Costa Family Farm

Echinacea Immune Booster

Last week my family had a cold. They all looked pretty miserable so when I got it I decided to fight back. I made myself tea with Echinacea and a tiny amount of Goldenseal. The other herbs I used were just for flavor and sustenance: clover and alfalfa. The clover is from our yard. I’d have made this for my children but they won’t drink it’s sharp flavor, although they do drink about everything else I give them. (I was making a different tea for them,, basically to soothe their throats, and gave a little pinch of restricted herb ephedra to one son to open up a slight allergic response to his cold.)

I drank my tea twice that day and didn’t get the cold as awful as my family did. This is important because if I get sick, as you know, there’s no lying down on the job!

Echinacea is used best as a preventative. It can be taken alternately 10 days on, 10 days off throughot a sickness season, to boost immunity.

I felt better by the 3^rd day and made the mistake of working too hard, moving boxes of winter clothing in our shed’s loft. The next day I was sick again.

I repeated the Echinacea & Goldenseal and was healed again by the next day.

I know, I should have just continued with the Echinacea straight through.

Goldenseal is a strong antiobiotic. It is not recommended to drink it much. I was in a state of emergency (I presumed.) It is very useful as a topical antiobotic. I have previously written about its use on umbilical cords.

This is what my Expectorant/Congestion Mix for the children is:

Pleurisy Root, Licorice, Coltsfoot, Slippery Elm, Chamomile, Nettles, Alfalfa, Red Clover

Instead of a strong herb like Ephedra, which should only be used in extreme cases, and then with much care to use just a pinch, this is my usual Lung Support for children:

Chamomile, Mullein, Licorice 

*You MUST STRAIN this through a coffee filter or the mullein hairs will stick in the throat and drive the person into frenzy.  Mullein grows wild up here!

We used herbs and homeopathy to once heal a son who was a toddler at the time. I will write about that event soon.

Very interesting

11:57 AM, Saturday, October 14, 2006 .. Posted by MissionaryMom

It might be noted that use of echinacea on a daily basis for longer than 3 weeks is not recommended because, I hear, long-term use has the opposite effect. It starts to suppress the immune system.

Do you pick your own herbs or how do you come by them?

Carol