General practitioners and cosmetologists know how to take calendula tincture. They give clear and specific recommendations. Nature created the beautiful orange heads of flowers called calendula specifically as a medicinal aid to humans. This miracle of nature is called marigold for the amazing shape of its petals, calendula, Caléndula officinalis.
When is calendula used?
The plant contains a significant amount of useful elements - saponins, carotenoids, essential oils, manganese salts and fatty acids. This is the reason for the positive effect of calendula on the functioning of the kidneys and liver. The medicinal plant promotes the effective absorption of calcium and iron by the human body.
The tannins contained in the composition have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, soothing, wound-healing, and analgesic effects. Calendula is used as a bile and diuretic.
Alcohol tincture of calendula and its beneficial properties
Marigold officinalis, or calendula officinalis, is a herbaceous plant, a species of the genus Calendula of the Asteraceae family. Wikipedia
Healing properties of the tincture:
- An excellent anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimicrobial, antiviral.
- Has a significant choleretic and diuretic effect.
- Used for cardiac and vascular pathologies, for various tumors.
- Treats neuroses, stress, depression.
- Effective in the treatment of menopausal syndrome.
- Remarkably cleanses the blood and relieves inflammation of internal organs.
- Calendula tincture is effective in the treatment of long-term non-healing ulcers and wounds, in the treatment of acne, acne, boils, and carbuncles.
- The tincture treats gastritis, cholecystitis, biliary dyskinesia, liver cirrhosis, and pancreatitis.
- Using the tincture, they cleanse the skin, relieve inflammation, irritation, and get rid of calluses, warts, freckles, and age spots.
- An excellent product for oily skin care. Gets rid of acne, tightens pores, removes oily skin.
- They burn herpes on the lips with tincture and use it for fungal skin infections for quick healing.
- Tincture of calendula flowers has virtually no contraindications and does not cause allergic reactions.
Growing a plant for medicinal use
To achieve the maximum effect from using a medicinal plant, you need to grow and dry flowers correctly. It is better to dry it at home and prepare the tincture yourself.
Growing a plant is a simple process. Calendula is unpretentious and easily tolerates light frosts and drought. Timely collection of flowers will allow the inflorescences to quickly renew themselves and prolong the flowering process. The medicinal plant feels great when the following conditions are created:
- sunny place (calendula in the shade grows slowly);
- high-quality watering, which will increase the number of inflorescences;
- fertile soil that promotes plant growth and development.
You can water the calendula twice a week - this will be enough. Plant the plant with seeds. And they are transplanted to a new place by transferring the entire tuber.
Contraindications
The calendula preparation contains alcohol, so it is not recommended to use it for more than the prescribed time. Otherwise, the medicine will have a sedative effect. And this is unacceptable for people who need speed of reactions in life and work (for example, when driving a car).
You should not use calendula tincture:
- During pregnancy;
- During lactation;
- If you are allergic to calendula and its composition;
- In acute gastrointestinal diseases;
- At low pressure.
The medicine is prescribed with extreme caution for heart diseases. The tincture is not recommended for children under 18 years of age. You should not take calendula tincture with herbs that have a sedative effect on the body.
Application
The product helps in the treatment of:
- Oncological diseases. Calendula elements stop the growth of tumors.
- Flu. The tincture inactivates viruses.
- Women's diseases. Calendula relieves erosion, bleeding and thrush. The plant helps stop the inflammatory process and improve the microflora in the vagina. The drug cleanses the body of pathogenic fungi and therefore, while taking it, burning, leucorrhoea, itching and other unpleasant symptoms disappear.
- Hypertension. The use of tincture leads to normalization of general condition, improved mood, absence of headaches, increased body tone, sound sleep and normalization of blood pressure.
- Oral diseases. The drug treats periodontitis, tonsillitis, gingivitis, pharyngitis, stomatitis and laryngitis.
- Diseases of internal organs. Calendula cures diseases of the gallbladder, liver and gastrointestinal tract. It is indicated for use in cholecystitis and cholangitis.
- All kinds of wounds (cuts, cracked nipples, bruises, severely open wounds).
- Diseases of the ENT organs. The product treats otitis media well (especially at the very beginning of the disease) and sore throat.
- Respiratory diseases (tracheitis, pneumonia, bronchitis).
- Skin diseases (acne), herpes.
Despite the contraindications, calendula tincture can be prescribed by a doctor to a pregnant woman. But, as usual, this only happens as an external remedy. A similar appointment is often made for varicose veins and cracked nipples.
Calendula is used in cosmetology. They try to include the ingredient in many masks, ointments, and shampoos, which in the future solve problems with the scalp well. Many women have tested the effects of the calendula plant on themselves.
Dosage
The drug is taken orally, 20 drops, which need to be diluted in warm water (a third of a glass will be enough). You should drink calendula tincture three times a day 20 minutes before meals.
Calendula tincture is freely available in pharmacies and is quite inexpensive.
It is important! When treating children under 12 years of age with calendula, the following dosage must be strictly observed: 1 drop of infusion per 1 year of the child’s life.
- For external use, the tincture is diluted with water in a concentration of 5 ml per 250 ml of water and washed with cuts, bruises, and wounds.
- To rinse the mouth (for inflammation of the mucous membranes and throat), a teaspoon of tincture is diluted in a glass of water.
- To cleanse the skin, wipe the face with undiluted product once a day.
- For ear diseases, the tincture is used in the form of drops (2 drops per passage) or a compress (gauze is moistened in the tincture).
- For douching, dilute a teaspoon in a glass of water and carry out the procedure.
It is important! When preparing a solution for douching, do not exceed the recommended dosage or carry out the procedure frequently.
The entire course of treatment depends on the type of disease, the complexity of the course, and the overall dynamics. The duration of treatment is determined by a medical specialist.
Preparing the tincture
Despite the fact that the cost of the drug in city pharmacies is low, many consumers prefer to prepare the tincture at home. To do this, you will need to prepare freshly cut flowers of a medicinal plant. Four tablespoons are enough to prepare the tincture. Flowers are placed in a glass container - a glass or a jar. Fill with medical alcohol in a 1:1 ratio. The glass container is placed in a dark and cool place and left for a week. Afterwards you can use it for its intended purpose.
In some situations, an aqueous tincture is used. The recipe is as follows:
- take 4 tablespoons of freshly picked flowers;
- place in a glass container;
- add two glasses of filtered cold water (it is better to take spring water);
- prepare a water bath and place a container there;
- simmer the mixture over low heat for 15 minutes;
- strain and cool.
Water is added to the tincture to the required volume. The shelf life of the aqueous solution is no more than two days. After this time, the tincture will lose its beneficial properties, and using it will no longer achieve the desired result.
Directions for use and precautions
The instructions for the pharmacy tincture do not contain information regarding its use to solve cosmetic problems. Therefore, in order for its use to be as useful as possible and not cause harm, you should listen to the recommendations of experts:
- Before use, read the contraindications.
- Eliminate the risk of allergies. To do this, the effect of the tincture on the skin needs to be tested on a small area in the wrist area.
- Do not use a product whose expiration date has expired.
- In its pure form, use the tincture only for spot treatment of acne and inflamed lesions. Very often, its application to the entire surface of the face causes severe redness, in some cases leading to burns.
- Apply the solution only to cleansed skin.
- The tincture should not be abused; its use should be stopped as soon as the problem is eliminated.
- If the course of procedures needs to be repeated, it is necessary to maintain an interval of 2-3 weeks.
- Keep lotions, compresses, masks containing alcohol tincture on the face for no longer than 10 minutes (unless the recipe specifies a different time).
The undiluted drug must be used, having correctly calculated the concentration and exposure time, so that the tincture does not lose its valuable properties, but remains safe. Cosmetologists recommend the following proportions for diluting the tincture:
Skin type | Proportions |
Oily skin | 1 part water to 3 parts preparation |
Normal or combination skin | water and tincture are diluted in equal proportions |
Dry and sensitive skin (very rarely used) | 3 parts water to 1 part tincture |
The exposure time of the masks is determined by the properties of the additional ingredients. For example, it is not recommended to keep a composition containing aggressive ingredients (acids, mustard) for longer than 10 minutes, and masks containing oils and other softening ingredients are allowed to be left on the face for up to half an hour.
The tincture is effective in solving a large number of skin problems. But do not forget that for the treatment of serious diseases it can only act as an additional treatment.
Other recipes for making tinctures
By observing the proportions, you can easily and quickly prepare a tincture of calendula flowers. It is better to make the mixture in the summer, when flowering begins. Newly blossomed inflorescences are chosen for the product; others gradually lose their beneficial properties.
The plant blooms throughout the summer, so you can prepare several servings of tincture during the season. Collecting and drying flowers is still not recommended. The medicine prepared for future use retains its quality for several years. But only if it is created on an alcohol basis. The tincture should be stored away from sunlight, in a cool place.
To prepare the composition, take 2 tablespoons of flowers and a half-liter glass jar. Vodka or alcohol is added to the container to the brim, which must first be diluted with cold water to 40 degrees. The jar is placed in a cool place and taken out after 7 days. The prepared tincture is filtered and poured into containers more convenient for storage. Use the composition as needed.
Remedies for sore throat
The use of calendula tincture is recommended in the treatment of inflammatory processes of the mucous membranes of the throat. With a cold or acute respiratory infection, local immunity decreases, which allows colonies of staphylococci and streptococci to begin to multiply, causing inflammation and pain. The alcohol composition on medicinal marigolds reduces the severity of pain and reduces the intensity of the inflammatory process. Can also be used to treat inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity.
When used in local treatments of the throat and oral cavity, adhere to the following rules.
- Do not use in its pure form. The optimal dosage for diluting a pharmaceutical infusion is one teaspoon per glass of warm water. The proportions remain unchanged when used in children.
- Please use caution. The product may cause allergic reactions. If after the first use, itching or swelling of the treated area occurs, stop use and take an antiallergic drug.
- Use during pregnancy and children is limited. The manufacturer notes in the instructions that contraindications to the use of the product are pregnancy and age under eighteen years. This is due to the lack of clinical trials of the drug on this category of patients. However, according to doctors, all means used externally and for external treatments cannot have any significant effect on the general condition of the body. If you are sure that the child will not swallow the solution while gargling, calmly use it to treat a sore throat. During pregnancy, local use is also allowed, as well as during lactation. According to the international portal E-LACTANCIA, which posts information on the safety of medications during breastfeeding, calendula is fully compatible with breastfeeding.
Theoretically, for acute inflammatory processes of the upper respiratory tract, calendula tincture can be used for inhalation in a nebulizer. But there are no official recommendations from manufacturers on this matter. Moreover, there is a restriction on the use of non-specialized solutions in nebulizers, which include marigold tincture. Pharmacy solutions, and especially homemade ones, that are not adapted to the requirements of inhalation devices can damage the nebulizer.
The consequences of taking it as alcohol
It is no secret that many herbal pharmaceutical tinctures, like hawthorn, are often used instead of alcoholic beverages. Some people solve problems of alcohol addiction this way, and some believe that their regular use brings exceptional benefits, but, unfortunately, this is not the case. Many of us perceive them as natural miracle cures for all sorts of diseases.
At the same time, we prefer not to advertise the fact that they all have an alcohol base. Of course, in a reasonable dosage recommended by a doctor, they are an excellent support for the prescribed treatment. But their frequent use threatens both alcohol intoxication and the accumulation of excess active substances in the body, and this is fraught with dangerous consequences.
Moreover, if you deliberately use alcohol infusions instead of alcohol. The same hawthorn in increased dosage can have a toxic effect on the heart, slowing down its rhythm and greatly reducing blood pressure. Calming tinctures of valerian and motherwort should also be taken in moderate doses, as they can greatly relax and slow down the reaction of the person using them. Therefore, when using such drugs uncontrollably, one should not forget about such negative consequences.
Indications for use
Marigolds in various forms are used for the prevention and treatment of pathologies and diseases:
- throat - acute (angina) and chronic tonsillitis, inflammation of the pharynx (pharyngitis), larynx (laryngitis), tonsils (tonsillitis);
- oral cavity and gums (gingivitis, periodontal disease, stomatitis);
- heart and blood vessels, including cardiac arrhythmia, rheumatism;
- ears, including otitis externa;
- kidney – nephritis, urolithiasis;
- skin of the body and face – dermatitis, mycosis, acne, rashes of various origins (allergy, infection, virus), freckles, enlarged pores, increased oiliness, lichen;
- hair – weakened hair, hair loss, dandruff;
- gallbladder - cholecystitis;
- joints - arthrosis, arthritis;
- gastrointestinal tract – colitis, stomach ulcer, stomach cramps;
- genital organs - gynecological diseases of the vagina in women, problems in the functioning of the urethra (urethra) in men.
Calendula is effective in the fight against arterial hypertension, asthma, dizziness, and colds. It effectively heals cuts, burns, frostbite, wounds, bruises, preventing the appearance of scars.
The effect of calendula on the body
- Strengthens the movement of bile;
- Lowers blood pressure;
- Helps eliminate pain and relieve spasms;
- Helps stop premature skin aging and protect it from damage at the cellular level;
- Increases sweating and improves blood clotting;
- Activates liver regeneration;
- Helps get rid of allergies;
- Helps normalize the functioning of the nervous system;
- Reduces tissue swelling;
- Improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system;
- Helps cleanse the oral mucosa;
- Helps cope with skin problems.