Okay, sort of consider this a stand in for "Totally Natural Tuesday" this week, kay? My son has been sleeping really crappy (even by his standards) the last three weeks because his eczema keeps flaring worse and worse and last night he went to bed at 8:00 pm and was up at 10:00 pm and proceeded to itch and howl ALL NIGHT LONG (poor kiddo). Honestly, this tincture has been somewhat saving my sanity of late. I've been SLOWLY increasing the son's dose on this (I started out with 5 drops twice a day on this) just to see if it'll help to calm his itching down and hopefully (eventually) help him sleep better. I do have a more "traditional" tincture stewing right now too to see if it'll help him out and out SLEEP, but in the meantime this is as good as I've got and it DOES help to tone down the irritation on his skin and seems to stop his itching (not to mention improve his mood) when I can get it down him. I was going to use Valerian Root in this instead of Chamomile, but it was back ordered, so I did what I could with what I had, but I'll give you an update later on how the Valerian root works in a stop itching tincture as well. So, here you go folks my recipe for a Stop Itching and Relax Tincture.
Here's a list of ingredients and why I used them (in case you want to drop some when you make yours or are just curious):
Burdock Root: Noted as probably the BEST herb available for skin issues, Burdock Root helps to cleanse the system of poisons and other nasties that help to cause conditions like eczema. So, I figured this was a natural one to help combat eczema internally. The leaves, if you can find them, are also a great thing to add to oils to make into skin creams as well.
Dandelion Leaf: Dandelion, it turns out, is one of the best herbs to combat anemia and has naturally high levels of iron. So, I figured this was a good one to add since the boy doesn't get enough iron in his diet as is.
Licorice Root: An herb that is wonderful for a child's lymphatic system and just a good one generally for the immune system, licorice root also has a wonderful bi-product when added to a tincture in that it gives it a sweet taste (and helps to mask some of the other bitter herbs).
Chamomile: Here's one I was nervous about as I'M allergic to rag weed and guess what Chamomile is? But, my son doesn't seem to have a problem with it and chamomile is a calming herb that can help to calm nervous tensions, itching and the like and can help people to relax and fall asleep.
Marshmallow Root: A herb that is good for the digestive tract and soothing to the entire digestive system, I added this one in in the hopes of helping my son's gut issues (and hopefully improving his appetite).
So, now onto the recipe!
Stop Itching and Relax Tincture Recipe
- 1/4 cup Burdock Root
- 1/4 Cup Dandelion Leaf
- 1/4 Cup Licorice Root
- 1/4 Cup Chamomile Flowers (I used whole ones)
- 1/4 Cup Marshmallow Root
- 80 proof or greater grain alcohol (brandy and vodka are the ones usually used for tinctures)
Combine all herbs in a mason jar (I used a quart mason jar usually for this) and cover with vodka so that they are covered by 2 to 3 inches of vodka (the herbs will sink and the vodka should be 2 to 3 inches above the herbs). Screw lid onto jar and shake to make sure all herbs are combined into the alcohol. Let steep in a warm place for 4 to 6 weeks, shaking the jar once a day (be sure to label it and label what is in it...trust me this is a good thing to get in the habit of doing).
When 4 to 6 weeks have passed strain mixture in a cheese cloth lined wire mesh strainer over a bowl (I use a Pyrex 4 cup measuring cup for this). Once liquid has been strained bottle in a colored glass tincture bottle (prevents degradation of your tincture when you put it in colored glass) and label with date and contents. Store in a cool dark place pretty much indefinitely.
Just a note, don't panic if you see a white "milk" settle to the bottom of your bottle. This is a natural bi-product of tincturing burdock root as it does some voodoo with the alcohol and separates. Nothing to be worried about there.
For Tincture Dosing Directions see the following resources:
For adult doses:
My Healing Path (Page down to "Suggested Use for Herbal Tinctures" to see the dosing chart)
And for child doses:
Stony Mountain Botanicals (Page Down to "Dosages" to see the formulas for figuring child dosing).
Where do I buy my herbs? I buy mine through The Bulk Herb Store but you can also get them through Mountain Rose Herbs.
NOTE: This recipe has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to cure or treat any disease. I am just a woman who likes to mess around with herbs and hold no degree in anything resembling herbology or anything that would make me an "expert" in herbs, natural healing or anything like that. The information I share here just comes from my myriad of research via the internet, herb books and the like. Thank you much!
6 comments:
I'm definitely going to have to try this. I have had eczema since I was a wee one and am always looking for something to stop the itch.
Something that has worked really well for me too is this: take half a cup of coconut oil and melt on low heat. Once melted, put 5-6 drops of tea tree oil in and stir. Then in a jar and apply to area 2x daily. I have seen dramatic improvement. I hope this helps!
I make this recipe of salve for my son (he's allergic to coconut so coconut oil is out) and have seen wonderful results with it and have had everyone I've ever given samples to love it too. You might want to try making it and see if it helps with the itch as I've had people with psoriasis tell me that it's taken the itch away for up to 12 hours at a stretch :).
http://alaskanbargainhunter.blogspot.com/2012/01/health-and-beauty-best-eczema-fighting.html
My daughter has eczema and she is two. She recently had an allergic reaction of scary portion, which we still don't know the cause of. My question is now what feels like her eczema is on her back and belly and I can't tell if its allergies or eczema. I don't want to keep giving her benedryl if she doesn't need it, but I am terriefied of another reaction. Have you ever dealt with this and do you have a trick to be able to tell the difference? Please help.
In all honesty, in my experience, eczema and allergies are usually related. Like my daughter had terrible eczema when she was a baby up until age one and it started coming back about three or so months ago. Turns out she's allergic to corn, which of course was in her formula when she was a baby and her sensitivity has flared up again recently. My son's eczema pretty much cleared up once we got the food allergies out of his diet. He still flares, but cracking and bleeding don't seem to be involved like it used to.
If you can't figure out what caused her reaction, my first guess would be a food allergy which unfortunately scary reactions can take quite a while (like hours) to pop up and by then you have no idea what caused them...it all depends on the person's digestion involved on how quickly it hits them. Bad part about food allergies is that the severity can just suddenly BE there and something they were previously not allergic to can just attack them. If you can I'd keep giving her Benadryl and then get them into an allergist ASAP to get them tested (tell them about the severe allergic reaction because most times that'll get you in faster). You don't want to mess with type A (anaphylatic) reactions, especially if you're not sure what could be causing it.
Like my daughter's eye swells up and swells shut on her when her environmental allergies pop up, but her food allergies pop up as eczema that just keeps getting worse. She's on Zyrtec through the entire tree season up here (she's allergic to birch trees) and I had to put dust covers on her bed to keep the dust mites down because she's allergic to dust. I never would have known any of that if not for an allergist and there's no way I would have even GUESSED my son was allergic to peanuts (like it's a miracle he's never had a type A reaction type of allergic) and garlic and the other allergies he's got if not for the allergist finding them. So, yeah, I'm a big believer in getting them tested. It at least gives you a place to start to get probable allergens out of their diet and if there is a type A reaction to something you'll at least have an Epi Pen and be armed with knowledge on what to avoid.
Good luck. I know it's terrifying, but hang in there and get the kiddo tested is my best advice.
Also (duh me) the eczema that broke out on her stomach and back? Yeah, my son gets that after a bad reaction to something (like if he eats garlic or he recently had a bad reaction to penicillin). His eczema will actually start to look like what I like to call "eczema measels" that just break out over his entire body for a long while. Their body is literally attacking itself trying to purge some allergen and it can take a LONG while for that to go away. Since she'll take Benadryl I'd definitely keep giving her that to stop it from getting worse and you might want to try getting some probiotics down her too (you can buy some powder and just mix it in with whatever she drinks and such) to help build up her immune system a bit as it fights its way out of this.
Hi - Have you tried the "more traditional" tincture yet? Curious which one worked better! I'm ordering the herbs to make the "stop itch" and the eczema cream you came up with - please let us know if the more traditional stop itch concoction works better than the one you posted above! Thanks!
Sarah
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