The homesteading lifestyle is a wonderful journey into honest living, independence, and self-reliance. One of the most important skills needed by folks living out in the country is the ability to address first aid emergencies. After all, homesteaders rarely live in the middle of town. As a result, emergency services may not be close at hand and, frankly, if one has the proper tools and training, those services may not even be needed for some issues.

Through many years of practice as a veterinarian and a traditional naturopath, I’ve seen about every first aid emergency you can imagine… and many you can’t imagine. During those years of rendering aid I found, more often than not, that medicinal plants and age-old, traditional healing techniques were often vastly more effective than the drugs and other medical interventions that were also close at hand. There were just a lot of things I could do with plants in an emergency that I couldn’t do with drugs.

So, let’s talk about what sorts of herbs and herbal remedies are essential to have on hand for first aid emergencies. In other words, what are the “essentials” in a homesteader’s herbal first aid kit? I’ll cover the bases of likely scenarios, and the plants that can make all the difference.

Disclaimer: Herb Safety & Use in Strangers

Before we start, understand that some herbs can cause real problems with pregnancy and/or nursing mothers. Also, herbs don’t always play well with pharmaceuticals. As a result, herbs shouldn’t be used internally in those cases unless that use is guided by experienced and qualified persons that understand those interactions and risks. That, of course, makes herb use in strangers a really bad idea. If you don’t know their pregnancy/nursing status, their health conditions, allergies, medications, etc… it’s unwise to give them herbal medicines internally. As a result, the things we’re going to say from here on should only be used with family members and others well-known to you.

Shock

Shock is a condition in which the circulatory system collapses and oxygenation of organs and tissues is significantly compromised. Left untreated, it can be life-threatening. It can be caused by a number of different things. Symptoms can include feeling very weak, dizzy, confused, and having cold, clammy skin. Elevating the feet (except in cases of bleeding from the head or chest) and keeping the person warm are very helpful. From an herbal standpoint, cayenne pepper (Capsicum annuum) is a rock star for treating shock. I’ve used it countless times in my veterinary practice on shock cases and it has become my first grab for that condition. If I could only have one tincture bottle on my shelf for emergencies, it would be cayenne.

Bleeding

Another important tool in the first aid kit is something to stop bleeding. My favorite plant for that is yarrow (Achillea millefolium). One of the common names of yarrow is “soldier wort,” because it has been carried into battle by soldiers for centuries to staunch bleeding wounds.

Either the fresh plants or the dry powdered herbs can be applied to the wound and covered with a bandage. I usually mix the dry powder with a little water to make a thick paste, but the powder or fresh plant alone is just fine. Using a tincture or tea topically for bleeding isn’t the best choice. First of all, the alcohol content of a tincture is pretty zingy in an open wound, and secondly, a liquid will wash away the clotting factors that are trying to do their job. Tinctures or teas can certainly be used internally for internal bleeding cases, but for wounds, I recommend using the powders or fresh plants. By the way, our friend cayenne pepper can be used for bleeding in the same way.

Breathing Emergencies

Breathing emergencies are also time-sensitive issues. Asthma and other conditions that interfere with the airways need to be resolved immediately. To do this we want something that will relax the bronchial muscles. One of my favorite plants for this is cramp bark (Viburnum opulus). A good expectorant like mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is also helpful. And, in cases where allergies are at play, Brigham tea (Ephedra viridis) is amazing. For all of the above, a tincture is going to be fastest. It’s no fun to wait for someone to make you a cup of tea when you’re having an asthma attack!

Burns

Everyone seems to know about the wonderful burn-healing properties of Aloe vera, but there are some other great plants that work just as well. Hen and chicks (Sempervivum spp.), prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.), and even the little succulent weed purslane (Portulaca oleracea) all contain similar, soothing gel that can be applied topically to burns.

While one can and should certainly have a bottle of Aloe vera gel in their first aid kit, having the plant on hand is even better. It won’t over-winter in cold climates but does very well on a kitchen window sill. Hen and chicks and prickly pear both have the advantage of being more cold-hardy. In fact that’s where hen and chicks’ Latin name Sempervivum comes from. It means always alive. So, if you burn your finger getting the turkey out of the oven on Thanksgiving day, just go outside and dig into the snow drift and grab a few leaves of hen and chicks for your burn.

Lacerations

The first thing to do for a laceration is stop the bleeding. We already talked about that, so what’s next? Well the next thing is to clean out the wound and close it up. Lots of herbs have antibiotic properties and make good wound irrigation teas. Calendula (Calendula officinalis) is probably my favorite. Not only is it an antibiotic, but it also has anti-inflammatory properties and accelerates healing. That’s a nice package for a cut! A strong tea of calendula makes a good wound flush.

After that we can use herbs to accelerate the healing of the wound. Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is an amazing choice for accelerating wound healing. Just mix the dried comfrey powder with some calendula, a pinch of cayenne, and a little water and you’ll have a nice poultice for healing up that wound.

Bites & Stings

Living and working in nature sometimes brings us into conflict with grumpy plants and insects. My first grab for soothing anything from stinging nettle irritations to mosquito bites to hornet stings is plantain (Plantago major). The fresh plant or tincture applied to any of those issues provides almost instant relief.

For more serious bites—from brown recluse or hobo spiders to venomous snakes—I use plantain as well, but I combine it in equal parts with echinacea (Echinacea purpurea), marshmallow (Althea officinalis), and dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). I call that formula “Venom and Sting,” and have used it on lots of brown recluse, hobo spider, and rattlesnake bites over the years with great success.

Toothache

Few things are more miserable than a toothache. Add to that the fact that toothaches love to show up on a weekend, giving you good reason to have something on hand to make them quit hurting until you can get
to a dentist.

There are several plants that are great for toothache. One of my favorites is cloves (Syzygium aromaticum). Cloves tincture—or even the powder from your spice drawer—applied topically to the gums around the sore tooth will immediately numb even a really bad toothache. Yarrow root (Achillea millefolium) is quite good too, but no one sells it. If you have some of your own to dig up and use fresh or as a tincture, you’re good to go.

Pain

One of my favorite herbs for general pain is hops (Humulus lupulus). Hops tincture sprayed on just about anything painful often works wonders. It contains constituents that have a marked calming effect on pain pathways. There are lots of other good plants that can also have good effects on pain via topical tinctures. Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), valerian (Valeriana officianlis), sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), pine needle (Pinus spp.), and teasel (Dipsacus spp.) to name a few. Having one or more of those in your herbal first aid kit is a good idea.

Another way to approach pain is with anti-inflammatory herbs like willow bark (Salix alba) or meadowsweet (Spirea ulmaria). These herbs have anti-inflammatory actions very similar to aspirin, and work best when taken internally.

Fevers

Fevers are very responsive to herbs as well. There are two ways to break a fever: One is to turn it off, and one is to speed it up. As mentioned above, herbs like willow bark and meadowsweet have actions very similar to aspirin. Those anti-inflammatory constituents can be good for shutting down fevers.

Diaphoretics are a class of herbs that address fever in a different way. Instead of turning it off, they accelerate it to completion. Yarrow is the one I use most. A nice cup of warm yarrow tea followed by wrapping up in a warm blanket will induce a sweat that finishes up the fever’s work quickly so that things can get back to normal.

Cramps

Oftentimes when we pinch a nerve or have other injuries, the muscles surrounding the area contract vigorously. They’re doing this to immobilize the area (after all, last time you moved it, it really hurt!). Unfortunately, the intense cramping is often more painful than the original issue. The good news is that there are some really great plants for relaxing muscle spasms.

One of my favorite herbs for easing muscle spasms is the appropriately named cramp bark (Viburnum opulus). It’s a great antispasmodic for overenthusiastic muscle cramping anywhere in the body. It can be used for back spasms, menstrual cramps, preterm labor, diarrhea (yup, that’s just hyperactive intestinal muscles), and even asthma or a bad cough (also caused by muscles being naughty). It can be used topically (as a tincture), and/or internally.

Stocking Your Herbal First Aid Kit

So there you have it. That’s a good list of herbs to have on hand to resolve all sorts of first aid emergencies. You probably noticed that several of them have applications for more than one issue. Herbs tend to be a bit indecisive that way. But the good news is that their obsession to be great at more than one thing makes it so that you need fewer plants in your first aid arsenal.

We’ve only just scratched the surface here on the topic of herbal healing. If you’d like to dig deeper, have a look at The HomeGrown Herbalist School of Botanical Medicine. I’d love to join you on that journey! If you want to stock up on some of these herbal remedies but you’re not quite ready to make your own, we also have some remarkable herb kits including first aid kits and wound kits for purchase. You can find information on the school and on our amazing herb kits and other products on my website www.HomeGrownHerbalist.net

So go out and enjoy the great outdoors! If you have any trouble, you’ll know what to do.