Ginger, Zingber Officinal, also known as the pungent healer. It is a perennial herb that grows from a tuberous root and thrives in tropical climates. While native to southern Asia, it can also be found growing in Hawaii, Florida, southern California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. It can grow to be 2 – 4 feet tall, and produces grass like leaves up to a foot long and almost and inch wide. The flowers are in dense, conelike spikes about 1 in. thick and 2 to 3 in. long composed of overlapping green bracts, which may be edged with yellow. The flowers can be either yellow or purple.

It has been a well-known herb in china since ancient times and by the 1st century AD traders had taken ginger into the Mediterranean region. It was effective in treating nausea, diarrhea, stomachaches, cholera, toothaches, bleeding, and rheumatism. Later it was found to be effective in treating a variety of respiratory conditions, including coughs and the early stages of colds.

Apart from its medicinal uses, Ginger can also be used as a spice in many different foods. It has a rather biting taste, and because of this is usually dried and ground, to flavour breads, sauces, curry dishes, confections, pickles, and ginger ale.

Ginger has many medicinal uses, such as in the treatment of motion sickness, nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, atherosclerosis, migraine headaches, rheumatoid arthritis, high cholesterol, ulcers, depression, flatulence and colic. It is an anti-inflammatory, and has been said to be better in some cases than normal medication because it doesn’t have any of the irritating side effects.

Of course, with its rather impressive list of uses, one that doesn’t come up often is it’s ability to treat minor skin problems such as boils. In boils, bacteria (staphylococcuf aureus) settle in hair follicles or oil glands before they are attacked by the immune system. When this occurs, a red, puss filled nodule is formed. This is a boil. The boil will continue to get worse until it is either absorbed by the body, or erupts in its’ own attempt to drain, both of which have the possibility of being quite painful. It is possible to use Ginger to treat this problem by simply applying a simple paste that is made from ½ a teaspoon of turmeric and ½ a teaspoon of Ginger and enough warm water to mix the two ingredients together. Rub the paste onto the affected area, cover with gauze and leave it in place for ½ an hour, repeating the process until the boil breaks. It is important to remember not to pop the boil during this process, and that if slight skin discoloration should occur, it can be easily washed away.

There is no standard dosage for the topical use of Ginger as of yet. This could be attributed to the fact that there are not that many ways in which to use Ginger for helping to treat the skin.

Ginger has been approved by the FDA as safe for a food and for monitored medical use. No significant side effects have been reported. Of course, such as most alternate medicines, pregnant woman and children, patients with liver or kidney problems should use with caution, as there have been no conclusive tests as the safety of these groups.

Drugs that have been noted to have a reaction with Ginger included Coumadin (warfarin), heparin, Plavix (clopidogrel), Ticlid (ticlopidine), Trental (pentoxifylline), and sometimes even aspirin.