Echinacea Medicinal Uses for Blood Poisoning Fever Malaria

 Echinacea is one of the most popular herbs in America today. Echinacea is a Native American medicinal plant named for the prickly scales in its large conical seed head, which resembles the spines of an angry hedgehog (echinos is Greek for hedgehog).

Archaeologists have found evidence that Native Americans may have used echinacea for more than 400 years to treat infections and wounds, and as a general "cure-all." Throughout history people have used echinacea to treat scarlet fever, syphilis, malaria, blood poisoning, and diphtheria.

For people with eczema, an inflammation of the skin, cream containing echinacea extract may help. Early studies showed that daily use of echinacea cream helped soothe irritation caused by eczema and helped build up the protective outer layer of skin.

Medicinal Uses 

• Relieving swollen gums
• Soothing a sore throat
• Reducing skin inflammation
• Treating stomach problems
• Reducing acne 
• Treating upper respiratory infections
• Easing cold and flu symptoms
• Promoting healing in slow-healing wounds
• Reducing inflammation and pain in knee osteoarthritis, a joint disease

You can take echinacea in many forms. You can use it to make tea, take it as a supplement or herbs, or apply creams with echinacea to your body. 

How to make echinacea tea

To make echinacea tea, you can use dried or fresh echinacea roots, leaves, or flowers. 

• Boil water for 5 minutes.
• Add 1 gram of dried or fresh echinacea roots, leaves, or flowers to a paper dip bag.
• Put the tea bag in a cup of boiling water and let it brew for 5 minutes. 
• Remove the paper bag, and drink the tea when you’re ready. 

Echinacea tinctures

Echinacea tinctures are liquid medicines made by soaking echinacea in alcohol. This process extracts many compounds from the plant, each with unique properties.

Echinacea may help with skin health, infection symptoms, and anxiety and depression, among other benefits. You can take the fresh or dried plant as a tea, supplement, juice, or tincture. 

In Native American culture, the purple coneflower was used to treat poisonous bites and stings, toothaches, reduce inflammation, sore throat, colds, and so much more. In a way, this botanical miracle was used as a cure-all and was used to treat ailments more than any other medicinal plant.

How do you prepare echinacea for medicinal use?

Dry your plants by either hanging the whole plant, OR removing the petals and leaves and then laying them flat to dry in a cool dark place. Once dry, gather the petals and leaves and gently cut or crush into minced-size pieces. Assemble in a tea infuser and then add hot water when ready.

How to make echinacea tincture?

Directions

1. Rinse the echinacea plant.
2. Roughly chop the entire echinacea plant (roots, stems, flower buds).
3. Place chopped echinacea into your glass container and cover with vodka. ...
4. Let tincture sit in a cool dark place out of reach of kids!

Rose of Sharon

The root bark are used for inhibiting the proliferation of lung cancer. The root bark is used by the Chinese as an anti-fungal remedy. It is also said to calm the nerves. Tea: use 1 teaspoon flowers or leaf (for a stronger tea use 2 teaspoons) per cup of tea (about 8 ounces).

Rose of Sharon are beautiful and tasty members of the mallow family. I believe this one is Hibiscus syriacus. The flowers, flower buds, leaves, and young seedpods are all edible raw or cooked.

A sticky resin like substance on bark and leaves of Cistus, called labdanum, has been used since ancient times and is spoken of in the Song of Solomon in the Bible.

Great detail is there about how the Orientals have used this plant for long time.  In moderation it may serve many uses including gentle demulcent benefits for irritated or inflamed gut.  The flowers may be used externally as an emollient and internally in GI tract support.  It reduces BP, is hypotensive and mildly diuretic, according to the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.

Medicinally, rose of Sharon’s flower buds contain mucilage, a gooey medicinal compound made of polysaccharides, found in most species of the mallow family; think of okra’s sliminess. Mucilage can be used to heal burns, wounds, gastric ulcers and internal and external inflammation and irritation, such as sore throats or urinary tract infections.”