World of Flowers

Chamomile Flower Works Its Magic..

When I was a young girl I should have listened to my grandmother as she told stories of the healing and medicinal properties of many plants and flowers especially the chamomile flower.

You see my preschooler has never slept an entire night since the moment she was born. Sure, you may think that most children don't sleep solidly all night long. Well, you haven't spent a week with my daughter. She is awake at least three times each night. I've tried almost every trick you can imagine to get this child to sleep.

Finally, after enlisting the help from her pediatrician for the millionth time, she recommended hot tea with chamomile flower. I was really skeptical about that, afterall, doesn't tea have caffeine in it? This isn't a child that needs any more caffeine or sugar than necessary.

The pediatrician assured me that tea made from the chamomile flower does not contain caffeine and would help to induce sleep and relaxation. She also assured me that parents have used it for teething children and its perfectly safe.

Since my daughter is a little girl in every way imaginable, I decided that we'd turn this new experiment into an adventure. I set up a little tea party for her about thirty minutes before her bedtime.

She loved the mere thought of it. Her first taste made her face twist into a look of displeasure. Apparently, chamomile flowers don't make very good tasting tea. Nonetheless, she did manage to drink about half of her cup, and indeed, she seemed to be rubbing her eyes a bit more than she usually does. I was ecstatic. She slept about half of the night, and then continued her usual escapade of nightly wakings.

I personally have discovered some interesting uses for the chamomile flower. Not only does it help to induce sleep, but it can be used as a relaxant for stress and anxiety. It also helps to alleviate pain from swellings, perhaps from arthritis or injuries. Chamomile tea actually helped me when I had my lovely monthly cramps.

A friend of mine who is a chef, often times uses the chamomile flower in some of her creations. She claims it's a tasty way to add flavor to salads. I personally don't find the idea of eating flowers appealing, but since it is edible, some people may find it to be somewhat of a delicacy.

This same friend said that she dries the chamomile flowers that she doesn't use, and turns them into a heavenly smelling potpourri. Apparently, dried chamomile flowers can be used as a form of insect repellant as well, though I can't imagine how in the world that would work.

My mother found out that I was trying chamomile tea for my daughter's sleep issues, and she simply smiled. She informed me that back in the middle ages, the chamomile flower was used as a love potion. I'll have to keep that in mind the next time my daughter is throwing a temper tantrum and claiming to hate me.

I could always turn her nightly tea into a magical love potion and bid farewell to the ever so familiar moments of discontentment. For the time being though, I'll stick to attempting to lull her into a night of sleepy bliss.

As for my husband guess what type of tea I serve him every night, you guessed it tea made from the chamomile flower of course, lol.

Resources

Chamomile Tea - Chamomile is one of the oldest garden herbs, whose reputation as a medicinal plant shows little signs of abatement. Considered a universal remedy by the ancient Egyptians, Chamomile continues to be used today to battle illness, promote calm and relieve anxiety at bedtime. As a tisane (herbal tea), it is naturally caffeine-free. The finest varieties of Chamomile, of which our tea is great example, continue to come from Egypt. If you have yet to try it, you'll be pleasantly surprised by its superior flavor.

Chamomile Herb - Chamomile is edible and medicinal. The flowers are edible and quite tasty in salads or made into a refreshing cold or warm beverage. Chamomile flowers are used in alternative medicine as an anodyne, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, nervine, stomachic, tonic, vasodilatory. The flowers contain various volatile oils including proazulenes. Upon steam distillation these proazulenes produce chamazulene, this is remarkably anti-allergenic and is useful in the treatment of asthma and hay fever. The chief constituent of Chamaemelum have been identified as esters of angelic and tiglic, together with amyl and isobutyl alcohol's. It also contains anthemol and a hydrocarbon anthemene. The flowers are sometimes added to cosmetics as an anti-allergenic agent. Chamomile flower tea is used as a sedative and is good for insomnia and many other nervous conditions.