The Earthwise Herbal Repertory

by Matthew Wood

  Deafness (Hearing Impaired): • Alchemilla (torn or scarred eardrum) • Allium sativa (fresh, juiced in glycerin and sweet almond oil, dropped in ear) • ESCHSCHOLZIA (damage from rock music and loud noise—Wood) • Eupatorium purpureum (calcification) • Geranium maculatum • Glechoma (middle-ear congestion) • Hydrastis (catarrhal deafness and tinnitus) • Monarda fistulosa (sharpens senses) • Plantago • Pulsatilla (after a chill; mucus congestion) • Urtica (swollen tissues) • Verbascum (removes excess wax) • Vinca (cerebral circulation, sclerosis).

  Dizziness, Tinnitus, Ringing in Ears, Giddiness: • Achillea • Allium ursinum (tincture) • CIMICIFUGA (tinnitus, dizziness, vertigo) • Crataegus (tincture) • Geranium maculatum (tincture) • Hydrastis • Lycopodium • Mentha piperita (despondency and dizziness) • MONARDA FISTULOSA (specific for tinnitus and Ménière’s disease; 3 drops, 3x/day) • Selenicereus • Tanacetum parthenium (tinnitus, Ménière’s) • ROSMARINUS (dizziness) • Veronica (tea) • Vinca • Viscum.

  Water in the Ear: • Achillea (tincture in ear). There must be more remedies for this condition.

  Earwax: • Hydrastis (excess, with eczema) • Verbascum (excess, congestion; oil in ear).

  Note: Ear candling can be done with herbs.

  Outer Ear Canal (Eczema): • Hydrastis.

  FORMULARY

  Verbascum—with Hydrastis, Allium sativa, and Hypericum, in oil (ear drops).

  Nose, Sinuses, and Upper Respiratory Tract

  Nosebleed: • Achillea (bright-red) • Alchemilla • Ambrosia • Calendula • Capsella (oozing) • Erigeron (oil) • Equisetum • Hamamelis • Linaria • Lycopus (chronic) • Lysimachia • Melilotus • Quercus (chronic) • Viscum.

  Nasal Polyps: • MYRICA (powder in nose) • Sanguinaria (sharply penetrating stimulant astringent; powder) • Thuja.

  Allergies (Nose and Sinuses): • Agrimonia (chronic nasopharyngeal catarrh) • AMBROSIA (hay fever; bloodshot eyes, runny eyes and nose; homeopathic, or leaf eaten directly or tinctured) • Ammi • Angelica • ARALIA RACEMOSA (irritable cough from wood smoke or dust; worn in the winter; from dry air, wood stove or furnace) • ARUNDO (homeopathic; maddening itch in ear and palate) • BIDENS (“great”—Kress) • Equisetum (cedar pollen in New Mexico; also nonspecific; susceptible to many irritants) • Ocimum (“animal dander and mold”) • Oenothera • PLANTAGO • PROPOLIS (specific for mold, fungus) • SOLIDAGO (conjunctiva suffused with red; injected, watery, itchy; nose itchy and running; specific for allergy to cats and many plants) • URTICA (nonspecific; when susceptible to many irritants).

  Adenitis: • Baptisia • CALENDULA • Galium • PHYTOLACCA • Stillingia.

  Initial Twinge of Head Cold: • Achillea • Armoracia (opens up sinuses) • Angelica • Capsicum • Ligusticum • Marrubium (with salivation) • Mentha piperita • Myrica • Sambucus (antiviral).

  Rhinitis, Sinusitis, Head Cold: • ACHILLEA (hot tea) • Adiantum • Agastache foeniculum • ALLIUM CEPA (runny nose with excoriated nostrils) • ALLIUM SATIVA • Alnus (hay fever) • ALTHAEA (hoarseness, laryngitis, with head cold) • AMBROSIA (chew a leaf for hay fever) • ANEMOPSIS (swelling and congestion of nose; sub-acute, with thick mucus) • ANDROGRAPHIS (nasal congestion, cough, sore throat, muscle stiffness, fever) • Angelica • ARMORACIA (at onset) • ASCLEPIAS (snuffles in children) • Asarum (dried membranes, with fever) • Astragalus (prophylactic—taken prior to cold and flu season) • Baptisia (antiseptic; smell from nose or mouth, swollen glands) • Betonica (catarrh) • Bidens (drippy nose) • Calendula (raw, tender nose) • Capsicum (warming and diaphoretic; taken at first hint of rhinitis) • Ceanothus (chronic sinus discharge, runny) • Cetraria • Chamomilla (hot diaphoretic, relaxing; use inhalation; sedative as tea) • Cinnamomum spp. (shivering, chilliness, dull mind, difficulty breathing through the nose) • Commiphora myrrha • Coptis • Echinacea (worn-out feeling) • Eleutherococcus (increases resistance to climate stress) • Ephedra vulgaris (decongestant) • Eriodictyon • Equisetum (hay fever, severe irritation of membrane) • Eucalyptus (inhalation) • Eupatorium perfoliatum (chill/fever, achiness, stiffness, nasal catarrh) • Euphorbia (upper-respiratory catarrh) • EUPHRASIA (sniffles in children, frontal-sinus infection) • Filipendula (cooling, soothing) • GANODERMA (allergic, acute, sub-acute—Hobbs) • GLECHOMA (middle-ear infection) • GNAPHALIUM • Grindelia • Hamamelis (catarrh; pallid, flabby mucosa, sluggish circulation) • Hedeoma (dryness, tight membranes, with fever) • Hydrastis (thick discharge) • Hypericum (colds, flu, depression afterwards) • HYSSOPUS • Inula (sinusitis, green mucus) • Lomatium • Lonicera • Mahonia • Marrubium (common cold) • MENTHA PIPERITA (as inhalation; hot tea is diaphoretic, relaxing, cooling) • MENTHA PULEGIUM (diaphoretic) • Myrica (sinusitis) • Nepeta (head cold with dry skin) • Ocimum (“allergies to animal dander and mold”) • PHYTOLACCA • Pinus (sinusitis, green mucus) • PLANTAGO (mucolytic; post-nasal drip, feeling of a string hanging down the throat) • Polemonium • Polygonum bistorta (stimulating astringent; nasal catarrh) • Populus • PROPOLIS • PULMONARIA • Rhus spp. (runny sinuses, clear mucus) • Rubus canadensis (clear, free secretions) • Salix alba • SAMBUCUS (antiviral; obstruction in infants; free sweating or dry, closed skin; “chronic nasal catarrh with deafness”—BHP; berry or flower) • Sinapis nigra (mustard seed footbath to draw the blood down) • SOLIDAGO (allergies; “low-grade naso-pharyngeal infection with persistent catarrh”—BHP) • Teucrium (catarrh) • Tilia • Tussilago • Ulmus (hoarseness, laryngitis) • Urtica (tea) • Usnea • Verbascum • Verbena (chill/fever, muscle ache, sore neck) • Viola (“chronic naso-pharyngeal catarrh”—BHP) • Zanthoxylum • ZINGIBERIS (acute rhinitis that starts with chills).

  FORMULARY

  Capsicum—with Armoracia, Myrica, Zingiberis, or Angelica in vinegar (used at the beginning of a head cold). These are all variations on “Fire Cider,” introduced by Rosemary Gladstar. It is used at the first sign of a head cold to dramatically increase circulation to the area.

  Euphrasia—fresh tincture (2 parts) with Solidago (1 part), Glechoma (1 part), and Inula (1 part). “I call this ‘sinus-clearing formula.’ It supports my store. Stops the swelling, tonifies the mucosa, opens and drains the mucus”—Sedlacek (paraphrase).

  Gnaphalium—(½ part) with Hyssop, Melissa, and Achillea (1 part each); one cup of infusion when retiring (Old English sinus and cold formula). Parton.

  Sambucus flower—with Tilia flower (common cold, antiviral). BHP 1983, 214. Consider adding Prunus serotina and Gnaphalium.

  Sambucus—with Achillea, Hyssopus, Capsicum, Commiphora myrrha (common cold). BHP 1983, 73.

  Sambucus—with Achillea, Mentha piperita (common cold).

  Solidago—with Gnaphalium (persistent nasal catarrh and inflammation). BHP 1983, 234.

  Mouth, Gums, Teeth

  Inflammation of the gums (gingivitis) occurs in nearly everyone. It is caused by bacteria that lodge between the teeth and the gums. Painless gum recession occurs first, and later inflammation, redness, swelling, tenderness, bleeding, and ultimately loosening of the teeth; this is known as “periodontal disease.” If pockets of pus form, the condition is called pyorrhea. The pus pockets erode the gums below the roots of the teeth, corrode the tendons and bones, and loosen the teeth.

  In addition to brushing and flossing as prevention for periodontal disease, take antimicrobial stimulants (Asarum, Thymus, Hydrastis) to improve circulation and remove bacteria. If the teeth are loose, use Plantago to pull out the infection, Taraxacum root to stop the decalcification and Quercus to tighten the tendons, astringe the gums, and regrow the bones. Quercus is also good for the teeth. If pyorrhea has set in (with bad breath), the antiseptic stimulants are needed (Baptisia, Calendula, Asarum, Propolis).

  Teeth are subject to cavitation caused by bacteria, against which they are supposedly protected only by brushing and flossing. In reality, they are best protected first by their environment and usage, second by care, and third by herbs. The cha
racter of the environment is largely set by the saliva, which maintains moisture to wash the teeth, and the acid/base balance. A mildly acid environment favors cavitation, while a mildly alkaline one favors plaque build-up—which hosts the bacteria that cause gingivitis; so we must walk a fine line between the two. Sugar promotes cavitation, while fiber can cause grinding down of the molars.

  Bitter and sweet remedies favor salivation—Panax quinquefolius, Trifolium pratense, Codonopsis, and Marrubium, as appropriate. When the enamel is breaking down, due to either cavitation or hard grains and fibrous food, a restorative remedy is Quercus. Try it and watch the miracle. A healthy color for the teeth is not pure white, but faintly yellow.

  Discoloration is removed by chewing on a stick of dogwood (Cornus spp.), which is an old Native American method. Try it. The Buddha attended to the health of his students, making sure they maintained good oral hygiene by chewing on a certain stick, although I don’t know what kind. Chewing contributes to the health of the teeth because it increases saliva to protect them.

  Mouth and Gums: • Acacia • Agrimonia (sores on tongue, canker sores) • Ajuga (ulcers and sores) • Alchemilla • Alnus • Alpinia (gum ulcer) • Althaea (infection in mouth, dryness, canker sores) • ASARUM (bad breath) • Baptisia (bad breath, aphthae) • Berberis (flabby, tender gums, bleeding) • Calendula (externally) • Ceanothus • Chamomilla • Cichorium • COMMIPHORA MYRRHA (spongy, sore gums, thrush, pyorrhea) • COPTIS (aphthous ulcers, pyorrhea) • Cornus florida (sore and tender gums) • Echinacea (sore and spongy gums; abscesses, boils) • Equisetum (gingivitis, canker sores) • Galium aparine (ulcers; gargle with warm tea) • Geum (bleeding, spongy gums) • Guaiacum (mouthwash) • Geranium maculatum (bleeding) • Hamamelis (sore gums) • HYDRASTIS (sores on tongue, aphthae, ulcers, gum disease) • Hypericum (gingivitis) • Iris versicolor (gums full and red) • Juglans nigra (gingivitis; leaf, as a gargle) • Krameria (pyorrhea) • Ledum • Lysimachia (bleeding gums) • Mahonia • Myrica (atony of circulation, profuse mucus discharge; pyorrhea) • Phytolacca (blisters, inflammation from low immunity) • PLANTAGO (abscessed teeth, infection after dental surgery or root canal) • Polemonium (spongy gums, ulcerated mouth and throat) • Polygonum bistorta (spongy gums) • Propolis (sores, infections, pyorrhea, bad breath) • Rhodiola (periodontosis) • Rhus spp. (canker sores) • Rumex crispus (thrush) • QUERCUS (dilapidated gums, decalcified jawbones) • Salvia (gum boils or bleeding, canker sores, bad breath) • Sambucus (oil) • Sanicula (astringent; gums, ulcers) • Taraxacum (infection in jawbones; root) • Thuja • Tsuga (aphthae) • Vaccinium (gargle) • Zanthoxylum (stimulant, in small amounts).

  Canker Sores (Aphthous Stomatitis), Mouth Ulcers: • Acacia (mucilage) • Agrimonia (astringent) • Ajuga • Althaea (mucilage; flowers, roots, leaves) • Arctium (chronic) • Baptisia (antiseptic stimulant; putrescence) • Berberis (bitter tonic; mucosal stimulant) • Chamomilla (pain; hot gargle) • COMMIPHORA MYRRHA (stimulant; acute, painful) • Coptis (mucosal stimulant) • Echinacea (antiseptic diffusive) • Equisetum • Gautheria • Hydrastis (mucosal stimulant) • Levisticum (mouthwash) • Mahonia (bitter tonic, mucosal stimulant) • Myrica (diffusive stimulant; with hyperacidity and diarrhea, pale mucosa, relaxed tissue, hypersalivation) • Polygonum bistorta (stimulating astringent) • Propolis (external) • Rhus spp. (astringent) • SALVIA (astringent; gargle) • Taraxacum (root) • Thuja • Tsuga (stimulating astringent) • Vaccinium (gargle).

  Lips: • Althaea (a mucilage; dry, exfoliating, fine, powdery skin; constitutional if present) • Calendula (cracked; external) • Hydrastis (cracked; external) • Phytolacca (sore, pallid) • Stellaria (cracked; external) • Trifolium pratense (dry) • Thuja (fissured) • Ulmus (mucilage).

  Salivary Glands, Saliva: • Althaea (dry mouth and throat) • Capsicum (dry, scanty saliva; poor digestion) • Codonopsis • Commiphora myrrha • Hydrastis (deficient) • Iris (deficient) • Marrubium (excess) • PANAX QUINQUEFOLIUS (deficient) • Stillingia (deficient) • TRIFOLIUM (calcification in; excess or deficient saliva) • Ulmus (dry mouth and throat) • Zanthoxylum (small dose) • ZINGIBERIS (dried; for excess saliva, pale or pale-red tongue, with white or grey, greasy or slimy coating).

  Palate: • SALVIA (relaxed throat, prolapsed palate—Jones).

  Parotid Glands: • Chimaphila (swollen) • Cimicifuga (swollen) • Phytolacca • Trifolium pratense (swollen).

  Teeth: • Achillea (root, in cavity or lost filling) • ECHINACEA (pain) • Cornus florida (brush with fresh, frayed stick to whiten) • EUGENIA (pain; oil on cotton) • Inula (loose teeth; prevents putrefaction) • JUGLANS NIGRA (prevents cavities) • LARREA (daily cup of tea to prevent cavities) • PLANTAGO (abscessed root, sensitive root) • Polygonum bistorta (loose) • QUERCUS (to prevent or cure cavities, loose teeth—Christopher; often confirmed) • Salvia (loose teeth; rub on teeth to whiten) • Solidago (loose teeth) • Urtica (gargle for ten minutes with chlorophyll or nettle concentrate, clean with dietary hydrogen peroxide) • Zanthoxylum (pain).

  Note: I am not sure the daily or frequent use of Juglans or Larrea for tooth care, though widely practiced, is always advisable. These are both powerful medicines that could cause side effects. Juglans often causes diarrhea in large or continuous doses, and may influence the thyroid. Larrea has caused hepatitis when dramatically overused, because it has such a stimulating effect on hepatic function.

  Tooth Abscess, Infected Root: • Arctium • Aristolochia (erosive, fistulous) • Ceanothus • Cnicus (chills and fever from blood poisoning; needs antibiotics) • Echinacea • PLANTAGO (put on tooth) • Solidago • Taraxacum (abscess eroding bone; root).

  Loose Teeth: • Quercus • Rumex • Symphytum.

  Dentition (Teething): • CHAMOMILLA (fretful, peevish, crying) • Scutellaria.

  Breath, Offensive (Halitosis): • Anethum • Apium • ASARUM (superb mouthwash) • BAPTISIA • Carica • Cinnamomum spp. • Coriandrum • Echinacea • Eucalyptus • Eugenia (oil) • Ficus (fetid stomach) • Foeniculum • Galium • Medicago sativa • Petroselinum • Propolis • Salvia.

  Mercury, Heavy-Metal Poisoning: • GLECHOMA (heavy-metal poisoning) • Guaiacum (antidote—Bartram) • Plantago (can be used with Glechoma).

  Speech: • Acorus (loss of speech due to a trauma—Popham) • Majorana (with warming herbs, for difficulty of speech due to cold or inflexible muscles—Parkinson).

  FORMULARY

  Asarum—a traditional American gargle for gums and mouth. This is the superior gargle in taste and effect, in my opinion. Do not overharvest.

  Foeniculum—with Rosmarinus, Salvia, Hamamelis (gargle for inflammation of mouth and throat). BHP 1983, 93.

  Hydrastis—with Plantago, Quercus, small dose of Zanthoxylum (gums and teeth).

  Quercus—with Plantago and Taraxacum root (teeth, gums, and jawbones).

  Throat

  Sore Throat, Swollen Glands: • Acacia (mucilage) • Agrimonia (astringent; tea) • Althaea (mucilage; hoarseness) • Amygdalus (coolant; hoarse, dry) • Apium • Arctium • BAPTISIA (antiseptic; mononucleosis, diphtheria) • Bidens (“never-ending throat irritation”—Kress) • Calendula • CAPSELLA (“strep throat or tonsillitis cycling from tonsils to kidneys; recurrent tonsillitis in child, usually at three-week intervals”—Croft) • Ceanothus (broad, swollen tongue, coated dirty white) • Centella • Cetraria (dry mouth, sore throat, dry cough) • Citrus limonum (sore throat, diphtheria) • Collinsonia (constriction; loss of voice, hoarse) • Commiphora myrrha (pallid membrane) • Crataegus • ECHINACEA (antiseptic stimulant; sore throat, tonsillitis, glossitis, laryngitis; with dark-blue or purplish membranes) • Equisetum • Galium (swollen throat glands, hoarseness) • Geranium maculatum (astringent; chronic pharyngeal catarrh) • Guaiacum (acute tonsillitis) • Hamamelis (sore, red, hyperemic fauces) • Helianthemum (hard, swollen) • Hydrastis (bitter mucosal stimulant; pharyngitis, dryness, ulcers, catarrh, atony) • Hypericum • Juglans nigra (astringent; leaf) • Ledum (s
timulating astringent; severe infection) • LIGUSTRUM (privet) • Myrica (diffusive astringent; sore, enfeebled, swollen tissues) • Nymphaea (mucilaginous astringent; sore) • PHYTOLACCA (glandular stimulant; swollen glands, hurts to stick out tongue) • PLANTAGO (topical; mucilaginous astringent; hoarseness) • Polygala senega • Polygonum hydropiperoides • Polygonum bistorta (stimulating astringent; gargle) • Polemonium (ulcerated) • PROPOLIS (loss of voice) • Prunella • Quercus (sore and relaxed) • Ribes nigra (inflammation) • Rubus canadensis (cankerous) • Rumex crispus (chronic sore throat with hypersecretion, swollen glands) • SALVIA (“pharyngitis, uvulitis, stomatitis, gingivitis, glossitis”—BHP; tea, gargle, mouthwash, with lemon and honey) • Sanicula • Scrophularia • Stillingia (dryness with complaints) • Thymus (sore, catarrh) • Trifolium (mumps; swollen glands in back of neck, under and around ears) • Trigonella (hot, dry, sore throat) • Tussilago (hoarseness, pharyngitis) • Verbascum (tension, sore throat).

  Elongated Uvula: • Acacia • Collinsonia • Hamamelis • Salvia.