Herbs That I Don't Travel Without, Part 1: My Personal Experience with Echinacea
If I had only one herb to take with me when I’m traveling in my first aid kit, this would be it. I know you have heard of Echinacea and have seen it in lots of products but let me tell you about how I work with this plant, and about my personal experience with it in first aid and as an immune stimulant.
Echinacea has 2 main roles in my traveling herbal toolkit:
1. First aid for wounds, bites, and stings
2. Immune stimulant
Form: I prefer to work with Echinacea as a liquid extract, also commonly called a tincture. This is a shelf-stable form of the herb where the properties have been extracted in a combination of alcohol and water. Liquid extracts can also be made using other mediums, such as glycerin or apple cider vinegar, which are alcohol-free, but I prefer those that contain alcohol because it is a better solvent for some of the immune stimulating constituents.
Plant part and species: There are several species of Echinacea that can be used medicinally and that are available on the marketplace. I prefer to work with organically cultivated Echinacea purpurea root products rather than wildcrafted products due to overharvesting concerns on wild populations of various Echinacea species. Echinacea seed also is strongly medicinal, so a combination of root and seed would be a desirable product as well.
First aid:
There have been two experiences where I have used Echinacea on wounds that have really stood out to me. Both took place in remote locations and have earned this plant an important place in my first aid kit.
The first story takes place at a campsite in the Ozark Mountains in Southern Missouri. I was camping with some close friends, one of whom had hitchhiked to meet up with us. He had had a hard time getting rides and had to do quite a bit of walking on the highway before meeting up with us. When he arrived, his feet were not in good shape. He had multiple blisters the size of quarters. The blisters had popped and were very painful.
I was a budding herbalist and had learned that Echinacea is good for wound healing. In addition to stimulating the local immune response through topical application, Echinacea also helps regenerate connective tissue, making it doubly effective for wound healing. One of Echinacea’s constituents, echinacoside, has anti-hyaluronidase activity. Hyaluronic acid plays an important role in tissue integrity. Echinacea’s anti-hyaluronidase activity prevents the hyaluronidase enzyme from breaking down hyaluronic acid, which has the effect of stimulating connective tissue repair. There is even an animal study to back this up which found that a topical application of Echinacea to throat wounds had a favorable response in wound healing over non-treated wounds.[1]
What happened in my story is that I suggested if my friend applied my Echinacea tincture to his blisters, maybe it would help them to heal more quickly. He decided to try it before bed, and then we all went to sleep. In the morning, he was amazed at what had happened, and he said to me, “Jillian, if I had known this was going to work so well, I would have been more careful with how I smoothed out my blister flaps.” Before we went to bed, his blisters had been open sores covered by flaps that could be lifted up and put back down. When he woke up in the morning after applying the Echinacea, the flaps had completely re-attached themselves to his wounds! The problem was that he had not smoothed out the flaps carefully, so now they were re-attached, but with wrinkles. Although, the first aid job could have been done with a bit more care, he was still very pleased with the unexpected result of overnight healing to his feet.
My second story takes place at the Southern tip of Baja California. I was with a group of friends, and we were staying at a remote rental house. We were getting ready for a meal and one person in our group attempted to slice an avocado while holding it in his hand (something I will never do again!) The knife was very sharp, and the avocado was very ripe. The knife went through the avocado and then continued to slice right into the palm of his hand. He was bleeding profusely, and everyone was considering if we needed true medical attention. After applying pressure for a while, the bleeding finally came under control. It was a deep cut, but we were far from medical care. The decision was made to just do first aid and stay put. Again, I was traveling with Echinacea and suggested we apply some to the cut before we wrapped it up. The next day when the bandage was removed to be changed, we were shocked. The wound was now a shallow cut and looked to be healing nicely!
In addition to wound healing, Echinacea helps reduce inflammation when applied to bug bites, spider bites, and stings. Because of its immune stimulating properties, it can even be used as part of a strategy to stop infection from spreading with some kinds of venomous bites.
How to use it topically: Tinctures lend themselves to topical use very easily. Just use a dropper and apply liberally to the area in need.
Immune Support:
While I love to travel, packing and getting where I am going can be stressful. Stress itself can inhibit the immune response, and when stress is coupled with exposure to pathogenic microorganisms (such as viruses), and physical stressors on the immune system (such as dry air conditions on a plane), the chances of getting sick are increased. I often feel a small tickle in the back of my throat before my journey even begins! Luckily, this first tickle is a great time to begin dosing up on Echinacea.
Quality & how it works: Quality is very important when it comes to Echinacea being effective, whether for topical or internal use. You know you have a quality Echinacea product if it makes your mouth tingle, feel a little numb, and you start to salivate when you hold it in your mouth. The cause of these sensations is a group of constituents called alkylamides, and these alkylamides have immune stimulating activity.
Alkylamides found in Echinacea purpurea have been shown to increase phagocytic activity of macrophages found in the lungs. These macrophages are the immune system’s first line of defense against pathogens including the influenza virus and SARS coronavirus,[2] and the process of phagocytosis is important for the clearance of infections, killing of pathogens, and activation of host defenses.[3]
Another way that Echinacea can prevent infection is simply though its sialogogue activity. This is a fancy way of saying that Echinacea increases salivation. Moisture itself is protective to the mucosal membranes of the mouth and throat, so excess salivation can help to keep that barrier moist and effective. This is another reason why I think that Echinacea is most effective in a liquid extract form.
How to take it: I think many people don’t find Echinacea effective to prevent illness because they either don’t take enough of it, frequently enough, or they are using an ineffective form of the plant. I have found that it works best when I take a high-quality tincture, usually in the strength of a 1:3 extract, in fairly high doses during the initial period of possible infection. What this means to me is 2-3ml, 8-12 times daily. If the extract is less concentrated, higher doses may be necessary. If I have a 1oz bottle (30mls), this is easily a one-day supply, so if I am traveling, I usually bring a 2oz bottle with me.
Here is what I do: at the very first sign that something is not right in my throat, be that a tickle, a scratch, or just a feeling of dryness, I take a sip of water and before swallowing squirt at least 2 full droppersful of tincture in my mouth, then swallow. If I have a cup of water and teaspoons available, I will take a measured ½ tsp (2.5ml), add that to 1-2oz of water, and take it that way. The key is to continue taking doses every hour or so.
If I am flying, Echinacea tincture is something I pack with my carry-on, because I literally use it on the plane. I will take either a 1oz or 2oz bottle, and if you are doing this, don’t forget to pack it with your other liquids in a clear zip-lock bag so you can get through security without any problems.
Happy and safe travels!
[1] Bernard Rousseau, Ichiro Tateya, XinHong Lim, Alejandro Munoz-del-Rio, Diane M. Bless,
Investigation of Anti-Hyaluronidase Treatment on Vocal Fold Wound Healing, Journal of Voice, Volume 20, Issue 3,
2006, Pages 443-451, ISSN 0892-1997, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2005.06.002. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089219970500072X)
[2] Elufioye TO, Habtemariam S, Adejare A. Chemistry and Pharmacology of Alkylamides from Natural Origin. Rev Bras Farmacogn. 2020;30(5):622-640. doi: 10.1007/s43450-020-00095-5. Epub 2020 Oct 9. PMID: 33071385; PMCID: PMC7546144.
[3] Labbé, K., Saleh, M. Cell death in the host response to infection. Cell Death Differ 15, 1339–1349 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/cdd.2008.91
Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Safety considerations exist with certain health conditions, pregnancy and lactation, as well as any medications being taken. If you have any questions about safety or herb-drug interactions, I recommend you work with your primary care practitioner and/or an herbalist to make sure this is an appropriate herb for you.
About me
My name is Jillian Bar-av and I am a Registered Herbalist and Licensed Nutritionist. I specialize in supporting people who have complex urinary tract conditions, such as Interstitial Cystitis, with a comprehensive holistic approach that helps people to increase their quality of life. I’ve seen how healing herbs can be for the urinary system and how much they can help people to feel well again. Working with herbs is not only deeply healing, but part of my philosophy that it takes healthy people to create a healthy planet, and I want to make a difference for both.
If you are interested in learning about my clinical practice, or scheduling an appointment, you can do that here: https://www.greenspringherbs.com/treatments
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