How To Deal With Officinal Plants

Introduction

If you don’t prepare, you could lose everything. If you prepare for the worst and nothing happens, you’ve lost nothing.

Gerald Celente

Any Survivalist should have a solid luggage of skills to always rely on.

This precious amount of knowledge not only allows you to carry less load on your back, but also to fix situations and diseases with what surrounds you.

Often underrated, medicinal plants play an essential role to take care of minor diseases. In fact, they could help to prevent a major damage, ensuring you the possibility to do it all by yourself.

In a SHTF scenario hospitalization structures could be over populated or, at the very opposite, not accessible at all.

In such “What if” situation, your previous knowledge of the local flora may not only come in handy, but literally save your life.

A closer focus on medicinal herbs and plants

First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.

Dale Carnegie

Medicinal herbs and plants have prehistoric roots. Discovered and used for ages, their knowledge and benefits have been handed down from generation to generation, till current times.

Their chemical compounds have been studied and used to cure a lot of minor and major diseases like respiratory/enteric/cardiovascular, epidermic diseases and many others.

The most common compounds which are inside plants can be clustered into four major biochemical classes:

• alkaloids
• glycosides
• polyphenols
• terpenes

For hundreds of year, a large amount of medicinal plants have been employed especially within non-industrialized societies.

Their benefits were also economical: they were cheaper than regular meds, and pretty much available.

In 2012,  the annual global export value of the thousands of plants was estimated around US$2.2 billion.

Five years later, it reached several hundred billion dollars.

Because of the massive export of medicinal plants, the World Health Organization started to promote a more rational gather and safe and usage of them.

Nonetheless, a lot of medicinal plants are suffering from climate change and the destruction of their natural habitat according to the high-demand coming from all over the world.

Why you should learn to recognise medicinal plants

Wisdom prepares for the worst, but folly leaves the worst for the day when it come.

Richard Cecil

In any outdoor environment, a minor cut could turn into a big problem if not treated in the proper manner.

The possibility to cut yourself with any cutting tool, with part of your gear or with any natural material is a real thing in a survival situation. In fact,  it may include this type of situations even more than any situation before SHTF.

In an emergency situation you may suffer from:

• physical and mental fatigue
• anxiety
• stress
• panic
• sleep deprivation
• bad (or not sufficient at all) nutrition and hydration

All the factors mentioned above have a direct, tremendous effect on even the smallest cut. This is mainly the result of lack of immunitary defense.

In a Survival situation, every part of your body is overstressed and exhausted.

Without clean water and  the usage of disinfectant, a  minor cut could easily and rapidly be infected  and go into gangrene. Even faster than you may expect.

What if you don’t have any access to clean water and disinfectant?

You could rely on your knowledge of medicinal plants, and make them your best allies when it comes the necessity to border the progression of a cut, like in the example we depicted above.

Keep in mind that medicinal plants have a lower and slower effect than any meds.

So you need to repeat the medication several times before getting 100% sure you fixed the emergency.

The risk of any allergy to a specific medicinal plant are more than a remote possibility. Nonetheless, the effects show up very slowly, even before the production of any possible, real, worse effects on your body.

Additionally, medicinal plants have a very delicate effect. This happens to be the best solution when your whole body finds itself in a condition of extreme weakness. In order to defeat it, the secret is to maintain yourself always properly hydrated.

Safety rules with medicinal plants

Your immune systems are comprised of all parts of the eco-system you know as yourself, and include not only every part of you, from your conscious and subconscious thoughts to your physical body systems, but also how you live and function in relationship with the larger ecosystems that surround you.

Robin Rose Bennett

Safety rules related to medicinal plants and herbs are quite the same for edible plants.

Gather and employ them only if you are 100% sure to identify them correctly.

My personal advice is not to rely only books and manuals, especially with black/white pictures or sketches.

Identifying plants, in fact, can be tough. This happens to be even more tricky in the following circumstances:

• in shady areas
• in twilight time
• in weak physical condition
• in a state of mental and physical dizziness
• when you are in a rush
• when you panick
• when you are overstressed

A good starting point is to purchase some books, watching good and clearly explained videos and.. attending to some identification plant classes and seminars.

Pay attention to a simple fact: not all the medicinal plants and herbs are also edible!

In your first step into foraging you definitely need to be under the constant monitoring of a senior.

Rememeber that mistakes can be lethal. Needless to say that Christopher McCandless’ story is a tragic proof of it.

The next step is to study your local flora and to start being accustomed to the species and where to find them, along with the properties and their blossoming season. Bring with you the best, local manual or field guide you are able to find and pay extra care while starting to gather them.

If you feel unsecure, you can still bring them to an expert before use them.

Better be safe than sorry!

Use common sense

Oma says, when we were put on earth a really long time ago, each person came with a plant to heal all the troubles that come later….We’ve got Indian balsam, sage, wild rose. We’ve got juniper berries and honeysuckle. All of them do something different inside, heal things.

J.J. Brown

As it is impossible to predict the features of an emergency situation, the best option you have is to become familiar with as many plants as possible, and to understand where and when you are more likely to find them.

Cluster them in your memory for their benefits, so you will know what you need in different cases.

Hemorrhages

In order to stop a bleed you need to use a plant with hemostatic properties. Polygonum bistorta is an excellent example. You need to extract the powder from her dried roots.

Then you apply the powder directly on the external wounds.

Antiseptic

In order to prevent any wound infection, you can do some lavages with the following infusions:

• Plantago major  leaves and stem. You can also chew them and apply directly on wounds.
• Prunella Vulgaris stems. You can chew them too and later apply.
• Arctium lappa infusion with dried roots
• Betula pendula leaves infusion is a common disinfectant.

Enteric diseases

You can use wood carbon as well as pine needles tea as a remedy against diarrehea.

Taraxacum officinale leaves, eaten either raw either boiled are good to favor the digestion.

Rosa canina berries not only contain Vitamin C, but they are also good for regulator for your stomach functions.

Stings

You can apply leaves of Plantago, Betula or Arctium to fix the itching. Apply them as infusions at mild temperature on your skin.

Teeth ache

Taking care of your teeth in a survival situation isn’t easy. Nonethelss, brushing them with some the cold ashes of your campfire is a long time remedy you can find in all survival manuals and guides. It is easy, functional and very effective! You can also employ the bark of Alrus glutinosa.

Ashes can also be used to wash your clothes and hair.

Not the best smell but.. it works.

Conclusion

In my opinion, no one in the medical profession has reached infinity of thought. No one can claim authority over another’s right to heal. By using herbs to heal, the very plants we walk alongside on the earth, we not only create empowerment within ourselves, but also identify and connect with dis-ease, allow it a swifter passage for greater healing to be made.

– Niki Senior – Master Herbalist

Medicinal plants and herbs have  alot of pros but in order to make them your allies you need to perfectionate their knowledge, identification and usage.

Before finding yourself in a survival situation, make some test and keep your skills always refreshed! Go out, identify plants and keep a journal of your findings and tests is a top notch idea.

About The Author

Article by Kyt Lyn Walken. Official Representative and Instructor for Hull’s Tracking School and Certified Conservation Ranger for the NGO Conservation Rangers Operations Worldwide.