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Herbal Summer Recipe: Medicinal

Mountain Rose Herbs is one of my favourite sources for online bulk herbal, culinary and aromatherapy supplies. At the moment, they’re having a DIY herbal recipe contest that can fall in to 3 categories: medicinal, culinary, or body care. In return for a winning entry to one of the three classifications, a $200 gift certificate is generously offered. And the caveat? This contest ends tomorrow, Sunday, May 16. 🙂

It’s interesting to have a diverse blog like mine that not only covers the terrain of our Airstream travels but also offers green-friendly tips and thoughts, recipes for the body, soul and health, travel experiences and advice, plus so much more. I’m curious however. Does this make my blog a bit too confusing and unfocussed? Or do you like the diverse array of topics and articles?

Anyway, enough of my rambling … on with the promised recipes, posted as three separate entities below.

Recipe #1 of the Mountain Rose Herbs Recipe Contest

Medicinal ~ Summer Bite / Sting / Splinter Poultice

bentoniteClay is known for its ability to purify and pull poison out of a bite / sting to the skin’s surface, keeping the poison from spreading; Echinacea lessens an allergic reaction and Lavender disinfects.

Yield = 1/8 cup Clay Poultice (paste)

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon Bentonite Clay
  • 1 tbsp Distilled Water
  • 12 drops Lavender essential oil
  • 1 teaspoon Echinacea Root tincture

Combine the lavender e.o. with the echinacea tincture. Mix the the water and the clay together, using only enough water to form a thick paste, and slather it on to the wound area.

Let the clay dry for about 20 minutes. There may be a slight pulling sensation as it dries … this is a normal sensation. Rinse the clay poultice off with cool water and reapply, if necessary.

For a more powerful poultice, mix equal parts of bentonite clay with apple cider vinegar until it forms a creamy paste. Apply the paste liberally to the problem area and let it set on the body for about 45 minutes. Rinse as above. Be sure not to use any metal bowls or silverware when mixing this recipe as the bentonite clay could react badly with any metal used.

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5 Comments

  1. Sky, you had mentioned that you had a herbal recipe for getting rid of the dog/cat smell in my RV and my home. Do you still have that? Would you post it here and email it to me?

    Thanks. Miss you from Texas!

    1. Hi Kristi ….
      Try these suggestions for helping to rid your RV and home of animal smells:

      Home Remedy for cat urine smell~
      Removing cat urine odor from carpet.

    2. Start by blotting up as much of the urine as possible with old rags or paper towels.
      Next mix 3 parts water with one part vinegar and saturate the area where there might be an odour problem.
      Dry thoroughly using the same method mentioned above (with paper towels and old rags).
      Once dry, sprinkle the area with baking soda.
      Mix ¾ cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution with one teaspoon dish detergent, and sprinkle over the baking soda.
    3. Try this first on a small inconspicuous area of the carpet to make sure the hydrogen peroxide won’t discolor any carpet. Next, use your fingers or an old tooth brush to work the baking soda in. Try using an old hairbrush with little bits of plastic over the tips with good results. Allow this to dry and vacuum it up. If there’s still a slight odour when done, lather, rinse and repeat.

      A bowl of Napthelene flakes or mothballs helps keep cats away from an area that they like to spray on. Also they hate citrus – so citonella on some cotton balls in a bowl also is good.

      For dog smells~
      If for whatever reason your dog has peed on the carpet, when your dog pees on the carpet it leaves an odor that your dog may repeatedly return to. Avoid using ammonia based products to clean dog or cat urine. One of the ingredients of dog urine is ammonia and he may well be encouraged to re-offend in the same area. Remember, your dog’s sense of smell is a hundred times better than yours.

      Dog Urine Smell and Stain Remover
      Ingredients

    4. Baking Soda
      White Vinegar
      Liquid Dishwashing Detergent
      3% Hydrogen Peroxide
    5. Directions for Dog Urine Removal

      1. If the area is still wet you should first attempt to absorb the dog urine. Leaving it there to dry out will only encourage bacterial growth which causes the smell. The best method is to place several layers of paper towel over the wet area and tread on it so as to soak up as much of the dog urine as you possibly can. You may have to repeat this several times until no more urine can be soaked up.

      Sometimes dog urine accidents have already dried because you did not notice them previously. You can find dried urine spots on your carpet with the aid of a black light. The dog urine stains will fluoresce under the ultra violet light in a darkened room. Hand held black lights are quiet inexpensive usually costing between $15 – $25

      2. The next step is to mix a solution of fifty percent white vinegar and fifty percent water. You must use a liberal amount of this solution to reach the carpet fibers deep down. Work the solution in with a scrubbing brush to ensure it penetrates the carpet fibers below. Now blot the area again using the paper towel method above. The vinegar will neutralize the ammonia in the dog urine. If you own a wet and dry vacuum extractor use that to remove excess moisture.

      3. When the area has dried or almost dried sprinkle a good handful of baking soda over the soiled area. Mix half a cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide with a teaspoon of detergent. Ordinary liquid dishwashing detergent is quite suitable. Do not use caustic dishwasher detergent.

      Put on a pair of rubber gloves and slowly pour the hydrogen peroxide and detergent mixture over the baking powder. Work the dissolving baking soda well into the carpet, first with your fingers and then with a scrubbing brush.

      Allow the area to dry completely and then vacuum thoroughly.

      If you don’t have hydrogen peroxide on hand you could substitute it in an emergency for a spray laundry stain remover. Check the bottle. If it says ‘Oxy’ anywhere on the label then it probably contains hydrogen peroxide.

      In areas that have been heavily soiled with dog urine you may have to repeat the process again.

      This recipe is for one small area of dog urine. For larger areas you will need to adjust the quantities of ingredients used.

  2. Hello Sky

    Just keeping in touch , You are fine how and I

    Lots of love mom dawson

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