Course 14 | Herbal First Aid

Create your own herbal first aid kit with safe, effective herbs and simple kitchen equipment.

Beginner

Length: 3 hours

Instructor: Amanda Howe | RHT, Medical Herbalist

This course is only available with the following program:

  • Community Certificate Program

    Full Certificate Program

    view course

Meet your course instructor

Amanda Howe | RHT, Medical Herbalist

Amanda Howe has been a Herbalist for over thirty years. She trained in England in the early ’80s and became a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists. She went on to receive her MSc in Herbal Medicine from the University of Wales. Amanda worked in England in a multidisciplinary clinic before moving to Vancouver Island twenty-five years ago. Since moving to Canada Amanda has been active in practice as a herbalist and as a herbal educator. She has served on the board of the provincial Canadian Herbalists Association of BC as well as the national Herbal Practitioners Council - the Canadian Council of Herbalists Associations (CCHA), working to ensure continued access to herbal medicines for Herbalists and the general public. And she also sat on Health Canada’s Natural Health Products Expert Advisory Committee. Amanda spent several years teaching at Pacific Rim College in Victoria, BC. as a teacher in their excellent full-time Herbal Practitioner training program, and was involved in funded research projects with the Centre for Livelihoods and Ecology at Royal Roads University. Amanda is passionate about herbs and herbal medicine and about sharing the connection to the natural world that can be found through connecting with and learning about the healing power of plants. Amanda loves to teach and is happiest when she is in the garden teaching people how to grow, harvest, use and listen to the magic of the plants that are thriving there.

Course description

This Herbal First Aid course is practical and hands-on learning that will empower you to use safe and effective herbal medicines in your everyday life.

Amanda Howe is a Herbalist with over 30 years of experience using plant medicine.  Amanda has spent much time in the mountains, in the wilderness and she also has an active family and many years of experience with clients – so she has a wealth of experience to share about the use of herbs in First Aid type situations.

You will learn how to use herbs in everyday first aid situations such as cuts, bruises, scrapes, and minor burns.  And for common mild illnesses that everyone encounters such as colds, sore throats, coughs, flu, and headaches. 

The remedies and  First Aid situations covered in the course are a great way to introduce kids to Herbal Medicine.  These everyday uses of plants teach kids how to take care of themselves.  And kids love to make the healing salves and oils, sprays, and plasters that will become part of your family’s First Aid Kit.

The Herbs in the First Aid course are safe and easy to use and understand.  They are common Herbs that are easily accessible in your garden or in your local health food store, with many of them being Herbs that you will already have in your kitchen.

Learn how to create a Herbal First Aid kit for you and your family, right in your very own kitchen.

Upon completion of this course, you will:

• Understand the limitations of herbal first aid and when you need to seek professional care.

• Build upon your previous medicine making teachings and learn how to apply remedies for common conditions.

• Learn about how to apply remedies for external concerns such as cuts, bruises, warts, and sunburns.

• Learn about how to use remedies for internal concerns such as coughs, colds, flu, stomachaches, stress, and sleeplessness.

• Understand the potency of simple remedies to provide significant relief in many first aid situations.

• Feel confident making herbal substitutions and modifying recipes, depending on who each remedy is for.

• Learn how to store your herbal remedies for longevity.

Lesson plan

Section I | Welcome

1. Introduction

2. Course outline

3. Scope of this course

Section II | Traumas

4. Cuts & wounds

5. Bruises

6. Burns

7. Sprains & broken bones

8. Blisters

Section III | Seasonal ailments

9. Colds

10. Sore throat

11. Flu

12. Coughs

Section IV | Common ailments

13. Indigestion

14. Nausea & vomiting

15. Headaches

16. Earaches

17. Cold sores

18. Mouth ulcers

19. Bites & stings

20. Rashes

21. Warts

22. Sunburns

23. Sleeplessness

24. Stress & emotional upset

Section V | Course summary

25. Packing your herbal ‘first aid’ kit