Yarrow, Achillea millefolium

Yarrow

Yarrow Leaf 

                                                I did a stupid thing yesterday. 

  In the mornings I work at a Veterinarians office taking care of the animals. 

While taking a young dog for a walk I decided to give her a little exercise so I started to jog with her. She got very exited and ran directly in front of me, tangling the leash around my legs, tripping me, sending me heading for the gravely asphalt. I put my hands down to break my fall which caused chunks of flesh to be scraped from the palms of my hand. Ouch! 

So how is this ethnobotanical you must be wondering?

  Well, whenever I need first aide, I look to the plants for help. One of the plants I brought to NC with me, because I can't live without it, is Yarrow, Achillea millefolium. This is my favorite First aid plant and I use it more than any other plant in emergencies. I even use it on my animals when they hurt themselves. 

Yarrow is an anti-septic, it is also a Hemostatic herb, meaning it stops bleeding. Legend has it that Achilles used it to treat his soldiers wounds on the battlefield, hence the name Achillea.  

  Normally for small wounds I take a leaf and chew it and than use it as a poultice. This time the wounds were spread over a large area so I made a strong infusion of the leaves and soaked my hands in this solution for awhile. I repeated this several times throughout the day to make sure things were cleaned out well. Finally, I took some infused oil that I make which contains several healing herbs, including Yarrow, and covered the wounds to keep out dirt. Well today is one day after the mishap and, though still very tender, the wounds are healing nicely. 

 I love being able to use plants for healing, it just seems NATURAL!

Peace