When the bug bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling itchy…
I simply remember my herbal training, and then I don’t feel so bad!
I got a bug bite (spider? ant? mosquito?) the other day. It was not a tick, and probably not a Black Widow or Brown Recluse, so don’t worry too much. I haven’t a clue how it made its way up into my pant leg, but I felt the bite/sting/itch during dinner and ignored it until later when I was dressing for bed. It was ITCHY in all caps.
I tried not to scratch, but oh, the agony!! I used a bug bite cream to stay the itch. I mostly ignored it after that, but yesterday, at about day 4, it got angry. It hadn’t been progressing in a healing direction, and I’ve been too busy to pay attention. Yesterday, the redness and swelling increased and the area was hot to the touch. When this happens, it is time to bring out the remedies and get to work. Cellulitis can become a side effect of a bug bite, and once that begins to progress, it is difficult to stop.
I study homeopathy and traditional herbal methods. We have used various such remedies in my family as far back in my childhood as I can remember. I consulted with a homeopathy fellow and began to use Ledum Palustre 30c1 every hour for four hours. I went foraging and brought in some Dead Nettle2, also known as Red Dead Nettle, Purple Dead Nettle, or Purple Archangel. Its Latin name is Lamium purpureum3.
Additional apothecary items I brought in were rosemary, parsley, lemon balm, and dandelion. I did not find plantain, though it would have been a welcome ingredient. I grabbed the sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), castor oil, clove oil, and olive leaf extract.
I took one dose of Pyrogenium4 homeopathic preparation. I have never had to use it before, but I keep it on hand for the heavy lifting in times of potentially severe infection that could lead to sepsis.
I “bruised” a small palm-full of the fresh herbs by rubbing vigorously between my hands and placed them in a teaspoon of castor oil to infuse.
I got some old t-shirt fabric and a length of flower sack towel and set to:
Wet the small square of t-shirt,
Liberally sprinkle baking soda and make sure it is moist,
Add some of the infused castor oil, and add a bit of the wilted fresh herbs,
“Plaster” on the bite area by placing the loaded square of t-shirt onto the wound and tying it on with strips of sack towel. Leave for 1-2 hours. Remove. Allow to rest with nothing on for 1 hour, then make another poultice and repeat.
(I didn’t use the olive leaf tincture or clove oil more than once each,
as they can be too much for sensitive skin)
I put another poultice pack on at bed-time, this one with only baking soda and castor oil, and it lasted most of the night before working its way loose. This morning, I began the regimen again.
Dead Nettle has many uses and makes an excellent salve.5
There isn’t much better reason for a pajama day than nursing a wound, bite, or other such ailment. Today has been a luxurious, and all too short, day of complete rest. I have done some reading (Piglet6, the deaf blind pink puppy), a bit of mending on a crocheted sweater, a bit of documentary watching, a bit of researching, a bit of snacks eating, a teensy bit of lying warmly snug under a blanket on the couch.
The hot feel is gone and the swelling has mostly subsided. The area is still red, but natural healing takes time, patience, and persistence. Healing naturally does not mean taking a pill or an injection once and forgetting about the issue. Natural healing means working with nature, finding your remedies, knowing how to process them and put them to use, and reapplying as often as necessary for as long as necessary to achieve the healing result. When one thing doesn’t deliver the desired result, I don’t give up - I adjust. Our bodies are made to work with the remedies nature offers to us.
We have almost forgotten.
I adore the symbiosis that makes me feel connected to the world outside. I love knowing which plants to look for and where to find them. I find peace in picking, preserving, and using herbs while taking time to view robins foraging, geese nesting, deer roaming. I find quiet awe in the soothing coolness of tender green shoots yielding to my touch and offering me their sanative properties. I find uplifting solace in the colors: purple, yellow, green, in an endless array of hues.
When I need restoration, the first places I turn are my apothecary box, my herbal library, and the out-of-doors. I do not go the the building adorned by a Caduceus. Every illness, wound, or accident teaches me something. Each one is an opportunity to practice my knowledge and skill, to reconnect to my ancestors, to hear the resonance of ancient wisdom on the air.
Keeping a journal of herbal knowledge can be an excellent way to progress through spring and summer. Your prompts are in every plant you pass while going about your daily routines.
There is empowerment in knowing and reviving faded, forgotten ways.
There is value in preserving and passing on this venerable knowledge.
Ledum Palustre: Homeopathic medicine – its use, indications and dosage (2022) Homeopathy at DrHomeo.com. Available at: https://www.drhomeo.com/medicine/ledum-palustre-homeopathic-medicine-its-use-indications-and-dosage/ (Accessed: 24 March 2024).
Cornelia (2022) Dead Nettle, an overlooked yet valuable wild edible, Eat The Planet. Available at: https://eattheplanet.org/dead-nettle-an-overlooked-yet-valuable-wild-edible/ (Accessed: 24 March 2024).
Lamium purpureum (Dead Nettle, Purple Archangel, Purple Dead Nettle, Purple Dead-nettle, Red Dead Nettle, Red Dead-nettle, Red Dead-nettle,, Velikdenche) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Available at: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/lamium-purpureum/ (Accessed: 24 March 2024).
Pyrogenium Homeopathy at DrHomeo.com. Available at: https://www.drhomeo.com/?s=pyrogenium (Accessed: 24 March 2024).
Hayn, L. (2023) Purple Dead Nettle: 12 uses and benefits, Primal Survivor. Available at: https://www.primalsurvivor.net/purple-dead-nettle-uses/ (Accessed: 24 March 2024).
Shapiro, Melissa, Rivas, Mim Eichler. Piglet: The Unexpected Story of a Deaf Blind Pink Puppy and His Family (2021 | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster. Available at: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Piglet/Melissa-Shapiro/9781982167189 (Accessed: 24 March 2024).