Chickweed Infused Oil

Last week  a lovely family came to see me, their child has severe eczema.
As part of the Consultation we spoke about different herbs which can help this condition and I mentioned Chickweed for its ability to soothe the maddening itch.
As it happens the child’s parents are fruit growers and have a ‘problem’ with Chickweed in their polytunnel…..problem solved!
I arrived at my clinic today to find a huge bag of beautiful fresh chickweed –

Stellaria media.

I spent the next few hours chopping and putting into jars…..

then added the sunflower oil, making sure all the plant material was covered….

All ready to infuse for the next 4 weeks or so

After which I should have a lovely green oil that can be added to a base cream with herbs such as St.Johns wort and Liquorice to sooth the itch and heal the skin.

Isn’t it wonderful that what is a weed to one person is a medicine to another?

I hope that the little one will really feel the benefit of the weed from his parents farm!

I will post more photo’s once the oil is ready and made into a cream.

When making an infused oil from a fresh plant you have to really look after it, poke the plant material down into the jar daily to ensure that it stays covered in oil to avoid mould.
Infused oils are for external use only and usually added to creams and ointments.