Need some help here

[SeaCat]

Okay so I'm working on a story. The main character needs some herbs and such from the woods, (Mountains of North America) to treat a major infection he has drained. This would be in a poultice. What would he use? (I've used several but my brain is in complete lock at the moment.)

Cat

 

[MaeveoSliabh]

Okay so I'm working on a story. The main character needs some herbs and such from the woods, (Mountains of North America) to treat a major infection he has drained. This would be in a poultice. What would he use? (I've used several but my brain is in complete lock at the moment.)

Cat

What area of the US? Northwest, Rockies, southern mountain area, or in the northeast?

 

[cantdog]

Thyme oil is a rugged disinfectant. In thick concentrations, it'll raise blisters, but as a poultice it'd be fine.

 

[3113]

Got this off another site. I don't know how accurate it is:

"Pine needle tea or a decoction of the resin from pine bark make excellent antiseptic wound wash.

Willow bark (really the cambium layer, i.e., the inner bark) could be chewed for pain relief & fever reduction. It's bitterish though, so it would probably be better tolerated if simmered & fed as a sweetened tea to a child. That's the 'original' aspirin (rich in salicylates)."

 

[SeaCat]

What area of the US? Northwest, Rockies, southern mountain area, or in the northeast?

Southeastern U.S.

Cat

 

[cloudy]

honey is a great antibacterial.

 

[MaeveoSliabh]

Honey, birch, willow, oak ashes, feverfew, pine sap... Should I go on?

 

[BlackShanglan]

Willow bark / unbuffered aspirin is very destructive to the stomach, however. That's why the stuff we take now is buffered. It was a major medical breakthrough; until that point, aspirin itself was as dangerous as many of the things you could treat with it.

 

[Guest]

yarrow

 

[cloudy]

Cedar bark boiled makes a great "tea" for coughs and colds. Tastes so far beyond horrible, though, that I can't begin to describe it.

 

[Weird Harold]

(Mountains of North America) to treat a major infection he has drained. This would be in a poultice. What would he use?
...
Southeastern U.S.

"Spanish Moss" should be reasonable plentiful in that region. While it has no particular curative properties of it's own (that I know of,) it does make a decent packing or base for the poultice.

 

[LakotaWarrior]

Echinacea (Purple Cone Flower)

Also known as:
Black Sampson, Coneflower, Pale Purple Coneflower, Red Sun-flower

Botanical name:
Echinacea Angustifolia; Brauneria pallida; Rudbeckia pallida; Brauneria Angustifolia; Echinacea Purpurea.

Habitat:
Found in the prairies west of the Mississippi River; some varieties have been reported growing in Virginia and westward to Illinois and southward to Louisiana. Generally, it is found in the Central United States.

Description:
This plant is a shrub with a stout stem arising to the height of three feet or less. The leaves are narrow and the purple flowers are cone-shaped. Rhizome and roots are cylindrical or slightly tapering.

Effects:
Antiseptic qualities destroying bacteria and blood cleanser.

Recorded uses:
Blood impurity diseases such as boils, gangrenous conditions, bites and stings of insects, spiders or snakes, pus formations, sores, infections, wounds, sore throat (used as gargle), tonsillitis, typhoid fever, abscesses, glandular inflammations, cerebro-spinal meningitis, diphtheria, tetanus, septemia (infection of blood), uremia (condition of blood containing urea, ordinarily excreted as urine through the kidneys ) and ulcers. It is reported to have given relief in cases of dyspepsia (difficult and painful digestion) and relieves ulcer pain of the gastrointestinal tract. This herb is reported as not having any toxic or other undesirable effects and is easily eliminated. Other reports indicate that this herb is also valuable in relieving diseases following childbirth. It has also been reported as having the power to stimulate sexual activity (aphrodisiac) and to have pain-ending (analgesic) powers. It has also been used to relieve hemorrhoids.

This plant and its relatives, spread over the Americas, have a justified reputation with native herbalists as powerful wound healers. In laboratory tests it was demonstrated that the rhizome, in addition to activating the white blood cells, inactivates an enzyme present in infectious processes. Echinacea's alternative and antiseptic properties are said to be potent against septicemia, gangrene, boils, carbuncles, uremia, peritonitis and tetanus. Some success has been reported in the treatment of diphtheria and tuberculosis with echinacea. As a poultice combined with flax, it is recommended as a treatment for infections and abscesses. Echinacea stimulates the immune response, increasing the body's ability to resist infections, especially the production of white blood cells. It improves lymphatic filtration and drainage, and it helps remove toxins from the blood. It is considered one of the best blood cleansers and is called the King of the Blood Purifiers. It is considered a non-toxic way of cleansing the system. It is said to be good for enlargement and weakness of the prostate gland. It is a natural antibiotic. It contains vitamins A, E, and C, iron, iodine, copper, sulfur, and potassium.

********************************

Achillea millefolium (Yarrow)

Synonyms and Common names:
Milfoil, Millefoil, Nosebleed, Staunchgrass, Thousand-leaf, Soldier's woundwort, Sanguinary, Bloodwort, Noble yarrow, Old Man's Pepper, Knight's Milfoil, Herbe Militaris, Thousand Weed, Carpenter's Weed, Staunchweed, Devil's Nettle, Devil's Plaything, Bad Man's Plaything, Yarroway, Angel flower

Description:
A native perennial upright, aromatic herb, with tough, erect, furrowed woody stems up to 50cm high, growing from a creeping rhizome. The finely-divided alternate leaves are 5-12cm long, bi- and tri-pinnate, accounting for its Latin name meaning 'thousand-leaf'. The composite flowers are arranged in dense flat-topped terminal corymbs, white to pink, each flower being about 4-6mm in diameter and with a characteristic odour. It is common in pastures, grassy banks, hedgerows and waste places in dry sunny places. Plants with only white flowers grow on calcium-rich soils, but pink-flowered yarrow may grow on acid soils. Plants grown on acid soils contain greater quantities of the active constituent azulene.

Parts used:
dried aerial parts

Collection:
during the flowering period, between June and September. The leaves may be collected throughout the growing season.

Actions:
Diaphoretic, antipyretic, hypotensive, peripheral vasodilator, astringent, haemostatic, diuretic, urinary antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, spasmolytic, aromatic bitter, digestive stimulant, emmenagogue, restorative and regulator for menstrual system.

Indications:
Fevers, common cold, essential hypertension, digestive complaints, loss of appetite, amenorrhoea, dysentery, diarrhea. Specifically indicated in thrombotic conditions with hypertension, including cerebral and coronary thromboses. Used topically for slow-healing wounds and skin inflammations. Stops bleeding on the deepest level.

Contraindications:
In rare cases, Achillea can cause severe allergic skin rashes. Prolonged use can increase the skin's photosensitivity. Large doses should be avoided in pregnancy because the herb is a uterine stimulant. Excessive doses may interfere with existing anticoagulant and hypo- or hypertensive therapies. Caution should be exercised by epileptic patients.

Additional comments and history:
Achilleas generic name is derived from the Greek hero Achilles who, during the Trojan War, reputedly used it to treat his wounds. Its specific name means a thousand leaves and refers to its feathery foliage. The folk name Nosebleed confirms its traditional use as an emergency styptic. The name yarrow is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon name for the plant, "gearwe".

The Winnebago people used a yarrow infusion to treat ear ache, and it was used by the early American settlers for diarrhea, leucorrhoea, passive haemorrhage and dyspepsia. Today, yarrow is still used fresh as a poultice for healing wounds, and a decoction of the whole plant is prescribed for toothaches, gastric ulcers, amenorrhoea and abscesses.



Hope this helps.

 

[buxxxom]

Southeastern U.S.

Cat

Diana Gabaldon, author of the "Outlander series", writes about a settlement of Scottish Highlanders before the Civil War in the North Carolina Highlands. Her companion book to that series, "The Outlandish Companion", lists all the research she's done to make the "healing" parts of the book accurate. I'll bet your local library has a copy, and IIRC, it has other sites she credits.

 

[glynndah]

I have a couple of books on wild medicinal plants. It looks like you have enough information here already, but if you need more, please let me know.