Thyme (creeping thyme)

creeping thyme

 

 

Low (up to 10-15 cm tall) evergreen semi-shrub with a woody stem, from which thin branches extend. Leaves 5-10 mm long, elliptic or oblong-elliptic, opposite, short-cut, entire, with lateral veins convex below. The flowers are small, two-lipped, with a purple corolla, collected in axillary rings, forming inflorescences similar to heads on the tops of the branches. Four-nut fruits, in a calyx. Blooms in June-July or from May to September.

Medicinal raw material is a herb collected during flowering. When harvested, the raw material has an aromatic odor, which intensifies when rubbed, and a bitter taste. Storage period up to 3 years.

Thyme contains essential oil, tannins and bitter substances, resins, pigment.

In scientific medicine, the herb is used for aromatic baths, also inside in the form of an extract as an expectorant and analgesic – for coughs (for children), radiculitis; it is also included in the composition of a special product for coughing – pertussin.

 

In folk medicine, creeping thyme is used more widely: internally and externally, as an analgesic for radiculitis and neuritis. Inside, a decoction is used: 15 g per 200 ml, 1 tbsp. spoon 3 times every day, warm cakes are applied externally to the sore spot. Lotions are made from tincture or extract, diluted in a ratio of 1:10.

In addition, creeping thyme is used as a diuretic, diaphoretic, in half with cumin – as an expectorant, analgesic and sedative.

For whooping cough, a decoction is used in the same dose as for other diseases, but it is better to use an extract that is prepared as follows: a decoction of thyme herb, mixed in half with a decoction of marshmallow root (10 g per 200 ml), evaporated to half and add 1- 2 teaspoons of pure honey per glass of decoction. A sick child is given 1 teaspoon 3 times every day.

Preparations from creeping thyme are indicated for pain in the stomach and intestines, as well as for kidney disease, neuralgia, insomnia, scurvy. Tinctures are recommended for pain in the joints instead of formic alcohol.

For alcoholism, a mixture of the following composition is prepared: 4 parts of creeping thyme, 1 part of wormwood and 1 part of centaury. Apply 1 tbsp. spoon 3 times a day; the treatment period is 2-3 months.

As a disinfectant and analgesic, thyme lotions are used on wounds, infusion and powder.

Aromatic herbal baths are popularly recommended for diseases caused by metabolic disorders.

Application

Decoction: 15 g per 200 ml; 1 st. spoon 3 times every day. Extract: 10 g of Bogorodsk herb per 90 ml of boiling water, or 2 teaspoons per half a glass of boiling water; boil down to

half and add honey, take 1 teaspoon 3-4 times every day.

Infusion: 50 g of dry thyme is poured into 100 ml of boiling water, insisted for 4 hours in a warm place, wrapping the vessel with a towel, filtered in 5-6 doses. The infusion is prepared for 1 day. They also rub sore spots, then wrapped in something warm.