Preparing DIY Herbal Remedies Safely and Inexpensively (1)

People all over the world have always used herbal preparations to provide healing and relief from ailments and diseases. Nowadays their usage has been limited by widespread patronage of mainstream health care system and a justified mistrust of traditional healers and doctors whose cures and formulas are shrouded in secrecy. These and other reasons have made us miss out on the benefits of natural remedies around us through our loss of interest and also to a large extent, these reasons have made us ignore the work of African ethnobotanists. We have not been totally wrong though, because  with all things, you have to be careful with what you use internally and traditional medicine practices  sometimes go with ritual practices

The best way to get the benefits of herbs is to prepare them at home though it is a bit of time and trouble but safer and cheaper.

By doing it yourself, you know what you are using, the condition of your raw materials, develop your formulas to suit your needs and exact measurements. Source for good raw plants or seeds and store unused plants away from direct sunlight.

Use formulas you know or start with low doses, evaluate outcomes and then make adjustments. When giving herbal remedies to children and elderly people, reduce dosages to half those of adults and reduce further by age and weight.

Below are the names of herbal preparation types:

Infusions
Decotions
Tinctures
Poultices
Compresses
Cold Extracts
Macerations
Ointments
Salve
Syrups
Inhalants
Essential oils
Powder

The next post will be describing what they are and their preparation methods.