The numerous genus of this herb, which grows throughout the earth, has more than 480 species according to The Plant List. Bitter wormwood is one of them. It has long been used by folk and scientific medicine. Local names: real, field or white wormwood, emshan, widow's grass. Today we will tell you more about the medicinal properties and contraindications to the use of this plant.
Content
Plant characteristics and industries
Bitter wormwood is a herbaceous perennial that can reach a height of 1–2 meters and even resemble a shrub in the presence of lignified lower parts of the stems. The leaves and green shoots of the plant, which grow annually, have a silvery-grayish tint. Small yellow or greenish-yellow flowers are collected in spherical baskets, united in complex panicles. The plant is not demanding on the quality of soil and weather conditions. All its parts have a rich peculiar smell, a very bitter taste and a more extensive chemical composition than that of other relatives.
More details about the types with photos: https://flowers.bigbadmole.com/en/lekarstvennye-rasteniya/odnoletnyaya-polyn-i-drugie-vidy-foto.html
Thanks to these qualities, she found application in the following areas:
- the medicine,
- cosmetology,
- veterinary medicine,
- alcoholic beverage production and cooking,
- everyday life.
Collection and procurement of raw materials
Usually wormwood is harvested before the flowering period, that is, in mid to late June
When harvesting raw wormwood, it is important to observe the growing seasons when the grass has the highest possible content of nutrients. Violation of them leads to a decrease in the quality of the harvested material. Leaves without cuttings are harvested even before the flowering of the plant, and the apical shoots with flowers - at the very beginning.
The prepared material is dried naturally in the shade or in special dryers when heated to no higher than 40–50 ° C. Then the material is packed in tight bags or wooden containers. The medicinal properties of properly prepared raw materials that comply with the rules of conservation of raw materials are preserved for up to two years.
The use of the herb wormwood in non-medical directions
- Wormwood plays its role in the cosmetic field as well, being a component of preparations for therapeutic baths, extracts, lotions, deodorants, which have a healing and protective and prophylactic effect on the skin of the face and body, scalp.
- Martini, absinthe and vermouth are drinks prepared using various aromatic plants, primarily wormwood.
- Housewives prepare wormwood brooms for household needs. They wash themselves in a bath for the treatment of joint pain, rheumatism, obesity. They are burned by fumigating the room where the patient lies. The grass is spread on the floor, scaring away small rodents and insects. Bitter wormwood is a remedy for lice in humans and fleas in animals. To protect the roots of wintering plants, wormwood is also laid in the area around the trunks.
Healing properties
The plant contains many chemicals:
- bitterness;
- essential oils;
- glycosides;
- organic acids succinic and malic;
- protein;
- vitamins of groups C and B and carotene;
- tannins;
- resin.
Due to such a variety of ingredients, doctors prescribe preparations of wormwood, which have a variety of effects on the patient's body:
- anti-inflammatory and antiseptic;
- sedative;
- tonic;
- stimulating the digestive system;
- in gynecology;
- the fight against parasitic helminths, viruses, protozoa, fungi.
Applications in traditional medicine
The use of wormwood in folk medicine is not limited only to the fight against parasites in the body
Healers in their practice use bitter wormwood in the form of dry powder, alcoholic tinctures, infusions and decoctions. Here are some commonly recommended recipes for this herb.
- Gastritis with low acidity. Steam 1 teaspoon of dry herb for 20 minutes in two glasses of boiling water. Strain. Drink half a glass 30 minutes before meals three times a day.
- Anemia. Pour a full liter jar of grass with vodka and put in a dark place for 3 weeks. Take on an empty stomach for three weeks: 1 drop of the tincture per tablespoon of water.
- With diarrhea. Pour a tablespoon of herbs with half a liter of boiling water. After 10 minutes, take 200 grams of infusion, finish the rest after cooling.
- Bruises and swellings. Apply a cloth moistened with an infusion of wormwood on a sore spot.
- Pulmonary tuberculosis. A tablespoon of the root is infused for a day in a dark place in a glass of white wine. After straining, the infusion is drunk on an empty stomach and then throughout the day.
Also, a decoction of wormwood in combination with vodka is used as a cough remedy.
- Hemorrhage in the eye. Tie a teaspoon of wormwood in a cotton cloth or double-folded gauze, dip in boiling water, allow to cool slightly, apply to the eye. The procedure is repeated 2-3 times during the day.
- Gout and articular rheumatism. Boil in a bucket of water for 10-15 minutes from 0.5 to 1 kilogram of bitter wormwood. Allow to cool. Pour into a bath at a temperature of 36–37 ° C. Take a bath for 15–20 minutes.
- Insomnia. Boil 1 glass of water, add 1 tablespoon of herbs, simmer for 5 minutes. Let it brew for an hour, drain. Going to bed, wrap your head with a towel dipped in broth.
- Stomach pains. Pour a teaspoon of finely chopped herbs with a glass of boiling water. Insist 20 minutes and strain. Divide the infusion into three parts, each of which should be drunk one and a half hours before meals during the day.
- Cleansing the body (getting rid of parasites and slimming effect). The powder of dry herb wormwood is taken with water, according to the scheme indicated in the table.
| Number of days | Powder quantity at one visit | Frequency of admission |
| 3 days | 5 g | every 2 hours |
| 1 day | 5 g | every 4 hours |
| 4 days | 5 g | every 6 hours |
Contraindications and harm
Some components of wormwood have a negative effect on the human body and are simply poisonous. With prolonged use of drugs based on it, there is a threat of hallucinations, seizures, dysfunctions of the central nervous system.
Preparations containing bitter wormwood are contraindicated for such diseases and conditions:
- ulcers of the intestines or stomach and exacerbation of other gastrointestinal diseases,
- alcoholism,
- mental disorders
- complex diseases of the nervous system,
- thrombophlebitis,
- pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Cases of individual intolerance to drugs in case of an allergic reaction of a patient to aster plants have also been recorded.
Feedback on the effect of the application
With the frequent use of various medicinal sedatives, they simply stopped acting on my body, the work was so "nervous". My grandmother told me about wormwood, that it can "heal nerves", allegedly with increased excitability, nervousness, insomnia, wormwood infusion has a calming effect. Which I decided to check. The recipe is very simple. Boil a tablespoon of wormwood, in 0.5 boiled water, leave for about 30 minutes, then add a teaspoon of honey.Thanks to the addition of honey, wormwood tastes less disgusting and has even more benefits. An infusion of wormwood, which my grandmother recommended to me, turned out to be an excellent substitute for medicines. And the truth helps to calm down in a stressful situation and tighten the nervous system. So, in my opinion, such grass should be in everyone's house, for all occasions.
Child 2 years old, problems with stool in the form of constipation and allergy to sweets, low hemoglobin - the lower limit of 110, lethargy. And yet, I myself also have problems in the digestive tract - pain in the stomach, often after eating, also low hemoglobin and rapid fatigue, irritability. I started drinking wormwood - decoctions, dry, doing enemas. The condition improves markedly.
I want to share my great experience with everyone, I felt it myself and used it for more than one year. As a child, when I was about 11 years old, I managed to knock a cup on my knee against a pipe on my knee while playing football, and naturally my leg swelled up and became like an elephant. A few days later, she moved away, the traumatologist put everything in place and everything was gone. BUT BUT BUT! From time to time, under heavy loads, the calyx again left its place and got up again immediately and a tumor appeared immediately. Now as they say about the grass. Every time, when the cup came off the knee joint again, I steamed a couple of wormwood bundles and through force flexed the knee joint and steamed it in a solution, the session lasts approximately 7-15 minutes, it all depends on your patience, and it helped, though not immediately, but effect 100%. With swollen joints, you don't have to run to the hospital, just steam the wormwood and steam your sore, but if it doesn't help, then go to the doctor. It also helps with bruises - there is a tumor - use wormwood.
The multifaceted active positive effect of wormwood and its preparations on the human body, unfortunately, is somewhat leveled by the likelihood of a significant negative impact in case of violation of the rules and the mode of their use. Therefore, when starting to take wormwood, consult your doctor. And do not forget that a long course of treatment with wormwood preparations should be broken up by significant periods when they are not taken.
