Still Point House - Medicine from your Garden - an Ode to Echinacea

It is a beautiful Spring day as I write this and wonder with hope that the weather will continue into the Summer.  The herbs in my garden are beginning to resurface after a long and hard winter. Fortunately, the only fatalities were a few young lavender plants with all the others reappearing with full vigour, enjoying the lovely March sunshine.  Now it’s just a question of getting them big enough to avoid being a feast for the slugs which also somehow managed to survive the harsh winter!  Slugs are particularly fond of young Echinacea plants so they need protecting – I wouldn’t want to encourage a slug population with some kind of super-strong immune system!  I prefer to keep the Echinacea for supporting the immune systems of humans.  Having said that it’s not practical to grow all of the Echinacea I need to sustain my herbal medicine practice, particularly as it is the root that is most useful and I don’t really want to dig up the beautiful plants.  Also, the most potent kind of Echinacea – Echinacea angustifolia – is actually pretty hard to keep alive in the UK.  There are nine species of Echinacea – three of which are used medicinally and others that you will be more familiar with as common ornamental garden species.

Echinacea is native to the plains of North America and was used by the Native Americans for many problems including snake bites, infections, colds, sore throats, toothache and fever.  The medicinal use of Echinacea, also known as snakeroot, was picked up by white settlers in the US.  Snakes were a particular problem for the first settlers wandering around their new land and their discovery of the Native American’s effective use of Echinacea for snakebites was extremely welcome.  One man, H.C.F. Meyer, a German country doctor, was so impressed with Echinacea that he developed a product he called Meyer’s Blood Purifier using Echinacea as the main ingredient. He actually went along to a medical conference where he offered to let a snake bit him – either his own snake or one provided by the Doctors – and then use only Echinacea to cure himself.  His offer was turned down by the Doctors, but his zealous enthusiasm was picked up by a couple of other well-known doctors of the time, King and Lloyd. They went on to investigate the plant leading to a proliferation of its use in the US in the late 1800s.  By the 1920s, Echinacea was probably the largest selling patented medicine in North America.Echinacea use travelled to Europe when a German company, Madaus, imported some Echinacea purpurea seeds from the US.  Medicinal use in Europe then gained popularity at a time when it began to wane in the US.

Echinacea is a medicinal plant with great virtues and is one of the herbs I use most in my practice.  As well as remaining one of the most popular herbs on sale today, it is also probably the most researched.  The research backs up traditional use and has shown how useful Echinacea can be for improving the immune system and fighting infections.  While we aren’t terribly bothered by snakes these days - apart perhaps from an unlucky and unlikely run-in with an adder on Dartmoor – we are now, more than ever, in need of help to support our immune systems in an age of stress and less than healthy lifestyles.

A word of warning & if you are going to buy an Echinacea product over the counter do make sure it is a good quality product, make sure there is a THR number on the packet.  Good quality Echinacea should also make your tongue tingle – if it doesn’t it probably won’t do much for you! If you continue to suffer repeated infections, or feel your immune system is below par, it may be best to come for a herbal consultation where a detailed medical history can be taken, and an individualised herbal blend dealing with any other underlying problems can be prescribed for you. You may also benefit from Reflexology if stress is running you down.

If you would like to discuss whether herbal treatment or reflexology may help you please do call me on 07747 030629.  If you would like to make an appointment please call my mobile or Still Point House on 01626 835068.

Roberta Hutchins BSc (Hons) Medical Herbalist & Reflexologist at Still Point House

07747 030629     www.herbalpractice.co.uk