Coltsfoot is a medicinal plant, widespread throughout Russia. It got its unusual name due to the following feature: the leaves located at the roots are warm to the touch, but those located at the top are cold. It is these parts of the plant that have the greatest medicinal value, since they are rich in inulin, glycoside and mucous substances.
Coltsfoot. Application in official and traditional medicine
This plant (namely its leaves and roots) is used to prepare infusions that have excellent properties - expectorant, wound healing, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory. That is why coltsfoot helps to get rid of the following ailments:
- cough
- runny nose,
- a cold
hoarseness
- consumption
- choking
- fever
- purulent discharge from the genitals.
Moreover, the mucous substances contained in the plant envelop the mucous membranes of the larynx, mouth and throat, thereby preventing their irritation.
Coltsfoot is a valuable source of organic acids, eliminating dryness of the upper respiratory tract, thinning sputum. They also contribute to the speedy elimination of products resulting from purulent processes in the body. Carotenoids, sterols and tannins contained in the plant, effectively fight inflammation, reducing hyperemia of the mucous membranes.
Infusion of leaves is widely used as an astringent for diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract. Coltsfoot is also used for the preparation of diaphoretic and breast fees.
Self-prepared juice, decoction or infusion from the described plant will help to cope with the following diseases:
- pleurisy,
- bronchial asthma,
- tuberculosis or pneumonia,
- flu
- runny nose,
- allergy
- bronchitis,
- myositis,
- arthritis,
- malaria
- shortness of breath
- swelling,
- epilepsy,
- laryngitis,
- tracheitis,
gastritis
- cystitis
- jade
- hypertension
- defeat of central nervous system.
Coltsfoot is also used externally to get rid of erysipelas, burns, ulcers, boils, abscesses, mastitis. The use of products based on this plant is effective for hair loss and dandruff. In addition, tea from this plant is recommended in the treatment of exudative diathesis and as a stimulant for chronic fatigue and exhaustion of the body. Taking such a therapeutic drink can significantly improve the appetite and establish the digestion process.
To prepare a decoction of the leaves of the plant at home, you need to pour five grams of healing raw materials with a glass of boiling water. The resulting mass should be kept on fire for ten minutes. Then insist at least a quarter of an hour and strain. Take this remedy three times a day, one spoonful (tablespoon).
Making juice is also not difficult. To do this, rinse the leaves of the plant (harvested in May or June), then scald them with boiling water, pass through a meat grinder and squeeze well. The liquid separated in this process is a healing product. It must be diluted with water in a proportion of one to one and boiled for several minutes. The resulting product is used after meals three times a day for a whole tablespoon. Juice can also be used to fight a runny nose by digging a few drops of liquid into both nostrils. The course of treatment, as a rule, is from seven to ten days.
Coltsfoot. Contraindications
The described medicinal plant is not recommended for the treatment of children under the age of two, as well as women expecting a baby. The use of coltsfoot is undesirable during lactation. Do not use it for people suffering from liver diseases or chronic alcoholism.
The duration of treatment with the described plant should not be more than six weeks per year.