Lobelia, a Natural Treatment for Asthma and Other Ailments

Lobelia inflata is the scientific name for the herb commonly known as Indian tobacco, asthma weed, gagroot or pukeweed. Traditionally, this herb was smoked when used medicinally by Native Americans. However, the Food and Drug Administration has prohibited the selling of smoking products that contain it. Today people use lobelia in the form of liquid extracts or dried herbs that are available as capsules, teas and injections. Lobelia has both positive medicinal effects and negative side effects.

Lobelia and Its Effect on Asthma. While Native Americans used lobelia to treat asthma by smoking it, alternative medical treatments now use lobelia in the form an ointment to treat asthma sufferers. The ointment is made from the leaves of the lobelia plant. To use the lobelia ointment to relieve the symptoms of asthma and bronchitis, apply it topically on your chest and back. It is purported to thin mucus and thus facilitate the removal of phlegm from the body and reduce bronchial spasms.

Lobelia and Its Effect on Muscles.Lobelia, and its main alkaloid lobeline, has a relaxing effect on muscles because it is an anti-spasmodic. Some herbal practitioners recommend it for chronic sprains too. . Just like in the treatment of asthma, lobelia is used in the form of an ointment. The ointment is applied directly to the skin over the affected muscle several times a day. The tincture can be applied to the skin for the purpose of muscle relaxation and some people with back pain caused by tension find this gives them temporary relief.

Lobelia and Its Sedative Effect. Lobelia is sometimes used as a sedative by herbal practitioners. It has great power to sedate the nervous system. There are several tincture recopies that combine lobelia with cayenne (capsicum) to calm people who are suffering from nervous conditions. Remember that lobelia can be toxic when taken orally; do not exceed the recommended dosage.

Lobelia and Its Effect on Diphtheria. Lobelia helps to cure diphtheria as a natural alternative to antitoxin. It wipes out the germs that cause the disease and immediately puts the patient on the road to recovery. Some diphtheria patients have anaphylactic reactions to antitoxin, while lobelia causes no such reactions. To treat diphtheria lobelia injections are used. Treating yourself hypodermically is not recommended unless you are under the supervision of your physician.

Lobelia and Its Emetic Effect. Native Americans have a long history of using lobelia as a natural remedy. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, American physicians began to first use it in the nineteenth century. Rather than smoke it like the Native Americans, western doctors prescribed oral doses. It was first used as an emetic in western medicine to remove toxins from the body by inducing vomiting. This is how it earned its nickname "pukeweed".