Local Remedies

There are some local things I've come across since being here that I hadn't heard of back in the States, even if they are used.

Crabwood Oil - from the Crabwood Tree, it's also known as Andiroba. It's yellowish in color and used for all sorts of skin issues like sunburns, rashes, bug bites, dandruff. You can even ingest it and it's supposed to be healthy. Supposed to help as a laxative, too.

My PCV buddy Nick swears by it, and my neighbor, Lucy, gave me a bottle to use. It's sold unofficially and in official bottles as well. It has a pleasant musky scent to it. (Tastes terrible though. don't ever accidentally use it instead of regular oil for brownies.)

Shilling Oil - A clear, minty liquid sold in small bottles used for colds or headaches. You smell it or rub it on aching muscles or your forehead and it's supposed to relieve it. Made of camphor and menthol, sorta like Mentholatum or something.

Honey - Maisie, our HM, swears by honey to help heal cuts and scrapes. She says it dries out the wound, so I suppose it's similar to Iodine in that regard.

Garlic - Since coming down here, I've seen garlic used on warts, in ears for aches and eaten to help with gas, or as they call it being 'locked off with wind.' Lucy suggests to make a tea of garlic, with milk to help cure wind. I know it as a detoxifier and as a sinus opener and overall healthy thing to consume, especially raw (Dad used to say so and we'd sit around the dinner table, daring to eat small bites of the cloves.) I looked it up online, and it says that garlic contains a substance called Allicin, which has anti-bacterial properties that are equivalent to a weak penicillin. It appears that cooked garlic weakens the anti-bacterial effects considerably, however. Says to also be good for wounds, skin irritations, flu, high blood pressure, kidney and bladder issues, worms and more. A repellant for mosquitoes and more. And then BAM - per one website: Garlic works as a cleanser of the digestive system, helps in curing flatulence, kills internal parasites and is an excellent internal antiseptic. Heck yeah, garlic.

These are all pretty easily available here, Shilling Oil is widely used. Other plant products, like aloe, are used, too. I've heard of a couple other local plants (bush medicine) that are said to help with different issues such as diabetes or high/low blood pressure, but I don't know much about them.