a day in the life of a latvian mom

We were on the bike ride and found a field full of Yarrow. The good old Yarrow! It’s been used in our family as a cold treat for ages. I remember how my grandmother collected it in the nearest fields and picked every single flower cause there wasn’t plenty!Since we moved from city to countryside I dreamed about collecting Yarrow by myself… but there weren’t fields full of Yarrow. So my mom collects all the yarrow she could find in the good old fields in Salacgriva. It’s not like you can pick the flowers from any fields! You have to be sure that these fields are chemical free.

Uses of Yarrow

For Colds and Fevers

When fever is building, drinking hot teas of yarrow can help it to break by relaxing the circulation and the pores of the skin, allowing us to sweat freely and ridding the body of infection.  Using yarrow we are supporting the body in responding to infection naturally. Wrap up in the blanket and drink hot yarrow tea and wait to sweat.

For the Digestion

Yarrow is bitter. All bitters are useful for stimulating the digestion and getting the bile and pancreatic juices flowing.  Yarrow also has the ability to tone and heal the mucus membranes of the digestive tract. It was also an old traditional remedy for bloody diarrhea and dysentery.

For the Reproductive system

This is a herb for women. It is such a wonderful herb for the reproductive systems because it can both staunch heavy bleeding and stimulate scanty bleeding. It is also wonderful when there is congestion resulting in dark clotted blood and period pains. It is useful for vaginal infections or irregular discharge as well as spotting between periods.

For the Skin problems

Tea is used for skin diseases: dermatitis, eczema, dermatomycosis and to heal skin lesions: wounds, ulcers, abrasions and bruising. Also, yarrow can be used as compresses for the damaged skin areas.

Yarrow is one of my favorite go-to herbs for children.

Ilze

UPDATE: Air dry flowers and store in airtight container. For tea: Steep yarrow (~1tsp) in boiling water (1 cup) for 10 minutes. Remove. Add honey.