Echinacea
Natural Healing Herbs

Echinacea is one of the most commonly used medicinal herbs in the United States. Most people know that you can take it to help you get over a cold, but it has other uses too.

Other Names

This herb is also know as a coneflower, black saampson, black susan, comb flower, brauneria angustifolia, and hedgehog.

Appearance

The coneflower is shaped like a daisy or black-eyed susan, havine a center section surrounded by thin petals. The flowers range in color from pink to reddish purple to bronze to yellow. The flowers grow on tall straight stems. They grow in groups and the leaves are dark green and often times fuzzy.

Origins

The plant is native to North America. It is used in many folk remedies. It was taditionally used by North American Plains Indians to treat minor infections.

Parts Used

While all parts of the plant can be used--the leaves, flowers and roots--the roots are considered the most potent and are most commonly used in herbal remedies.

Medicinal Uses

This herb is used as an immune booster. It's commonly used to get rid of colds. If taken early it can ward off a cold and even shorten the duration of the cold. A study done by the University of Connecticut showed that your chances of catching a cold while taking it is cut in half. They also found that it can shorten the duration of a cold by 1.4 days.

It can be used to treat:

• urinary tract infection
• yeast infection
• chronic fatigue syndrome
• migraine
• herpes
• candida
• eczema
• psoriasis
• minor infections

You can by this herb and many others at Mountain Rose Herbs.

Side Effects and Warnings

Echinacea has few side effects, but there are people who have allergic reactions to the herb. If you're allergic to ragweed, mums or daisies, you're more likely to have a reaction to this herb. Occassionally, people report nausea, dizziness, vomiting, stomach pain, dry mouth, headache or disorientation.

It's unknown how taking this herb may affect you long term. It is suggested that it not be taken for any longer than a week.

This herb shouldn't be taken by pregnant or nursing women. Don't take it if you have an autoimmune disorder like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or lupus.

If you found this information useful, check out my complete listing of herbs at my Herb Index. You can find a listing of ailments and their natural treatments on my Free Home Remedies page.