Coltsfoot (koltsput in tagalog)

(Tussilago farfara) Part used: Leaf. Properties: Demulcent, emollient, expectorant. What it affects: Lungs, stomach, intestines.

Preparation and amount: Infusion: Steep 30 min. Take 6 oz. frequently. Tincture: Take 1/2 -1 tsp. as needed. Fluid extract: Take 1/2 - 1 tsp. as needed. Powder: Take 10-20 #0 capsules (60-120 grains) as needed.

Purposes: Internally, coltsfoot is a long-used remedy for respiratory problems. Use it for coughs, colds, hoarseness, bronchitis, bronchial asthma, pleurisy and throat catarrh. It can also be used for diarrhea. Its name, tussilago, means “cough dispeller,” and it is one of the best cough remedies available. For relief of asthma, bronchitis and difficulty in breathing, it can be taken as a tea, especially in combination with horehound and marshmallow. As a cough syrup combination, combine coltsfoot with horehound, ginger, and licorice root. Add it to all spasmodic lung problem remedies. It is soothing to the stomach and intestines when there is inflammation and bleeding.

Externally, it speeds the healing of wounds and many skin conditions. It is helpful for bedsores, bites, stings, bruises, inflamed bunions, burns, dermatitis and dry skin. The crushed leaves, or a decoction, can be applied externally for insect bites, inflammations, general swellings, burns, erysipelas, leg ulcers and phlebitis. It is good for bleeding hemorrhoids, leg ulcers, nosebleeds, psoriases, scabies, sunburn, and skin rashes.

Cloves (bawang in tagalog)

(Caryophyllus aromaticus) Part used: Fruit. Properties: Antiseptic, aromatic, carminative, stimulant, anodyne, antiemetic. What it affects: Mouth, stomach, intestine, circulation and lungs.

Preparation and amount: Infusion: Steep 5-15 min. Take 1-2 Tbsp. 3 times daily. Fluid extract: Take 8-30 drops 3 times daily. Oil: Take 1-2 drops 3 times daily. Powder: Take 1-5 #0 capsules (2-10 grains) 3 times daily.

Purposes: Internally, a few drops of the oil in warm water will stop nausea and vomiting. Cloves have antiseptic and antiparasitic properties, and also aid digestion. It stimulates and warm the system, helping those with cold extremities. If you have a bitter herb formula, add cloves to cover the taste and improve digestion and circulation. It promotes sweating in colds, flus, and fevers can be used to treat whooping cough. As a carminative, it is good for expelling gas and stopping intestinal spasms.

Externally, apply clove oil directly to a toothache, to stop the pain.

Warning: Clove oil is very strong and can cause irritation if used in its pure form. Dilute the oil in olive oil or distilled water. Do not take the undiluted oil internally.

Cleavers

(Galium aparine) Part used: Tops. Properties: Alternative, astringent, diuretic, antipyretic, laxative. What it affects: Kidneys, bladder, blood and skin.

Preparation and amount: Infusion: Let 3 oz. to 2 pints cold water stand 3-4 hours. Take 3 oz. (cold) 3-4 times daily or 1 ½ oz. to 1 pint of warm water. Steep 2 hours. Take 1 cup 3-4 times daily. Tincture: Take 1/2 – 1 tsp. 3-4 times daily. Powder: Take 5-10 #0 capsules (30-60 grains) 3-4 times daily.

Purposes: Internally, cleavers is excellent for breaking up fevers. Highly recommended for kidney problems, including suppressed urine, inflammations of the kidneys and bladder, obstructions of the urinary tract (stones and gravel), and scalding urine during gonorrhea. It is a powerful diuretic and will rid the body of excess fluid. It will clean the blood and strengthen the liver. Combine it with equal parts uva ursi, buchu, and one-quarter part marshmallow root for urinary problems. Because it is a powerful diuretic, it is useful in reducing weight and treating edema. It is also good, taken internally, for skin diseases and eruptions. Its cooling properties make it a good treatment for fevers.

Externally, cleavers is used in a slave for scalds, burns, and externally tumors.

Chickweed (tsikwid in tagalog)

(Stellaria media) Part used: Tops. Properties: antipyretic, demulcent: alternative. What it affects: Blood, liver, lungs, kidneys and bladder. 

Preparation and amount: Infusion: Steep 5-15 min. Take 6 oz. 3-4 times daily, between meals. Decoction: 1 oz. to 1½ pints boiling water, simmered down to 1 pint. Take 3 oz. 3-4 times for every 2-3 hours when needed. Tincture: Take 1/2 tsp. as needed. Fluid extract: Take 1/2 -1 tsp. as needed. Powder: Take 5-10 #0 capsules (30-60 grains) 3 times daily.

Purposes:  Internally, this common weed is invaluable for treating blood toxicity, fevers, inflammations, and other “hot” diseases. Chickweed relieves nasal congestion. Useful for bronchitis, pleurisy, circulatory problems, bowel inflammation, colds, coughs, skin diseases and hoarseness. This mild herb is as safe to take as any garden vegetable, and is full of vitamins and minerals. People often eat it as a salad green. Therefore it can be used in high dosages. Because it lowers blood lipids, it is particularly useful in reducing excess fat having both mild diuretic and laxative properties. Drink the tea, to build the blood.

Externally, chickweed can be applied as a poultice to warts, boils and abscesses. Made into an oil and ointment, it is used for a wide variety of sores and other skin diseases. Add the tea to a bath, to soothe rashes and skin irritations. Make it into a salve for dry, itchy skin. It can also be used for mouth sores.

Charcoal (uling in tagalog)

(Carbon) Preparation and amounts: Powder: Take ½ -1 ½  tsp. in ½ - 1 cup water – swallowed, spread onto a poultice, or taken as a slurry (see below for details). Tablets: 4-8 chewed in mouth and then swallowed.

• Although not an herb, yet charcoal is invaluable in a number of ways. It is pure carbon and will adsorb (not absorb, but bind with) 29 of the 30 most dangerous poisons, thus neutralizing them.

Purposes: Usually obtained from a hard wood, charcoal is produced by slow combustion in a relative absence of oxygen. If you do not have any available, in an emergency, you can burn a piece of hard wood and scrape or chip the charcoal from the charred wood. After moistening it with water, force it through a food grinder. Commercial sources are usually made from coconut shells. (Burnt toast or charcoal briquettes are not charcoal!) Treatment with superheated steam can produce “activated” charcoal, which is capable of much greater adsorptive effect. This is because more surfaces of the charcoal have been exposed. The surface area of charcoal is astounding, for it has millions of micropores with surface areas ranging from 400 to over 1,800 square meters per gram! There are 50 million charcoal particles in one pound.

Internally, charcoal cannot adsorb all poisons, but it can bind with, and thus neutralize many of them. Here are but a few of the many things it adsorbs: Many industrial toxins, including: DDT, dieldrin, strychnine, malathion and parathion. Many medicinal drugs, including: aspirin, barbiturates, cocaine, opium, nicotine, morphine, penicillin and sulfas. Many inorganic chemicals, including: mercury, phosphorus, chlorine, iron, lead and silver.

• In any type of acute poisoning, the best thing to do is to induce vomiting, followed with a large dose of activated charcoal, diluted in water, to render most substances harmless. Usually 30-60 grams (about 1/2 cup) is needed, suspended in water and taken as soon as possible after the injection of any toxin.

• Charcoal can also be taken to stop intestinal gas (about a spoonful in half a glass of water, followed by another glass of water). It is also very good for diarrhea.

• In cases of colitis or unusual chronic inflammations of the bowel, a charcoal slurry solution can be made by stirring powdered activated charcoal into water. The use only the cloudy solution which results after the liquid has set for a couple hours. This “slurry enema” will reduce inflammation locally, giving considerable relief.

Externally, you can use it as a poultice on wounds, skin infection, and above inflamed body areas.