How to Use Calendula as a Versatile Herbal Remedy
Calendula products are an asset to any medicine chest because they has profound medicinal properties. Learn how to make and use calendula remedies.
The bright round orange and yellow calendula flowers, also known as pot marigolds, will grow happily in most of our gardens or planters. Plant out seedlings during the cooler months. Dried flower petals are sold at health shops.
Calendula remedies are easy to make and they have surprising benefits.
Calendula is recommended for inflammation of the skin and mucous membranes, lacerated wounds, varicose veins bruises and burns. It helps heal mouth ulcers and has anti-microbial properties. You can make your own calendula tincture. Calendula tea or juice can be taken as a liver remedy, a diuretic and for worms and gut inflammation, ulcers and cramps.
Calendula is non toxic and has no harmful or unpleasant side effects. It is one of the herbs that should not be taken internally by pregnant women or lactating mothers as it is a galactogogue and can affect hormones, menstruation or milk production. This information should not be regarded as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment but there seem to be no established constraints on the use of calendula.
Treating Skin Problems With Calendula
Calendula is a profound healer of wounds, ulcers, skin infections and cuts. In modern studies, calendula demonstrates remarkable anti-inflammatory properties and well as an ability to stimulate the granulation of wound tissue. This explains why it heals up and closes wounds so quickly, even when they have failed to respond to conventional medical treatment.
The astringent action on blood capillaries makes calendula a good remedy for spider veins, scratches and cuts (like shaving nicks) that bleed profusely. At the same time the anti-microbial properties of calendula help to clear up many viral, bacterial and fungal infections present.
Calendula is both soothing and toning to the skin and is ideal for persistent skin problems such as acne, eczema, ulcerations, nappy rashes, itches, blotches and irritations. Varicose veins have been known to shrink away after a few weeks when daily massages of calendula oil or cream were applied. When other remedies fail to clear up infected lesions (especially weeping leg ulcers) try using calendula.
Keep a bottle of calendula tincture and some ointment in your first aid kit. Make sure that open wounds are completely clean before applying the calendula remedy because the skin knits together so rapidly that residual dirt or debris may remain inside.
Calendula Treatment for Intimate Hygiene Problems
2 tablespoons (60ml) dry calendula petals or 120ml fresh ones
4-6 rooibos tea bags or 60ml loose leaves
2 tablespoons (60ml) sea salt
1 teaspoon (5ml) apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
2 cups (500ml) boiling water
Soak all the ingredients in the boiling water for at least 10 minutes, but a few hours is preferable. Strain the mixture and use it as a vaginal douche. It clears up itches, discomfort, discharges, yeast-based infections and odour problems.
Calendula is a good remedy for inflamed mucous membranes and vaginal tissue can get very infected if the acidic balance is not maintained. All soaps; with no exception will make matters worse. For natural, deodorising, anti-inflammatory sitz baths: add 2 – 3 litres of water to a cup of the calendula infusion.
It is very soothing for post-op care or for piles. Keep this infusion in the fridge. Use it neat or diluted for a mini splash bath, using a narrow plastic container like a cereal dispenser that can fit between the legs if you are unable to squat down. Repeat the treatment twice daily, but you will experience relief almost immediately.
How to Use Calendula Tea or Fresh Juice for Your Ailments
Calendula remedies can be taken for: digestive disorders, liver complaints, parasites, irritable bowel syndrome, and fungal or yeast problems. Drinking your calendula remedies every day can have surprising results. When all else has failed, patients suffering from hepatitis and nausea, bowel inflammation, kidney complaints, bloating, water retention and even persistent viral or yeast infections have experienced a lot of relief.
When taken internally, calendula is a blood cleanser and purifier; it helps to ease water retention, stimulate circulation and boost the immune system. It helps to rid the body of microbial and parasitic infections and these may often be the underlying cause of many of our ailments and the reason we do not always respond to patent drugs.
Calendula Tea
2 teaspoons (10ml) dried calendula petals or 1 tablespoon (30ml) fresh petals, leaves and stems.
1 cup (250ml) boiling water. Optional extra: 1 rooibos tea bag or ½ teaspoon Chinese green tea leaves.
Pour the boiling water onto the herbs and wait for 10 minutes. Alternatively, the mixture can be boiled for a few minutes. Strain and drink the tea two to three times a day, preferably half an hour before meals. This bitter tea should not be sweetened because it is a digestive aid and a blood cleanser.
Keep a small bottle of this tea in the fridge to treat cuts and scratches. You can even keep it as ice cubes. Once you have experienced the way open cuts and wounds heal and stop bleeding; almost in front of your eyes, you will do this!
Fresh Green Calendula Juice
1-cup (250ml) fresh calendula leaves, buds, flower heads and stems.
2 cups (500ml) filtered or spring water.
Fresh calendula plants are used for juicing and all the aerial parts should be included as they are all packed with potent phytochemicals; especially anti-microbial agents that work best in cold water without sugar or alcohol.
Process the herbs and water in an electric blender goblet or use a hand-held blender to macerate the herbs. Squeeze the pulp through a cloth or piece of stocking. This bitter green juice can be kept in the fridge for a few days and is sufficient for 8 servings. Each dose can be diluted with the same amount of water with lemon juice or a glass of fresh fruit juice.
Drink this juice on an empty stomach. Take a dose half an hour before lunch and supper if you are suffering from nausea, irritable bowel, liver complaints or kidney infections. The top herbs that are effective against parasites are: Artemisia (Wilde Als), oregano, olive leaf, fresh pumpkin seeds, clove powder and nasturtium leaves.
Calendula Mouthwash for Oral Hygiene, Mouth Ulcers and Tooth Extractions
Add a teaspoon of salt to a cup of calendula tea. Add mint leaves, basil, thyme, rosemary or lemon balm to the tea if you have some of these herbs in the garden or kitchen. Use this tea for a throat gargle, a mouthwash or a quick rinse out after eating starchy or sugary foods. Keep it in the refrigerator for a few days.
After losing a tooth, apply a wad of cotton wool soaked in calendula tea, juice or tincture to the open would. Also rinse frequently with the calendula mouthwash. Use natural herbal toothpaste that does not contain fluoride.
References
Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals (with reference to German Commission E monographs) Edited by Norman Grainger Bisset and Max Wichl. 2001 Publishers: medpharm Scientific Publishers. Pages 118 – 120.
Health Through God’s Pharmacy by Maria Treben. 1994 Publishers: Ennsthaler. Pages 14 – 16.
Encyclopedia of Medicinal Herbs by Andrew Chevallier. 1993 Publishers: Dorling Kindersley.
The Complete Book of Herbs & Spices by Sarah Garland. 1993 Publishers: Reader’s Digest.
Copyright Sue Visser