Playing nurse is one of a homemaker’s many duties. My challenge in 2012 is to build and maintain a “medicine chest” of herbs that will help fight the illnesses my family commonly faces on a budget of $20 a month. It’s the last Tuesday of January, and time to share what I purchased this month:
Echinacea: $4.99
The healing power of echinacea has lived in legend for centuries. Recent studies confirm its benefits. I’m kind of ashamed to admit that someone who loves natural remedies as much as I do doesn’t have a drop of echinacea in the house. It was always something I wished I had when one of us got sick, but I never managed to get over to the store to purchase. Once we were better, it sorta slipped the list.
That problem is fixed now. I purchased a bottle of Child Life Echinacea on Amazon for only $4.99.
Feverfew: $9.54
Feverfew is an herb I only read about recently. It is reputed to be one of nature’s strongest headache fighters. The London Migraine Clinic performed a double-blind study on patients who claimed to have benefited from feverfew. Some patients received placebos, some feverfew. Those that got the placebo said their headaches increased dramatically. Two patients (who claimed their headaches disappeared when they took feverfew) even dropped out because their headaches got so bad while taking the placebo. After they restarted feverfew, the headaches vanished again! (Read more in Mommy Diagnostics and Herbal Drugstore.)
Very important warning: Pregnant and nursing women should not take feverfew. Many thanks to Jenn from The Purposeful Mom for pointing this out!
Apparently, feverfew doesn’t work for everyone, but about two thirds claim relief. Also, it’s not an instant cure. For best results, you are supposed to take it daily. Since my husband gets headaches frequently, we decided to give it a try. I purchased Nature’s Way MygraFew (Feverfew). (The price has fluctuated several times this month. Right now it’s only $9.54 with free shipping if you subscribe. Plus, unlike some other brands on Amazon, you only have to take one capsule daily, so it’s practically $3 for a month’s supply!)
It is on the way from Amazon and I’m really excited to see if it works for Joshua… and will definitely let you know if it does!
Food: Your Miracle Medicine: $2.20
Food: Your Miracle Medicine was my favorite find this month! Shonda Parker highly recommends it in Mommy Diagnostics (read my review here). I’ve never had much success finding good books at the thrift store before, so was extra thrilled to found a hardback copy of this book for only $2 on the thrift store shelf! So far, I’m really enjoying it. (Look for a review in coming weeks!)
Total for January: 16.73
Have you added to your herbal remedies this month? If so, what did you add?
linked up at Healthy 2Day Wednesdays, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways and Natural Living Link Up
(Full disclosure: The links to products in this post are my referral links.)
Anna, we missed y’all today at the library.
Nice blog button!
Thanks Heather! Missed you too! Josh made it for me. 🙂
Anna,
Echinacea is my all time FAVORITE herb for colds! A friend gave us some of her homemade Echinacea last year in liquid form. It is so much better than the pills! Don’t try the pills! 🙂
I’ve never tried Feverfew. You’ll have to let me know how it works out!
Love, Jessica
How fun! Do y’all grow echinacea? Once we’re “settled” I would love to plant an herb garden! Oh, and I got tincture. Pills and toddlers don’t mix too well. 🙂
I’m more than happy to click on your referral links…those are great prices! I hadn’t noticed your button. Gonna grab it! Have fun today!
Thanks Kasey! When I checked the Feverfew earlier in January, it was more like $16. I couldn’t believe how much the price fluctuated. (And was very happy to snag it for less than $10!)
You’re so sweet! Josh just made the button for me. I *love* it!
Hey Anna! You got some really good prices on these! Is the feverfew in tablet form? I’ve been thinking on giving it a try for my headaches.
Oops, I guess I could have just clicked on the link, lol! I saw it’s not for nursing women though…I may have to come up with something else.
Oh dear! I should have mentioned that. Thank you SO much for pointing that out. I will add the warning to the post!
I didn’t know you had a blog! You have some great ideas on here. Thanks for the inspiration :). I thought I’d share one thing I like to have in my medicine cabinet that I take or give my family when we are going on a trip (or church with sickness going around :). It is elderberry extract. It is great for your immune system and is not that expensive (and it tastes good too!). You can get it for $10 on vitacost. Sometimes they offer free shipping codes in their newsletter. Me and my sister in law will order together because shipping is always free over $50.
http://www.vitacost.com/Natures-Answer-Sambucus-nigra-Black-Elder-Berry-Extract-8-fl-oz
Thanks Melissa! Oh, I will definitely check into elderberry. I bought some elderberry tea a while back and the kids really liked. A tincture would be much easier to use on the go though!
Oh, And I forgot my other favorite…grapefruit seed extract. It is terribly bitter, though If you take it in orange juice and keep stirring so it doesn’t settle to the bottom, you never taste it. It works GREAT for colds and sore throats.
The elderberry that I got is a concentrate…we either take it right from the spoon or add a little to water. Very easy both ways!
Hugs~
Thanks so much Melissa, I’m going to look into getting both of those. 🙂 We’re just getting over an icky cold and anything to boost the immune system would be great!
Very helpful post! Thanks for sharing w/ Healthy 2Day Wednesday! Hope to see you back next week!