A few weeks ago, my mother asked me to go cut her some White Oak bark, to boil into a tea. She was having some difficulties with, er, hemorrhoids, (yes, I know, too much information) and an old backwoods remedy called for boiling down White Oak bark, then bathing in the resulting tea, as well as drinking a portion. These 'difficulties' had persisted for a good while, but with the White Oak bark tea treatment, the situation was totally taken care of in less than 48 hours, and the pain much lessened within about 30 minutes.
There are of course quite a few things that White Oak bark is good for besides the aforementioned use, though, and that's the real reason for this post. It's easy to recognize the tree for it's obvious white bark, and just as easy to, with a sturdy blade, remove a small square of bark and then boil it in water. In a survival situation, it's ability to treat digestive problems could well be a lifesaver. Dysentery and bad diarrhea can kill fast when you're stuck in themiddle of nowhere, having to find your own food and shelter. Here's a little info I pulled off of the following website: http://www.blackherbals.com/herbal_review-white_oak.htm
Parts Used: bark and galls
Energy and Flavor: astringent, and bitter taste
Organ Systems Affected: large intestine, lungs
Active ingredients: gallotannic acid, traces of iodine
Properties: astringent, tonic, antiseptic
History and Use:
White Oak is a shrubby tree of the beech family that produce acorns. It can be found all over the Americas, Europe, Asia, as well as Africa. The acorns are commonly eaten as a food by many indigenous people where oak trees naturally grow. The acorns can be roasted, cooked, and grounded into powder as a morning beverage (coffee substitute).
The white oak bark is used by herbalists to treat a variety of diseases such as menstrual problems, varicose veins, sore throat, fevers, and sinus congestion. It has been traditionally used by many herbalists during "small-pox" epidemics as a preventative. The bark is boiled and the body bathed with the liquid. This is an important herb to add to one's diet during the threat of a small-pox attack.
Because of its high nutritional content, acorn porridge is effective in treating wasting diseases including TB. It is also a useful food for AIDS patients. The acorns should be shelled, leached in cool running water and then cooked to a porridge consistency.
White oak bark may be useful for dysentery, diarrhea, gonorrhea, and as an ointment for hemorrhoids, but not yet as popular for its medicinal properties.
Traditional formula:
Simmer one ounce of oak bark in one quart of water down to one pint. Dosage is one wineglassful three times a day. This decoction can be used internally or externally.
Please consider all information in this review to be in the context of giving general information about a condition, substance or remedy.
And another excerpt, from http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/kings/quercus.html :
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.Oak bark is slightly tonic, powerfully astringent, and antiseptic. It is useful, internally in chronic diarrhoea, chronic mucous discharges, passive hemorrhages, and wherever an internal astringent is required. In colliquative sweats, the decoction is usually combined with lime-water. It is, however, more generally used in decoction, as an external agent, which forms an excellent gargle for relaxed uvula and sore throat, a good stimulating astringent lotion for ulcers with spongy granulations, and an astringent injection for leucorrhoea, prolapsus ani, hemorrhoids, etc. The ground bark, made into a poultice, has proved useful in gangrenous or mortified conditions. In sickly, debilitated children, and in severe diarrhoeas, especially when the result of fevers, the decoction, given internally, and used as a bath to the body and limbs, 2 or 3 times a day, will be found very efficient. When given for diarrhoea or dysentery, it should be combined with aromatics, and sometimes with castor oil. A bath is often advantageous in some cutaneous diseases. The green bark of elder and white oak bruised together, or in strong decoction, forms a very useful and valuable application to abrasions. Dose of the decoction, 1 to 2 fluid ounces; of the extract, from 5 to 20 grains. A coffee made from roasted acorns, has been highly recommended in the treatment of scrofula.
Specific Indications and Uses.Relaxation of mucous membranes, with unhealthy discharge; ulcerations, with spongy granulations.
There are of course quite a few things that White Oak bark is good for besides the aforementioned use, though, and that's the real reason for this post. It's easy to recognize the tree for it's obvious white bark, and just as easy to, with a sturdy blade, remove a small square of bark and then boil it in water. In a survival situation, it's ability to treat digestive problems could well be a lifesaver. Dysentery and bad diarrhea can kill fast when you're stuck in themiddle of nowhere, having to find your own food and shelter. Here's a little info I pulled off of the following website: http://www.blackherbals.com/herbal_review-white_oak.htm
WHITE OAK
(QUERCUS ALBA)
(QUERCUS ALBA)
Parts Used: bark and galls
Energy and Flavor: astringent, and bitter taste
Organ Systems Affected: large intestine, lungs
Active ingredients: gallotannic acid, traces of iodine
Properties: astringent, tonic, antiseptic
History and Use:
White Oak is a shrubby tree of the beech family that produce acorns. It can be found all over the Americas, Europe, Asia, as well as Africa. The acorns are commonly eaten as a food by many indigenous people where oak trees naturally grow. The acorns can be roasted, cooked, and grounded into powder as a morning beverage (coffee substitute).
The white oak bark is used by herbalists to treat a variety of diseases such as menstrual problems, varicose veins, sore throat, fevers, and sinus congestion. It has been traditionally used by many herbalists during "small-pox" epidemics as a preventative. The bark is boiled and the body bathed with the liquid. This is an important herb to add to one's diet during the threat of a small-pox attack.
Because of its high nutritional content, acorn porridge is effective in treating wasting diseases including TB. It is also a useful food for AIDS patients. The acorns should be shelled, leached in cool running water and then cooked to a porridge consistency.
White oak bark may be useful for dysentery, diarrhea, gonorrhea, and as an ointment for hemorrhoids, but not yet as popular for its medicinal properties.
Traditional formula:
Simmer one ounce of oak bark in one quart of water down to one pint. Dosage is one wineglassful three times a day. This decoction can be used internally or externally.
Please consider all information in this review to be in the context of giving general information about a condition, substance or remedy.
And another excerpt, from http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/kings/quercus.html :
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.Oak bark is slightly tonic, powerfully astringent, and antiseptic. It is useful, internally in chronic diarrhoea, chronic mucous discharges, passive hemorrhages, and wherever an internal astringent is required. In colliquative sweats, the decoction is usually combined with lime-water. It is, however, more generally used in decoction, as an external agent, which forms an excellent gargle for relaxed uvula and sore throat, a good stimulating astringent lotion for ulcers with spongy granulations, and an astringent injection for leucorrhoea, prolapsus ani, hemorrhoids, etc. The ground bark, made into a poultice, has proved useful in gangrenous or mortified conditions. In sickly, debilitated children, and in severe diarrhoeas, especially when the result of fevers, the decoction, given internally, and used as a bath to the body and limbs, 2 or 3 times a day, will be found very efficient. When given for diarrhoea or dysentery, it should be combined with aromatics, and sometimes with castor oil. A bath is often advantageous in some cutaneous diseases. The green bark of elder and white oak bruised together, or in strong decoction, forms a very useful and valuable application to abrasions. Dose of the decoction, 1 to 2 fluid ounces; of the extract, from 5 to 20 grains. A coffee made from roasted acorns, has been highly recommended in the treatment of scrofula.
Specific Indications and Uses.Relaxation of mucous membranes, with unhealthy discharge; ulcerations, with spongy granulations.
