Okay, I know what it is, but how do you make one? All the herbals that I have never give instructions. Never thought about it much until I had the need for one. And for that matter, how do you make a tinture? A plaster? An infusion? Is there a good herbal out there that doesn't assume that I already know these thing? Thanks for any help in advance.

-- Julie (rjbk@together.net), July 08, 2001

Answers

Response to How do I make a poultice?

My S.O. makes these things and uses them on his race horses all the time. He said he needs to know what ingredients you had in mind and what you want to accomplish with it. The poulstice is the only one I've seen on a regular basis and it's like a paste that he spreads on the legs then wraps with paper bags and then a legwrap. He leaves it on overnight.

-- Epona (crystalepona2000@yahoo.com), July 08, 2001.

A poultice is simply made by placing the paste of herbs (usually hto or warm, between layers of cloth (my mom used to just put the stuff in an old sock and wrap it to whatever was the problem.) As far as herbals go, a really good one is THe Complete Medicinal Herbal, by Penelope Ody. It has lots of full color photos of herbs, what they're used for, the parts you use, and even dosages. A section in the back shows how to make all sorts of various applications (poultice, decoction, tincture, etc,) complete with step-by-step pictures. Also shows how to harvest, prepare, and work with the herbs. The very back section has illness-based look-it-up charts that tell you which herbs would be best for which illnesses, depending on severity and other symptom variables.

This is quite possibly the best herbal I have ever seen - written in a very modern, straight-forward way, no cutesy neo-antique sketches that could be anything, with cutsey "olde fonts" that obscure the meaning of the literature, which tends toward the incomplete in these "them-based" books. This herbal is my first line of attack, and I have never regretted the purchase. According to the inside label, it was $29.95, although, knowing me, I probably didn't pay that. Check Amazon or what heve you and shop around. Sales abound.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), July 09, 2001.

The Peterson's Guide to Medicinal Plants is great for photos and identification. Never use an herb you aren't certain of.

Try Dr. James Duke's "The Green Pharmacy" for the average user of herbs. Its in paperback.

But the most complete herb usage guide I own and use is the PDR (Physician's Desk Reference) Guide to Herbal Medicine, second edition. This edition is hardback and costs about $59 and includes European scientific results as well as complete explanations of each herb usage, why it works, what interactions with other herbs may exist and small photos. Large science words may frighten some folks off, but I have found it very usable. As I doubt that enough new herbs will be discovered in the next decade or so, I don't plan on having to replace it with a newer edition anytime soon.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), July 09, 2001.