Holistic Tips for Surviving the Holidays in Good Health (That Actually Work!) – Part 1: Common Mullein

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving yesterday filled with love, laughter, and wonderful foods!

As we enter the joyful chaos of this Holiday Season, we find ourselves caught up in a whirlwind of social events: eating, shopping, eating, gifting, eating, and traveling (and did I mention eating??).

This 45 day crunch of consumerism and partying can wreak havoc on the body’s defenses, making us more prone to catching the season’s flus, colds, and other bugs that threaten to dampen our merrymaking. There is nothing worse than being too sick to enjoy festivities that you have been looking forward to all year!

So how does one survive this onslaught with enough vitality left-over to enjoy the ride all the way through midnight on December 31^st , and beyond into the New Year? Especially when you are at a slight disadvantage from having a chronic illness or compromised immune system?

Most health sources quote the same usual remedies: Vitamin C, Echinacea, Elderberry, Garlic, Homemade Chicken Soup, Lots of Fluids, Lots of Rest, Tea, Zinc, Peppers, Local Raw Honey…the aids we have come to know and love when we aren’t feeling our best. But the majority of these treatments aren’t as effective once sickness has kicked in full force. They certainly help with the symptoms, sure, but what do you do when The Plague is going around the office and you wake up with what you know are the initial signs of impending doom? How do you stop that freight train?

I have dealt with chronically swollen lymph node glands in my face and neck, along with upper respiratory, sinus, and ear infections, ever since the ripe 'ole age of two years. My poor parents did everything 1980’s conventional medicine advised them at that time; I was on such heavy doses of antibiotics for so long they had to monitor my blood on a monthly basis to make sure the meds weren’t affecting my body in any adverse ways. The infections were so chronic I was eventually scheduled to get a tube in at least one of my ears, but a turn of life events in the family caused a lapse in our health insurance and so thankfully I was spared that potentially detrimental procedure. I continued to have chronic upper respiratory issues, including bi-annual Strep and bacterial infections, until I started aggressively adjusting my diet and lifestyle in 2009. During my lifetime, I have built up a tolerance or had an allergic reaction to just about every antibiotic and sinus med known to modern science.

In short, I know a thing or two from firsthand experience about managing the health of the ears, throat, nose, and lungs. And then there’s the whole immune system thing. I have been studying that too, since mine is pretty screwed. Am I a doctor? No. So don’t be brash, if you have some sort of pre-existing condition etc. you should always talk to your doctor first before trying something new.

But, I am someone who can tell you what has worked for me, and anyone I know who has tried it. Most recently I got to try these cold remedies on my boyfriend, who is not only my caregiver, but also works full-time in customer service at a grocery store. Needless to say, he has been a bit worn out from all the Holiday Crazies that emerge like a long-dormant locust invasion during this time of year (you know who you are! For shame!).  He started feeling unwell on Sunday, and by Monday was feeling fatigued along with a tell-tale “tickle” in his throat. The sort of throat “tickle” that usually becomes a painful, sore mess which makes swallowing feel like the worst torture, and right before Thanksgiving! Nooooo! My hard-working sweetheart was not going to be sick on our beloved and well-planned Turkey Day! Not if I had anything to do with it. He diligently followed my suggested regiment and by Wednesday was feeling loads better! My boyfriend was so impressed with the results he suggested I share my regiment with The World.

So, dear World, I share with you the four holistic aids I have found most useful for staving off infections, colds, and managing upper respiratory issues. They are inexpensive and easily accessible, in fact, you probably have one or two sitting in your kitchen pantry right now. I hope they serve you as well as they have aided my household, especially during this hectic time of the year.

Today I would like to discuss Mullein, an herb whose useful properties aren’t widely known outside of the wonderful world of Herbalism. The ironic thing is that we have probably all seen it at one time or another and regarded it as “just a weed”, rather than recognizing it for the versatile Plant Medicine that it is.

Verbascum thapsus , known as Common Mullein or Great Mullein, is a flowering weed that is usually found in open spaces where the ground has been disturbed. It is prolific and grows all over the continental US and beyond into Canada and Mexico. Since most Americans don’t have access to meadows, streams, fields, or forest openings, the majority of us have spied Mullein’s distinctive towering spikes of bright yellow flowers growing in ditches along roadways or scattered throughout the open wastes of dumps.

Picture from Wikipedia, its too cold where I am to get any of my own shots of Mullein growing

All parts of the plant have been used for medical applications since time immemorial. Mullein is primarily used to manage afflictions of the ears, especially infections, and it is also used as an expectorant, to alleviate swelling, mange the health of the lymphatic system, and treat spinal injuries. It is most commonly used as a tincture, but is also drunk as tea and even smoked. 

Mullein was first recommended to me by my Dad, who has Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Syndrome, which we suspected I also had until it was ruled out by a VKH specialist earlier this year. Before he said anything to me about it, I was totally unfamiliar with the plant. My Dad and I share many of the same symptoms, including tinnitus, hearing sensitivities, and “feelings of fullness and itchiness” in the ears, and to my pleasant surprise I have found Mullein does an excellent job of alleviating these issues.

The very first time I used Mullein I was desperate. Earlier this year, while managing a flare in my inflammation, I woke up with the unmistakable sensation of full blown Strep Throat. My throat hurt so badly it felt like it was on fire, I sounded like I had swallowed a frog, the lymph nodes on my face and neck were swelling up, and my ears hurt and felt as though they were full of cotton. I knew I was in deep trouble, and wasn’t sure how to proceed. Even if I had easy access to transportation and wasn’t homebound from my light sensitivity, I would have still been hesitant to hop on over to a doctor’s office for what would more than likely have been a prescription for antibiotics. Not only do antibiotics take anywhere from 24 hours to a few days to start working (not an appealing thought when you’re in Strep Throat pain), I’m allergic to pretty much all of them, the rest can trigger a flare-up in certain autoimmune diseases so I avoid them as much as possible, and nowadays I’m far more hesitant to drop the medical equivalent of a nuclear bomb on my Gut.

So that leaves me with very little options via Western Medicine. What’s a Strep-Throaty girl to do?

Quite fortuitously, I came down with the Throat Affliction from Hades during the very same time I was performing preliminary research on Mullein for treating the afore-mentioned Tinnitus, hearing sensitivities, and other ear issues I’ve been dealing with during the onset of my autoimmune disease (whatever it ends up being – it’s looking like Lupus or Mixed Connective Tissue Disease but I’m still undiagnosed at this time). 

After reading about the plant’s supposed powerful effects on ear infections, my boyfriend came to my rescue for the zillionth time and brought a bottle of Mullein Leaf Tincture home from work that afternoon. I had been in pain for several hours, unable to eat anything not in liquid form or smoke any of my medical cannabis. Even the simple act of swallowing caused excruciating pain. I was not a happy camper, to say the least.

After reading the bottle and doing some third party research, I put the maximum suggested dose of two droppers of tincture into a small cup of water and drank deeply, making myself swish each gulp around in my mouth for a few seconds before swallowing - so as to help my lymph node glands absorb it more readily. The tincture looks a lot scarier than it tastes; having a very dark brown, basically black color, but mild earthy taste that is easily masked by whatever liquid you choose to put it in. 

I felt relief immediately. It was like a cool hand had massaged my throat/ears/glands and relaxed them. 

This result has since been repeated in others, most recently my boyfriend. My research had shown Mullein is highly noted for the instant relief it can provide to swellings and the pain caused by them. How wonderful to see it working in real time!

After a few days of using the Mullein tincture as directed on the bottle, along with the other three aids I will be discussing in the rest of this series, my Strep Throat and any signs of ear or lymphatic infection were completely alleviated! I felt like singing my praises from the rooftops! And then I did my “Suck It, Big Pharma” dance! How I wish my folks had access to information in the 80's like we do today with the Internet. This herb could have made my childhood far more bearable.

I am in love with this versatile and humble “weed” and strongly encourage you to conduct your own research so that you may see how it could bring positive health benefits into your own home (or workplace). I no longer consider my medicine cabinet complete without a bottle of Mullein tincture, and look forward to growing my own or wild harvesting it someday (from the wild - not from near a trash heap!) so I don’t have to keep buying it. But, at less than $20 a bottle, and around 30 servings per container, I have zero complaints about cost (Can’t find it in your local stores or have a difficult time leaving the house like I do? Amazon has Mullein, along with a bunch of other holistic stuff!). And its ridiculously safe, although the bottle does say to avoid “while pregnant or breastfeeding”. Not sure what that’s about. Merits more research, but since I don’t plan on spawning anytime soon (*knocks on wood*) I haven’t taken the time to look into it. 

If you do and find anything of interest, please share your findings with me!

Here are three really good websites for getting started on your own Mullein research:

http://herbcraft.org/mullein.html

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mulgre63.html

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/common_mullein.htm

I do hope you find this information enlightening and empowering!

What are some of your favorite remedies for treating throat or ear infections?

Stay tuned for the rest of my Tips for Surviving the Holidays in Good Health!

*Love & Light*

-Renata Carmen

Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :)