Ancient and Modern Herb Remedy with Chamomile

Chamomile has very much been used as a medicinal herb since ancient times. The Egyptians, Greeks and Indians have all used it for thousands of years. Roman and German Chamomile, though unrelated botanically, tend to produce some similar light blue aromatic oils that were used for inner healing.

The ancient Egyptians related the chamomile flowers to the sun and the sun to God, using it to treat fever, especially malarial recurring fever which was widely spread at the time, due to malaria being endemic in the Nile area. Both Dioscorides, the Greek physician and Pliny, the Roman naturalist, suggested chamomile for kidney, bladder and liver ailments, additionally to headaches and fevers, as also Indian Ayurvedic practitioners would. In Europe, especially Germany, chamomile was used in treating digestive problems, along with menstruation and pre-menstrual cramps. Nicholas Culpepper, the seventeenth century English herbalist, recommended the herb's use for treating mild aches and pains, fevers, digestive ailments, promoting menstruation, kidney stones, jaundice as well as congestive heart failure.

Chamomile was later on introduced to North America by the German and British immigrants, which is why the German chamomile is the most commonly grown in Europe today. During the nineteenth century, American physicians used chamomile to prevent gangrene and hasten the healing of wounds. Herbal chamomile infusions were also prescribed for illnesses such as malaria, typhus, digestive disorders, menstrual cramps and to promote menstruation. Chamonile was also recommended for birth related complications such as quieting fetal kicking, preventing premature labor, relieving sore nipples and breasts, suppressing milk production and in relieving colic in infants.

A chamomile infusion or tincture is known to have many proven healing properties. Two to three tablespoons of flowers in a cup, steeped with boiling water for ten to twenty minutes can be taken three times a day. Or, you can use it as a tincture, half to one teaspoon, one to three times a day. Chamomile contains coumarin, an anti coagulant and must be used cautiously in children and pregnant women. Children under the age of two can cautiously take some very weak infusions for colic, and older children and over sixty-fives, must begin with some weaker infusions and increase the strength gradually.

Chamomile herbal baths can also be very relaxing for the body and nerves, made by tying a handful of chamomile flowers in a cloth and running a hot bath of water over it. A cloth soaked in a strong infusion can also more locally be applied as a compress for odd scrapes, burns and cuts.

Generally, chamomile not at all hazardous to health but those allergic to yarrow, a close relative and ragweed must not use it. Too much use of high concentrate infusions or tinctures has been known to cause vomiting and nausea.

The FDA's herbal list tends to regard chamomile as a generally safe herb, within recommended dosages. Due to chamomile's coumarin content, it must be used moderately within medicinal dosages following consultation with a doctor, for cross reactions to other medication in use. Any sign of some even minor cases of discomfort or vomiting and nausea are indications to stop ingesting it immediately. You should always first check with a physician before diluting, using less medicine. Just as with any medication, chamomile must never be used abusively.