LEMON BALM (MELISSA OFFICINALIS) DRIED HERB, CUT
Lemon balm is a mint with a distinctly lemony scent. Its botanical name Melissa is taken from the Greek word for bee, indicative of the plant's attractive power for bees and useful insects of all kinds. The term "balm" refers to balsam, the ancient world's most important sweet-smelling oils. For thousands of years herbalists used lemon balm to treat any kind of disorder of the central nervous system. The London Dispensary (1696) says: "An essence of Balm, given in Canary wine, every morning will renew youth, strengthen the brain, relieve languishing nature and prevent baldness." John Evelyn wrote: "Balm is sovereign for the brain, strengthening the memory and powerfully chasing away melancholy."
---Medicinal Action and Uses---
Carminative, diaphoretic and febrifuge. It induces a mild perspiration and makes a pleasant and cooling tea for feverish patients in cases of catarrh and influenza. To make the tea, pour 1 pint of boiling water upon 1 oz. of herb, infuse 15 minutes, allow to cool, then strain and drink freely. If sugar and a little lemon peel or juice be added it makes a refreshing summer drink.
Lemon Balm is a useful herb, either alone or in combination with others. It is excellent in colds attended with fever, as it promotes perspiration .
Used with salt, it was formerly applied for the purpose of taking away wens, and had the reputation of cleansing sores and easing the pains of gout.
Lemon Balm is also very successful in the treating of herpes and cold sores. To create a cold sore home remedy using lemon balm you will need:
- 2 teaspoons of dried lemon balm
- 1 cup of boiling water.
- Simply steep the lemon balm in the boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Strain.
- Saturate a cotton ball in the tea and dab onto the cold sore at least 4 times a day.
You can also drink a few cups of lemon balm tea each day to help eliminate the virus from your body.