What would happen if you or someone you love were in physical pain and because of an emergency medical help was unavailable?
For centuries, natural remedies have been looked upon to treat everything from cuts and inflammation to fevers, sunburn, and insect stings. That’s why gaining foraging skills and learning what’s available in nature for pain management is important. Natural remedies from a few basic medicinal plants can be helpful in the wild, but you must first understand how each plant, herb, flower, stem, or leaf can be used as treatment.
Let’s explore natural remedies to see how they can help.
What are Natural Pain Relievers?
Natural pain relievers are substances derived from various plants, herbs, spices, or elements found in the environment that can help treat ailments, alleviate pain, and promote healing without the use of mainstream synthetic pharmaceuticals.
When you’re facing a survival situation, knowing how to identify and use natural pain relievers is a valuable skill that will enhance your ability to provide first-aid treatment when professional help is not available.
One caveat: It’s important that you learn how to properly use natural remedies so you minimize risks while maximizing the health benefits.
Benefits of Natural Remedies
Unexpected mishaps can leave you in pain. Lucky for you, nature can provide solutions to common ailments. From soothing sore muscles, cooling sunburn pain, and taking the sting from insect bites, natural remedies can be a lifesaver.
Advantages of natural pain relievers found in the wild:
:: Medicinal plants found in the wild have been used for centuries to treat ailments.
:: Nature provides multiple options to help alleviate pain.
:: Natural remedies may have fewer side effects compared to synthetic drugs.
:: Safe, dependable first-aid treatment during emergencies.
What are Common Medicinal Plants Found in the Wild?
When you’re stranded in the wild in pain and without first aid supplies, locating some of these plants and herbs (or harvesting your own plants) may help you manage pain.
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is a succulent plant well-known for natural soothing and healing properties. Recommended as sunburn relief, it’s cooling, anti-inflammatory, and moisturizing properties soothe pain, promote healing and can also provide immediate relief for insect bites and stings. To use aloe vera, simply cut open a leaf and apply the gel directly to the affected area.
Arnica
Arnica is a flowering herb that closely resembles daisies. It’s a natural remedy used topically for bruises, sprains, strains, and muscle soreness. Its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial healing properties help reduce swelling and relieve pain. However, it should never be consumed orally due to potential irritation and inflammation of the mouth and throat.
Calendula
Calendula, commonly known as marigold, is a flowering plant that can help reduce pain and promote faster healing because of anti-inflammatory and antiseptic wound healing properties. Calendula can treat burns, cuts, and scrapes. You can steam the oil from the calendula leaf and apply it gently to the affected area.
Chamomile
The chamomile plant with white daisy-like flowers and feathery green leaves, offers soothing and anti-inflammatory properties to alleviate the discomfort of sunburn, insect stings and bites, and soothe digestion. Dry and steep the flower petals in hot water to make tea. You can soak cotton balls or clean cloth in the tea and then apply the cotton balls or cloth to the affected area.
Clove
Cloves species of plant in the Myrtle family with spicy dried flower buds that have natural anesthetic properties. Clove oil’s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties make it effective in treating toothaches and gum diseases. Note, undiluted clove oil should not be ingested in large quantities due to potential side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and liver damage.
Comfrey
Comfrey is a perennial herb with a black turnip-like root used to treat musculoskeletal injuries, including sprains and strains. It contains compounds that reduce inflammation and promote tissue repair. Note: Comfrey can be toxic if ingested or used improperly.
Echinacea
Echinacea resemble brown flower baskets with yellow, orange, or red flowers, commonly known for its immune-boosting properties and the ability to soothe sore throats and help reduce pain and inflammation. Helps fight viral infections like cold and flu, in addition to bacterial and fungal infections.
Feverfew
Feverfew is a traditional herbal remedy derived from a plant similar to the daisy. It can help treat headaches and migraines. Feverfew contains compounds that can help reduce inflammation and prevent blood vessel constriction, typically a common cause of headaches.
Ginger Root
Ginger root is used to manage pain and inflammation. It can also relieve nausea, motion sickness, and digestive discomfort when consumed or brewed as tea. It’s always a good idea to add ginger products to your prepper essentials.
Lavender
Lavender is not only for calming, but it also can be used as an antiseptic for treating minor burns or insect bites and stings. The lavender oil can be applied topically to the affected area to reduce itching, inflammation, pain and prevent infection.
Peppermint
Peppermint is more than just a pleasant menthol scented plant. It’s a natural source of pain relief. It can be used to relieve headaches, joint pain, muscle discomfort, and soothe digestive problems. Be sure to dilute the peppermint oil prior to use as it may irritate the skin.
Plantain
Plantains have rubbery leaves with a distinctive vein pattern, and can be used to treat cuts, scrapes, and insect bites and stings. The leaf draws out infection, promotes faster healing, and helps reduce pain and inflammation. After you pick a fresh plantain leaf, break it up to release the juices, and then apply it directly to the wound.
Sage
Sage has aromatic silvery-green leaves and is known as a natural remedy for sore throats. Its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties help reduce pain and inflammation. Sage can also be an insect repellent if you rub the greens directly on your skin. For sore throats, brew a cup of sage tea by steeping sage leaves in hot water, and gargle with the tea.
St. John’s Wort
St. John’s Wort, a perennial plant with yellow flowers and narrow leaves with tiny black dots, is known to help relieve nerve pain and treat minor burns. It’s also known to possess antidepressant properties.
Turmeric
Turmeric, a plant from the ginger family, contains a compound called curcumin that can help reduce inflammation and pain. Turmeric powder can be added to prepper essentials as it can be added to meals or beverages or made into a paste and applied to areas of pain.
Willow Bark
Willow bark is greyish brown with deep cracks, commonly used to reduce pain and inflammation as it provides similar relief to aspirin. That’s because it contains salicin, a compound similar to aspirin. Peel some of the inner bark from twigs and steep in hot water for to make a tea that can help relieve a headache and fever symptoms.
Yarrow
Yarrow, a wildflower with tiny white or pink flowers, possesses antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties to help reduce pain, stop bleeding, promote clotting, and prevent infection from minor cuts and scrapes. Crush a handful of yarrow leaves and press directly onto the wound.
Combine Foraging Training With Learning Natural Remedies
Learn to identify healing plants. That skill could be tremendously helpful during emergencies. There are plenty of foraging apps, videos, guides, and books that can provide you a comprehensive description of natural remedies along with full color images of these medicinal plants.
It’s crucial to understand the correct application when using natural remedies. You don’t want to risk the chance of misidentifying a plant that could produce harmful effects or an allergic reaction. Never consume a plant or herb unless you’re absolutely sure of its identity. It’s also a good idea to keep plastic gloves in your prepper supply to use when handling unfamiliar plants, leaves, flowers, and herbs.
Natural Remedies Can Be a Valuable, Pain-Saving Resource
Natural remedies can be crucial during emergency situations where you’ll be expected to treat sprains and strains, cuts and scrapes, headaches, insect bites and stings, sore throat, burns, stomach issues, allergies, sunburn, and poison ivy/oak rashes.
Medicinal plants and natural remedies may not replace the need for modern medicine and prescription medication. But during an emergency, don’t we need every option available to us to help reduce pain and suffering for ourselves and those we love?
