hawthorn blossom and leaf from the hedges, daisies from the garden lawn, fresh marjoram, lovage and mint for my cooking and ground ivy to dry for green powder. Errant nettles have been thrown on the compost to add nitrogen to next year’s soil but there may still be time for another harvest from the Sanctuary’s strongest gift.

Before I gather, it is always a good idea to review my larder and decide what I actually need rather than succumbing to the overall urge to forage. I know plantain will be in my future but I’ve also made use of elder leaves from Sanctuary prunings. A tree had grown over the path, making it impossible for my father to pass safely on his mower, so we cut back branches and I have made two batches of infused oils. These could either be used in a general bruise salve but I saw a recipe recently for an insect repellent so there is an opportunity to try making something new.

Broad-leaf thyme has begun to flower and the purple sage is finally looking alive, so I shall be gathering both for a new elixir to replace the amount we’ve used recently whilst suffering from a nasty cold and cough. I am so grateful for my store of elderberry elixir, fire cider vinegar and various cough syrups. When you’re feeling ill, you need the remedy immediately rather than making fresh and having to wait for several weeks.

I am waiting for my St George’s mushroom tincture to finish the six-week alcohol extraction phase. This is the first year I have gathered this variety of mushroom which grows all over my five-acre meadow. One of my apprentices picked the first basket after April’s workshop and I gathered the second for drying just over a week ago. These will be added at the decoction stage so the water and alcohol can be combined for a full-spectrum extraction. St George’s mushrooms can be used against thrush, so I’m looking forward to adding this medicine to my anti-fungal collection.

Another remedy which is about to be made is a chamomile vinegar. This helps to guard against fungal infections in difficult to reach body crevices. The plants emerged as tiny, self-sown seedlings which I transplanted into a single large pot. Now they resemble a green triffid swaying in the breeze already over a foot high. I’m waiting for them to flower in the next week or so before I gather most of the aerial parts to infuse in cider vinegar.

Although most herbalists talk about using chamomile flowers, I have always used the entire aerial parts to good effect. Last year, I experimented in collecting only the flowers and whilst they are lovely in tea, I feel the rest of the plant is just as efficacious and shouldn’t be wasted.

May is also the last month for sowing this year’s herb seeds. A second batch of ashwagandha have been scattered from a single cherry in case the germination of those planted at the beginning of April is not sufficient. It took me a while to find where I’d hidden the holy basil seeds, still on their dry stalks but hopefully they will be showing themselves in a couple of weeks.

With the very cold weather, germination this year has been horrendous. Only two of my motherwort seeds grew and none of the pleurisy root. Someone in Manchester offered to share her woad seeds and those are now good sized seedlings which will be planted out at the Sanctuary in a few days, along with Californian poppy and self-sown chamomile. I have still to decide what to do with milk thistle and the plague of borage seedlings. Both are too large to remain in the vegetable beds for much longer.

As each year progresses, time available to describe what is happening diminishes as necessary practical tasks increase. Even though we may not be able to capture each action in words, memories continue to store treasures against more difficult times.

Spring Equinox: Lessons from the land

Life is a continual journey along the wheel of time. In winter our footsteps drag along the frozen road, stopping to watch our breath rise into the pale sky. It is harder to notice new experiences because we are so busy contemplating and assimilating what has gone before.

Now, as light pushes back the dark, we feel a spring in our step and wish to begin adventures in the fresher air. Adventures emerge from our surroundings when we open our eyes and focus, interpreting experiences with both intuition and knowledge, enabling us to grow and move along our chosen path.

I have chosen to recall the sights, animals and birds which crossed my path during this week leading up to Spring Equinox.

The adventure started in the Cotswolds. First was a rabbit, hiding between the front door and the crate when I went to bring in bottles of milk. He ran off slowly, showing the extent of his final illness. The following morning, he was crouching in sunshine beyond daffodils, hardly able to move. To let him suffer further would be cruel, so he was dispatched with a blessing.

Rabbits normally represent abundance, comfort and vulnerability. They can also bring hidden teachings and intuitive messages. To me, this wild brown rabbit embodied the ending of winter; slow, sluggish and diseased seeking the warmth of the sun and a swift passage through the veil. In the evening, we sat and watched his warren mates running up and down the boundary walls, a firm reminder of continuing life and health.

At midday, a hawk came and sat on the electricity wire in the middle of the field. We are used to seeing birds of prey but it was the first time I’d seen a hawk this size. The hawk enables you to see your life in perspective, freeing you from unnecessary baggage and connecting you to ancestral roots. He seemed to continue the rabbit’s message to release the detritus of winter and seek inspiration from the new season.

Part of our spring tasks is to clean. I began to tackle the greenhouse, rubbing off mould and fungus built up over the past ten years of neglect to reveal a transparent surface for sun’s rays to traverse.

The glass extracted a toll from my fingers. I saw yarrow growing in a corner but let the blood flow, seeking instead small crosses of plantain to chew into a drawing poultice, confident it would remove anything which did not need to be there. Plantain talks about strength and healing. No matter how much it is trodden on, it will always spring up and provide help to soothe raw places until all is well.

We drank nettle in tea and soup as we gathered together. Nettle teaches transmutation and integration of painful experiences, helping us learn and grow from our winter lessons. Its strong, golden roots a living sun amongst the dark earth.

Primroses taught us many things, not only about its innate abilities to soothe both nerves and respiratory tracts but also about new beginnings, new opportunities and a rise in creativity after the void of winter.

I planted a new bed of six mullein rosettes. These scattered children of a single plant could not remain in the lawn where they geminated to grow their yellow spikes of summer, they needed a safer home. Mullein instils courage, preventing approach of both unwanted wild animals and evil spirits. On a physical plane, it takes away ear ache and brings up the deepest infection from our lungs. These young rosettes could be sacrificed to help re-align unbalanced spines. It is a powerful plant.

Thinking to clear a bed of unwanted growth, couch grass reminded me not to discard such mass without proper consideration. It has much to offer those whose urinary tracts become inflamed, the slender rhizomes retaining their shining purity amongst the soil.

Looking up from my labours into a clear, blue sky, I was amazed to see six buzzards soaring overheard, quartering the fields in their daily search for food. One pair have flown this land for decades, sometimes with one young but to see six together was an amazing sight. I wondered what this might mean and then I realised. Six is the number of balance, of the equinox.

I had been given six in both earth and sky, how fitting for a number which connects above and below! It also signifies reconciliation, intellectual creativity, discrimination, union, love and perfection. It shows the ability to use imagination and the intellect combined whilst taking responsibility for choices.

As the week progressed I returned to Warwickshire, driving home along narrow country roads. Bright eyes in my headlights showed another rabbit followed by my totem companion, the badger. He is the strong, deep healer. Daring to go where others fear to discover the root of dis-ease. He is also the keeper of stories reminding us that we might change the details but the core of any tale remains the same.

Next were two foxes. They pointed out the need for diplomacy and sometimes cunning; to be seen but of times to be silent or disappear from view. Their wildness cannot be tamed.

Lastly was a tiny stoat, skittering across my path, disappearing into the undergrowth. This silent creature has many lessons to share. Their powers of observation are keen and their energy helps us watch what others are doing and realise the hidden meanings behind actions. We can observe who or what needs attention, or a solution, and offer assistance in our own quiet or discreet way.

So much to see, so much to learn. No matter the blackthorn has called back the cold mantle of winter, we know our spring adventures have just begun.