Making Usnea Powder for Your Wilderness First Aid Kit

No one needs to get caught out within the wild with a festering wound. 

We additionally don’t wish to spend a ton on cumbersome first help kits and lug them into the sector with us. 

Happily, you will get round all that by making usnea powder. Learn on to discover ways to flip this frequent lichen into handy, purposeful, science-backed medication that matches proper in your pocket. 

Supplies for Making Usnea Powder

Making usnea powder is simple and fast and will price nothing in any respect. Afterward, you’ll have a wonderful antimicrobial that may assist forestall and deal with infections within the subject. 

Right here’s what you’ll have to get began:

Usnea: Begin with at the very least half an oz. of usnea. Past that, use as a lot as you need. Learn: The way to determine usnea.
Espresso grinder or blender: Usnea is hard, and also you’ll want a machine to assist mix it. An herb grinder, espresso grinder, or blender will work superb. 
Small tin or jar: It’s smart to pack your usnea powder in a small one or two-ounce jar for straightforward transport wherever you go. 
Mason jar (non-obligatory): In case you have leftover usnea powder that gained’t slot in your tin, retailer it in a lidded mason jar on the homestead. 

The way to Make Usnea Powder

1. Supply Usnea

Also referred to as “previous man’s beard,” usnea is a inexperienced, hairy-looking lichen that grows on tree branches and twigs. It loves darkish, damp circumstances, and you may often discover it simply in most rural forests. 

I recommend beginning with a number of ounces, however you may start with much less for those who can’t discover that a lot. 

These dwelling in cities or areas with poor air high quality might want to purchase it from a neighborhood herbalist or on-line from a trusted vendor. 

2. Clear and Dry

After you have sufficient usnea, clear it by plucking off items of filth, bark, and moss. Because the lichen grows on timber and sometimes falls to the bottom, it may get fairly soiled. 

Particularly when making usnea powder for a primary help package, you wish to clear it of particles — however since it’s a pure antiseptic, there’s no want to scrub it with water or sanitize it.

As soon as it’s clear, dry your usnea within the solar for 4 to 6 hours. In case you have a dehydrator, you may dry it at 130°F for round two hours. 

If it’s damp, it might want extra time. If it’s already fairly dry, it gained’t want that a lot. Test together with your fingers to make sure it’s dry earlier than continuing. It must be stiff and crackle. 

3. Grind to a Powder

As soon as your usnea is clear, break it up into small items. Place it in your grinder or blender and grind away. 

The target is to attain an ultra-fine powder. Nonetheless, usnea is a troublesome cookie. It should take a minute or two to attain your purpose. 

As you grind alongside, you might discover that usnea’s inside core isn’t pulverizing such as you need. This white core is extremely robust and stringy. Until you’ve a really highly effective processor, you might be unable to grind it down. 

If it doesn’t occur, don’t sweat it. You possibly can compost the robust bits or (higher but) add them to an oil infusion or tincture. 

4. Retailer Correctly

Whenever you’re completed making usnea powder, retailer it in a one- or two-ounce jar. I really like the sturdy plastic jars from Qeirudu on Amazon. They’re straightforward to hold, and I also can use them to carry different objects, like salves and balms. 

No matter tiny, light-weight container you find yourself utilizing ought to tuck unobtrusively into your backpack, foraging bag, or subject pack. 

In case you stow it forward of time, you’ll by no means have to consider grabbing it — it should simply be there while you want it. 

In case you have leftover usnea powder, retailer it in a Mason jar or lidded container to protect freshness and stop microbial progress.

The way to Use Usnea Powder 

Usnea’s compounds exhibit appreciable analgesic and anti inflammatory results and may speed up wound therapeutic. Nonetheless, making usnea powder is barely half the battle.

Afterward, you will need to know the right way to use it for first help within the subject or across the homestead. 

*Please observe: Usnea powder isn’t any substitute for skilled medical analysis or remedy. All the time search recommendation from a licensed skilled when sick or wounded. 

Pack a Recent Wound

In case you get scratched, scraped, bitten, or obtain some other damage that breaks the pores and skin, pack the wound with usnea powder instantly. 

An usnea-packed wound is safer from bacterial contamination and fewer prone to turn out to be contaminated. The usnea also needs to velocity up therapeutic whereas bringing down swelling and ache.

Make a Poultice

Have a wound or chunk that’s already contaminated? Use powdered usnea in a poultice to attract out the an infection. 

Your poultice will be so simple as usnea and water, or you may combine it with antimicrobial oils like oregano, cloves, and rosemary. 

Unfold it on a heat fabric or apply it on to the pores and skin over the an infection. Usnea’s antimicrobial properties will assist clear the an infection whereas relieving ache and swelling. 

Soak the Pores and skin

Usnea is especially efficient in a survival situation the place you or a member of the family turn out to be ailing with a UTI, fungal an infection, or unknown pores and skin response and haven’t any entry to antibiotics. 

You will want entry to water and a receptacle. 

Boil the water to sterilize it, then enable it to chill till barely heat. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of usnea powder and soak the affected space for 10-20 minutes, 2-3 instances per day. 

This could assist relieve discomfort and struggle the an infection off. 

Desire a really highly effective instrument in your emergency medication arsenal? In fact you do! Now that all about making usnea powder, you may hit the forest and begin foraging in your first help package immediately.