Herbal Household Remedies

basil, catnip, chervil, parsley

• Cold basil tea is good for all kinds of eye problems, both as eye wash and internal tea. To make the tea, it is best to use fresh basil leaves and unground seed: Bring 2 pints of water to a boil, add 15 basil seeds. Cover and reduce heat, simmer the seeds slowly for 45 minutes. Remove from heat, add 1-1/2 handfuls of fresh or half-dried basil leaves and steep for another 25 minutes or so. Drink or gargle with this tea, 2 cups per day as needed. When lukewarm and strained, the tea can be used to bathe the eyes.
• A strong catnip tea can also be used as an eyewash to relieve inflammation and swelling. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add 5 tsp. of cut fresh catnip leaves. Reduce to low heat, let simmer for 3 minutes, then remove from heat and let steep for 50 more minutes. Strain and refrigerate, for example in a clean fruit jar. Use as eye wash with an eye cup several times a day. You can also soak a clean towel in a warm solution of the tea and cover the eyes with it for half an hour.
• Equal parts of chopped chervil and parsley leaves steeped in boiling water, cooled to body temperature and applied to the eye with an eye cup also helps to fight conjunctivitis. It acts as an eye disinfectant and reduces the burning sensation. The person with the eye infection should be in the room where the chervil is steeped since the medicinal qualities of chervil are closely connected to its smell and quickly lost after subjecting it to heat.

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