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Anishinaabe medicine →

Pine needle steam for headache

Crushed pine needles boiled and the steam inhaled: an Anishinaabe remedy for headache and backache.

Traditional use

Time
20 minutes
Makes
1 session
Pine

In 1891 Walter Hoffman described how the Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) crushed and boiled the needles of the white pine and used the hot steam for headache and backache. Crushed needles were also laid on the head as a compress.

Ingredients

  • A good handful of fresh pine needles
  • 1 litre water
  • A bowl and a towel, or a clean cloth for a compress

Step by step

  1. Crush the needles in a mortar or with a rolling pin.
  2. Boil them for 10 minutes in a covered pan.
  3. Pour them with the water into a bowl and breathe in the steam for 5–10 minutes with a towel over your head.
  4. Or let the water cool to lukewarm, soak a cloth in it and lay it on your forehead.

Tips

  • White pine is a park tree in Europe (Weymouth pine), but Scots pine works too.

Registry

Herbs in this recipe

Read more about effects and safety on each herb’s page.

  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 189

    Pine

    Pinus spp.

    The scent of needles and resin is experienced as fresh and cleansing. Pine buds and needles contain essential oil and vitamin C; a medicinal effect has hardly been studied.

    Haudenosaunee medicine+3Folklore

Cultures and traditions

Where the herbs come from

The herbs in this recipe also appear in these traditions.