Herbal tea with lemon balm, thyme and mint. Thyme for children To improve immunity
It is no secret that young children, due to the immaturity of their immunity, often get sick. Therefore, many parents try, without a good reason, not to give their babies pharmaceutical drugs, if the opportunity allows them to be replaced with folk remedies including medicinal herbs. Today we will talk about thyme and how and from what it can help our children.
What it is
Thyme has an official name, which is better known to culinary specialists and housewives - it is thyme, a fragrant semi-shrub, one of the essential oil representatives of the flora. About 170 varieties of thyme grow in Russia, and the plant is quite unpretentious - it grows almost everywhere: in the forest, in the field, in the steppes and even on the slopes of rocks.
Due to its unique composition, thyme is in demand in official and alternative medicine, in cooking, cosmetology, in the canning and alcoholic beverage industries.
Harvest the plant in the summer during the period of active flowering. Stems, leaves and seed pods should be cut off. Dry them in a cool, ventilated place away from direct sunlight. Ready raw materials are stored for about 2 years.
You will learn more about growing, harvesting and harvesting by watching the following video.
Useful properties and contraindications
Such a wide use of the plant is due to its rich composition. It contains a lot of essential oil containing thymol, flavonoids, organic acids and tannins. In addition, thyme contains fats, B vitamins, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), mineral salts, gum, saponins and special substances that add bitterness.
Thyme essential oil is famous not only for its specific and strong aroma, but also for the fact that it is contained in approximately the same amount both in freshly cut plant stems and in already dried herbal raw materials.
Our ancestors in ancient times called thyme the “divine herb” for its incredible ability to heal even from serious ailments. And also for the fact that it was he who was used as incense during worship. Now thymol is obtained from thyme - a substance that is used in the formulations of antihelminths, disinfectants, and painkillers.
For information on how thyme was used in antiquity, see the following video.
ethnoscience found an additional use for the plant: it is used to prepare rubbing for diseases of the sciatic nerve, with sciatica, as part of decoctions to normalize digestion, in ointments - to warm the chest with a strong cough as an expectorant.
Thyme is used externally for rashes, redness, dermatitis, wounds and ulcers on the skin.
As a general tonic, the stems and leaves of thyme are brewed as part of a herbal tea.
The pronounced anti-inflammatory effect of the plant is used in the treatment of respiratory diseases in inhalations, decoctions for drinking. The diaphoretic effect that such a drink has has been used by people for a long time to reduce fever and reduce the manifestations of fever.
As a sedative and mild sleeping pill, thyme is added to tea and taken at bedtime. severe stress and various neurological disorders.
There are not so many contraindications to the use of thyme, but they exist. First of all, this is the presence of problems with the heart and blood vessels (atrial fibrillation, ischemic disease, cardiosclerosis), atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels, kidney and liver diseases, as well as functional insufficiency thyroid gland. Thyme is also contraindicated in gastritis, accompanied by hyperacidity, as well as children with a tendency to allergies and children diagnosed with bronchial asthma.
Features of use for children
Officially, thyme is not recommended for children under 3 years of age, however, in practice, the herb is quite successfully used both locally and externally for children from 1 year old:
- At the age of 1.5 years, it is quite possible to add a decoction of thyme to a bath for bathing.
- From the age of 2 - with caution do inhalations with this plant.
- Sometimes thyme is added to a bath for bathing children under one year old, but this can only be done after prior agreement with the attending pediatrician.
- Weak decoctions are also given to babies of the first year of life.
Thyme is given to children for coughing, to relieve nervous tension, improve night sleep, to treat skin problems and to increase immunity.
Medicinal properties plants have long been noticed by manufacturers of products for children. Yes, it is very popular among parents. children's tea with thyme, lemon balm and fennel "Grandma's basket". It is given to children from five months.
Instructions for use
Despite the fact that the official name of the plant is still "thyme", you will not find it on the shelves of pharmacies. Thyme as a spice can be found in any grocery store. And in the pharmacy it is called "Thyme Grass". Sold in the form of dry herbal raw materials in a cardboard box, as well as in the form of filter bags, which are convenient to brew and dose when treating a child.
Official medicine recognizes with great confidence expectorant properties plants, which is indicated in the instructions for use, which is enclosed in all packages of the drug. Antimicrobial and analgesic properties thyme is indicated by the manufacturer of the drug as an additional pharmacological action.
The adult dosage indicated in the instructions for the drug is not suitable for children. Babies need less concentrated decoctions and solutions.
To improve immunity
1 teaspoon of raw materials is brewed in 250 mg of boiled water in a water bath. The resulting broth is filtered and diluted with water in half. Children should be given inside, depending on age, from a teaspoon of the solution (up to a year) to a third of a glass (at 3-4 years).
For dry cough
5 g of dried grass should be poured with 100 ml of boiled water, previously cooled to 80 degrees. Keep covered and strain. Give a tablespoon 4-5 times a day after meals. The infusion does not help with a wet cough, as it acts on the cough center in the brain, suppressing the intensity of the reflex.
For wet cough
Homemade syrup is prepared from thyme, which in its properties and qualities is not inferior to pharmaceutical preparations. But it does not require dried grass, but freshly cut stems and leaves of thyme. Pour a bunch of fresh grass with half a liter of water and put on a slow fire. Boil should be as long as it takes for half of the water to boil away. Then remove everything from the stove and cool.
Adults add garlic, children - honey (about 250 gr). The resulting thick viscous syrup is stored in the refrigerator for up to six months, give the child a teaspoon 4 times a day with a warm drink. The tool promotes the separation of sputum.
For neurological problems, stress and insomnia
Thyme will quickly and gently soothe a hyperactive baby, and can be used for restless baby syndrome. To prepare a drink, you need to brew 10 g of dry raw materials in 200 ml of boiling water, insist in a thermos for about 3 hours, strain and give the baby 1-2 teaspoons before bedtime.
If a child is allergic to herbal ingredients, you can make a “sleepy bag” for him. To do this, a small pouch is sewn from linen fabric, about 15 grams of dried grass are placed in it and tied with a cord or thick silk thread. The bag is placed next to the head of the child's bed.
With stomatitis and angina
Prepare an infusion of herbs for topical use. A tablespoon of raw materials is brewed with boiling water and insisted for about an hour. After filtering with infusion, rinse your mouth or throat at least 4 times a day.
For respiratory diseases
Children over 6 years old can rub the chest and back in the region of the bronchi and lungs with alcohol infusion of thyme. To prepare it, 20 g of raw materials are put into a glass container with a tight lid and poured with alcohol or vodka so that the liquid level rises two fingers above the raw material. Close and refrigerate for two weeks. The resulting infusion is rubbed if the child is not allergic to ethyl alcohol.
You can prepare an ointment with honey and thyme, which can also be successfully used for problems with the respiratory system. To do this, 30 g of herbs are brewed with boiling water (100 ml) and all the liquid is evaporated over low heat, then cooled, thick honey is added, allowed to harden and stored in the refrigerator. Rub the resulting ointment on the chest, ribs and heels with a strong unproductive cough.
Medications
- Before you start using thyme to treat a child, do an allergy test. Apply the prepared decoction or infusion on the back of the hand and a few drops on the ear area. If within 3-4 hours redness, itching, swelling, rash does not appear on these places, thyme can be used.
- Baths with a decoction of thyme should not be done to a child more than once a week. The first procedure should not last more than 3-5 minutes. You need to increase the time gradually. The maximum time for taking herbal baths is 15 minutes.
- It is impossible to do rubbing and compresses with thyme if the child has an elevated body temperature at that moment. Warm compresses on the chest are also contraindicated in the presence of pus or blood in the sputum.
- Don't Overdose means based on thyme. You can talk about it if, after taking a decoction, infusion or tea, vomiting and dizziness appear.
- You should not experiment with thyme if you are preparing herbal tea for a newborn or infant. Thyme should not be given to such young children without the permission of the pediatrician.
"Melissa, thyme, fennel" for babies from 5 months, is used for hyperexcitability and anxiety, also in the all-encompassing treatment of colic, flatulence, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, SARS (especially with dry cough).
Grandmother's basket teas are selected herbs and berries that can be used in the nutrition of even the smallest babies.
They have a sweet taste.
Great for quenching thirst.
Ingredients: lemon balm leaves, thyme herb, fennel fruit.
Removing sugar from the composition allows you to form habits healthy eating from an early age and reduces the risk of developing allergic reactions. Ingredients of the product: Seeds of sweet dill (fennel), lemon balm leaves, thyme herb. One tea bag contains 0.4 g of fennel, 0.3 g of lemon balm, 0.3 g of thyme. The nutritional value: in 100 ml of tea 1 kcal Production method: 1 tea bag pour 100-150 ml of hot boiled water and leave for 3-5 minutes. It is recommended to prepare tea just before drinking and give the child less than 100-200 ml per day. Shelf life: 24 months from the date of production Useful characteristics: Pharmaceutical lemon balm leaves contain essential oil, which includes citral (60%). The plant has antimicrobial, antispasmodic and sedative effects. Thyme herb contains essential oils and organic acids, has anti-inflammatory, expectorant and soothing effects. Fennel seeds are commonly consumed as a remedy that can relieve spasms (relax the muscles of the intestinal tract). They include anethole, due to which fennel reduces gas formation in the baby's tummy. Due to this, the combination of lemon balm with thyme and fennel is useful for increased excitability, anxiety, and colic in babies.
Grandmother's basket herbal tea for children: lemon balm, thyme, fennel from 5 months. Herbs are a treasure trove of substances necessary for a person. Grandmother's Lukoshko tea is selected herbs and berries that can be used to absorb even the smallest babies. Melissa, thyme, fennel are used as a mild sedative (for increased excitability and sleep disorders), for colic in babies. Tips: for babies from 5 months. The daily volume of tea should not exceed the volume of the 1st feeding. Tea should be used within 2-3 weeks with the next break of 2-3 weeks. For babies from 1 year old, the daily norm is 1-2 cups per day. Ingredients: lemon balm leaves, thyme herb, fennel seeds. Without added sugar, without flavorings and preservatives. Store in a dry, dark place at room temperature, away from smelling substances. Shelf life is 2 years. TU 9197-020-53765263-07
step by step recipe with photoHerbal tea or herbal drink with lemon balm, thyme or mint is a great alternative to traditional black or green tea, as well as coffee. This drink is great for toning. If immunity is weakened, frequent colds, then tea can be drunk as a prophylaxis for acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections. You can make tea sweeter by adding a little honey. If caffeine is contraindicated, but you want to drink something hot, then you can drink this particular tea, especially in winter. To make the drink more tonic, you can still add a couple of pinches of black or green tea. You can make tea from fresh leaves or dried ones.
Ingredients
- thyme flowers
- mint leaves
- lemon balm leaves
Cooking
1. Prepare several types of fresh herbs: mint, lemon balm and thyme. Go through the stems, separating other plants (grass) or debris.
2. Separate the mint leaves from the stems, although the stems can be used as well - this is optional.
3. Also separate the lemon balm leaves from the stems and transfer to mint, pinch off the thyme flowers from the stems. Leaves, stems and roots of thyme do not need to be used.
4. In a clean jar or large teapot, transfer the leaves and flowers of the herbs. Pour boiling water to the very top, cover with a lid so that the tea is better brewed.
5. After a while, the herbal drink will take on a beautiful yellow-green color. Can be poured into cups and drunk.
Thyme leaves are small, have an oval-oblong shape, the stems are numerous, spread along the ground, it has small pinkish-purple flowers. There are over 30 various kinds thyme, on the territory of Russia grows more than ten.
Thyme is found almost throughout the country, it grows mainly in dry pine forests, in the steppes, as well as on the slopes of hills and hillocks. The homeland of thyme is considered to be the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. IN Ancient Greece Thyme was valued precisely for its aromatic properties. At present, it is cultivated in many European countries, Canada and the USA.
Thyme finds its use mainly in the pharmaceutical, food and perfume industries. Thyme is highly valued in the field of beekeeping, as the plant has excellent honey qualities.
The above-ground part of the plant - flowers and grass - is used as a medicinal raw material. It is customary to harvest thyme during the flowering period (May - June). The tops of the plant are cut off (stems with leaves and flowers), dried in the shade under a canopy, then stored in dry, cool rooms. That, perhaps, is the whole point of harvesting this medicinal plant.
Medicinal properties of thyme. The chemical composition of the plant
Thyme contains essential oil, which contains terpenes (borneol, thymol and other biologically active substances), various organic acids (coffee, aminolonic, quinic, etc.), flavonoids (compounds that have the ability to increase the so-called permeability blood vessels), vitamins (carotene - a precursor of vitamin A, ascorbic acid), tannins, resins (having antimicrobial and wound healing properties), fatty oil, bitterness, gum, dyes.
Thyme has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, wound healing, sedative, diuretic, anticonvulsant and analgesic properties. In addition, thyme is an excellent anthelmintic, and due to the content of bitterness in it, it can improve appetite.
Indications and contraindications for the use of thyme
Infusions, extracts and decoctions of thyme are used orally:
- in diseases of the upper respiratory tract, lungs and bronchi as an anti-inflammatory and expectorant;
- in diseases of the throat, as an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent;
- for various skin diseases, it is also used as an anti-inflammatory agent;
- in diseases associated with the gastrointestinal tract - to restore normal appetite and normalize its work;
- with hypertension, as an anti-inflammatory and sedative;
- with sleep disorders and neuroses, as a sedative;
- with osteochondrosis with pinched nerves, as a sedative and analgesic;
- with various origins of edema, it is used as a diuretic;
- with tapeworms - as an anthelmintic.
- Outwardly, thyme infusions are taken in the fight against various skin diseases, for the treatment of wounds, various diseases of the muscles and joints, peripheral nerves. As a rule, external treatment with thyme is carried out in the form of baths, lotions, and also compresses.
Preparations made from thyme have contraindications in acute inflammatory diseases of the kidneys and liver, decreased thyroid function, gastric ulcer and duodenum during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
From thyme prepare infusions and decoctions:
The recipe for preparing thyme infusion for oral administration: take half a tablespoon of crushed dried raw materials, pour a glass of boiling water, leave in a water bath for about 30 minutes, then filter, top up to the original level. A similar decoction is taken in a third of a glass, three times a day before meals, as a sedative and expectorant;
Another infusion of thyme for external use: 2 tbsp. tablespoons of raw materials in 1 cup of boiling water, all this is infused in a water bath for about half an hour, filtered and used as lotions, compresses and rinses;
Thyme for the bathroom. Infusion: 1-1.5 cups of chopped thyme are poured into 1 liter of boiling water, insisted on a water bath for 30 minutes, all this is filtered, squeezed out. The resulting infusion can be added to the bathroom.
Since all infusions tend to deteriorate quickly, it is best to cook them daily or store them in the refrigerator, preferably no more than two days.
In a pharmacy it is quite easy to find a drug - pertussin, it contains thyme extract. This drug is used as an expectorant.
Thyme is an excellent herbal remedy.
Contraindications to the use of infusions, remedies and preparations based on thyme: pregnancy, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, liver and kidney disease, cardiac decompensation, hypothyroidism.
Tea with lemon balm and thyme
2 teaspoons of black tea (12 g)
1 teaspoon dry thyme (6 g)
1 teaspoon dry lemon balm (6 g)
sugar to taste
How to make tea with melissa and thyme:
1. Thyme, tea, and lemon balm are placed in a teapot, filled with boiling water to 0.4 of its volume, then infused for 5 minutes.
2. The teapot is completely filled with boiling water, continue to insist - 3-5 minutes.
3. Pour the drink into cups, add sugar to each of which.
Drink with thyme
Ingredients:
Thyme - 20 g
St. John's wort - 25 g
Honey - 50 g
Water - 1 l
Dried St. John's wort and thyme are poured with water, boiled for 10 minutes, then the broth is allowed to stand for 2-3 hours. The broth is filtered, honey is added to it, as a rule, it should be cooled before use.