At some point of our life we all experience various types of pains: chest pain, joint pain, back and neck aches, toothache, heartache, headache, and many more. Conventional medicine offers us a great deal of excellent solutions: over-the-counter medicines and painkillers which provide instant relief for all types and intensity of pains, from acute and severe to mild and chronic pains. Certainly, for a quick relief they work better than herbal remedies.

However, very often using such painkillers (especially in the context of a long-term use) is linked to numerous side effects: increased stomach acidity, constipation, negative effects on out liver and kidney function, etc. Those people who have sensitivity or want to avoid harmful side effects of using medications should consider using the following herbal painkillers:

1. St. John’s Wort. St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) tincture is one of the best natural painkillers which works great for relieving any sort of pain. It can be used internally to calm down nerve damage, swellings, various skin damages and so on. To increase the effects, St. John’s Wort tincture can be used externally as well.

2. White willow bark. The white willow tree (Salix alba) is one of the most powerful herbal painkillers. It is known for its high contents of salicin, a natural element which can help to alleviate pains. The synthetic version of this compound is called aspirin. White willow bark is a great herbal painkiller for low back pains.

3. Valerian. Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) tincture is another very potent herbal painkiller which is usually used for muscle aches and aches in the bones. It is recommended to use this tincture externally.

4. Feverfew. This is one of the oldest known herbal remedies for menstrual cramps and pains, as well as for all possible inflammations. Besides, feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is a one of very potent herbal painkillers which can be used to combat migraines and chronic headaches as this remedy can relax blood vessels and increase blood flow to the brain.

5. California poppy (Eschscholzia californica). This herbal painkiller has very strong sedative properties and can be used to relieve chronic aches and pains, as well as to induce sleep.

Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.

2 Responses to “Top 5 Herbal Painkillers”

1. Theresa Says:
   May 26th, 2011 at 10:37 pm

   Pain sucks. 🙁

2. natural anti inflammatory Says:
   July 26th, 2011 at 4:07 am

   I like eating chili pepper to relieve my pain.