i just got my package from mountain rose herbs (mountainroseherbs.com) of arnica (Arnica montana) and st. john's wort (Hypericum perforatum). i am infusing them both in olive oil - and then i will make a salve.
infused arnica oil is beneficial for muscle aches, injured muscles, sprains, bruises, dislocations, swelling due to fractures, trauma to soft tissue, rheumatic pain, and inflammation from insect bites. since arnica oil increases the blood supply to an inflicted area, do not appply it to an open wound because it will cause more external bleeding
use the oil of st. john's wort for relieving pain and injuries to nerves. it can also ease the pain of sunburn. i read somewhere - that the medicinal properties actually soak into the skin and help lessen the pain from nerve injuries.
i don't hear alot of mention about tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum). i don't want to take a drug every time i have an ache - and although i did not go searching for this information - it appeared in an article i was reading a few months back and decided to give it a try. tamanu is indigenous to southeast asia, and the article said that tamanu oil was helpful for sciatica, joint pain and arthritis. i also knew that st. johns wort (Hypericum perforatum) was also helpful. it works by penetrating the skin surface and relaxing the nerve endings and muscles. they have anti-inflammatory properties that help with stiffness and swelling of joints. i'm not scientific here about exactly how it works and what it effects - i do know, from experience - it does work. maybe further on in my studies i will understand exactly how herbs effect certain tissues and organs better. so i made a blend of tamanu and st. johns wort oil and massage it in whenever i feel tightness and pain in my neck or back. i have been really happy with the results.
this is my first tincture... solomon's seal root (Polygonatum biflorum) in 190 proof organic grain alcohol. solomon's seal is good for joint injuries... it has the ability to restore lubrication. i have many neck/back aches. so i decided to try this as my first tincture. i used dried solomon's seal root... and then agonized looking over my notes to try to figure out how much herb ? how much alcohol ? do i add water ? reading over these math equations that just made my head buzz. actually... my nephew sammy is coming by today to give me a basic math course. i will show him the formulas and see if he can make sense of them. i posted my questions on a forum i follow... and got more math equations and then - someone said 'use the folk method'. 50% herb - 50% alcohol. that was 2 weeks ago - solomon's seal tincture has been sitting there for two weeks.... four more weeks to go... and then i have my medicine. i already use mullein (Verbascum thapsus) tincture (bought it) and a st. johns wort (Hypericum perforatum) and tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum) oil rub when pain flares up. this is the original medicine. modern medicine has been around for say... 100 years ? for thousand of years before that we relied on and believed in plant medicine. i'm going back to the roots...
