Another common plant remedy was the sap of the Native or Cherry Ballart (Exocarpas cupressiformis), used for snake bites.
When bitten by a snake, the Jaanga First Nations people of inland Queensland survived by laying down under a tree and not moving a muscle for four to five days while their people brought them food and water.
In common with today's understanding, most European settlers, and many Indigenous cultures, considered venom to be an external “poison” that moved through the body. Physical measures such as ligature or suction were thus common to expel venom or limit its circulation.
Concoctions of emu bush leaves were used by Northern Territory Aboriginal tribes to wash sores and cuts; occasionally it was gargled. In the last decade, leaves from the plant were found to have the same strength as some established antibiotics.
Botanically called Velvet bean or Cowhage, Mucuna pruriens belongs to the plant family Fabaceae. In Nigeria, it is called Agbala or Agbaloko in Ibo and Werepe in Yoruba. Recent studies have found that Mucuna pruriens leaves are more effective than the standard drug, anti-venin, for curing snakebite.
The only standardized specific treatment currently available for neutralizing the medically important effects of snake venom toxins is antivenom [8,9,12].
Traditional bush medicine is still widely used across Australia. Traditional healers have extensive knowledge and are able to interpret symptoms and provide traditional healing treatments including bush rubs and medicines. Their knowledge is passed from generation to generation.
Treatments included a poultice made from Cassytha filiformis (Dodder Laurel), a paste made from the mashed leaves and stems of Tinospora smilacina (Snake vine) and the soaked bark of the Acacia melanoxylon (Blackwood wattle). Steam baths were created by placing wet water weed on hot stones.
There are seven natural ways of emotional discharge and healing in Indigenous cultures: shaking, crying, laughing, sweating, voicing (talking, singing, hollering, yelling, screaming, etc.), kicking, and hitting. All of these need to be done in a constructive manner so as to not harm another spirit.
Ammonia was a common remedy through the 1700s and 1800s. many people took to carrying a small bottle of ammonia when they ventured into rattlesnake country, which they could apply to the bite. A very painful but common remedy was to get a knife and cut out as much of the wound and (hopefully) the poison as possible.
Alangium salvifolium (Linn. f) Wang. Whole plant, root, leaf, stem bark, About 15 g of bark, ground with 10–12 black peppers and mixed with 60 g animal fat, is given every 2 h to cure snakebite.
Don't apply ice on the snake bite as the ice may block blood circulation. Don't suck the blood out with your mouth (germs in the mouth may cause infection in the bite wound) and you may be also exposing yourself to the venom. Don't attempt to cut the wound.
All of Australia's venemous snakes are elapids or front-fanged snakes. Their fangs are short, making it difficult for them to pierce through clothing to inject venom through the skin. Needless to say it's important to wear enclosed footwear so leave the thongs and slides for the beach.
The dead were usually buried in the ground, sometimes accompanied by possessions such as stone tools or personal ornaments. In some areas, special clothes were made for the deceased. Small fires were often lit inside or near the grave, and sometimes ochre was sprinkled over the body.
Marijuana was the most common substance used, followed by amphetamines or speed. More than half (51%) of Indigenous males reported that they had ever used illicit substances compared with 36% of Indigenous females.
Medicine Gardens are planted to honour the Medicine Wheel, and to grow Sacred Medicines associated with directional teachings. There are four Sacred Medicines: Tobacco, cedar, sage, and sweetgrass.
In terms of medicines, many different parts of plants were used. Native mints (Mentha spp.) were remedies for coughs and colds, while the gum from gum trees, which is rich in tannin, was used for burns. The green plum (Buchanania obovata) is enormously rich in vitamin C.
Ngangkari are the traditional healers of the NPY Lands in Central Australia. For thousands of years, Ngangkari have looked after the physical and emotional health of their people.
Ngangkari are Aboriginal healers of the Anangu of the Western Desert in Central Australia, which includes the Pitjantjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra and Yankunytjatjara peoples. In some places, particularly South Australia, ngangkari are increasingly being brought into Western health settings to work beside doctors.
Self-determination is the key foundation of Indigenous healing. 2. Help people understand the nature of the problem. We must understand how Indigenous peoples' problems have arisen if we are to facilitate healing.
If there's a family of snakes you don't want to anger, it would be the vipers. While these snakes don't always have the most deadly bites, they have the most painful ones. Van Wallach of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology has had several viper bites; the worst one, he said, "came from an African bush viper.