A Wisewoman's First Aid Kit

People ask me sometimes what I actually use.

Not what I make. Not what I sell. What I reach for — in the middle of the night when someone has a fever, or in the garden when I've scraped my arm on a fence post, or in the kitchen when I've burned my hand on a cast iron pan because once again I've forgotten that the handle gets hot.

It's a fair question. There is a particular kind of trust that comes from knowing that the person who made something also uses it — that the herbalist's own medicine cabinet looks like what she's selling you, not like a pharmacy shelf.

So let me show you mine.

This is not a comprehensive guide to herbal first aid. It is not a replacement for emergency medical care — please call 911 when the situation calls for it, and please see a doctor when you need one. What it is, is an honest account of what a wisewoman who has been working with plants for decades keeps on hand for the everyday injuries, ailments, and indignities of a life lived close to the land.

---

First, A Word About What "First Aid" Means to Me

I grew up in a household where the medicine cabinet was stocked with herbs and foods before it was stocked with pharmaceuticals. My mother — a certified nurse midwife and nurse practitioner — understood both worlds deeply, and she taught me, by example, that the two are not in opposition. Plants are not a replacement for modern medicine. They are a complement to it — and for a significant category of everyday health concerns, they are the most appropriate first response.

A cut that needs stitches needs stitches. A fever that won't break needs medical attention. A wound that shows signs of serious infection needs antibiotics.

But a scraped knee? A minor burn? A muscle that aches from a long day of physical work? Chapped lips in February? A chest tight with a winter cold? These are the territory of the wisewoman's first aid kit — and plants handle them beautifully.

With that framing established, here is what lives in mine.

---

🌿 The Rainroot First Aid Kit — What's Inside and Why

---

First Aid Salve

This is the jar I reach for first, for almost everything.

Cuts, scrapes, bug bites, minor burns, cracked skin, dry patches, chapped lips, rough heels — the First Aid Salve handles all of it. It is built around four botanicals that have been used in traditional herbal practice for exactly these applications for centuries: calendula, known for its gentle skin-soothing properties; comfrey root, long valued for its deeply nourishing, skin-supportive qualities; plantain, known for its traditional drawing and cleansing properties; and nettle, mineral-rich and quietly powerful.

I keep tins of this literally everywhere - one in my kitchen, one in my garden apron, one in my purse, and one in each bathroom. I am not exaggerating. When you make something that works this well for this many things, you stop keeping track of how many tins you go through.

When I reach for it: Minor cuts and scrapes, mosquito bites, dry or cracked skin, chapped lips, minor burns, rough hands after garden work, any time skin needs support and I'm not sure what else to reach for.

---

Drawing Salve

This is the one most people have never heard of — and the one that, once they've used it, they never want to be without.

A drawing salve works on the principle — well-established in traditional herbal practice — that certain plants and minerals have the ability to draw foreign matter toward the surface of the skin. Splinters that won't come out. The early stages of a skin infection. An insect sting that has left something behind. These are the situations where a drawing salve earns its place in the kit.

Ours is built around activated charcoal and kaolin clay as the primary drawing agents, with a botanical oil base featuring plantain — one of the most widely used drawing herbs in the Western tradition — alongside calendula and comfrey.

I have used drawing salve to remove splinters that I had given up on. I have used it on insect stings that were swelling uncomfortably. My great-grandmother kept a tin of it (though hers smelled awful) in her medicine cabinet my entire childhood, and I didn't fully understand what it was for until I started making it. Now I never go without it.

When I reach for it: Splinters, thorns, insect stings, the early stages of a skin infection, anything that needs to come up before it can heal.

---

Vapor Rub / Chest Balm

There is a smell that means someone is taking care of you — and for most people who grew up with any kind of herbal or traditional home medicine, that smell involves eucalyptus and peppermint.

Our Chest Balm is built on the same beeswax and botanical oil base as our salves, with a carefully calibrated blend of eucalyptus, peppermint, and camphor essential oils — all known for their traditional use in supporting comfortable breathing during colds and congestion. We add lavender to ease the transition into sleep, and calendula-infused oil to soothe the skin of the chest and under the nose where repeated wiping leaves rawness.

I reach for this at the first sign of a chest cold. I apply it before bed, and I sleep better for it. It is one of those products that does something so simple and so effective that it's hard to believe it took me this long to make my own version. It would have been so much better to use this vs. the commercial version when my girls were young!

When I reach for it: Chest congestion, sinus pressure, winter colds, any time breathing feels harder than it should, before bed when a cold is making sleep difficult.

Note: Not for use during pregnancy. For children over 2 years, use sparingly and keep away from the face.

---

Calendula Lip Balm

This one might seem too simple to include in a first aid kit — but I'd argue that chronically chapped, cracked lips are a genuine quality-of-life issue that most people are managing badly, with petroleum-based products that coat without nourishing and create a dependency cycle that keeps lips perpetually reaching for the next application. My dad is a professional tuba player, and growing up, he was never without his tube of Blistex.

Our Calendula Lip Balm is built on a base of calendula-infused jojoba oil, shea butter, and castor oil — all chosen for their skin-nourishing properties and their ability to actually address the underlying dryness rather than just masking it. The Pure (unscented) version is our most sensitive-skin safe option and the one I keep in the first aid kit specifically.

When I reach for it: Chapped lips, dry skin around the mouth, minor skin irritation on the face, any time I need a small, portable, fragrance-free skin protectant.

---

🌿 Beyond the Products: What Else Lives in a Wisewoman's First Aid Kit

The Rainroot products are the prepared, shelf-stable part of my first aid practice. But there are a few other things I keep on hand — some of them so simple they barely qualify as "remedies" — that round out the kit.

---

Dried Plantain Leaf (Plantago major)

Plantain is almost certainly growing in your yard right now, and it is one of the most useful first aid plants I know. For a fresh sting, bite, or minor wound when I'm in the garden and don't have a salve on hand, I'll chew a plantain leaf briefly to break it down and apply it directly to the affected area as a poultice. This is one of the oldest and most widely documented uses of this plant across cultures — and it works. Just ask my friend who found a bald-faced hornet's nest and got to experience this traditional "spit poultice" for the first time!

I also keep dried plantain on hand for making a quick compress: steep a tablespoon of dried leaf in hot water for 10 minutes, allow to cool, soak a clean cloth, and apply to irritated skin.

Known for its traditional drawing and cleansing properties, plantain is the weed that every herbalist wishes more people would notice. Both the broad-leaf and lance-leaf varieties work just fine, though the lance-leaf is more potent - and once you start noticing it, you'll see it everywhere.

---

Raw Honey

Raw, unfiltered honey — ideally local — has a long history of traditional use for minor wounds and burns. It is known for its humectant properties (drawing moisture to the skin) and has been the subject of considerable modern research interest, particularly Manuka honey. I keep a small jar in the first aid kit specifically for minor burns — applied immediately after cooling the burn under running water, it provides a soothing, protective layer.

Note: Never use honey on wounds for children under 12 months.

---

Aloe Vera

I grow aloe on my windowsill specifically for this purpose. Growing up, we always had one - and it was used frequently. A fresh aloe leaf, split open and applied to a minor burn or sunburn, is one of the most immediately soothing things I know. The gel is known for its cooling, skin-soothing properties and has been used in traditional medicine across cultures for burns and skin irritation for thousands of years.

If you don't grow aloe, a pure aloe vera gel — with no added fragrance or alcohol — is a reasonable substitute.

---

Epsom Salt

For splinters, minor infections, and sore muscles, a warm Epsom salt soak is one of the simplest and most effective traditional remedies I know. Dissolve a cup of Epsom salt in a basin of warm water and soak the affected area for 15–20 minutes. For splinters specifically, this softens the skin and often brings the splinter close enough to the surface to remove easily — sometimes making the Drawing Salve unnecessary.

---

Witch Hazel

A bottle of alcohol-free witch hazel is one of the most versatile things in my first aid kit. Known for its astringent and skin-toning properties, it is useful for cleaning minor wounds, soothing insect bites, and as a gentle toner for reactive skin. I use it as a first step before applying salve to a wound — clean with witch hazel, then protect and nourish with salve.

---

🌿 Building Your Own Wisewoman's First Aid Kit

If you want to build a plant-based first aid kit of your own, here is where I'd start — in order of priority:

---

A Final Note

I want to be clear about something, because I think it matters: the wisewoman's first aid kit is not an alternative to medical care. It is a complement to it — a set of tools for the everyday, the minor, the manageable. Add to it the things that you know your family needs - ibuprofen, antihistamines, band-aids, an epi-pen if you can get ahold of one.

Know when to call a doctor. Know when a wound needs stitches. Know when a fever is high enough to warrant concern. Know when what you're dealing with is beyond the scope of plants and salves and traditional wisdom. I carry Narcan and a solid traditional first aid kit with me (also known as an IFAK) everywhere, and I have been trained in CPR, first aid, and as a street medic. I strongly recommend doing something similar.

The wisewoman's role has never been to replace the physician. It has been to handle what the physician doesn't need to see — and to know the difference.

That discernment is, I think, the most important thing in any first aid kit. Everything else is just tools. 

---

— Briana, The Village Wisewoman, Renton, Washington

---

⚠️ Disclaimer: This post is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. This is not a substitute for professional medical care. In case of emergency, call 911. Products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition.

---

Shop the Wisewoman's First Aid Kit | Learn about our ingredients | Read next: What Is a Salve, Actually?