HERB - RECIPE: Eye Compresses for My Mother

[Gaylin Walli]

Last year I made eye compresses for my mother because of
her allergies because her eyes often get quite puffy. Up
until very recently, she also had a stressful job and
needed something that would help out with the stress
to her eyes. This recipe is the result of my research
and experimentation. I've taken these to Pennsic with
me to combat the morning after effects of too much
ground smoke and too little sleep. I cannot use them
any more personally, however, because I've developed
an allergy to chamomile; hence, the common sense cautions
listed below. Enjoy! -- jasmine, jasmine at infoengine.com


HERBAL EYE COMPRESSES

Equipment:

   measuring spoons
   a small mixing bowl
   heat-sealable tea bags (large)
   an iron

Common sense equipment suggestions:

   hospital gloves -- these are helpful if you feel you might be
        allergic to any of the herbs you work with. I nearly
        always use the hospital variety because they give me
        the best dexterity. Look for these gloves in bulk at
        you local drugstore or medical supply warehouse.

   breathing mask -- highly recommended if you're working with
        large quantities of herbs that you might be allergic to.
        Drywalling masks are cheap and easy to obtain at any local
        hardware store.

   safety glasses -- with cats in my house, I never know when a
        major race through the house will occur. Rather than be
        sorry later, I wear safety glasses to avoid any "upsets"
        if the "Kitten 500" comes racing past the kitchen table
        when I least expect it.


Ingredients:

All ingredients are dried, not fresh.

Chamomile flowers -- this herb is an excellent plant for all manner of
things. Be aware, however, that it is a common allergin for many
people. If you already have allergies to ragweed and similar
plants, you should find a substitute for this ingredient.
     The volitile oil of chamomile is an anti-inflammatory. In
ancient Egypt, chamomile was ised to treat malarial chills. The
old herbalists Pliny and Dioscorides recommended it to relive
headaches and calm the nerves. In medieval England, the plant
was popular as a strewing herb, possibly because of its fresh
apple smell. In Spain it was used to flavor very fine sherry.
Before refrigeration, a tea of chamomile was used to soak away
the smell of early spoilage on meat.

Catnip leaves -- this herb is extremely old. An old Middle English
herbal known as the "Agnus Castus" recommends catnip for "evils that
a man has about the throat." This holds with common day use of catnip
as a tea to sooth coughing and congestion. In more modern medicine,
catnip is known to be a mild sedative due to its volatile oil,
cis-trans-nepetalactone. This ingredient is one of the main sedatives
in the Valerian plant as well. Catnip often calms mild stomach
upset. Catnip is used in this mix because of its efficacy in treating
congestion of the sinus passages that comes with allergies.

Elder flowers -- the cross of Jesus of Nazareth was supposedly
constructed from and elder tree. The goddess Freya supposedly made
her home in an elder tree. In the 1600's, it was popular to gather
elder on the last day of April and place it at windows and doors
to ward off the evil of witches (presumably because of it's virtue
in having been good enough to support the weight of Jesus's death).
     The roots, stems, and leaves should not be ingested. The ripe
cooked berries, however, are a popular jam ingredient. The flowers,
which I used for this recipe are a mild stimulant and diaphoretic.
They have popular in bathing and home cosmetics for an extremely
long time.


Preparation notes:

You'll notice I give no amounts in the ingredients section. I use equal
parts of each dried herb and mix them well in a bowl. I've not settled
on an amount best suited for the tea bags. The amounts will vary depending
on the quality and condition of the herbs you get. I've not found a
consistent amount that works with a wide variety of herb quality.
     Try using a smaller amount than you think you need. Fill the tea
bag so that none of the herb mix falls out when you lay it down to
iron it shut. Then remove about a teaspoon or two more. I suggest
this because of the swelling that occurs when you wet down the tea
bags for placing on the face. If the bags get too full from the
swelling herbs, they will break open and herbs will potentially enter
the eye. This is bad. :)
     If you have cats: KEEP THESE IN A WELL-SEALED METAL CONTAINER
IN A CLOSET ON A HIGH SHELF OF A ROOM YOU NEVER OPEN. I've lost two
batches of these eye compresses to cats. The first time the compresses
were stored in a double layer of zippered plastic bags and wrapped
in tin foil. The second time they were also placed inside a duct-taped
box. Neither efforts hindered my cats' abilities to get at them and
spread them throughout three rooms in my apartment.


Using the compresses:

Run the tea bags under very warm water. If necessary, use tongs to run
them under hot water. Set the tea bags aside until they are cool enough
to touch the most sensitive areas of your skin. If it's too hot to touch,
it's too hot to put on your eyes.
    When cool enough, lay down or tilt your head back comfortably and
relax with  the tea bags covering your eyes for at least 10 minutes.
Lock up your cats so you don't have to fight them off your face. :)
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