Welcome to another installment of “Donna’s misfortune is your herbal education.” (You may recall Episode 1 where I discussed topical herbs I used when I accidentally poured scalding water on my wrist.)
This time, I’m currently on Day 4 of a fever of 100+ degrees (peaking just shy of 102), chest congestion, and a nasty cough. I’m not sure what it is, and given that it’s probably viral, I’m not sure that it matters. We’ve all been hearing that this year’s flu season is particularly nasty, so I thought I’d share what I’ve been doing to speed healing and get back on my feet ASAP. Naturally, this includes an herbal tea for when you’re sick.
Sleep
First and foremost. SLEEP. Sleep as much as you can. In fact, when you’re sleeping is when your body does its best healing. Don’t try to tough it out. Don’t worry about trying to work from home. Work will be there when you’re ready. Some of you may be caregivers, but remember that it’s okay to ask someone to care for you when you’re in need. Give your body the time and space to rest, or you may find yourself in a protracted illness that you can’t ignore.
As for me, I’ve spent the last three days doing just that – sleeping. And then still sleeping mostly through the night. Seems like this is just what my body needs.
Echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia)
Traditional wisdom (and a touch of modern science) teaches that echinacea, when taken in relatively high doses at the onset of symptoms, can shorten the length of a cold. My fever started on Tuesday evening, at which time I started a course of four milliliters (about a half teaspoon) of echinacea glycerite about every 4-5 hours. While it’s impossible to know for sure whether it’s helping, I do know that my chest congestion cleared up relatively quickly (if my fever is being more stubborn).
Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Yes, I’m an herbalist, and yes, I do believe that there are times when pharmaceuticals – when used properly – are warranted. My fever was nearing 102 degrees, which was uncomfortably high. So I started a course of Regular Strength Tylenol (325 mg, sometimes 2 per dose, as directed). I found that while it didn’t necessarily lower my fever much, it did help with the discomfort in my neck due to my lymph nodes working overtime to fight the infection. An elevated temperature actually works to attack the infection in itself. As long as the fever is not dangerously high (I felt like 102 was starting to get there), a little fever is okay. Anyway, the pain in my neck was causing some nausea, making it hard to eat (another important thing to do when you’re sick).
SAFETY NOTE: Per the label on the bottle, do NOT exceed 4000 mg of acetaminophen in a 24 hour period. Doing so may cause liver failure. Be mindful if you take multiple ‘cold and flu’ products to address different symptoms (decongestant, cough suppressant, etc). Always read the label to understand exactly what is in a product – many of them add acetaminophen as a pain reliever – to make sure that you are not exceeding the recommended dose.
Herbal tea for when you’re sick
Naturally, I blended myself an ‘infection fighting’ tea to address a number of symptoms and challenges I’ve been dealing with the past few days. Here’s what I put in it, and why:
Wild Cherry Bark (Prunus spp.)
Wild cherry bark is widely used as a cough suppressant and an expectorant. There’s a reason that cough medicine traditionally had a cherry flavor. “Back in the day” when medicines were more widely made from plants, cherry bark was a key ingredient in cough medicine.
Mullein (Verbascum thapsis)
Mullein is similar to cherry bark in terms of suppressing a cough. Mullein calms spasms in the lungs, reducing the feeling of needing to cough. Indeed, I’m always amazed at how well mullein works for my lungs in this fashion. A must-have herb when you’re fighting a respiratory infection.
Elder flower (Sambucus nigra)
Elderberry is another popular herb for fighting infection due to its immune-boosting properties. I chose the flower in this instance because the flower has more diaphoretic effect than the berry. That is, elder flower helps to induce sweating, which I was hoping could help break my fever (to be honest, still waiting for that…)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Yarrow has many uses, but in this case I chose it as another diaphoretic – sweat inducer. I don’t use yarrow a lot in my practice, so this was an opportunity to put it to work for me.
Red root (Ceanothus americanus)
I added red root as a lymphatic herb. It helps to get the lymph flowing through the body. The lymph system is where the ‘heavy lifting’ of the immune system takes place. Immune cells travel through the lymph, attacking invaders. The resultant waste products also travel through the lymph until they can be filtered through the blood and eventually through the kidneys.
Side note: this is also why it’s important to stay hydrated when you’re sick – need to keep the fluids flowing so that immune cells can get to where they need to go, and waste products can be removed.
Marshmallow root (Althea officinalis)
Last but not least, I put in a bit of marshmallow root. Marshmallow (unrelated to the fluffy, sugary sweet you roast over the campfire) has a slightly demulcent (slimy) texture that coats and soothes irritated tissues. Since I was coughing a lot my throat was getting pretty raw, and I thought a bit of marshmallow would feel good.
Putting it all together…
I used approximately one gram each of the 6 herbs above and steeped it in my 2 Cup teapot for about 15 minutes. The result was a warming, mildly sweet brew with a round “mouth feel” that helped to soothe my poor, irritated throat. The mullein also worked wonders in suppressing those cough spasms, if only for a little while.
Of course, you can use any or all of the above herbs in your own combination that works for you and your particular situation. I hope that you don’t need a tea such as this (believe me, I REALLY hope you don’t!), but in the event that you’re not so lucky, I hope this information proves useful.
Have questions or need assistance? Contact me!