Useful and medicinal properties of birch fluffy, or white
Tree up to 20 m high. The trunk with a white, smooth bark and black lenticels along it. The branches are thin, flexible, often pendulous, with resinous warts. Leaves triangular or almost rhomboid, petiolate, regular. Flowers unisexual in drooping brushes - earrings. Fruits are winged nuts. Blooms in May-June.
Medicinal raw materials are swollen, but not blossoming resinous buds, leaves, bark and juice. The kidneys are collected during the swelling period( March-April), the leaves are at the beginning of flowering, the bark is from freshly cut stubborn trees, the juice is in the early spring at the very beginning of the sap flow. The kidneys are compulsory until they blossom. Cut the branches, tied in bundles and dried in the shade. Then the kidneys are hammered or plucked by hand. Dry them in the shade in the air or in dryers at a temperature of 20-30 degrees;You need to make sure that the kidneys do not dissolve. The leaves are harvested throughout the summer. Shelf life - 2 years.
In addition to the kidneys, leaves, bark and juice, birch charcoal and birch tar are produced from birch. Birch buds contain essential oil, resin, tannins, saponin, betuloretinic acid, betulen, betulol.
Leaves contain carotene, ascorbic acid, birch sap - sugar( levulose).In addition, it is established that the leaves and buds of birch have phytoncidal properties.
In medical practice, infusion of birch leaves( 1:10), which has a diuretic, antiseptic effect, and decoction( 1:10) - choleretic properties. Some clinicians observed a significant increase in urination under the influence of this decoction and a sharp decrease in edema, even in cases when other cardiac and diuretics did not help. When administering decoction from birch buds, one should consider the possibility of irritation of human kidneys with tarry substances.
Alcoholic tincture of birch buds( 1:10) is recommended to be applied topically in the treatment of acute and chronic forms of eczema, wounds, skin erosions, decubitus, skin irritation with purulent discharge, with inferior-flowing granulations and abrasions. Hot baths with the addition of tinctures from the kidneys are also recommended for use in the treatment of acute and chronic eczema.
Infusion and decoction of birch leaves are used as a diuretic. The tests confirmed that under the influence of the infusion from the leaves, urinary excretion significantly increases( from 400 ml to 2.5 l), swelling disappears, and dyspnea decreases. An infusion of young leaves is used in disorders of the nervous system as a stimulant, with renal colic, jaundice and as an anti-inflammatory and vitamin remedy.
Leaves( especially young ones) are recommended as a diuretic for atherosclerosis, kidney disease and rheumatism in the form of infusion or decoction.
Birch activated carbon "carboline" is used as an adsorbent for poisoning with poisons and bacterial toxins. Excreted in a fine powder coal is indicated for dysentery, dyspepsia, flatulence and as an antispasmodic.
Birch juice is used for gout, arthritis, rheumatism, scurvy, swelling, anemia after injury, long-term healing wounds and trophic ulcers, with furunculosis, angina, as a diuretic.
Birch bark is used in the treatment of scrofula, wounds and ulcers."To make rotten meat from ulcers out-and-out, then the crushed birch bark should be poured into the rotten wound", - it is written in the old clinic.
In people, birch buds, leaves, bark and tree juice are used not only inside, but also externally.
Leaves are used for kidney and bladder diseases. Birch preparations are used for skin diseases, acute rheumatism, inflammation of the liver and maternity fever, with peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum. Usually in such cases, take 50 g of birch buds, insist for 10 days in 0.5 liters of vodka and drink tincture of 1 / 2-1 tsp with water three times a day for 15-20 minutes before meals.
This agent increases appetite, promotes the healing of stomach and duodenal ulcers.
As an anti-spasm agent, birch preparations are valuable in cramps.
For toothache, apply cotton wool with tincture on a sick tooth. With all these diseases( except for toothache) in the people, these drugs are consumed inside and outside.
Tincture of birch buds, decoction of them or decoction of leaves are taken as anthelmintic for pinworms and ascaridosis, as well as for bedsores.
Birch tar is used to kill scabies. In addition, pure tar is used for diseases of the throat and lungs( bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, etc.).Take inside 5-10 drops 3 times a day. External it is used for skin diseases and wounds in the form of tar tar: 1.5 g of tar to 15 g of paraffin or petrolatum.
If you do not have any kidneys or juice under your hands, then with the same success you use a decoction of young freshly cut and chopped birch branches.
Lotions from decoctions of birch leaves and kidneys or tincture from the kidneys heal fresh, even deep wounds.
Decoction of the leaves is washed head with premature hair loss.
Application
Decoction of leaves: brew 4 teaspoons of leaves in a glass of boiling water;when the boiling water cools down, add 0.2 g of salt( teaspoonful - 1/2 teaspoon) to dissolve the betularetinic acid contained in the birch leaves. Well-brewed leaves are infused for 6 hours and drunk in two divided doses at 4 hours intervals.
Sometimes a stronger decoction of leaves is brewed( 90 g per 400 ml), ie, they take 6 tbsp.spoonfuls of leaves into 2 cups of boiling water to take half a cup of 4 times a day.
Kidney decoction: 1 teaspoon of kidney for half a cup of boiling water;use 2 tbsp each.spoon 3 times a day.
Tincture of the kidneys to alcohol 25%: insist for 8 days;take 20 drops 3 times a day.
Tincture of kidneys on vodka: take a bottle of vodka on a bottle of vodka, insist for a month;use 40 drops 3-4 times a day( with cholera - one glass every hour, until the vomiting ceases).
Fresh juice take 3 glasses a day as an anti-inflammatory and diuretic in cancer.
Infusion: 5 g( 1 tablespoon) of birch leaves for 250 ml of boiling water, simmer, strain and take 2 times a day for 100 ml with inflammation of the kidneys, bladder, neuroses and other diseases.