this morning we were out checking on the pumpkins, and little buddy was stung by a yellow jacket. poor thing. it was his first sting and he ran to his daddy yelling 'ant, ant got me!'. once we determined it was a sting i ran in the house to get the virginia snake root tincture i keep on hand for all kinds of bug bites. i put 2 droppers full on him and he was instantly calm. an hour later the band aide fell off. if it weren't for the sticky marks left by the bandage, i wouldn't have been able to see it! this was amazing to us because 2 weeks ago john was stung by a yellow jacket when we were out at our csa farm. after he mercilessly threw it onto me, it instantly began to swell. and since i don't wear my herbs in a bat-man style utility belt, i had nothing to put on it. it was pretty angry looking and achey for a couple of days after that. so with that recent occurance, we couldn't believe how well the snake root worked. so here's my pitch- if you spend ANY time in the outdoors, go buy a bottle of this today. it instantly takes the sting out of bites, localizes the venom and keeps the area from becoming too swollen. if that's not enough to get you googling it, take this other example:
on tuesday my friends neighbor was out with her kids. they live in a wooded area, so they are always on the look out for snakes. as they were out walking a copperhead slithered by. her 6 year old asked if he could touch it. after giving a lengthy mom lecture about the perils of touching copperheads, the snake was out of sight, so they moved on. she went into the house and he, of course, went to grab a fishing net. not 5 minutes later he ran in with a snake bite on his finger. he had caught that sucker and went to grab the net to get a closer look. she instantly poured virginia snake root on it and then took him to the hospital. they then loaded him into an ambulance and drove him to the big children's hospital down town. the doctor's couldn't believe how good the bite looked. the venom had stayed localized and he had minimal swelling. she told them about the herb, which they dismissed and chalked it up to something way more rational - luck. he was admitted for 2 days and then sent home. only 2 days! i know grown men that have been in the hospital for a week for a snake bite. and when he got home he was out playing again. now i know that children bounce back from things quickly, but this is pretty miraculous!
so stop what you're doing, and buy yourself a bottle already! (i get mine from the manufacturer pure herbs ltd. however, it looks like they are having internet problems right now.)
*CAUTION: i would not take this internally- even in small doses. for safety use only externally and store on a high shelf.
*also- this herb is endangered in some states due to off road vehicles and development. make sure you buy from a company that harvests ethically.
4 comments:
Wow! Thanks Mandi! I will definitely look into this handy little herb. It always freaks me out to see wasps or bees around Braelyn. I've always wondered what I should do if she got stung. Now I know. It's so much better to know these things BEFORE an actual incident! :)
That;s for this great post Mandi, I have never heard of this before. I wonder if it is strictly a southern plant.....
Okay, I have to get this! I've used lavender before which works well for bug bites and stings, but the snake thing has always had me puzzled. I most def need to have this on hand living out here.
Thanks for the tip! I'm curious to see what other home remedies you guys use and have found work well.
Lyns
I keep this on hand for bug bites as well; but after last week, my mom had to run out and get some the next day. I would have used it if we got bit by a snake, but now I'm glad I know for sure it works! Not that I won't still tear off to the ER afterward, if someone gets bit!
Hey - sounds like you guys have lots of yellow jackets - are they good pollinators for your plants, since you are short on bees???
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