Useful properties of grass midges. Grass woodlouse (Starworm): healing effect, treatment and cooking at home

Each of the gardeners at least once found an inconspicuous weed grass wood lice on his site. She carefully spreads along the ground, pleases the eye with her asterisk flowers, but it is very difficult to get rid of her. Let's open a secret: this is not necessary - wood lice are not an ordinary harmful and annoying weed, but a real green pharmacy under your feet, which will come in handy in the kitchen, during home spa treatments, and in treatment.

Annoying weed...

The “real name” of wood lice is medium stellate, among the people it is lovingly called heart and canary grass, and also wood lice and wood lice. So the ubiquitous grass was nicknamed for its unique feature - in any weather, even on a foggy morning, even on a hot afternoon, it remains juicy and wet, drawing water from the earth and air. That is why it is very problematic to expel her from the garden, even if every day we stubbornly weed and tear out the biting midge from the root.

For those who are interested in the medicinal properties of woodlice herb, the photo will show a modest plant climbing along the ground, with neat green leaves and elegant white flowers. Biting midge blooms all summer - from May to August, because of this, bees are especially fond of grass. And also, if your garden-garden was occupied by wood lice, then you have a personal meteorologist. Many summer residents will confirm - if the mokrichka keeps the flowers tightly closed until 9 in the morning - it will be summer rain.

...or a garden doctor?

Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers always knew that wood lice are an excellent remedy for loosened nerves. To treat the nervous system and forget about daily city stresses, not only work on the ground and fresh country air will help, but also wet infusion.

The classic recipe: finely chop a tablespoon of leaves and stalks of woodpecker, pour a glass of boiling water and leave for a couple of hours, then filter. Drink such an antidepressant - twice a day for half a glass, and once again - at night.

The same wet recipe will help if the heart is messed up, as well as to cleanse the blood. For the hematopoietic system, wood lice are especially important - its medicinal properties, and wet infusion is especially recommended for women during menstruation.

Woodlouse is a repository of vitamins E, B and C, various acids and elements, which makes it an excellent general tonic. For in the cold season, you can drink healthy mosquito tea: two tablespoons of dried chickweed grass per half liter of boiling water, brew for one hour in a thermos. If desired, you can add honey, and - the drink will become very fragrant, and the benefits will only increase.

Almost like a blueberry

Woodlouse is a herb full of surprises, its healing qualities are very diverse. Among the people, she was especially revered for her ability to relieve inflammation and pull out tumors.

An infusion of wood lice was instilled into the eyes for inflammation and visual impairment, but if you are not ready for such experiments, you can simply wash tired and reddened eyes with wet decoction - the effect is no worse than from or.

If in the spring and summer you don’t get out of the country, then you are familiar with muscle fatigue and joint pain after an active day in the garden. And here the grass woodlice will help - its benefits and harms have been known for a long time, it was used for arthritis, arthrosis, bruises and sprains. With bruises, you can simply attach the chopped grass to the sore spot, tie it with a scarf and leave it for a couple of hours. For problems with the joints, it is advised to drink a classic infusion of chickweed, a quarter cup a day, and also take a bath.

Wet bath: a jar of 0.25 ml of dried or 0.5 l of chopped fresh woodlice is steamed with a liter of boiling water, insisted for 15-20 minutes under a towel, poured into the bath. Spa treatment time - no more than 20 minutes!

The benefits of the mosquito mushroom have long been appreciated by young mothers - they gave babies a decoction of chickweed with urinary incontinence. Interestingly, women's forums assure that this recipe is still popular, and most importantly - very effective!

If the weed woodlice has settled in your home first-aid kit, its useful properties will pleasantly surprise you, and contraindications will surprise you even more. Starfish has practically no dangerous properties (provided that you follow the dosage and do not drink decoctions of miracle grass in large quantities). The only advice is that woodlice significantly lowers blood pressure, therefore, with hypotension, it is better to refuse such treatment.

Mokritsa in cosmetology

Woodlouse is a plant that all women love, because chickweed is an excellent beautician of a rare profile.

With the help of inconspicuous grass, you can easily get rid of cracked heels, calluses and corns, but beautiful heels in summer sandals are the dream of every lady. If you work on the ground all day, you can just pick up a mosquito and put it in galoshes or rubber slippers. And it's soft on the feet, and it's good for the skin. And in the evening, just wash your feet, spread with fat baby cream and put on cotton socks for the night.

If the cottage for you is the time to lie down in a hammock with a book, the recipe can be slightly changed: the same socks, but with chopped weed grass inside. Four hours of rest, then your favorite cream - and you're done!

If skin problems are more serious: an allergic rash, small sores or even boils, a bath with mosquito and will help. For 3 liters of water - 2 cups of medicinal herbs, boil, insist for 2 hours, then pour into the bath.

Not everyone knows that wood lice have a whole range of medicinal properties. Today we will talk about the indications for treatment with the usual "weed". Surely every modern gardener has come across a weed plant in his possessions, which has ovoid, slightly pointed leaves, white flowers resembling a star. For the shape of the flowers, the asterisk is average and got its name.

In the people, grass is called wood lice. This is due to its wet to the touch surface, regardless of weather conditions. Meanwhile, "nobody needs a weed" has a lot of medicinal qualities.

Useful properties of wood lice

Characteristics are due to the composition of the herb. The chemical composition of the stems is rich in trace elements, contains vitamins E, C, K. Plant treatment has been known since time immemorial. Old grandmothers' recipes said: the product has antiseptic and wound healing properties. It has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the nervous system, acts as an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent.

In folk medicine, all parts of the plant are used, and the range of its application is wide. Few people know that woodlice are used as a raw material in the preparation of medicines for heart diseases, impaired kidney function, liver, vision problems, to increase the level of hemoglobin in the blood and resorption of tumors.

Infusion Recipes

Below are a few simple recipes designed to help fight ailments.

1. 1 st. l. chop the leaves and stem, pour 1 tbsp. boiled water and let it brew for about 60 minutes. The resulting solution is dripped into the eyes: 1-2 drops into the eye 4 times. This procedure helps to restore vision and eliminate corneal clouding.

Infusion of woodlice according to the above method of preparation is used in the restoration of milk in nursing mothers. Consume 1/2 cup up to 3 times a day. A compress applied to the chest for 20 minutes will help relieve swelling of the mammary glands.

As a sedative for disorders of the nervous system, to restore and maintain the work of the heart, to purify the blood, the infusion is taken 1/2 cup up to 4 r. in a day. It is recommended to take the infusion before going to bed.

2. In case of poisoning and severe gastrointestinal pain, in the treatment of chronic gastritis, an alcohol tincture of woodlice is used. Combine 1 tbsp. l. herbal raw materials with 300 ml of vodka, insist up to two weeks. 20 drops of tincture diluted in 1 tbsp. boiled water is an excellent assistant in diseases of the stomach, intestines and digestive tract, to increase appetite.

3. A concentrated infusion of woodlice is used for therapeutic and soothing baths for various skin diseases, for compresses to heal purulent and inflamed wounds. Prepared at the rate of 10 tbsp. l. chopped leaves for 1 tbsp. boiled water with a temperature not lower than +80 °C. Boil for 5-7 minutes, then let it brew for up to 4 hours, strain.

4. Fresh grass juice combined with honey is an ideal remedy for treating diseases of the liver and thyroid gland. The composition is taken orally, 1 tsp. 4-5 times a day.

Nature has given people many medicinal plants for healing various ailments, often valuable medicinal raw materials grow right under our feet, and we don’t even know about it.

Today we will talk about an inconspicuous plant, which many consider an ordinary weed, and which has the richest medicinal potential. You will learn about the beneficial properties and uses of the herb wood lice in folk medicine.

This plant is a real pantry of nutrients and trace elements that are so necessary for our health.

Woodlouse (Stellaria media or, as this grass is popularly called: chickweed) is an annual plant of the clove family, many consider the grass to be a weed.

It has a weak stalk of a curly structure, which is attached and rooted in a nodular form, its height is from 10 to 35 centimeters. The branched stems of the plant can both spread along the ground and reach to the top. The creeping branched grass stem is covered with fine hairs that are able to collect moisture from the air into the plant and store it in it.

The leaves are located on the stems and have a rounded-oblong shape, they have cilia along the edges and seem slightly moist to the touch, hence the name of the herb - wood lice. The upper leaves sit on the stem, and the lower leaves are located on the petioles.

The flowers of the grass are white, small, connected in sprawling inflorescences and resemble small stars, so another name for the grass is stellate. Flowering grass continues for quite a long time, from May to
August. And as a result of this, fruits appear - boxes of dark brown color with many seeds.

The fruit of the plant is a box of oblong or spherical shape, it contains round, tuberculate seeds. Seeds in a box ripen from late July to October, during this period of time the box opens at the base.

Woodlouse grows in vegetable gardens, gardens, on the banks of rivers and small streams, on forest edges, as well as near dwellings, along roadsides and even in garbage dumps. Prefers wet and humid places, closer to water bodies.

The geography of its growth is quite extensive, the wood lice grows throughout Russia, Europe, throughout the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. This grass gives many problems to gardeners and summer residents, as it multiplies quickly and it is difficult to get rid of it, which is why many mistakenly consider wood lice to be a weed.

How to make blanks and store stellate

Wood louse blooms for a long time, from May to August. It is desirable to collect grass in May, it is during this period that it is the freshest, juiciest and best suited for further use as a medicinal raw material.

For medicinal purposes, traditional healers use the entire aerial part of the plant. It can be used both fresh and dried. The collected grass should be dried in the shade and turned over every 2 days. For storage, it is advisable to use canvas bags or glass jars. The shelf life of dried herb wood lice is 1 year.

The composition and useful properties of the herb wood lice

Grass wood lice is a real storehouse of vitamins and nutrients. The plant contains essential oils and lipids, organic acids, carotene, sinalic acid, tannins, saponins, wax, many vitamins and trace elements: magnesium, copper, iron.

The high content of vitamins C and E in biting midges make it indispensable in the treatment of anemia, beriberi, scurvy.
It has a positive effect on the functioning of the heart, strengthens the entire body and is a tonic.
The herb is used as an anti-inflammatory, choleretic and analgesic agent.
Woodlice can stop the blood and heal wounds faster, improve metabolism, stimulate the cardiovascular system, positively affect the nervous system and gastrointestinal tract.
It helps in the treatment of hypertension, gynecological problems, with the help of stellate, you can relieve joint pain with sciatica, arthritis, rheumatism, gout - the grass must be steamed and applied to sore spots.
For skin diseases, rashes, dermatitis, eczema - take baths with infusion of wood lice.
An infusion of the herb is taken orally for diseases of the liver (even with hepatitis), lungs, and liver.
With severe weight loss, beriberi, weakness, heart disease, cholecystitis, use fresh juice or essence of chickweed.
Woodlice increase the level of hemoglobin in the blood.

The infusion is prepared as follows: wood lice - 1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of boiling water - 1 cup. Cover the container and leave overnight, then strain. Drink a quarter cup of the infusion before meals.

A decoction of wood lice is prepared as follows: fresh grass - 200 grams, chop and pour boiling water - 1 liter. Boil the broth over low heat for 10 minutes. Then let cool to room temperature and strain.

Starch in folk medicine

It is thanks to its beneficial properties that the herb woodlouse in folk medicine has found its well-deserved place and has long been used by healers to treat many ailments. The juice of the plant contains vitamin E, which rejuvenates the body, cleanses blood vessels, improves blood and removes harmful substances and toxins from the body.

Woodlouse is used fresh, as well as in the form of infusions and decoctions from leaves, flowers and grass stems. For example, an infusion of chickweed helps to treat eye diseases well. Also, its infusion is used to treat stomach ulcers, coughs, colitis, scurvy, heart, lung and kidney diseases.

With a rash on the skin, ulcers, festering wounds and scrofula - use the infusion of wood lice externally, in the form of baths.

Healing tea

It has a general strengthening and calming effect on the body: 1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of grass with a glass of boiling water, insist under the lid for 5 minutes. Drink the resulting healing drink, like regular tea, half a glass, three times a day.

Infusion of herb wood lice for the eyes

For cooking, we take fresh grass - 1 tbsp. spoon, pour boiling water over it - 1 cup.
We insist the infusion for one hour, without shaking.

Then strain the finished infusion and instill 1-2 drops into the sore eye, three times a day.

Woodlice juice for the eyes

The juice of the plant, which has just been squeezed out of fresh grass, is used as therapeutic drops for various diseases of the retina and cornea of the eyes - fresh juice is instilled 1-2 drops, 4 times a day.

Juice preparation:

We take fresh grass woodlice - 500 grams, rinse it well with water and squeeze the juice with a juicer or crush the grass with a pusher and squeeze the juice through gauze.
Then pour into a bottle and store in the refrigerator, but no more than 2 days.

Squeezed juice is suitable for treating eyes, treating long-term non-healing, purulent wounds.

From tired legs

A very simple and effective recipe that gardeners often use. To relieve pain and fatigue from your feet, you need to pick fresh grass woodlice, and put it instead of insoles in your shoes.

Woodlice infusion for stomach pain

To prepare the infusion, take wood lice - 1 tablespoon and fill it with clean vodka - 300 milliliters.
Let's send it to infuse in a dark place for two weeks.

It is necessary to take the tincture in a diluted form, before meals - 20 drops of tincture in 1 glass of water.

Woodlice for lactation

Take fresh grass juice - 1 teaspoon, mix it with honey - 1 teaspoon.

Take this remedy before meals, three times a day, 1 teaspoon.

A decoction of wood lice for erosion, fibroids and cysts

We take the grass - 2 tablespoons, pour boiling water - 500 milliliters.
Pour everything into an enamel saucepan and put in a water bath for 30 minutes.
We filter the broth and add it with boiled water to the original volume.
The resulting medicine should be taken before meals, 4 times a day, 50 milliliters.

This decoction is also taken to treat weakness, anemia, dizziness.

Help with skin diseases

You need to take a decoction of wood lice and moisten pieces of gauze in it. On the problem area of the body, apply a lotion of wood lice. You need to do this several times a day.

Woodlice from tumors and oncology of the breast

For treatment, you need to take fresh grass woodlice, and make a compress from it, this compress is applied to the sore chest and held for 20 minutes. These medical procedures are carried out 3 times a day.

Strengthening the nervous system

Ready infusion of wood lice should be taken 50 milliliters, 4 times a day.

Infusion for the treatment of eczema, ulcers, poorly healing wounds

Cooking:

In order to prepare the infusion, you need to take 1 tbsp. a spoonful of grass woodlice (fresh or dried) and pour boiling water - 1 cup.
Insist under the lid for 4 hours, then strain through cheesecloth.

Application:

For external use: wash the wounds with this infusion, and also make compresses on the affected skin.
For internal use for joint pain: drink 4 times a day for a quarter cup, before meals.

Infusion of stellate from diseases of the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract

If you suffer from kidney disease or problems with the gastrointestinal tract, then use this recipe as an antiseptic: woodlice - 1 tablespoon, pour boiling water - 1 cup and insist under the lid for 1 hour. Then strain.

Infusion drink before meals a quarter cup, three times a day.

Decoction of wood lice for skin diseases

For the treatment of dermatological diseases, such a decoction is prepared:

Grass wood lice - 4 tbsp. spoons, pour water - 1 liter.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Then insist 2 hours and strain.

Apply the resulting medicinal decoction in the form of compresses for skin diseases.

Vodka infusion for stomach pain

For diseases and problems of the gastrointestinal tract, the kidneys need to prepare and apply such an infusion:

Dry star grass - 1 tbsp. spoon, pour vodka - 300 grams.
Insist in a dark place - 2 weeks. Then strain.

Take once a day - 15 drops in a glass of water.

Woodlice juice for acne

To cure teenage acne, you need to apply the juice of a fresh plant:

Fresh grass - 500 grams, you need to wash and squeeze the juice out of it on a juicer or through cheesecloth.

Lubricate acne and affected skin with fresh juice 4 times a day.

Infusion of herb wood lice

This healing infusion is used for many health problems.

If you have problems with sleep, then you need to prepare the medicine according to this recipe:

Take fresh chopped grass 15 tbsp. spoons and pour it with boiling water - 1 liter.
Insist under the lid - 8 hours. Then strain.

Ready infusion to drink from insomnia in a quarter cup.

To improve lactation, half a glass.

From this infusion, you can make compresses from edema.

With mastopathy

Grass is doused with boiling water, cooled and applied to a sore chest.

For Women's Health

A decoction of woodlice is recommended for women to take 10 days before menstruation, then there will be no delays and severe pain.
For women's diseases: cyst, fibroids, erosion, you need to make a cotton swab, soak with a decoction of herbs and use at night (insert the swab into the vagina). You need to do the procedure for 5 days, and then a break for 5 days and repeat this procedure again and do such cycles until a complete cure.

Contraindications

Woodlouse has the ability to lower blood pressure, therefore, it should be used with caution for the treatment of people with low blood pressure - hypotension.
Some people, in rare cases, may have an allergic reaction, which manifests itself in the form of itching or a rash.

Note!

You need to know that in nature there is a related plant, which is called starfish lanceolate. This grass is also called wood lice, but you need to be careful and extremely careful - it is poisonous!

Miracle - herb chickweed is also unique in that it has found its well-deserved use in cooking. Dishes with woodlice are tasty and very healthy, it is good to eat it fresh, add it to salads, as a vitamin supplement for scurvy, anemia, weakness.

Fresh woodlice herb is good for mashing, it can be added to first courses, pastry fillings, and you can also cook vegetarian cutlets with buckwheat or oatmeal with it.

For the prevention of beriberi, strengthening the body, a salad made from fresh wood lice, boiled eggs, green onions and seasoned with sour cream will be very useful.

Cooking:

We chop the greens of wood lice and onions in equal parts.
Add chopped egg and salt a little.
Top with sour cream and mix.

We decorate the vitamin salad with dill and serve.

Salad with dandelion and wood lice

Another vitamin salad, which is prepared with fresh herbs to prevent beriberi.

Cooking:

We chop the wood lice greens, add half as much chopped lettuce and dandelion leaves.
Add to the dish a little curdled milk, sugar, salt to taste and mix.

Seasoning from wood lice

This healthy seasoning is served with fish and meat dishes.

Cooking:

Woodlouse - 200 grams, chop, add ground horseradish - 2 tbsp. spoons and crushed garlic - 1 tablespoon.
Add salt and pepper to the seasoning to taste and mix.

Serve with meat or fish dishes.

Ingredients:

wood lice greens - 200 grams;
wheat flour - 300 grams;
onion - 1 head;
ghee - 2 tbsp. spoons;
half a glass of sour cream and salt.

Cooking:

We make the filling - wash the young shoots of wood lice, cut, salt.
Add fried onions and 2 raw eggs. Let's mix the stuffing.
Knead and roll out the dough.
We make dumplings and boil them in salted water.

We serve the dish to the table with sour cream.

Ingredients:

wood lice - 150 grams;
eggs - 3 pieces;
one onion, herbs, salt, ghee.

Cooking:

Scald greens of wood lice with boiling water and cut.
Slightly fry the onion in a pan.
Add wood lice, dill, parsley and ghee to the onion.
Salt and stew everything under the lid.
Then pour in the eggs, mix and fry until cooked.

Summer borsch with wood lice, a tasty and healthy dish.

Ingredients:

grass wood lice - 100 grams;
beet tops - 100 grams;
carrots - 1 piece;
potatoes - 1 large potato;
medium bunch of green onions, a few parsley leaves;
tomato - 1 piece or 1 tbsp. a spoonful of tomato paste;
lemon juice - 1 teaspoon;
sugar - 1 teaspoon;
sour cream - 2 tablespoons.

The dish will be even tastier if you add canned beans to the borscht, before laying the green woodlice, and cook it in cooked meat broth with pieces of boiled meat.

Cooking:

We put water on fire - 1 liter.
While the water is boiling, peel the carrots, potatoes, beets and chop them finely.
Dip chopped vegetables in boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.
We cut the tomato, pass it and add it to the borscht.
We cut the washed beet tops, sauté, add lemon juice, sugar and dip in borscht.
Finely chop the washed wood lice and add to the borscht, salt the dish to taste.

When serving, season the borscht with finely chopped parsley and onion, add sour cream.

Conclusion

We have examined in detail the beneficial properties of the herb wood lice and we can conclude that this inconspicuous plant has deservedly found its use in traditional medicine and helps to cure many diseases. And the use of starfish in cooking makes dishes with it tasty and healthy. Amazing plants, rich in their healing power, are close to us, you just have to stretch out your hand and you can see the generous gifts of nature that it gives to a person for his good.

Be healthy!

Articles written

The medicinal properties of woodlice herb are known not only in Russia, but also in many European countries. The herb is especially popular in Germany - here it is used to treat cough with pneumonia, bronchitis and tuberculosis, inflammation of the kidneys, as well as non-healing wounds. In China, for example, it is an anesthetic medicine that relieves spasms in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. And in Mexico it is a folk remedy for malignant tumors. Woodlouse, also known as chickweed, used to be widely used in cooking. It was the first "green" that was used to support a weakened body after a long winter. Salads were made from it, added to soups, and fortified drinks were prepared. In addition, chickweed was given to domestic animals as a fortified top dressing.

Features of wood lice

What is this herb? Where to look for it in nature? How did she deserve such “honor” in folk medicine? In what diseases is it effective and does it have contraindications?

Starflower cereal.
Asterisk is hard-leaved, or lanceolate.
Asterisk Bunge.

Kinds

About 50 species of this plant are found on the territory of Russia (in some sources they give a different figure - 200 species). Chickweed, or wood lice, is the most common and valuable species, which is most often used as a medicinal raw material. What other varieties are known in traditional medicine?

chickweed cereal. People call it soapy, drunken grass. In addition to the European part, it is found in Siberia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Unlike wood lice, the height of its stem can reach 40 cm. As a perennial weed, it inhabits fields, often grows in meadows, in humid forests, and loves the banks of water bodies. It belongs to poisonous plants, so it is taken inside with great care. The plant stimulates the work of the gonads in men and women. It is often used as a heart medicine, as well as for metabolic disorders, thyroid diseases. Outwardly - with abscesses. Useful for the elderly, acts as a tonic and tonic.
Asterisk hard-leaved, or lanceolate. As soon as this plant is called by the people - chistets, kostenets, asterisk, carnation, hemp, pyrnik, crane, living, hearty, love grass. Perennial plant, also loves moist soil. More often it can be seen in forests, thickets of shrubs. Refers to poisonous plants. In folk medicine, the aerial part and fresh juice are used. Useful for skin diseases - ulcers, scabies, non-healing wounds, bedsores, abscesses. Lotions and compresses are made from it. Inside take decoctions, infusions, fresh juice. Well relieves inflammation of the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, rheumatic pain, helps with diseases of the cardiovascular system.
Dubravnaya, or forest. Poisonous, height can reach 60 cm. It can often be found in oak forests and other deciduous forests - in the European part of Russia. But this species is also common in North America (especially in Mexico), in the Caucasus, Asia Minor. They treat cancer, fungal skin lesions.
Bunge. Perennial herb of alpine, forest regions. Also found in meadows, in the river valleys of Siberia, the Far East. It is widely used in folk medicine externally as an antiseptic, hemostatic and wound healing agent. It is taken orally for diabetes, allergies, diarrhea, joint diseases.

Not only a healer, but also a pest

For farmers, wood lice are a spring, annual weed that is difficult to control manually. The plant emerges in early spring and develops rapidly. If it is not weeded out in time, it forms a beautiful carpet, but harmful to useful seeds. Carrots, which take a long time to sprout, suffer the most from chickweed. Woodlouse loves moisture, often settles in vegetable beds with abundant watering. After weeding, it is not recommended to leave the weed in the beds, it is removed so that the seeds do not crumble (there can be about 10 thousand or more in one plant). Seeds can lie in the soil for several years and germinate safely every new spring. Also, the uprooted plant takes root again if it comes into contact with moist soil.

However, some varieties of this grass are grown as an ornamental plant because of the elegant flowers and a solid, beautiful carpet. It decorates flower beds and rock gardens.

Medium stellate range

Where does wood lice grow? The plant loves a temperate climate, takes root well in the northern regions. Some varieties can be found in the high subtropics. Most of the species are found throughout the European part of Russia, some take root in the Far East, in Siberia. Woodlouse feels good in dark places, moist soils. It grows near housing, in vegetable gardens and summer cottages. In the wild, her favorite places are damp glades and forest roads.

Starry medium. Botanical illustration from the book Bilder ur Nordens Flora by K. A. M. Lindman, 1917-1926.

Botanical characteristics of woodlice

This is an annual herbaceous plant. Its peculiarity is the formation of loose sods (carpets). The root system is weak, shallow, branched. The stems are thin, low (up to 10 cm), but at the same time they branch well, grow, covering the ground. The leaves are dark green, the petioles have hairs with which the plant absorbs moisture. Hence the name (because of the great love for water) - wood lice. The inflorescences of the plant are loose, few-flowered. The flowers are snow-white, small, in the form of an asterisk. It begins to bloom in May, blooms all summer, even in late autumn you can see delicate white stars on a green carpet.

There is another version of the origin of the name. A folk sign says: if in the morning after sunrise the flowers of the plant do not open, it will rain. The wood louse plant responds to changes in humidity and air temperature. Gardeners jokingly call her "rain forecaster".

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It is preferable to collect the grass in the spring, from the moment of flowering until the end of May. Collect the entire aerial part of the plant, except for the roots. Useful substances are found in the stems, and in the leaves, and in the flowers. Dry, laying out a thin layer, under a canopy. Do not allow the sun to hit the raw materials. Dry grass is easily crushed by hand, after which it is packed in linen bags. It can also be transferred to glass, porcelain dishes. Expiration date - 1 year.

It is important to remember: grass is capable of accumulating heavy metals and other harmful substances from the air and soil. Therefore, it is so important to choose an environmentally friendly place for its collection.

Chemical composition and pharmacological action

What substances are included in the composition of wood lice?

Rich composition of vitamins (C, E, A, K).
A rich composition of trace elements (especially a lot of potassium, magnesium, iron and cobalt).
Saponins (toxic in large doses!).
Lipids.
Alkaloids.
Essential oils.
Tannins.
Flavonoids.

What are the beneficial properties of wood lice herb?

Fortifying.
Hemostatic.
Wound healing.
Expectorant.
Anti-inflammatory.
Antimicrobial.
Laxative.
Tonic.
Diuretic.
Hypotensive (lowering blood pressure).
Vasodilator.
Secretory.
Painkiller.

Indications

With such a wide pharmacological action, woodlice in folk medicine, as well as in traditional medical practice, are used for many diagnoses and symptoms as an independent remedy and in complex treatment.

Respiratory system . Abroad, woodlice as an effective expectorant were discovered by the German physiotherapist and priest Sebastian Kneipp. It helps well with inflammation of the lungs, bronchitis, softens, relieves coughing attacks.
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Useful grass for joints and muscles, it treats osteochondrosis, rheumatism, arthritis, gout, myositis, sciatica.
urinary system. In complex therapy, diseases of the kidneys and bladder are treated, it promotes crushing, removal of stones from the kidneys, relieves swelling, and removes excess fluid from the body.
Digestive system. Used in diseases of the liver, gallbladder as a means of stimulating secretion. Also, the herb helps with hemorrhoids, enterocolitis, relieves spasms and colic.
The cardiovascular system. Helps with high blood pressure, vegetovascular dystonia, cardiac ischemia.
Endocrine system. Woodlouse is effective in diseases of the thyroid gland, metabolic disorders, including diabetes. Grass stimulates metabolic processes, removes fluid, normalizes digestion - all these factors contribute to weight loss. Therefore, it is prescribed for weight loss.
Gynecology. It is taken orally for cycle disorders, premenstrual syndrome. With erosion of the cervix, whites, douching, tampons are prescribed.
Outdoor use. Effective in dermatology and allergology. It relieves inflammation and relieves pain. It treats skin diseases of a fungal, allergic, bacterial, traumatic nature: dermatitis, eczema, scabies, bedsores, non-healing wounds, trophic ulcers, etc. It is also used externally for inflammation of the eyes.
Avitaminosis. Grass is often prescribed for the prevention of acute respiratory viral infections, influenza as a natural complex of vitamins and trace elements, a natural immunostimulating drug. The plant benefits people who have had serious illnesses to restore strength, as an antiscorbutic agent.
Anemia. Due to the high content of potassium and iron, it has a beneficial effect on the hematopoietic system, increases hemoglobin.

You can find information about the antitumor properties of wood lice and its use in cancer. There is no scientific confirmation for this. However, the herb can be useful at the stage of recovery of the body in combination with other means.

There are few contraindications for wood lice. It can not be taken with individual intolerance, as well as with low pressure and during an exacerbation of chronic diseases. Consultation with a doctor in this situation is strictly required. The side effects of this plant are poorly understood. However, it is known that it contains a lot of saponins, which accelerate the breakdown of red blood cells, and are toxic. The instructions do not indicate the use in pregnant women and children. This issue must be addressed individually with the attending physician.

The use of chickweed in folk medicine

Treatment with herbal woodlice does not always lead to the expected positive result. Often this remedy is used with other herbs to enhance the therapeutic effect. It is also important to know how to properly brew and take the herb.

Tea

Woodlice tea can be taken in its pure form, using fresh, crushed leaves or dry raw materials. But most often it is prescribed in the collection of cough.

Preparation of cough collection

Take 1 tsp. herbs of woodlice, primrose, centaury, plantain, horsetail, thyme.
Pour in two cups of boiling water.
Insist 10 minutes.
Strain.

Drink warm, 2 glasses a day.

Decoction

The use of woodlice herb can be useful in the form of a decoction. It is used for various purposes: for colds, coughs, pain in the joints, as an anti-inflammatory, diuretic, secretory, tonic. Externally used for washing wounds, douching, lotions, baths and compresses. Used for stomatitis, periodontal disease, gingivitis. The eyes are also washed with decoction. Some herbalists indicate that the remedy can be dripped into the eyes with cataracts (against the background of diabetes mellitus), clouding of the cornea, and inflammatory processes. It is not worth risking health, the remedy can be harmful: an acute allergic reaction of the mucosa to the grass is possible. Consultation with an ophthalmologist is necessary.

How to prepare a decoction

Take 2 tbsp. l. dry raw materials.
Pour 0.5 liters of boiling water.
Hold in a water bath for 10 minutes.
Strain.

Inside take ¼ cup 3-4 times a day (preferably before meals).

How to prepare a decoction for a bath

Take 300 g of woodlice.
Pour in 1 liter of boiling water.
Insist 2 hours.
Strain and pour into prepared bath.

Alcohol tincture

From chickweed, effective therapeutic alcohol tinctures are obtained. They are more often prescribed orally for all the above diagnoses in the list of indications. Especially helps with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, relieves spasms and pain in the intestines. However, with a stomach ulcer, all acute forms of diseases of the digestive system, it is necessary to consult a doctor before starting treatment. The herb increases secretion, which can lead to the opposite effect.

How to make a tincture

Take 2 tbsp. l. raw materials.
Pour in 250 ml of vodka.
Insist 2 weeks.
Strain.

Infusion

The infusion is prepared and applied according to the same principle as the decoction. But it is infused longer, as a result of which there is a large concentration of useful substances in it. It is often used externally as an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory agent.

How to make an infusion

Take 1 tbsp. l. woodlice.
Pour in a glass of boiling water.
Insist 6 hours.
Strain.

Taken in the same dosage as the decoction.

Fresh Juice

Juice from medium chickweed is recommended to increase immunity, blood formation, cleansing the body and losing weight, lowering sugar and cholesterol levels. They treat diseases of the thyroid gland, liver, kidneys, heart, as well as hemorrhoids, constipation, migraines and other ailments. In pure and diluted form, they are used externally for the skin: they are treated with purulent wounds, burns, bedsores. It must be remembered that fresh juice can cause diarrhea and indigestion. It cannot be taken without a doctor's prescription and in large portions - 1 tsp each. three times per day. It is recommended to dilute it with water and honey. Although you can find the opposite information: they drink juice 100 ml three times a day.

Juicing

Take 1 kg of fresh herbs.
Pass through the juicer.
Pour into glassware.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Outwardly and to taste it resembles cucumber juice (but not for everyone!). To improve the taste and increase the shelf life, honey and lemon juice are added to the composition.

Cosmetology

In cosmetology, decoctions, infusions, fresh juice are used for skin treatment.

Alcohol tinctures can be used diluted for oily skin.
Mokrichnik helps with acne, furunculosis, acts as a strong antiseptic.
The herb has anti-aging, tonic properties, so it is used not only to treat problem skin, but also to prevent aging.
With furunculosis, acne, it is possible to use it orally to cleanse the body.
With corns, cracks on the heels, warm baths with a decoction of grass help.
With an allergic rash, a decoction of wood lice with a string is recommended.

Application in homeopathy

Stellaria media is a popular remedy in homeopathy. Tinctures are prepared from fresh raw materials, granules are prepared from dry extract. The dose and course of treatment is prescribed by a homeopathic doctor after an internal consultation. Most often, this drug is recommended for rheumatism, gout, psoriasis, migraine, fatigue, irritability, drowsiness, acute pain in the joints and spine, liver disease, constipation.

Grass woodlouse is effective in inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system, digestion, urinary system. It is used in endocrinology, dermatology and cosmetology. Due to the complex of vitamins and microelements, it is valued as a remedy for beriberi, anemia and scurvy.

Hello, friends!

Today we would like to talk about useful grass, which literally lies underfoot and is often thrown away as useless garbage, but at the same time is very useful. Let's learn what the wood louse herb treats.

Medicinal properties of wood lice

Probably, those who have a summer cottage or a country house more than once got rid of grass with small oval-shaped leaves, which quickly grew over the surface of the site. This herb is called wood lice or chickweed medium.

All gardeners consider it an indestructible weed. But most of them do not even suspect that wood lice have useful vitamins, qualities and medicinal properties. Chickweed is truly a unique herb. This biochemical composition puts it among the most useful plants.

A wide range of microelements, the presence of vitamin C allow the use of wood lice as a drug, as well as a prophylactic agent for beriberi. Moreover, the benefits of starch, the amount of vitamin C is many times higher than its content in familiar products, such as lemon, sea buckthorn or rose hips.

In addition, the stems of the plant contain carotene, essential oils, vitamin E, tannins, retinol and many other useful trace elements.
Grass woodlice is ideal for cases where a remedy is required:

anti-inflammatory;
antimicrobial;
hemostatic;
painkiller;
soothing;
tonic;
expectorant;
diuretic;
choleretic.

Starfish can be collected from May to September.

Medicinal use

Despite the medicinal properties of chickweed, it is practically not used for pharmaceuticals. But traditional healers or healers have long appreciated its qualities. What diseases does she treat?

Traditional decoctions or infusions are prepared from the herb, which help well:

when restoring bowel function (with constipation or disorders);
in the treatment of various inflammatory processes in the lungs or bronchi;
to restore or strengthen the immune system;
in the treatment of tumors (only benign);
cleanse blood vessels, lower cholesterol;
when getting rid of hypertension (especially in the initial stage);
restore or accelerate metabolic processes in the body.

Traditional healers also recommend the use of wood lice as a sedative for nervous disorders.
You can also use it if you have cracked heels. It is enough to attach a leaflet to a crack at night or put it in shoes for the whole day. After applying the feet should be thoroughly washed and applied to the heels of sea buckthorn oil.

Often it is advised to use it for women in the presence of gynecological diseases, as well as mastitis and breast tumors.
In a word, chickweed is an indispensable folk remedy that helps to recover from many ailments.

Contraindications

Despite all the beneficial properties of wood lice, it also has contraindications.
1. First, people with low blood pressure (hypotension) and autonomic disorders should not take grass.

2. For gastric diseases (especially ulcers), only decoctions can be taken. Under no circumstances should alcohol be used. This will only make the situation worse.

3. It is not advisable to use wood lice for people who have any allergies, since it is itself a strong allergen.

4. For the same reason, you should not use this medicinal plant to treat children.

When collecting herbs, be sure to follow the usual rules for collecting medicinal plants. Choose only the grass that grew in environmentally friendly conditions. In addition, you need to carefully consider the plant, as there is a grass similar to wood lice, which is related, but very poisonous. Do not tear the plant if you are not sure of its origin.

Healthy Recipes

How to take wood lice for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes? Here are some recipes.

In case of inflammation of the eye cornea, you need to take a spoonful of crushed leaves and stems of grass and pour everything with a glass of steep broth. Infuse the composition for at least one hour. Strain the prepared broth and instill it into the eyes three to four times a day, until the inflammation is eliminated.

For nervous disorders, dried stellate leaves are used. Similarly, prepared and filtered broth is taken 20-25 g before meals.

You can take such a decoction for hypertension in the initial stage.
For the treatment of deep wounds or cuts, including purulent, a decoction is prepared. Take 10-11 tablespoons of fresh chopped herbs, pour warm water and boil. The finished mixture is squeezed, filtered and applied like a compress to damaged areas.

Well helps with rheumatism and other inflammations fresh juice of wood lice (no more than 5 g) with honey (tablespoon).
The easiest way to use the herb to restore immunity or as a preventive measure is to add it in small quantities when preparing various salads.

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