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Black Haw Click images to enlarge |
Black Haw Scientific Name: Viburnum prunifolium Part Used: Bark In a Word: Menstrual Cramp Cure Uses: Relaxes muscle, especially that found in hollow organs as in the uterus and bowel The menstruation story is fairly simple. The body prepares itself for conception by lining the uterus with nutritive matter to nourish a would-be fetus soon after fertilization. When conception doesn’t occur, the uterus has to get rid of this uterine lining. The body works to expel this matter, and the way it does this is by cramping. The monthly shake, rattle, and roll starts and doesn’t stop until all the uterine matter is gone. This expulsion causes discomfort, for some more than others, as some uteruses get through the whole process with a minimum of shaking while others go a little crazy to get the job done. It is during this phase of menstruation that many women grab for the painkillers, and it’s not a bad idea. The plant for cramps in our medicine chest is called black haw. It will make the pain go away and quick! Black haw, or American sloe as it is sometimes known, is closely related to another famous cramp melting viburnum, Viburnum opulis. While both plants are used for cramping, black haw is used very specifically for cramping that is associated with menstruation. A smallish tree or biggish shrub, it can be found growing in the wild all over the eastern and central United States. Black Haw's power to relax the uterus was considered to be so great that is was used to stop the cramps preceding and causing a miscarriage. As in the case of many indigenous American healing plants, Native Americans have used black haw to treat cramps for an unrecorded period of time. When colonial women arrived on the scene, Native American women shared their favorite cure. Before long, members of the medical community learned of the herb and started prescribing it for their patients. In the old days, pioneer women went out to the woods to gather their medicines. Black haw was pulled from the soil with a shovel – lock, stock, and barrel – in the fall after the leaves had fallen and before hard winter set in. The bark of the roots, trunk, and branches was stripped from the plant and carefully dried in the shade to be stored to use whenever it was needed. Obviously, this maneuver kills the plant, but at that time, people were less concerned with conservation and more concerned with survival. Making it through the night was the most important feature of life. Talk about a drag: imagine driving a horse-drawn wagon filled with kids, poultry, and all your worldly goods across unknown territory, and having cramps to boot. Nothing stopped because you didn’t feel up to stuff, and to make matters worse, if you wanted some medicine, you had to go dig it up yourself. It’s a wonder the pioneer thing came off. Fortunately black haw bark stored very well and would last several years in a paper bag kept in a well-sealed container. The chemicals contained in barks tend to be more stable than those in leaves, flowers, and stems, so once you had a supply of the bark, you didn’t have to worry about it losing its potency. This was perhaps the only good news when it came to having cramps during the pioneer days: you didn’t have to go out to collect your black haw very often. Doctors got on the bandwagon early with black haw and its ability to quiet menstrual cramps. The herb’s power to relax the uterus was considered to be so great that is was used to stop the cramps preceding and causing a miscarriage. Texts dating from the last part of the last century are filled with glowing reports about black haw. One of these, from the Canadian Pharmacopoeia of 1882, states of black haw that: It is particularly valuable in preventing abortion and miscarriage, whether habitual or otherwise; whether threatened from accidental cause, or criminal drugging. It tones up the system, preventing or removing those harassing nervous symptoms that so often torment and wear out the pregnant women. It enables the system to resist the deleterious influence of drugs so often used for the purpose of producing abortions. Black haw was largely employed in slavery times as a preventative of abortion, and to counteract the effects of cotton root taken with criminal intent by the negresses. In dysmenorrhea (profuse menstrual discharge) by its sedative and anodyne influences, enables the uterus to bear the burden cast on it with much less suffering. In neuralgia, it is a valuable addition to the other antispasmodics indicated. By 1882, black haw had been accepted by the medical community to such an extent that it was listed in the official book of drugs in both Canada and the United States. In this quotation we see another interesting note: black haw was used to stop abortions induced by midwives. PMS isn’t new, and neither is abortion. If nothing else, this proves that black haw was able to stop uterine cramps, even the violent ones produced by an abortifacient like cotton root bark. One of the most useful records of herbal medicine, King’s Dispensatory, written by Dr. King in the late 19th century, had this to say about black haw’s ability to quell cramps and the pain that attends them: As a uterine tonic is it unquestionably of great utility. In the hyperesthetic, or irritable condition of the uterus incident to highly nervous women, or as the result of overwork, it will be found an admirable agent. In dysmenorrhoea, with deficient menses, uterine colic, and in those cases where there are severe lumbar and bearing down pains, it will prove an efficient drug. It is specifically indicated in cramplike menstrual pains, pains decidedly expulsive and intermittent in character and in the various painful contractions of the pelvic muscles, so common to disorders of women. Uterine congestion and chronic uterine inflammation are often greatly relieved by black haw. It acts promptly in spasmodic dysmenorrhoea, especially with excessive flow. It is a good remedy for uterine hemorrhage attending the menopause. In amenorrhoea in pale, bloodless subjects, the menses are restored by it. Cramps of limbs attending pregnancy yield to both black haw and cramp bark. It is considered almost a specific for cramp in the legs, not dependent on pregnancy, especially when occurring at night. Black haw is one of the most important of eclectic medicines. I couldn’t have described the plant’s action on the female reproductive tract any better myself, so I didn’t even try. You may have noticed that Dr. King went beyond saying that black haw would take care of cramps. Like other Eclectic physicians, he noticed that women who formerly suffered from chronic gynecological complaints had few to none after using black haw for a period of time. The conclusion from the doctors who knew it best was that black haw would not only take care of menstrual discomfort in the short term but also improve general reproductive health in the long term. Though it was used during pregnancy in the days of the Eclectics, the current thought is that it is best to avoid all drugs, including natural ones, during pregnancy. Black haw contains a number of chemicals that have been proven to work as uterine antispasmodics or relaxants. Scopoletin (7-hydroxy-6-methoxy-coumarin), which the plant contains, is said to be the leader of the pack when it comes to relieving pain associated with menstruation. Additionally, the plant contains malic, citric, oxalic, and valeric acids, 1-methyl-2, 3-dibutyl hemimellitate, tannins, bitter resins, and volatile oils. The plant’s ability to quiet cramps as well as its nontoxic nature have been well established, and you can use black haw with the utmost confidence. Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that it is safe enough to put in commercially produced food, which oddly enough it is, for reasons that I do not know. When it comes to digestive cramps, Black Haw is just as effective. Indeed, for women who experience both bad menstrual cramp and Irritable Bowel like conditions, this is the ideal remedy. Digestive cramps make life real uncomfortable and this remedy will melt them as quickly as they came on. 2.5 ml and the cramps are on their way out the door! Practitioners’ Advice If you suffer from really bad menstrual cramps, you know who you are. They do not come as a surprise; they are part of a monthly drama. For this reason, it is smart to start using something like black haw the day before your period is expected. You do not need to wait until you are in agony to use it. Plan ahead! Black Haw should be used for the duration of the menstrual cycle. As long as the cramps are around, use the Black Haw. When it comes to people suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, we have a different situation on our hands. Bodies get in habits and once they have a habit, it can be hard to break the habit. In IBS the body is in the habit of irregularity. It is in the habit of diarrhoea, constipation, and cramping. Black Haw can be used to re-train the bowels and get them out of their bad habits. So, in this instance, Black Haw is used three times a day, rain or shine, for long periods of time. If the bowels have been acting badly for ten years, do not expect to be re-trained them overnight. Stick with this and in time, the habit will be broken.
QUICK REVIEW History: Native American cure for cramps Science: Contains muscle relaxants Practitioners opinion: Eases cramps in even the most dire cases Directions: Tincture (1:5, 25% alcohol): 2.5ml 3 times daily |
