St. John's Wort

St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a lovely little five-petalled, yellow flowering plant that begins blooming around the Summer Solstice each year here on the west coast. Over the last few years my husband and I have driven all over three counties in southwest Oregon to wild harvest it from specific spots so that I can make medicinal preparations with it for myself and others. Thankfully as of this year we are growing some of our own plants. We ordered a few starts and a packet of seeds from Strictly Medicinal Seeds https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com. 

(St. John's Wort  growing wild in Coos County, Oregon - pic by me)

I make and use a lot of St. John's infused oil. I need it for myself on a regular basis and I have folks who rely on me for it as well. I find it to be the most important multi-purpose herbal oil that I make. I personally use it as a massage oil for managing chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia, arthritis, sciatica, bursitis and plantar fasciitis and have used it as a first aid oil for kitchen burns, sunburns, abrasions, bumps, bruises, strains, sprains and ear aches. I also apply it as a skin moisturizer that seems to offer some degree of protection from the sun. And based on my experience working with others, it has seemed to help most people who are looking for relief from the same complaints that it helps me with and more. I know of it working well for folks suffering from other types of nerve pain, shingles, cold sores/herpes and hemorrhoids. I know I am forgetting something else but I can't think of it right now. Lol.


(St. John's Wort flowers, buds and leaves - pic by me) 

(Vibrant red St. John's Wort Oil in the making - pic by me)

I also make a small amount of tincture annually to have on hand for internal and external use. I use it as needed to help me manage the "winter blahs" that I can be prone to. Even though the area of southwest Oregon where we live is abundant in natural beauty, we live in a valley that is often blanketed by a grey cloud cover that comes in from the coast and makes it look like a misty morning all day. Not to mention a lot of dark rainy days but that is why it is so incredibly green here. Any way, as far as Winter blahs go, I seem to experience the best results by taking the tincture internally and applying the oil to my body as well. 

St. John's Wort tincture is one of my favorite first aid choices for puncture wound care for notable pain relief and fast healing support. A few years ago I had a Barn Owl patient (at the wild bird rehab where I work) that sunk one of its talons into my right index finger. I rinsed it well,  disinfected it and put a bandage on loosely. It throbbed quite a bit though so when I got home later that afternoon I applied St. John's Wort tincture to it and then 2 additional times before going to bed that night. It was the first time I was using it on a deep puncture wound like that so I wasn't sure how much it might help but I wanted to find out. When I woke up the next morning my finger looked and felt nearly normal. I was impressed. I applied the St. John's Wort tincture to it 3 times that next day for extra measure and then it was fine after that. So I now carry a bottle of it my first aid kit as 
well as a bottle of the oil. 

(Fresh plant St. John's Wort Tincture just 10 minutes into maceration and look at that color! - pic by me)

St. John's Wort is considered to be neutral to slightly warming, drying, astringent,  antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antispasmodic, antidepressant, anxiolytic, hepatic, vulnerary, as a nervine and nervous system trophorestorative and beyond. Most medicinal herbs have a multitude of ways in which they support us.

St. John's Wort is simply amazing to me because it can help us with so many things whether acute or chronic and for some people it can offer quite significant relief. If you are not already familiar with St. John's Wort, I encourage you to get to know it. 

A parting word of caution with this herb when it comes to prescription medications. St. John's Wort is thought to help our liver detoxify even more efficiently than usual which can change how medications are processed by the liver and how they work in the body so it is contraindicated with many medications. So if you are taking medications and you are interested in working with St. John's Wort internally, please do a thorough herb-drug interaction check first and be sure to check multiple sources. You could also ask your local pharmacist because pharmacies have a data base that they can check for you. Several years ago a local pharmacist brought out their BIG United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and paged through it in search of a particular herb for me because it was not in their database at that time and I was having difficulty finding information about the herb online. He was very intrigued by what we read. So it doesn't hurt to ask ;-)


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