Human Flower Project
Orrington, MAINE USA
Murrieta, CALIFORNIA USA
Princeton, MAINE USA
Monday, November 15, 2010
Mother’s Remedies from Jamaica
It’s cold season. Georgia Silvera Seamans and baby Robert catch the bug and glean home remedies from grandmother. Fetch the cauldron…
A mobile for the baby’s room? No, it’s bitter melon (Momordica charantia), used in Jamaican traditional medicine to make a tea that eases stomach ache.
Photo: wiki
By Georgia Silvera Seamans
My baby’s ear infection went away without his taking antibiotics. Now, we both have colds. He is not being given anything for his cold except liquids and rest. I am gargling my sore throat with warm salt water per my mother’s instruction. This morning, after putting my baby to sleep, my mother told me about home remedies of her youth. My mother grew up “in the country” of Jamaica.
Fever
Pick a lot of fever grass (a.k.a. lemongrass), boil it in a large cauldron, pour the hot liquid into a tub, and set a wooden plank across the tub. The feverish person would then sit on the plank and be covered by a sheet. The person would remain under the steam sauna until the water became lukewarm. Prior to pouring the fever grass brew into the tub, a small portion would be sweetened with sugar or honey for the feverish person to drink.
Headache
As many cow-foot leaves (Piper umbellatum) as were needed to cover one’s head were gathered and then your head was wrapped with a scarf.