Orange Peel Honey and Plantain, a plant for teething pain (relief!)
I was the village herbalist at our local farmer’s market last Wednesday. It was fun showing people how easy it is to make great medicines by infusing herbs in honey and vinegar.Kids, especially, seemed drawn to come by and help with the demonstrations.
We made an orange peel honey by breaking up dried peels until they were really small to help release their fragrance and flavor. We filled a jar about 1/3 full of the orange peels, and then poured local wildflower honey to the top of the jar. You can start using it within a day or two, and it gets better the longer it sits. This is so delicious and draws out the rich array of bioflavanoids that are in the white inner peel that is actually the most medicinal part of the citrus fruits. This way, we not only extract them for our health, we can also enjoy every moment of “taking our vitamins!” Spread orange peel honey on toast, or put it in your tea. Try using tangerine peels, too. Yummm.Later my friend Suzie asked me to watch Zach for her while she shopped. Zach is 9 months old and teething. He helped me make a new herbal discovery.Plantain leaves are helpful for teething pain. Of course they are!Their astringent, pain-relieving qualities are perfect for the inflammation and irritation of new teeth coming in. Zach was also very amusing to watch with a long, drool covered, lance-leaf plantain leaf hanging out of his little mouth. Here he found the broad leaf variety. Most telling of all is that when Suzie tried to replace it with a raspberry ice-pop, Zach cried till we gave him back his plantain leaf. He continues to educate us as to how happy plantain makes him, as you can see.And look, now he’s learning to pick his own! Smart kid, that Zach!Plantain, the plant that heals pain is the great, green band-aid plant that you can chew up and put on mosquito bites, bee stings, poison ivy rashes, and more.
You can use it that way to draw out stingers, slivers of glass, or a thorn. It helps stop bleeding and pain, is antiseptic, and reduces swelling. Follow the wisdom of this 9 month-old herbalist and go gather some plantain today.