| Everything is in the Medical wagon that you will need except for a few things (rags, extra water, etc.) Please consult the Camp healer or check the chore boards for supplies that need to be restocked and replenished. Always post medical chores on the Chore Board. Medical Wagon The medical wagon needs to be cleaned and sterilized everyday. All should be cleaned down with soap and sterile water, then wiped down with sterile paga. Making needles Carve little slender bits of bone, sharpen one end and put an eye in the other (slaves must ask permission to use a quiva) Making bandages Find rags in good shape (don't use the silk ones though), wash them, then rip them into long strips, then boil them so they're sterile, dry them and then roll them up and store them in the Medicine wagon. WAYS OF PREPARING HERBS FOR USE Note: The water in the following preparations is brought to boiling then poured over the herb, the herbs are NOT boiled in the water, for that would cause a breakdown of the vitamins and minerals in the herbs that are so vital to the healing process. Making An Infusion This process draws the properties you want out of the herb for healing. An infusion is basically a strong tea. The normal mixture is 1 pint of warmed water to ounce of herb. It takes experience to learn how long each herb needs to steep, some take longer than others, the average length of time is hour but with practice you'll learn which take longer and which take less time. Making A Decoction This is much the same as an infusion (tea) except you are working with a much more solid herb such as thick pieces of root or bark which can't be ground up or the remedy calls for a much stronger dose.. This is the one case where you should BOIL THE HERB. In fact that's the whole process. Make sure that no steam escapes or the vital oils will go away with it. Also (of course) never use any metal when doing ANY herbal remedies. If you have more than one ingredient in the decoction begin by boiling the toughest then work down. Start with cold water and after boiling for what you consider long enough allow it to steep usually for at least 30 minutes. Making A Poultice This is used when you need to apply the herbs externally such as for a burn or for wound. Yes it's messy but often essential for healing. Pour boiling water over the herbs using just enough to dampen them or evenly cover the plant matter, you're not trying to extract anything from the herb only to moisten it. When it is all evenly wet remove it with a strainer and place between 2 pieces of rence or rep cloth. You then apply the rep cloth with the herbs inside to the affected part and allow the moisture with the herb essence to pass within the person. Making An Ointment/Salve This process involves mixing the herb(s) with a fixative such as animal or vegetable fat. This is done by heating the fixative until it is quite warm and adding the ground herbs to it. Once mixed up the mixture can be heated more than once and allowed to cool, Once you are satisfied that all the goodness has been removed from the herb the whole mixture should be strained and put into a storage container then allowed to cool. This is the same procedure used to make salves. Making A Wash This process draws the properties you want out of the herb for healing. As you done when making a infusion. An infusion is a strong herbal infusion used externally. The normal mixture is 1 pint of warmed water to 2 ounces of herb. As with infusions, to do a was takes experience to learn how long each herb needs to steep, some take longer than others, the average length of time is hour but with practice you'll learn which take longer and which take less time. This is the easiest method. Making A Tincture/Extracts These are used when long term storage is required. It requires alcohol of at least a 75% grade which can be safely ingested such as paga. Place the following in a jar which can be tightly sealed. 1-4 ounces of the herb 8 ounces of alcohol (drinkable!) 4 ounces of water Seal the jar and keep it safely out of the light for 2 weeks. Each day at least once, check it and make sure that you loosed the mass of herb inside the jar by swirling it about. Continue this process until at the end of the 2 weeks the alcohol has extracted all the constituents without need of heat. This process is best begun on the new moon and completed on the full. Making Basic Animal Fat Soap Grease soap mold and set aside. Put on the protective apron,gloves, and eye gear.((Note: the apron, special gloves and eye coverings next to the soap mold area...*snicker* got to love that mul slave gear))Place 2 1/2 pounds of bosk tallow(fat) in a large lye resistant pot and heat fat, stirring occasionally, until, until it reaches 120F to 125F. Place16 oz of water, preferably distilled and at room temperature in the pourable spout lye resistant pitcher. Very carefully measure in 5 1/2 oz of lye and slowly blend it into water. Stir occasionally but slowly with a wooden spoon until all lye is fully dissolved. When lye-water mixture is within the same temperature range of the tallow (between 120F to 125F), start pouring lye-water mixture into the melted talllow in a thin steady stream, stirring occasionally. Keep stirring constantly and slowly, but not over zealously. You don't want to be creating air bubbles in the mixture - unless you want your soap to float. After about 10-15 minutes, the mixture should start tracing, which means that it has gone from clear to opaque, that it has thickened and that when you now pick up the spoon in the pot, the liquid soap drizzles off of it and leaves a trace on the surface. If after 45 minutes to an hour, your soap mixture still hasn't started tracing yet, then you might have to recheck your measurements. At this point, the soap mixture is ready to be poured or ladled into the molds. Do so, seal the mold with plastic wrap (or with the cover to the mold), put some blankets or towels on it and place it in a draft-free place. Let it sit for 2 days . After 2 days, remove the mold's lid and plastic wrap and assess your soap; with the gloves on ((remember: the lye is still highly caustic so don't touch your soap with your hands)) gently touch the surface of the soap. If the soap is still very soft, let it sit overnight and the next day unwrapped. If the soap is firm to the touch (yet still leaves an imprint) take the soap out of g the mold cut into pieces (if necessary), trim off any excess and place it on a drying rack, or clean butcher block. If you have used individual soap molds, then you simply need to wait another three weeks for your soap to have completed its aging process. If you have used a large mold and are planning on slicing it up into small bars, then start checking the soap after about one week or so. ((there are both in the Med Wagon)) Once the soap is sliced, place the individual bars onto a drying rack, or butcher block, and let the soap air dry for another 2 1/2 weeks until the surface of the soap is very hard to the touch. Scrape off whatever ash might be on the bar's surface with a sharp knife(((slaves must get permission to use a knife. or use a cutting shell)), and the soap is ready to use! |
| Thanks to Mistress Amukusa |
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