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Sassafras Tea Used to Cleanse the Blood

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Photo by Fotolia/Stephanie Frey
Sassafras plants display beautiful colors in the fall, as well as making a cleansing tea in spring.

When my maternal grandparents migrated from the North Carolina mountains to the Illinois prairie in the 19th century, they
brought with them many home remedies. Living in the mountains, far from a
doctor, home remedies were necessary for a family’s survival.

Those old-time cure-alls were passed on from generation to
generation. I remember Mom using more than one of Grandma’s remedies on me when
I was growing up.

At the first sound of congestion in my chest and lungs, Mom
would spoon a large dollop of chest rub into a cast-iron skillet and heat it on
the kitchen range with sliced onion. She would then spread the hot mixture onto
a flannel cloth, wrap it up, place it on my bare chest and pin it to my
nightgown. If my throat was sore, I gargled with hot
ginger tea or warm salt water.

For an earache remedy, smoke was blown into the aching ear, and then
the ear was plugged with cotton. It sounds strange, but it worked to relieve
the pain.

I remember one time when I came home from school complaining
that my finger was throbbing. Mom took one look at it and knew it was an
abscess. Treatment consisted of a poultice. Mom soaked bread in milk, squeezed
out the liquid, wrapped the bread around my finger, and then tied a clean cloth
around the poultice.

I left the poultice on all night, and the next morning when
we removed the bandage, it was ready to be lanced. Mom struck a match and held
the flame to a needle to sterilize it. Next she pricked the abscess and drained
it. Then she put a clean cloth on my finger to prevent infection, and a few
days later, my finger was back to normal.

During the spring, sassafras tea was a favorite tonic at our
house. It was said to cleanse the blood and put new life in our step. All I
know is that it was a delicious beverage I enjoyed drinking.

Margaret
Sidell, Illinois

Read about
more interesting homemade remedies in
Stories of Natural Cures for Common Ailments.