Do you suffer from Hay Fever? Try this simple DIY tincture to help alleviate symptoms.

Tinctures are a concentrated herbal medicine usually made with dried herbs and an ethanol and water blend. Tinctures can be made very simply, store incredibly well and can be customised easily making them an important part of any herbalists’ apothecary. There are a few different ways to make tinctures, however below I’m going to outline the ‘folk’ method which is by far the simplest as it involves using store bought vodka (approx. 40% ethanol). A more precise method of tincture making requires access to ~100 ethanol which can be tricky for the average person to obtain.

For this Hay Fever tincture recipe, I’ve chosen four herbs to help boost immune response, support the lungs and reduce inflammation.

Astragalus is an immune tonic herb that helps with chronically weak lungs and low energy levels. Nettle is a highly nutritive anti-inflammatory and astringent herb that has a long history of use for allergies. Echinacea helps to boost the immune response, and finally Mullein is an expectorant and demulcent that clears and soothes the lungs.