Core rules
- Correctly identify the plant.
- Use food-level preparations unless you have expert guidance.
- Do not treat serious illness at home with herbs alone.
- Do not combine many concentrated extracts without reviewing interactions.
- Label everything you harvest or prepare.
- Discard moldy or questionable material.
- Keep preparations away from children and pets unless specifically safe.
Medication interactions
Herbs can interact with medications. “Natural” does not mean inert. Garlic, piperine, licorice, green tea extract, and many botanicals deserve real respect.
When to seek care
Shortness of breath, chest pain, high fever, confusion, blue lips, dehydration, severe weakness, worsening cough, or suspected pneumonia should be treated as medical issues, not as a home-formula experiment.