Flu Season Prep
The following is not medical advice and should not be taken as. You should always call a medical professional to seek advice about your health. The following has affiliate links where a small portion is commissioned back to the writer of this blog.
It’s right around the corner. It’s the time of year that mothers dread and we somehow end up feeling under-prepared nearly every time it hits our homes.
Flu Season.
Yuck! But hopefully this post can help you prepare with some herbs I recommend having ready for tinctures, compresses and teas. As well as a few other must haves for us.
Let’s get into the herbs! First off I buy most of my herbs from the lamb shoppe or Mountain Rose Herbs. If I’m buying bulk I always just use MRH .
Yarrow I talk about this one a lot, we use it often to move fevers. I stock it in tincture (both alcohol and glycerine based) and dried form so I can make teas and herbal popsicles, compresses and more if needed. It balances heat in the body by opening and closing pores as need. I’ll never not have yarrow. We use an old Gypsy fever remedy of equal parts yarrow, elderflower and peppermint as a tea to kick a fever.
Elderberry (berry and flower) A fantastic immune boosting plant. The berry can be used to make teas and syrups. The flowers are fantastic for immune properties as well as respiratory benefits. I keep both in tincture form and dried for teas or syrups. We always have a jar of elderberry syrup in our fridge, I usually just buy the kits from Elderberry Co. (use code smith10 for 10% off) Its the best tasting elderberry syrup I’ve ever had. We soon are hoping to have it on our website!
Mullein If you’ve been here a while you know mullein is a favorite of mine. I think it’s cuz it’s the plant that opened the interest into herbalism for me. It’s great for respiratory, those dry icky coughs. It’s good for colds as well as achy joints. It’s a beautiful tall plant. I keep it in tincure and dried in my apothecary. I’ll make steam bowls with mullein and peppermint and place a towel over my head with the bowl underneath like a head sauna. It works every time.
Nettles I consider this nature's multivitamin, it’s packed full of minerals and vitamins that help your body during sickness. I do both alcohol and glycerine based tinctures, I keep it dried for teas and cooking as well.
Echinacea My go to for when I feel something coming on. Remember I preach this herb as my herbal antibiotic. It works wonders on boosting the immune system. I use this primarily in tincture form and will occasionally use it in a tea. You don't want to take this herb every day as it can lesson the potency it has on your body.
There are many herbs I carry in my house but I feel these are my top 5 go tos.
Out side of herbs I always have my Helios Homeopathy kit. This kit is a must, homeopathy is a powerful tool and I love it because it comes with a book that can teach you how to utilize the remedies to their full potential. I’m actually thinking of ordering one more just so I have it on hand if I ever need it. The beautiful thing about homeopathy is its a wonderful remedy for anyone of any age. Even babies. A fantastic Instagram reference I love to refer to is Jen Hoglund, I’ve taken her courses and she’s a fantastic keep on Instagram.
As far as books go I do have 2 books I refer to often. Naturally Healthy Babies and Children by Aviva Romm. It's a great reference book on remedies for children, most of the stuff I talk about on there are references from this book. As well as a book from Matthew Alfs called 300 Herbs. I love 300 Herbs because the back of the book has an entire reference for different ailments and then their contradictions and more.(If you’re local they have this at the lamb shoppe!) It's kind of a level 2 herbal book but I have really loved it. I have many more books connected to my amazon store front. I truly don’t neglect my books, they get referred to nearly weekly.
Lastly I keep a variety of teas on hand, but my go to is called Immunitea. I could easily make this with herbs but I end up buying it from the Lambe shoppe. You can use the code smith farm for 10% any order on their site. From tinctures, to teas, to her card sets (which I have talked about before, they are the handbook to my herbal education.)
It's a beautiful blend of Peppermint, Elder Flower, Linden, Elderberries, Astragalus, Lemon Balm, Rosehips, Burdock. It tastes wonderful, and is our go to whenever we feel a cold or ailment coming on.
So these are some ideas to keep on hand for the incoming flu season! We lots of other blogs available like fever tamer glycerine tincture, or how to handle fevers, and more. I hope this was helpful! Would you add anything to our list? If so, let us know!