History of Lavender
Source of Recipe
All references(*) are from Lavender Sweet Lavender by Judyth A. McLeod
List of Ingredients
There are many different types of Lavender. Most species are native to the lands bordering the Mediterranean but others come from islands in the Atlantic Ocean, from Asia Minor, tropical northeast Africa and the Indian subcontinent. *
Some 25 species were recognized by Miss D. A. Chaytor from Kew in her monograph on the genus Lavandula (1937) in the Jour. Linn. Soc. 51:153-204. All Lavender Species belong to the genus Lavandula and are in the family Labiatae along with many other favorite herbs such as thymes, basils, savouries, rosemary, and sages.
Members of the family are characterized by 'lipped' flowers and stems that are square in cross section. Many are aromatic.*
Botanically the genus Lavadula can be divided into five sub-generic groups. All the garden and common lavenders belong to the Stoechas and Spica groups. A number of rarer species cultivated in Australia and New Zealand belong to a third sub-generic group, the Pterostachys lavenders. *
Lavender has been used for over 2000 years as an aromatic cleansing antiseptic disinfectant wash.
Stoechas grows in the Islands of Galatia over against Messalia, called ya Stoechades, from whence also it had it's name, is an herb with slender twiggs, having ye haire like Tyme, but yet longer leaved, and sharp in ye taste, and somewhat bitterish, but ye decoction of it as the Hyssop is good for ye grief in ye thorax. It is mingled also profitably with Antidots.*
Dioscorides, circe 60AD (trans. John Goodyear, 1655)*
Dioscorides described it in the first century AD as growing on the coast of Gaul and it was then a popular type of Lavender for Toiletry purposes. The old writers seldom distinguished between the different Mediterranean lavenders but L. Stoechas was certainly one of the species employed by the Romans for their baths.*
The old herbals constantly sang the praises of lavender for medicinal purposes. John Gerard wrote in his herball (1597).*
Some of the "common" names for different lavender species are White, Pink, Green, Nigella, French, Blue or English, Munstead, and Folgate.
Lavender was once a virtual medicine chest in every home. It was used for everything: as a nerve stimulant and restorative, for the relief of muscular aches and pains and sprains, to induce peaceful slumber and ease the ache of rheumatism and nervous headaches, to promote the appetite following illness, and to relieve flatulence.*
Merck said of true lavender (L. Angustifolia) that is was "a stimulant, tonic and used internally and externally in hysteria, headaches, fainting, nervous palpitation and giddiness". *
As has so often occurred when old herbal remedies were tested by modern science, many of lavender's medicinal uses have been found to be solidly based in fact. Lavender oil has been shown to have antibiotic activity and will kill pneumonococcus, streptococcus, Koch's bacillus, diphtheria, and typhoid bacilli. So the traditional use of lavender oil in the treatment of mild burns, abrasions, cuts, sword wounds, sores, varicose ulcers and stings, and also for coughs, colds, and chest infections with a lavender tisane or steam inhalation, would have been effective.*
Lavender oil was used widely as an antiseptic in both World Wars when surgical supplies became scarce. Lavender farms, herb farms and every grower of a lavender bush in England were asked to contribute lavender for this cause. Britain, cut off from continental sources of much needed drugs, appealed to its citizens to assist the war effort by gathering various herbs from the seashore and countryside. Among the herbs requested in World War Two were foxgloves, comfrey, wormwood, marigolds, yarrow, elderflowers, and hawthorn berries from the hedgerows and woods, and seaweeds rich in agar from the coast. Some 750 tonnes of dried herbs were gathered by the Women's Institute, Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, and men and women in various services. And should that quantity not sound vast enough, the quantity of herbs required to produce that amount of dried herbs was 6000 tonnes!*
The volatile oil obtained from distillation of L. Angustifolia contains lavenderyl acetate, terpineol, pinene, borneol, camphor, cineole, linabol, limonene, and linalyl acetate.*
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Lavender antiseptic wash
This was a favorite treatment for eczema, cuts, acne, and minor burns. Take a good handful of the flowers and boil together with half a liter of water for ten minutes. Filter and allow to cool before using. Since Roman days this has been used in hot baths to relax the body, and it is known to have a marked effect on the peripheral nervous system. It has also been widely used for sore throats and sore or infected gums due to it's disinfectant properties and effect on the nervous system.*
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For piercings
Lavender can be used as in internal or external disinfectant and wash. The best type of Lavender to use is the L. Angustifolia (English lavender). Three popular varieties that can be used are Blue, Munstead, and Green lavender. Lavender can be found in most health food stores and is not expensive.
What I do to make this tea is run the flowers through a coffee urn. This makes them the exact degree of strength. The tea can also be steeped (an infusion) or boiled and strained. You mix one gram of English lavender to one cup of water and boil 'til medium red (Green lavender will turn a bright green); strain. You have to be sure to NOT use an aluminum pot/coffee urn/whatever, to make the tea in. Aluminum can absorb or dissipate the tea's medicinal qualities.
Internally -- for an oral piercing or to help get rid of infection
You simply drink the Lavender Tea.
Externally
Rinse with it after your showers. In the case of infection you can also do 2 to 3 soaks a day for 10 minutes each. This WILL affect the infection and almost always get rid of it. Rinsing during healing helps prevent infection in the first place, and due to its relaxant properties it promotes healing. The effect is very noticeable.
If the infection persists for more than 2 days you can try several things:
You can put hydrocortisone ointment into the piercing immediately after rinsing with lavender after you shower. This will further help relax the inflammation present that had occurred due to the infection. Inflammation is a strong word and there are different degrees and types. Here I'm referring to inflammation that is literally causing the wound to creep up the ring, bowing out from the body. This causes a squeegee effect, thus preventing the lavender from properly penetrating the piercing (which is when you want the hydrocortisone ointment IN the wound). Hydrocortisone itself is not antibacterial, however it will allow the body to relax and expel infected matter and allow the herbal wash to get inside you.
Another good herb that can be used to great effect is Red Clover. This strong herb is not only as disinfectant as lavender, but it is also a strong anti-inflammatory. If your piercing is starting to keloid, or has the type of inflammation referred to here, it DOES have a mild infection that can easily be made into a very serious infection without treatment.
If the Lavender, Red Clover, and over the counter hydrocortisone ointment will not take out the infection or it gets worse, you MUST seek medical attention. They will prescribe an antibiotic for internal use, BUT a piercing MUST be treated externally as well or it will reoccur. Be sure to insist that they give you a 60 GM hydrocortisone compound with 0.5% Chlorimycin. This will take out all but the strongest infections (read here - hospital time if it doesn't take it out). Doctors are not trained to treat piercings; it is a wound that is trying to convince the body to allow a foreign object to stay INSIDE you. They MUST be treated externally to insure no infection remains -- this is because they form a scar tissue tube that is moist and accretes bacterial matter readily, as well as body secretions. During healing, lymphatic gland secretions will form crusty material around the exit wound and they will decay. This is a prime target for bacteria. Lymph gland secretions are known to many as the brownish/yellowish stuff that accumulates around the wound of a recently "picked" pimple. This is not referring to the infectious matter you just squeezed out.
Instead of using a salt soak, which does nothing but cause the body to relax while irritating it from the salt (the warmth of the water is causing the relaxation), or (much better at least) a saline soak which, while not irritating, still has NO antibacterial properties. Neither one does anything more to relax the body then the actual warmth of the water/saline itself.
However, as pointed out, Lavender and Red Clover both have relaxant properties AND antibacterial qualities. They do work!
Recipe
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