The Health Benefits of Fumitory Herb

flherbeFumitory can be described as a low shrub with gray pointed leaves, and from a distance the plant can have the wispy appearance of smoke. The pink-purple flower blooms in spring.

The flowering plant (aerial parts) traditionally has been used in herbal medicine. The plant is in the Fumariaceae family and fumitory of one kind or another grows in most parts of the world including Iran and South Africa. 

Fumitory is an aperient, depurative, cholagogue (stimulating the flow of bile), diuretic, laxative, sedative, stomachic, sudorific and tonic. The traditional medical uses of fumitory are as a skin treatment for eczema and other eruptions of the skin.

The herb is taken as a tea for indigestion, and can be supportive in treating gallbladder and liver conditions.

Historically, Fumitory has been burned to exorcise evil spirits. Sprinkle an infusion through your home and rub onto your shoes to draw money. Use in a purification bath before your rituals.

Taken internally as a tonic, it used to treat liver and skin conditions.  A cold infusion of the plant is used to treat wasting diseases of children and to help cooling during fever and in the treatment of constipation and dyspepsia.

It is used as a blood purifier for skin diseases and applied externally in leucoderma and as a fomentation for swollen joints. Fumitory may also be used as eyewash to ease conjunctivitis.

The juice of the leaves is said to be excellent for removing freckles and clearing the skin. French and German physicians still prefer Fumitory to most other medicines as a purifier of the blood. Sometimes the dried leaves of Fumitory are smoked in the manner of tobacco, for disorders of the head.

All medicine should be locked up and kept away from children. Store all medicine away from heat and direct light. Do not store your medicine in the bathroom, near the kitchen sink, or in other damp places.

Heat or moisture may cause the medicine to break down and not work the way it should work. Throw away medicine that is out of date or that you do not need. Never share your medicine with others.