Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Camphor

[00:00:00] Hey y'all, welcome to this week's show. Now today's herb that we're going to focus on is one that's really especially useful for, well I'd say for preppers really, for anyone that lives in the country where you might have mice that come in in the wintertime or squirrels. You know, I'm constantly battling the flying squirrels where I live. It is a yearly battle. First, hard freeze the flying squirrels.

[00:00:30] I just try to get in my attic and they are as tenacious as field mice. I am pretty sure they can get through any crack of any size, even if sunlight can't get through it. They're just a complete nuisance. But there are various varmints that we have to deal with, but especially if you're in a camping out, if you're in some kind of survival situation, animals getting into your food, getting around your camp, getting

[00:01:00] near you where they can bite you or insects sting you or such as that, you really have to prioritize that aspect. I mean, I guess in recent years, it's, I guess, probably what, since the 80s. I mean, it's become just like everybody carries with them some kind of like frozen,

[00:01:25] freeze-dried, I mean, freeze-dried, sealed, dehydrated. You never take fresh meat, obviously, into camp. And, you know, that's really different. I mean, from the 1950s and before, no hunter would go out at least without bacon. I mean, you at least took bacon with you.

[00:01:46] Maybe fresh meat, it depends, or you were hunting and trapping while you were in camp. Fish can be difficult because raccoons, right? Possums, various animals, bears, are attracted to the scent of that meat. So, I mean, you know, growing up, I learned that when you're camping out, you take your bacon and your butter and any meat, you have some pork chops or whatever you might happen to have with you,

[00:02:12] and you can hang it in a bag from a tree, and you put like an empty tuna can on the line, right? So, like, even the acrobat of the night, the raccoon tries to climb down that line, he can't get around the can to get to your meat. It's up away from bears, they can't get to it. One thing you absolutely never do is put in the tent with you. I was talking with a friend of mine.

[00:02:41] Recently, and she said, like, her first camping trip was the scariest experience of her life because she and her friend had a tent, and they had donuts with them, a box of Krispy Kremes, and, you know, I love Krispy Kremes. I will not fault the raccoon in this instance whatsoever because I would go to great lengths to get a good Krispy Kreme donut.

[00:03:04] That's like my weakness. I mean, I know I don't have a big sweet tooth. Most of the stuff that people live on, I don't care about it all. But a hot and ready Krispy Kreme donut, just regular old original glaze, man, I am telling you, with a cup of coffee, that is like, that is like it for me, you know? Or when it comes to the field donuts, the lemon cream or the custard with chocolate on top. I mean, those things are amazing.

[00:03:31] And then if you, you know, I'm sorry if y'all grew up with like Dunkin' Donuts or something like that. No comparison. No comparison whatsoever. Krispy Kreme is made with a sour dough. It is leavened. It is fried. It is just like the most brilliant, wonderful, absolutely, right? So she and her friend had a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, and they had a few left over, and they put them in the tent.

[00:03:58] And about one in the morning, she awakens to this sound of something scratching, and suddenly something rips open the side of her tent, and a little black hand reaches in and grabs the donuts. And that, of course, is a raccoon. And so, you learn very quickly in the wilderness, you do not put food inside your tent. Could have been a bear. Had it been a bear or a coyote's, she could have been in a much worse situation.

[00:04:28] Hang the food. Like I said, that's what we were taught in scouts and such. And that's what it shows in the old books. One of the best things I saw, really, in an old book from, I guess, maybe 1910 or something, and this is one I employ quite a bit, was a milk crate. Now, what do you do with a milk crate in the woods? Well, if you have meat, and this is much easier in our time than it was in 1910, when all they had was, like, butcher paper and such,

[00:04:56] you can take your fresh meat or your bacon, you can take your eggs, you can take cheese, you can take milk, you can take whatever you want to the woods, believe it or not. If it's, as long as you can pack it in, if it's not too heavy, you can take it. You do not have to live on crappy, horrible MREs or disgusting dehydrated food that they sell to campers and preppers. You know, I'm sorry, I'm probably, you know, if there was somebody looking to sponsor me, you know, I probably just lost them. But that crap is disgusting.

[00:05:26] Okay? There's no need for it. You can, and you don't have to have Mylar bags, but sure, go for it. You do not have to have, what, desiccants and oxygen removers. If you want to do that, hey, more power to you. You don't have to do any of that. You can literally just get a couple pounds of bacon and some eggs and cheese and a couple of steaks and some pork chops, maybe a chicken. Seriously. Put them in Ziploc bags. Okay?

[00:05:56] As long as you're washed on the outside, animals really shouldn't smell what's in a side of the Ziploc bag. Now, some possibly can, but it's not supposed to work that way. You can do extra precautions. You can wrap them in foil. You can, you know, whatever you want to do. You can vacuum seal them. It doesn't matter to me. Right? But you also have the aspect of you've got to keep your meat cold. Well, that's what goes back to that milk crate. Your meat sealed off in Ziploc bags.

[00:06:25] And, I mean, I'm talking bacon especially because, I mean, to me that's just an absolute necessity. You've got protein. You've got fat to cook something in. It's cured. It's not going to spoil. It'll keep for a couple of weeks out on the trail. No problem. Right? So, take your meats, your eggs even, whatever you want. You want to keep it cold, your dairy, butter. I like to carry butter. I'm not a big fan of margarine. If I can't carry that, I'll carry a little olive oil. You know? You've got to have something oil to cook in.

[00:06:54] People go out on these, like, survival shows. They're like, well, we're just going to live on what we catch and cook. Well, you know what? After a few days, they start getting really weak. And they don't have the energy to do what they need. And the main reason is they're not getting enough fat. When you grill things over a fire or cook something on a stick, the fat drips off. You're not getting the fat. Carbs are good. Carbs are important. I don't see why, if you can take some coffee or some salt into a situation, you can't take

[00:07:22] some rice or some cornmeal. I mean, you know, it's just stupid, in my opinion. I mean, you know, these guys make a big deal. We're going out for 30 days and we're going to eat what we catch and cook. But meanwhile, they bring their, like, spice mixes and coffee and salt. I mean, it's, you know, really contrived, convoluted. I mean, you know, look at Otzi or Utzi or however you want to pronounce it. The Bogman from, what, almost 10,000 years ago.

[00:07:51] People say I kind of look a lot like him, actually. So I like to read up about him. In his pack, he had what he needed to survive. He had food. He had herbal medicine. He had medicinal mushrooms. He had dried meat. He had, I think, some meal of some sort or some grains. Why can't you carry that into the wilderness if you're, you know, a bushcrafter, as they call it? I got a problem with that term as well.

[00:08:20] I mean, for, like, you know, a couple hundred years, we called it woodcraft. And then suddenly in the 80s, these guys from, like, Australia and England started calling it bushcraft. And now everybody calls it bushcraft. I mean, I got woods around here. I don't got a lot of frickin' bushes. I mean, what, I'm going to go squat in the bushes for a night? You know, maybe if you're in the outback and you're going to go eat some bush tucker, you want to, I mean, come on, really. We got frickin' trees here. We got big-ass trees.

[00:08:47] Big old, I mean, this is wood, woodlands. We don't live in the bush. The bush is your hedge in your backyard. No. So, anyway, yeah, I get it. And, you know, I'll probably have to use that term for marketing at some point. But to me, it's just stupid. I mean, you know, Bradford Angier and George Herter and all those guys that were writing back in the 20s and 30s and 40s, they called it woodcraft.

[00:09:16] Why in the world have we started talking like we're from frickin' England or something? I'm not from England or Canada. Sorry, Canadians. I mean, you know, we have woods. And actually, you have woods in Canada. So why are you talking like an Australian? I mean, sorry. We don't live in the bush. We live in the woods. But anyway, woodcraft. I don't see why you can't do like Otzi and take with you a few things you need to eat. We're human beings, after all.

[00:09:45] Now, someone might say to me, well, you know, what if you had to survive in that situation? And I'm like, okay, so what do I have? You've got your knife and a fire starter. I'm like, well, how did I get a knife and a fire starter? Did somebody kidnap me and take everything I've got, but they were so nice to me they handed me a knife and a ferro rod? It doesn't make any sense. Seriously. That doesn't make any sense. Is it a hurricane situation?

[00:10:12] And I can't, what, grab a bag of beans before I leave the house? Some tuna? Am I going camping and I just got lost or I went for a hike? I mean, that has actually happened to me before. I was planning on going for a hike for an hour or two and ended up longer than I thought I would be. But again, that's lack of planning on my part. Well, you may be in a plane crash. Well, they don't allow you to take a knife on an airplane anymore. And they're certainly not going to allow you to take a fire starter.

[00:10:41] But even then, I don't fly. If I travel, it's by vehicle or boat. I learned to fly as a kid. My great uncle had an airplane. He taught me to fly. I do not fly commercial. I don't trust it. I don't like it. I do not like the regulations and the TSA. I will not fly. Sorry. If I can't drive or I can't take a boat, I'm just freaking not going.

[00:11:05] But what situation would put me out there with only a knife and a ferro rod? Or a magnifying lens, like a Fresno lens to start a fire or whatever. A bow drill. Maybe even just a knife. Did I not plan? You know, that's my fault. Was I in a boat wreck?

[00:11:28] Well, if the boat sinks and all I get off of there, you know, get out of there, is what's on my body. Shouldn't I still have a little first aid kit? A little fishing kit? I mean, you know, I carry things in my pockets. Well, you know, I'm a human being. A human being can plan ahead and I'm going to take a little food. I mean, I'm going into the woods in a situation where I'm going to spend more than a few hours without taking a little bit of beef jerky.

[00:11:56] A little bit of maybe some lentils and rice. I mean, I'm going to have a little food on me. I mean, I don't get it. So anyway. But anyway, if you do have to store meat in the woods, one of the best ways to do it is to put it in Ziploc bags. Get everything sealed off. Water can't get in there. You know, fish can't get into it. Animals can't get into it unless they chew through it. But here's how you prevent that.

[00:12:21] Put it in that milk crate or a mesh bag, which is actually what I use because I don't carry a milk crate into the woods like people would in 1910 or 1920. Could. It's just a very useful item. But a little mesh bag is so convenient. And dig a little hole in the creek. Pull the rocks back. Dig a hole in the creek. Put your food that's all sealed up and waterproof into the hole.

[00:12:50] Pile rocks on top of it. Now it's underwater. It's cold. That creek's going to stay most likely under 40 degrees unless it's really heat of summer and you're in the south. In the mountains where I live, that creek's going to probably be about 38 to 42. So like a refrigerator. Fish can't get into it. Fish can't get into it. Nothing can smell it. Crawfish can be an issue. But if you really pile it up with rocks and get it good and sealed up, crawfish aren't going to find it either.

[00:13:21] And that's really the only critter I've ever had a problem with was crawfish. But that's like really long term. You're going to have to leave it down there for a couple of days before they really get to it. The exception would be if you get to the coast and you're like the saltwater dividing line, crabs will tear into anything. Crabs are just tenacious. They will rip anything apart. So that's like maybe the one place that wouldn't work.

[00:13:46] But for 95% of North America, there is no reason not to take some bacon with you into the woods. We don't have to live on garbage, freeze-dried, nasty-ass food. I'm sorry. We don't. And it's expensive. A pound of lentils, a pound or two of rice, maybe two or three ounces of olive oil, an onion. What? Eight ounces of bacon.

[00:14:15] Adds hardly any weight to your pack. Cost. I mean, the bacon's going to be the most expensive thing. And right now, even in these times, even after Biden's inflation, I can get bacon on sale for $3.99 for some pretty decent bacon, at least eight or 12 ounces. That's a couple days' worth of bacon. I can throw in there maybe a can of tuna or sardines. I mean, we're human beings.

[00:14:39] How have people got this idea of going out in the woods means if you're a bushcrafter? I'm not a bushcrafter. I'm a woodsman. Well, if you're a survivalist, well, I'm not actually a survivalist. You know, I'm not a caveman. I'm not a caveman. And even cavemen, like Otzi, they carried with them provisions. I can put up a tarp and I can sleep on the ground and I can build a fire with 15 different ways and just about anything.

[00:15:09] I can forage. I can hunt and I can trap and I can catch fish and all that. You know, it's a little convoluted. These shows, you know, naked and afraid and all that garbage, they're not realistic scenarios. Let's just put it that way. I mean, if you were in that situation where someone had just taken you away from your home, they're not going to hand you a knife and a ferro rod. They're just not going to do it. We have, you know, call us preppers, call us whatever you want.

[00:15:39] But we got a bug out bag, right? You got a first aid kit. You got your little fishing kit, maybe two or three of them of different sizes. If you know, some survival snares. There's absolutely no reason not to take some fat and some carbs and protein with you, some food. And literally a couple of potatoes and an onion or two don't take up much space and don't weigh more than a pound. I mean, really? Anyway, I could go on about this for a while. I love a lot of these guys.

[00:16:08] You know, Greg Ovens, I'm a big fan of his. Oh, what's the dude? He was on that alone show with Greg. I watch his stuff all the time. Something makers and mischief. He's got a great YouTube channel. Cool guys. Really enjoy their stuff. Pick up a lot of tips from them. But this idea of like we're going out for 30 days and the only thing we're going to eat is what we catch. Well, you know, Otsi didn't do that.

[00:16:38] Why are you? I mean, you're putting yourself in an unnatural situation. Human beings have the ability to plan ahead. When my friend in Ukraine, we were talking, my dearly departed friend in Ukraine, before the war, she knew the Russians were going to be attacking every day. She was planning on storing food and storing water and storing up medical supplies. We're human beings.

[00:17:05] And we live in a modern time where we pretty much can guess. I mean, like James Gregory always said, there's no such thing as a fast-moving hurricane. I mean, that hurricane's coming at you. The newsman's going to be on the television every night saying, hurricane's going to be here at 11 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. Hurricane's going to be here at 11 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, day after day after day.

[00:17:27] If you don't get some batteries and flashlights and candles and sterno and, you know, propane and whatever you need, that's your own damn fault. I just, I don't get a lot of that stuff. But, if you for some reason did not have any of these items that I have just mentioned and you were in an outdoor situation or you were in a base camp or you were in your own home and mice are coming in,

[00:17:54] one thing you can use to protect your food from insects, rodents, and just about everything else is camphor. Camphor has been used by a man for thousands of years. In its natural state, it is a resin from a tree. 99% of the camphor we find on the market now is synthetic. It's what you might find in mothballs. That is a synthetic product. It is not good for you.

[00:18:24] Do not get it on your hands. Do not try not to inhale it. It can kill your brain cells. Do not ingest it for any means whatsoever. So, that's, like, I want to point out, we're not talking about mothballs. Now, you can take mothballs and you can crush them down. You can mix them with, like, I guess, wood ashes and Vaseline or something like that.

[00:18:47] And you can smear it on the outside containers of your food, whatever bags or containers you're using. And nothing's coming near it. Okay? Bugs are going to stay out of it. You can use it as a mosquito repellent. You can use it as a snake repellent. You can keep ants away with it. You can keep bears away with it. It's nasty, nasty, nasty stuff.

[00:19:14] Mothballs, basically, like, pounded and kind of mixed and cooked down with a petroleum base. And, like, basically some wood ashes to make it a paste. I'm sure there are other things you could use. I haven't really looked into it. But you can smear that on just about anything. You can do it as a perimeter around your tent, around your camp. It smells horrible. You're not going to like it any more than the critters.

[00:19:38] But in a survival situation, a bag of mothballs, which don't cost more than about, what, $2.50, could really keep the mice out of your food. And it's a good thing. So, that distinction being made. Here we are 20 minutes into the show. I'm going to tell you about the actual real camphor. The stuff that can be used medicinally.

[00:20:03] And it's actually, natural camphor is not recommended to be taken internally. But it's actually a component of many traditional formulas. In fact, it's included in the Swedish bitters, which, you know, I love the Swedish bitters. It's aromatic. It can open the sinuses. It's sort of like Vicks Vaporub, you know, uses camphor and eucalyptus. I think camphor is still in the recipe. It used to be.

[00:20:31] It is potentially toxic. Most traditionally has been used as a deterrent to rodents and moths and other bugs. But it has some really good medicinal use. Plants for Future says that camphor has a long history of herbal use. In the Orient, that's the East, oddly enough, they used to call the West the Occident and the East the Orient. I have no idea what that is.

[00:21:00] But if you ever hear the word Occidental, it basically means Western Europe. Yeah, just an odd term. And we don't really use Orient much anymore either. But, you know, for a few thousand years, that's what it was called. Everything, like, west of the Mediterranean was Occidental. And everything east of the Mediterranean was Oriental. Which is, I think, I don't know.

[00:21:26] I think Orient actually does mean something to do, like in Latin, to the word East. So, anyway. Neither here nor there. But it says it has a wide range of uses and has been used occasionally in the treatment of hysteria. But in modern-day herbalism, it is mainly used as essential oil and internal use is not advised. I agree. Unless you have the natural form, you really don't want to be taking this internally. Except in the Swedish bitters. Yeah, it is in the natural form there.

[00:21:56] The wood and leaves are analgesic. It means it helps with pain. Antispasmodic. Rubifacient stimulant. Rubifacient means reddening or warming to the skin. The plant is more commonly used in the form of the essential oil, which can be obtained by distillation of the chip branches, trunk, and wood from the tree, from the leaves and stems. The trees normally have to be about 24 to 40 years old. So, this isn't one you're going to be growing.

[00:22:24] The essential oil is anthelmintic, which means it gets rid of intestinal parasites. Antirheumatic. It helps with arthritis and swollen joints. Antispasmodic. That means spasms and cramps. Oh, what else? More big words. Cardiotonic. It means it helps with heart discomfort. Carminative. It means it helps with burping and upset stomach. Diaphoretic. Helps break a fever. Sedative and tonic.

[00:22:51] It is used externally in liniments for treating joint and muscle pain. Balms for chill blades, chaplains, cold sores, skin diseases, and as an inhalant for brachial congestion. Some cautions advise excessive use can cause vomiting. Palpitations. Convulsions and death. So, yeah, don't take the essential oil internally. I'm just saying. I mean, seriously.

[00:23:19] It says that in excess doses, like the essential oil could even be absorbed through skin enough to make you sick. Rodale's illustrated encyclopedia of herbs. This camphor has a yellow oil that permeates the tree. It is antiseptic and anthelomitic and is used in lotions to relieve pain and itching.

[00:23:43] Now, okay, we're getting into some much more interesting information here from Ms. Grebe. She gives a long, remember this book's written in the 1930s, a modern herbal. She tells about how the crystalline substance, which we know as camphor, is derived from the cinnamon tree. Cinnamonium camphora. The camphor only comes from the camphora, which is a little bit different than the cinnamon that we use in spice.

[00:24:12] But they're very closely related. At her time in the 1930s, most of it was coming from Borneo. Before then, it was coming from Egypt, Formosa, Madagascar. I mean, it's fairly exotic. This isn't one we're going to grow. But she gets into a lot of history about how the Japanese really developed the essential oil technique. But I'm going to skip a lot of that.

[00:24:38] You can find in my book, Encyclopedia of Medicinal Herbs, if you're interested. It has a long use of being used in funeral rites, embalming, perfuming a body before burial. A lot of times used in different incenses and such. In religious ceremonies. But for medicinal actions and uses. She says that camphor has a strong, penetrating, fragrant odor. A bitter, pungent taste.

[00:25:08] It is slightly cold to the touch, like menthol. Locally, it is an irritant. It numbs the peripheral sensory nerves. And is slightly antiseptic. It is not readily absorbed by the mucous membrane. But it is easily absorbed by the subcutaneous tissue. It combines in the body with glucuronic acid. And in this condition, it is avoided by urine. So even if you do take it medicinally, if you don't, I mean internally. If you don't take enough to kill you, you're going to pee it out eventually.

[00:25:38] Experiments on frogs show a depressant action to the spinal column. It means this actually has like some narcotic effect. It could cause a slow but increasing paralysis in mankind. It causes convulsions from the effect it has on the motor tract of the brain. It stimulates the intellectual centers. Now that's interesting. Actually, this is a long use of sniffing.

[00:26:05] Just the camphor, natural camphor, does seem to make the brain a little sharper. Helps with memory. Helps with alertness. It's a very long use. Thousands of years people have used it for that reason. And it can actually be used to prevent narcotic drugs from taking effect for the same reason. So it was used often as an antidote for morphine overdoses and such.

[00:26:31] Not probably the most effective, but better than nothing, obviously. So was cinnamon, by the way. Cinnamon taken internally often was used for helping its overdoses because it's got that stimulant effect. Cayenne pepper also works very much the same way. Let's see. In case of nervous excitement, it has a soothing and quieting result. Authorities vary as to its effect on blood pressure. Some think it raises it, while others take the opposite view.

[00:27:01] It has been used as a valuable excitant in cases of heart failure. In other words, just like cayenne pepper tincture, just like sprayed in the back of the throat when someone's going into shock, camphor can actually help kind of jumpstart the heart back up. It just like wakes the body up. Pretty interesting and really very useful, these herbs.

[00:27:24] Not as useful as, you know, what's that needle they shoot into somebody when they're going into heart failure. Is it epinephrine? Probably is. Not going to be anything like that, but again, better than nothing. It says stimulates circulation, prevents the growth of pneumococci. It's been used against typhoid and pneumonia.

[00:27:50] Medicinally used for its calming effect in hysteria, nervousness, neuralgia, serious diarrhea, and externally as a counter-irritant in rheumatism. Warming, reddening, kind of, you know, helps soothe the joints and such. For sprains and bronchitis and inflammatory conditions, used sometimes in conjunction with menthol and phenol for heart failure. Actually was given hypodermically.

[00:28:15] I'm not even going to get into that, but it could be used for heart failure. So, I mean, like as an emergency thing. Now, camphor, as we mentioned, actually comes to European herbal tradition from Asia. And it was essentially the Chinese would trade to the Arabs. The Arabs would trade to the Europeans. It's got a much longer use, actually, in Chinese medicine. It's known as Zhang Dao in Chinese medicine.

[00:28:46] It's specifically effective on the heart and spleen. It was actually used to help try to arouse people out of an unconscious state. It says coma, but they're actually talking an unconscious state. So, like smelling salts, almost. Use for scabies, skin infections, trauma even. Again, that kind of like shock aspect. Toothache, it can help numb a sore tooth.

[00:29:15] Use for vomiting, diarrhea, chest pain, abdominal pain, stomach dyspepsia, abdominal distending pain. Use for injuries, pains, and swellings, ringworms, itching, and sores. Yeah, so really good. Let me get more. Let's see if I can get more into modern use.

[00:29:38] So, the camphor oil was popular in mainstream medicine. You know, you get this from your drugstore. Your doctor would prescribe it in America until really not that long ago. Probably 30 years, 40 years ago. Maybe not even that long.

[00:30:03] Several instances occurred in which children were fed camphor oil by parents. And, like I said, do not take camphor oil internally. And, but they had mistaken it for castor oil. And camphor oil being toxic poisoned them. So, instead of just like better labeling the two, like putting a big old label on there saying this is camphor oil and this is castor oil, they pulled it from the market.

[00:30:31] So, kind of a weird overreaction. I'm not sure what was really behind that. But, before then, it was used by doctors as antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative. That means, it's basically burping and ingestion. Settles the stomach. Cardiac stimulant, respiratory aid, and anthelmintic, which again means it's rid of intestinal parasites. Use for congestive problems such as bronchitis and emphysema.

[00:30:57] Actually, it was used in several food products to enhance the flavors of vanilla and peppermint. So, I mean, you know, it's not super dangerous. But, in that, you know, essential oil state can be quite toxic. But, even going back to what, 1500, 1400, no, before then, probably 1200s.

[00:31:23] It was popular in European herbal medicine in Germany. It was being imported from Asia and the Arab countries. And, Paracelsus, the great controversial Paracelsus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hoennheim. One of the most colorful characters in medical history included in his formulas. And, that's probably how it made it into the Swedish bitters.

[00:31:52] King's Medical Dispensatory of 1898 says, In large doses, camper is narcotic and irritant. So, dangerous. In small doses, it's sedative, anodine, anispasmodic, diaphoretic, and anthelmetic. Very small doses stimulate. And, large doses depress. Used for esophageal and gastric pain, vomiting, slow and enfeebled intermittent pulse,

[00:32:20] dizziness, drowsiness, dimness of sight, pallid cold skin, muscular weakness, spasms, muscular rigidity, and convulsions. But, then they go on. This 1898 says, several deaths have resulted from people taking the oil internally. So, we want to really be very careful about that. Never use it during pregnancy, of course. You know, we'll wrap it up. Let's see. Specific indications and uses.

[00:32:49] Useful for insomnia and restlessness, interestingly. Pulse being soft and the tongue moist for diarrhea. Low grades of inflammation, fevers, particularly typhoid with great restlessness. This is still King's medical dispense story, by the way. This is what a doctor would have looked at in 1898. Muttering delirium. Useful for muttering delirium. Don't even know what that would be caused by, but it certainly doesn't sound pleasant. Nor does morbid watchfulness.

[00:33:20] I guess it's sort of some kind of paranoia. I have no idea. But, anyway. For dry skin, quick irritable pulse, stranglery that's, you know, water retention, not able to urinate. Or, too frequent urination. Again, it has a different effect in large and small doses.

[00:33:41] Specific use, and in very minute doses, for burning pain in the stomach, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting, weak and husky voice, and cold extremities. So, in the end, camphor is a very important herb, but one to be used with caution. It is a major component of the Swedish bitters. When you get a fresh batch of Swedish bitters, you know, I ordered mine from Germany. They're called Schwedenbalsum.

[00:34:10] I guess that's the way you pronounce them. Because they're ingredients like camphor that I can't grow myself. A lot of the herbs I can, but that's the one formula I pay for about six months. Every six months, I'll pay about $30 for six months' worth of Swedish bitters. And I think it's well worth it. I mean, I really do like it quite a bit. Antiviral, good for all kinds of stuff. Good for the stomach, good for the lungs. I just, I like my Swedish bitters.

[00:34:39] Just a little sip each morning. So, when you first get the package and you open it up, it's just big. I mean, like, quart-sized plastic bag of herbs. And there's like, well, I don't know, 27 different herbs in there. You open it up, that camphor hits you like a punch in the face. I mean, it's like opening out an old-fashioned bottle of Vicks Vapor Rub. I mean, it just, like, knocks you in the face, right?

[00:35:10] The other herbs, of course, they're going to hit you with the wormwood and the ginship and all those bitter. And then you smell the cinnamon and you smell the ginger in there. I mean, it's just really interesting. Even just to smell Swedish bitters is kind of fascinating. They put, actually, to counter the camphor, they put in a small amount of rock candy. Old-fashioned sugar rock candy, right? So, when you first make it up, you dump that into a jar.

[00:35:38] You pour in like a half gallon of vodka and it turns like tar black. I mean, all the oils and compounds from these really strong herbs, it turns like tar black. And, really, for the first, until things balance out, really, the first few weeks, the camphor's hitting you like crazy. And, I'll tell you, it opens your sinuses, it clears the lungs, it clears congestion. I really like the stuff.

[00:36:05] I wish we could grow camphor and cinnamon, you know, its cousin here. But, readily available and fairly inexpensive. So, you know, it's a bit of a mystery. I mean, you know, everything you'll read is don't use for internal use. And, there it is. And, the Swedish bitters, which have been around for hundreds of years. Probably formulated by old Paracelsus himself. The interesting character, as I've mentioned. I've gone into his history before.

[00:36:35] I mean, he's a fascinating dude. Really. I mean, he was a total rebel in medicine. He could cure illnesses and diseases that no one else could. And, instead of the doctors learning from him, the doctors and pharmacists of his time, they tried to have him killed. And, so, he was fleeing for his life from one country to another.

[00:37:00] Usually, like, going to some, like, Bavarian province to help a dying prince with some uncurable illness. And, then he would. And, then everybody tried to kill him. So, he'd flee to Austria. And, again, you know, the medical industry has not really changed very much in several hundred years. But, anyway, y'all, I hope you enjoyed this show. So, I wandered far afield. But, I'm, you know, I think it was cogent. I think it was cogent.

[00:37:30] I think, you know, maybe as preppers, I know we like to do our, like, survival thing and our primitive skills camps and all that. But, you know, let's keep in mind, you know, Otzi took with him what he needed. He was not, all I'm going to eat is what I catch and cook. You know. No. Not at all. We're human beings. We have brains we can think.

[00:37:57] And, maybe we want to back away a little bit from that, like, stereotype. You know, each one of us fancies ourselves as Jeremiah Johnson or some kind of Sasquatch. You know, that's not what our ancestors did. That's not at all. I mean, you know, back up a few hundred years. And, when the pilgrims came here, they brought over tons of food. And, the only reason they stopped at Plymouth Rock is because they ran out of beer. You know, you can go back before then.

[00:38:27] And, the Polynesians and the Siberians that first populated America brought tons of food with them. And, not just meat, but plants and grains and seeds and what they had and medicine. And, yeah. I mean, human beings can think. We can foresee the future and we can plan for the future. And, you know, we don't have to act like... I don't want to disparage anyone because, like I said, a lot of these guys I really like.

[00:38:56] But, a lot of the TV shows are just idiotic. I mean, I don't care. Offer me a million dollars going naked and afraid. I'm going to tell you to stick it up your ass. I mean, seriously. I think it's just absolutely stupid. But, hey. If that's your thing, you know, go for it. You know. Anyway. Anyway, y'all. Have a great week. I will talk to you next time.

[00:39:26] The information in this podcast is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing I say or write has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I'm not a doctor. The U.S. government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine. And, there is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm really just a guy who studies herbs. I'm not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true. I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for.

[00:39:54] I can tell you my own experience and if I believe in herbs, help me. I cannot nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use an herb anyone recommends, you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, a sensitivity, an underlying condition that no one else even shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health.

[00:40:20] By continuing to listen to my podcast or read my blog, you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices, and not to blame me for anything ever. Thank you.