Pronounced oo-hah-LOW-wah, this native Hawaiian plant is well-known for its medicinal use among traditional healers. The plant looks like a weed, but it's the juice from the inner bark that's thought to be most beneficial for cold symptoms.
According to "Native Hawaiian Medicine," a textbook translated by Malcolm Chun, the bark of the root is good medicine for a sore throat, tonsillitis and chest pain when breathing.
The bitter root from the inner bark might be chewed to release the juice inside the plant. Swallowing this juice as it mixes with the saliva in your mouth could help soothe a sore throat.
The root bark can also be boiled into a reddish-colored tea that's drunk for sore throats as well as for bronchial and bacterial infections.
Dane Silva is a native Hawaiian healer on the Big Island. He described some of the healing methods he might use for a cold: When someone has a cold, the family talks with each other, and we call this concept "ohana." A tradition of the ohana when caring for someone with a respiratory infection may include giving indigenous herbal medicines and massage, accompanied by prayers for spiritual intercession, guidance and protection.
"An herbal tea of uhaloa may be recommended to reduce the intensity of the immune response to the infection. Other herbal beverages made with turmeric [also known as 'olena'] may reduce the inflammatory symptoms," Silva said.
A hot or warmed stone may be placed on the body to regress a cold's symptoms.
A dilute solution of salt water with lemon juice is used as a gargle to cleanse the mucus in the respiratory system. Daily baths in salt water may be advised.
"Sun, salt and water are essential components of traditional Hawaiian medicine," said Silva.
And when you have a cold, the idea of jetting off to a place with sunshine, warm weather, and salt water might just what you'd want the doctor to order.
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