Chamomile and other "herbs"

Its amazing the things you find in your local Apteka (aka drugstore). Sage, for instance, and fennel and many other herbs that we in the States would expect to find in the seasoning aisle of the supermarket are here not used for cooking, but rather for healing. While you can sometimes find the rare small seasoning pack of a more obscure (for here) herb - the vendor has no idea of the tasty meals that await its addition - they know it only for its medicinal properties when used as a tea, gargle, or bath additive. (When asked what I used rosemary for, I told the vendor how tasty it was with scrambled eggs and onion - she looked at me warily).

After returning from Isida, I have been discovering the magical properties of Chamomile. It was actually "prescribed" on the list of things to buy for the baby, right there under fingernail clippers. Needless to say - we didn't buy the chamomile, but a few days passed and the Saphira began to get "spotty" and so we added some tea bags to her bath water as recommended. The redness went away. It has worked on heat rash and infant acne. And, as I looked for home recipes for diaper rash ointment that could be used in cloth diapers, I discovered that chamomile was again high on the ingredient list. At saphira's first pediatrician appointment, she was prescribed Viburcol herbal suppositories which supposedly replicate the effect of infant aspirin as a fever reducer and tranquilizer without any other side effects. (It was supposed to counter any effects of the Hep B shot and I started using it before I found out what it did - she was extra calm - but she is pretty mellow anyway and as there was no fever i discontinued use when I learned what it did exactly).

Today, I've just been prescribed two different anti inflammatory - one a rinse that is apparently commonly used by dentists and the other a cream - both with chamomile extract. Ukrainians commonly know and rely on these home remedies. When Alister was sick with a very sore throat, a friend from church stopped by with a big box of Sage and told him to gargle with it - another woman told us to put it in boiling water and inhale for congestion. You can poo-poo these things as much as you want - but they seem to work and are a heck of a lot cheaper than standard western prescriptions.