How do YOU use chamomile?

I've read many herbal blurbs and materia medica entries for chamomile, particularly German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla). I've seen the laundry list of things that it could potentially be useful for, but I'd like to hear the personal stories and anecdotes of how you like to use it.
What are your favorite preparations, and how have you found it helpful? In what circumstances do you automatically reach for chamomile?

For starters:
Chamomile is my go-to for eye pain. Sometimes my eyes hurt when I wake up, especially if I stared at screens too much the day before. I make a strong chamomile tea, put a compress over my eyes, and the pain quickly goes away. On the days that I don't make a chamomile compress, the pain has lasted for quite a few hours or even all day.

Nikki Roche wrote:I've read many herbal blurbs and materia medica entries for chamomile, particularly German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla). I've seen the laundry list of things that it could potentially be useful for, but I'd like to hear the personal stories and anecdotes of how you like to use it.
What are your favorite preparations, and how have you found it helpful? In what circumstances do you automatically reach for chamomile?

For starters:
Chamomile is my go-to for eye pain. Sometimes my eyes hurt when I wake up, especially if I stared at screens too much the day before. I make a strong chamomile tea, put a compress over my eyes, and the pain quickly goes away. On the days that I don't make a chamomile compress, the pain has lasted for quite a few hours or even all day.

Good question. I use chamomile in a lot of things. I grow and harvest about a gallon of chamomile every year.
It’s my go to for acute inflammation and skin irritations. We also love them in teas. My toddler/baby calm me down tea, has chamomile as the main ingredient together with catnip, lemon balm and a little lavender. For hurt baby/child tummies I use a mix of chamomile, mint and fenugreek. The kids love it, and it’s a great soother for that. Last, before my dog died, I made an anti anxiety oil for him with chamomile and coconut oil. For a good relaxation try a chamomile bath. Make a strong tea with chamomile and add it to your bath with epsom salt. It will smooth your mind and body.

So I know your post is about chamomile, which I love, but might I recommend a weed that is so pleasant and even provides fruits: The Maypop/Passionfruit. Maypop is a true passionfruit, and the leaves are actually used as a substitute for Prozac by some. Leaves and fruits are a win.

Kevin Goheen wrote:So I know your post is about chamomile, which I love, but might I recommend a weed that is so pleasant and even provides fruits: The Maypop/Passionfruit. Maypop is a true passionfruit, and the leaves are actually used as a substitute for Prozac by some. Leaves and fruits are a win.

I have Maypop growing rampantly in my new garden area (cleared of dead pines last year) and came here to find out if it has any benefits for healing the soil or being used for compost. Can you elaborate on how the leaves are used as a Prozac substitute? Infusion, tincture, eaten as greens?

I was looking into chamomile, too, and bought one of those bulk packs of Stash chamomile teas. Glad to hear they make a good eye-pain compress.

Diane Kistner wrote:

Kevin Goheen wrote:So I know your post is about chamomile, which I love, but might I recommend a weed that is so pleasant and even provides fruits: The Maypop/Passionfruit. Maypop is a true passionfruit, and the leaves are actually used as a substitute for Prozac by some. Leaves and fruits are a win.

I have Maypop growing rampantly in my new garden area (cleared of dead pines last year) and came here to find out if it has any benefits for healing the soil or being used for compost. Can you elaborate on how the leaves are used as a Prozac substitute? Infusion, tincture, eaten as greens?

I was looking into chamomile, too, and bought one of those bulk packs of Stash chamomile teas. Glad to hear they make a good eye-pain compress.

It's been a lot time since I read it, but I use it as a calming tea. Super relaxing, but I also use other teas to flavor it as well.

In my newish (since early Covid Lockdown) Keto lifestyle, I have seen several youtuber recommendations of a green tea & chamomile blend during fasting or not!
I have also been adding its calming influence to my highly distressed, first full adult-molting flock's daily ferments! Along with lemon balm and turmeric. Got one more, Green Glistening Gemma, my BlackStar super layer who's just quit laying now for the first time in the 18 months since her first egg, but so far has barely dropped a feather. Hope she finishes quickly & painlessly.

I'm not highly informed yet on chamomile, but was recently surprised to learn how generally powerful lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is over several body systems beyond anxiety calming. Definitely something for us all to take on a daily basis.

And then, I just confirmed that the nervine, scullcap is safe for my chicken pasture, I just need to get a drought tolerant Zone 9 variety.

I'm with you on the eye irritation.
And it comes in teabags, so I just hydrate two camomile teabags in a small amount of boiled water and lie on the sofa with them on my eyelids as soon as they're cool enough.

I make a tea mix that I used to call mellow mix, now call Hangover Helper, good for gut stress of any kind. I try to grow all the ingredients myself: chamomile, mint, lavender and fennel. Fennel may be the most important--it's also a good cure for heartburn, just nibble a few seeds. I also use the seeds in spaghetti sauce and sweet breads. But I was pleased to see the mention of lemon balm as a calmative, since I've been growing it but not sue what for. I should add it to my tea mix.

Chamomile also makes a lovely rinse for hair, especially for an itchy scalp, and for those with blonde or lighter reds, it adds shine. It's always been one of my favorites for relaxing and promoting sleep, (at a medium strength, with a bit of honey, and a bit of cream) enjoyed with a couple shortbread cookies, by the fire, with a good book.

Lovely pictures of the flowering plant. That is what I had growing in my garden summer of 2022 but it didn't come back probably because I picked too many flowers. It was labor intensive. What is the easiest way to harvest the flowers beside snipping them off one by one?