A
quick, upward glance at the sunlight filtering through the canopy of
trees signals that it’s about time to head back to camp. The
crisp, pungent smell of the forest floor reminds you how much you
needed this family vacation.
You can almost smell
the trout that you and Billy caught early this morning frying in the
pan over the open fire. Just as your stomach begins to rumble in
anticipation, you hear a scream.
Your head snaps
around and you can see Billy just a few yards down the trail, his arms
flapping wildly around his head. Back over the log you jump, and
running reach him in just seconds.
Billy has upset one
very angry wasp. Whipping off your cap, you swat it away and while
it’s stunned lying on the ground you send the nasty critter
off to meet his insect brothers in the great beyond.
Quick examination
shows that Billy has been bitten repeatedly by the wasp and is in some
serious pain. No medicine cabinet and no drugstore for miles. Your
emergency medical kit is back at camp.
Eyes darting around
the ground near the trail, you spot just what you need. Grabbing a
handful of leaves from what looks like a weed, you toss a few in your
mouth and chew them quickly. You apply the poultice to the red welts
appearing on Billy’s arms and face.
Almost as quickly as
his screams began, Billy stops crying. Wiping away his tears with the
back of his hand, he manages a crooked grin and a sheepish,
“thanks Dad.”
Disaster averted.
As you and Billy
begin the hike back to camp, you remember that book you purchased
online about herbal remedies and acknowledge it was money well spent!
If you enjoy the
outdoors and all the fun and memories that go along with spending time
with Mother Nature, chances are you may have had a similar situation
once or twice.
There are thousands
of plants that can treat just as many ailments. In this particular
case, Billy won’t even require and medical attention and by
the time the family vacation comes to an end, so will the memory of
this incident.
What is so amazing
about herbal remedies is their close association to our modern
medicines. Most of our current “wonder drugs” have
a botanical connection.
Sadly, many of those
medicines contain much more than simple botanicals. Stuffed with
chemicals, allergens and who knows what else, we are fast becoming a
medicated society.
We’ve got
pills to make us sleep, pills to wake us up, pills to make us eat and
pills to curb the appetite. It’s absolutely crazy. Whatever
ails you there’s a pill to take care of it.
The good news is,
that you can learn to wean yourself from your medicine cabinet. For
every ailment that you are currently taking pills to correct,
there’s a natural remedy that can take it’s place.
Do you
know what Dad used to stop the pain for Billy? Are you aware
it’s a simple plant that you probably know very well? In
fact, you probably dig them out of the cracks in your driveway every
couple of weeks during the growing season. It’s called
“Plantain.”
If you are sick and tired of being over-medicated, you can take control
and start a journey toward natural herbal remedies. After all, natural
remedies served the human race very well before we became so smart!
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