How to Cure Infections Naturally (Without Synthetic Antibiotics)

     Pretty much everyone will have to deal with an infection of some sort at some point in their life.  This is especially true if you live on a farm, for you will not only have to watch over yourself and your family, but your animals will also claim your attention.  We have had our fair share of infections, and while prevention is always better than cure, we have found an herbal cure that works almost every time.  In fact, we have not had to apply a topical antibiotic for about eight years now, and rarely have we used an internal antibiotic.

     This is because we use an herb called Goldenseal.  Goldenseal is an herb in the buttercup family which has been used for centuries, especially by the American Indians.  It is an effective help or cure for a wide variety of disorders ranging from the common cold to mouthsores; stomach problems to bad cuts/ scrapes.

"Goldenseal contains calcium, iron, manganese, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, B-complex, and other nutrients and minerals. The roots and rhizomes of goldenseal contain many isoquinoline alkaloids, including hydrastine, berberine, canadine, canadaline, and l-hydrastine as well as traces of essential oil, fatty oil and resin. It is believed that the high content of these alkaloids gives its antibiotic, anti-infective and immune stimulating qualities.

In particular it is the alkaloid berberine that is most likely responsible for Goldenseal's effectiveness against bacteria, protozoa, fungi, Streptococci and it also promotes easier removal of the bacteria by inhibiting their ability to adhere to tissue surfaces. Berberine is also anti-fungal and strongly anti-diarrheal. It aids against the infection of mucous membranes such as the lining of the oral cavity, throat, sinus, bronchial, genito-urinary tract and gastrointestinal tract. Clinical studies have shown it is effective in the treatment of diarrhea caused by E. coli (traveller's diarrhea), Shigella dysenteriae (shigellosis), salmonella paratyphi (food poisoning), giardia lamblia (giardiasis), and vibrio cholerae (cholera)."

(Excerpt taken from HerbWisdom Goldenseal article:  http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-goldenseal.html)

     Our personal experience with Goldenseal has been very good.  We have learned to use it to prevent and cure infections, some of them quite serious.  By way of teaching how we use this herb, I will simply give some examples:

      1:  When my brother, Evan, was about eleven years old, he was riding in a golf cart with my father.  At some point during the ride, he had the bright idea to hang his leg over the side of the cart.  Unfortunately, the spot he hung it happened to be right over the wheel, and he suffered a bad friction burn.  We doctored it up with hydrogen peroxide and some triple antibiotic ointment (Neosporin equivalent) when we got home, but by the next day, it was very swollen and painful, and several red lines were radiating from it.  We treated it again with hydrogen peroxide, povidone iodine, and the antibiotic ointment.  Instead of improving, the infection worsened, and the next day he fell down several times with sudden severe shooting pains through his leg.  We were almost to the point of taking him to the hospital now, and would have done so except that I had just read an article written by Shoshanna (Pearl) Easling.  In it she details her treatment of the injuries of a couple of friends who had been in a motorcycle wreck, and had received multiple injuries.  (The article is very interesting, and I highly recommend it.  (And just for the record, we are not followers of No Greater Joy Ministries.))  When the Rubber Missed the Road, by Shoshanna Easling.
     Based on this article, I blended up several leaves of aloe (after removing the hard thorns from the sides) with a little dried plantain and some goldenseal.  I then put this concoction into a paper towel, folded it up, applied it to the infected friction burn on my brother's leg, and bandaged it securely in place.  Evan groaned and complained at first about the slimy feeling of the aloe, but these complaints quickly disappeared as the injury became less painful.  When we changed the poultice a few hours later, the red lines had entirely disappeared, the swelling had gone down, and a very thin layer of new skin was already forming.  Within just two or three days after we began applying the poultices, the burn was completely healed and only the scar remained.  This soon disappeared too, and we had learned a valuable lesson from what could have become a serious infection.

     2:  When we got our first flock of chickens, we didn't know anything about raising them, and we ran into quite a few problems.  One of the most serious was that the whole flock began cannibalizing each other.  (We were brooding them under white light, and they could not sleep, so instead they went crazy and began picking on each other.)  One poor little pullet was severely pecked in the eye, and developed a terrible infection practically overnight.  By the time I caught it, I knew she would lose the eye- or more correctly, had already lost it.  My concern was now how to save the pullet's life.  Several times a day for about a week, I would meticulously clean the area, and apply goldenseal topically.  I also forced her to swallow whole goldenseal and echinacea capsules.  After a week or ten days of this treatment, she had entirely recovered from the infection, though she now had only one eye.  She went on to live a happy life, and was one of our friendliest chickens.

     3:  A couple months ago, Mama asked me to doctor a burn on my nine year old sister's hand.  Apparently, Emaline had been ironing and had burned herself rather badly.  She soaked it in ice water, then put a band aid on it, and we didn't think much more about it.  Well, a week later it still hadn't healed.  Now her hand was distinctly swollen, and the area around the burn was red and angry.  The burn itself was slightly greenish and pussy looking.

To treat this burn, I followed the same basic procedure as when I treated Evan's burn, ten years ago. 

First, I blended aloe and goldenseal together.  The ratio is approximately one medium sized leaf of aloe per capsule of goldenseal.  (This ratio is very loose, you can play around with it depending on your needs and how much aloe/ goldenseal you have available.

  

After blending, I scraped the mixture into a paper towel and folded it up.

We then applied it to the burn,

and secured it with an Ace bandage.

Emaline said it felt kind of slimy, but good at the same time.

(Isn't she cute?)

About six hours later, this is what her hand looked like.  Notice the new skin already forming around the raw area.

Here is the burn the next day.  It rapidly healed, and now she barely even has a scar.

Goldenseal is an excellent preventative and cure for infections.  When used properly, there is very rarely an occasion to have recourse to conventional antibiotics, and injuries or diseases can be cured naturally and quickly.