You should always have these seven medicinal plants and herbs in the house, because: They work like natural pain relievers, anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. Read here how to use the herbal pain relievers for headaches, coughs or other complaints.
First of all: the effects of herbal and natural pain relievers are not always scientifically proven. This is often also due to the fact that there is no interest in proving their effect – because no money is made with them.
Many traditional remedies are therefore often only (and even those mentioned here by no means all) as “traditional herbal medicinal products” according to §39a AMGwhose use has been proven for a long time, but whose effect is only assumed to be “plausible” through tradition and many years of experience. The European Medicines Agency is investigating many of them EMA the effect still.
Cloves: herbal pain reliever
Toothache is a particularly uncomfortable pain. If you want to alleviate it without tablets, you can use cloves (EMA). As a traditional herbal medicine, they reduce pain when you suck them or put them between your teeth.
Cloves – not to be confused with the carnation, an ornamental plant – are the dried flowers of the clove tree. They contain many essential oils, including eugenol: it has an anesthetic effect and thus helps against toothache.
In a study the herbal pain reliever clove oil was as effective as a numbing gel. The oil also relieves pain from gum inflammation and is said to help with headaches.
You can even make the natural pain reliever clove oil yourself very easily: Put 30 milliliters of virgin olive oil with five to ten whole cloves in a jar, shake it well and let it stand for ten to 14 days. Then you just have to sift out the cloves and the homemade clove oil is ready.
If you are sensitive to essential oils, however, you should be careful, use the oil only diluted with another oil and test how you react on a small area before using it.
Onions as a natural pain reliever and Anti-inflammatory drugs
The house onion is a well-known home remedy for sore throats, earaches and insect bites (EMA). It has been used as a natural medicine and pain reliever for centuries.
According to tradition, the onion is a natural anti-inflammatory and has a germicidal, antibacterial and analgesic effect. Mainly the antioxidant sulfur compounds lead to this effect, but they are also responsible for the characteristic smell of the onion.
Homemade cough syrup made from onions and honey or sugar helps with coughs and itchy throats. For earache, a chopped onion wrapped with a cotton cloth on the ear can help relieve the pain. This herbal pain reliever is easy to make yourself – but not a “traditional herbal medicine” as defined by the AMG.
Also read:
- Make your own natural cough syrup from onions and honey: Here’s how
- Home remedies for earache: the onion helps
- Make onion tea yourself: quick help with colds
Peppermint oil: natural pain reliever for headaches
When the head is buzzing and sore, tension headaches are often the cause. They are the most common form of headache and one of the most common diseases.
If you have the next headache attack, don’t take painkillers like aspirin, paracetamol or ibopufen and take a natural painkiller: a little peppermint oil rubbed on your temples can work wonders. The herbal pain reliever feels pleasantly cold on the skin and tingles slightly.
One of the main components of the oil is menthol: it changes the electrical activity in the cell membrane; large amounts can have a locally anesthetic effect. Peppermint oil also has an influence on the messenger substance serotonin, which plays a role in the development of headaches.
Also read: 6 herbal home remedies for a cold
The effect of peppermint oil as a natural pain reliever is still being investigated in part (EMA), partly it has been scientifically proven: massaging into the forehead and temples relieved in a clinical study the headache as well as acetaminophen. To prevent skin irritation, peppermint oil should not be applied directly as a herbal pain reliever. It is better to dilute the oil with another oil.
Garlic: a natural antibiotic
Garlic has been used as a medicinal plant for thousands of years: it was already used in ancient Egypt to treat heart problems, tumors, bites or worms. At the first Olympic Games in ancient Greece, the athletes are said to have eaten garlic to improve performance; in World War II it was used as a natural antibiotic against gangrene. The EMA is currently still investigating the effects of the garlic bulb.
Garlic contains tons of healthy ingredients. These include vitamin C, some B vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids, adenosine, flavonoids and sulfur-containing ingredients. In particular, the sulfur-containing ingredients – which, by the way, are also responsible for the characteristic smell of the garlic cloves – have an antibacterial effect and can combat the growth of germs, fungi and worms. There are Hints on the fact that garlic can also help with atherosclerosis.
Garlic works best raw, if you can live with the consequences – the smell – you can eat bruschetta, salad with garlic dressing or pickled garlic cloves as you like.
Herbal pain reliever for back ailments: rosemary
Rosemary is known as a Mediterranean spice. It is less well known that the medicinal herb has been used as a remedy and natural pain reliever since the Middle Ages. Rosemary contains essential oils and bitter substances, they stimulate the blood circulation in the skin and the circulation. Rosemary oil has a relaxing effect and helps against sore muscles, back pain and tension. The EMA examines the effect even more closely.
In addition, rosemary oil has an antiseptic effect and can, for example, as a bath infusion support wound healing. A rosemary bath can also help against circulatory disorders and poor circulation. As a tea, rosemary has a stimulating effect and against flatulence, the juice of the root is said to help against toothache.
However, rosemary oil should only be used diluted, sensitive skin can react with redness. Pregnant women should be careful with the use of rosemary tea and oil, rosemary can induce labor.
Natural pain reliever: turmeric
Turmeric has been an important spice in Asia for thousands of years – especially in Indian cuisine. The tuber is an integral part of the traditional Ayurveda healing arts. In Europe, the spice was only used as a coloring powder in curry for a long time, but has since been conquered turmeric European kitchens and science are also increasingly concerned with the healing effects of the tuber: it is used, among other things, for digestive disorders, cancer, Alzheimer’s or skin diseases – or as a natural anti-inflammatory. A natural herbal pain reliever with many uses!
Studies point out that turmeric can relieve pain – for example in rheumatism, inflammation or after surgery. However, the body cannot absorb the active ingredient curcumin as well; the combination with black pepper increases the absorption of the active ingredient by that in certain cases 20 times. For the small amounts of turmeric that we usually consume (e.g. as a spice, in golden milk, in curry powder or in tea) it makes no difference whether we add pepper or not – the effect remains the same. The EMA rates turmeric as a traditional herbal medicine.
Real sage: medicinal herb for toothache and sore throat
Sage is an ancient medicinal plant: in ancient Egypt it was used against infertility, in ancient times the use of sage was common for digestive problems and toothache. The leaves of real sage are rich in essential oils, they provide an antibiotic effect.
The contained tannins have a contracting effect and make the mucous membrane in the mouth and throat, for example, more impermeable to viruses and bacteria. At the same time, they have a calming effect. When used as a tea, sage works against colds and sore throats, and as a mouth rinse, the natural anti-inflammatory agent can help against gum infections. All these effects are considered to have been handed down – the EMA examine this more closely.
More about pain:
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- Fight headaches naturally: these home remedies will help
- Pain gel at Öko-Test: only two ointments “very good”
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- Home remedies for muscle pain in the legs and thighs
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