Chamomile

ALTERNATIVE DOCTOR, LLC

CHAMOMILE, GERMAN

Peter Rabbit's mother gave him a cup of chamomile tea after he returned from his day of danger in Mr. MacGregor's garden to settle his stomach, calm him down, and make him sleepy. But the medicinal use of chamomile starts way before the story of Peter Rabbit. Ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks used chamomile flowers to relieve sunstroke, fevers, and colic. Germans use a phrase to describe chamomile, "alles zutraut," which means that chamomile can cure anything.

If you take German chamomile as a tea or liquid extract, it can help stop pains from gas, heartburn, and ulcers. If you use it as a cream or ointment on your skin, it can help reduce symptoms of psoriasis, eczema, or radiation burns from cancer therapies. As an ointment, chamomile may also help heal wounds that have taken a long time to get better. You can put steeped chamomile flowers, or tinctures (solutions made from herb and alcohol, or herb, alcohol, and water), into bathwater and soak in it; this can help heal a number of skin problems, including hemorrhoids. Inhale the steam from a pot of chamomile tea or a few drops of chamomile oil in boiling water when you have a cold. When the tea cools, you can use it as a mouthwash or gargle to help reduce pain from gum disease or mouth sores.

Plant Description

The tiny daisy-like flowers of German chamomile can soothe irritated stomachs, lungs, and skin. The flowers have white collars circling raised, cone-shaped, yellow centers and are less than an inch wide, growing on long, thin, light green stems. Sometimes chamomile grows wild and close to the ground, but you can also find it bordering herb gardens. It can reach up to three feet high. Chamomile can mean either German chamomile or Roman (English) chamomile.

What's It Made Of?

The flowers are put into tea bags for tea, or crushed and steamed so that the oil they contain, which is blue, can be taken out and packaged separately. The oil contains ingredients that stop swelling and help reduce the growth of bacteria, viruses, and even fungi, which can contribute to or cause swelling and pain.

Available Forms

German chamomile is available as dried flower heads, tea, liquid extract, and topical ointment.

How to Take It

There are many uses for chamomile. Irritation from chest colds, slow-healing wounds, abscesses, gum inflammation, psoriasis, eczema, children's conditions such as chickenpox, diaper rash, and colic are common reasons for taking chamomile tea, baths, or tinctures. Usually, chamomile is used when symptoms arise. If you are using it for ulcer, heartburn, or another potentially serious condition, and your symptoms are not going away or are getting worse, see your health care provider as soon as you can.

	To relieve colic, ulcer, stomach pain, heartburn, and gas, make a tea of 2 to 3 g of the herb, steeped in hot water, three to four times daily between meals, or take 5 ml of 1:5 chamomile tincture three times daily.
	To use as a gargle or mouthwash for mouth sores or gum disease, make a tea of 2 to 3 g of the herb, steeped in hot water, then let it cool, and gargle as often as desired.
	For soothing the lungs during a cold or to calm a cough, pour a few drops of essential oil into steaming water and inhale the steam, or prepare tea and inhale the steam.
	To soothe hemorrhoids, cuts, eczema, or insect bites, use 1/4 lb. of dried flowers per bath, or use alcohol extracts of chamomile flowers in the tub.
	To use as a douche, use 3 to 10 percent infusion (herb steeped in water; also called a "tea").
	For poultices applied to inflamed skin, use a 3 to 10 percent infusion (herb steeped in water; also called a "tea").
	For psoriasis, eczema, or dry and flaky skin, apply cream with a 3 to 10 percent crude drug chamomile content.

Precautions

Chamomile is generally safe to use. Highly concentrated tea may cause vomiting, however. If you're allergic to ragweed, you should avoid chamomile, because they are both in the same family.

Chamomile should not be used in large amounts during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. If you are pregnant discuss with your doctor whether or not you should take chamomile.

Possible Interactions

Because the active substances in this herb may have blood-thinning properties, you should not use chamomile while taking anticoagulant (blood-thinning) medications.

Supporting Research

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Szelenyi I, Isaac O, Thiemer K. Pharmacologic experiments with ulcer-protective effect of chamomile. Planta Med. 1979;35:218–227.

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