Let’s dive into part 2 of our immune boosting series! In Part 1, we talked about prevention, which is my favorite way to deal with sickness. But we all do get sick sometimes no matter what. It’s part of being human. Fighting a sickness occasionally is important for the immune system to stay strong. But when we know how to take care of ourselves well when we are sick, we can experience faster recovery and even less severe symptoms. And that’s a wonderful thing!

​

And I feel it’s important to say – this is not medical advice. Again, I’m sharing what works for our family. I am not a doctor. You always want to tune in to your own bodies needs, check with your health practitioner if you have ongoing health issues or you are on medications before using new-to-you herbs or remedies.

My favorite ways to treat sickness like cold and flu

You’ll notice that we use a few of the same remedies and herbs for prevention as well as treating in our family. Herbs like garlic, elderberry and oregano help us do both…prevent and treat. Okay so let’s dive in.

Garlic and honey – we chop up a clove of garlic and place on a spoon with raw local honey. Swallow down, usually with a bit of water (although my 4 year old daughter doesn’t need any because apparently she’s a warrior lol!) The anti-virus, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties of the garlic quickly get to work and the honey, while masking the strong garlic flavor, also soothes the throat and tummy. The honey also has anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties to aid your body’s defenses.

Elderberry – we use both syrup and tincture. I love the tincture for travel – less mess. But elderberry has been shown to be very affective in shortening sickness time. For us it works so well I couldn’t imagine getting through cold and flu season without it. (We talk a lot about Elderberry and how to make my favorite Elderberry syrup in Medicine Woman)​

Echinacea – usually we’re using the tincture. You can also drink as a tea. Echinacea is helpful in actively treating cold and flu

Oregano face steam – This is a favorite treatment we use in our home. Oregano is powerful internally but also externally as a steam. I add dried or fresh oregano into a pot of water and bring to a low boil and them allow to simmer for 5 minutes. With the pot steaming, we put our face over the pot and cover the head and neck with a towel. (making sure the face it far enough from the pot as not to burn from the steam) And breathe deeply, taking in the steam and oregano medicine. This really helps to break up mucus and soothe the internal tissues. It’s also very calming.

Ginger tea – This is a go to for us – ginger is also anti-viral and the hot nature of ginger warms and soothes the digestive tract and can soothe a sore throat.

Fire cider – A blend of hot veggies and herbs like hot peppers, onion, horse radish, ginger, garlic and such infused into apple cider vinegar – this is magic for slowing/stopping sickness in our home. By the way, I teach this recipe in Medicine Woman.

Oregano oil – We use this anti-viral powerhouse on our feet and take internally in capsule form to help the body battle a virus. Not to be used for long periods of time but a powerful short term herbal remedy! (Another recipe I teach how to make in Medicine Woman – your own oregano oil!)

Make sure to check out Part 3 of our series where we focus on the emotional and and spiritual aspects of keeping our immune system strong. It’s all connected my friend.

We dive deep into preventing sickness using herbs in my program, Medicine Woman. This online course helps you weave plant knowledge into wisdom and to bring the medicine of our wild herbs into your every day life. This includes how to identify and harvest wild plants and how to make remedies and medicines with them as well as layer their medicine into your meals. I also teach practical tips on how to grow your own food and medicine using Earth-based and permaculture practices.

To stay connected for weekly writings, recipes and journeys into my gardens, you can sign up for my newsletter here (I’ll also send you a free plant-based and gluten-free recipe e-book 🙂

Wishing you vibrant health.,

Audrey Barron

*This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always do your own research before consuming a new plant.