Easy peasy lemon squeezy - there are plenty of them in Taman Warisan Pertanian!
Neem leaves a.k.a. daun semambu
Image taken from here
When I was first advised to find daun semambu as an alternative treatment for chicken pox, I immediately queried - where can I find them? The popular answer seemed to be - "rumah orang India selalu ada."
Turned out semambu is neem and it is common knowledge that neem is a famous ayurvedic medicine, so no wonder it's very popular with Indians. But still - where to find the elusive pokok semambu in Putrajaya, what with Putrajaya being more than 90% filled with Malays?
When CC told me "Puan, pokok semambu banyak kat Taman Warisan (Pertanian)", I immediately asked back "Kat belah mana CC? Pokok dia macam mana?" Yeah, beats me - I am a disgrace for a girl who hails from kampung
Okay - there are plenty of pokok semambu in the parking lot in front of Taman Warisan Pertanian. If you decided to park at the parking lot behind Taman Warisan, near Penanggah area - there are no semambu there, only bamboo trees.
So, how does this pokok semambu look like?
They are tall, shade-giving, evergreen trees. The leaves are quite small, bright green with 'bergerigi' edges, quite similar in terms of shape and size to daun kari. The whole parking area in front of Taman Warisan are filled with pokok semambu, it's quite a common 'tanaman hiasan'.
Be warned - the trees are very tall and it could be quite difficult to reach for a branch to pluck the leaves. I had to use an umbrella as a makeshift 'kayu pengait'. Upon noticing me with all the leaves and the umbrella, a couple I passed by as I walked to my car commented that they did the same - used an umbrella as 'kayu pengait' to get at the leaves. They too needed the leaves to treat their kids with chicken pox.
So, what should we do with the leaves?
I've been asked to scatter the leaves on the bed (under the bed sheet) and on the pillows (under the pillow case) so that the boys will sleep on those daun semambu.
It was also recommended to me to bath the kids using water boiled with daun semambu.
Others recommended to grind the leaves, turning them into paste and to apply them on the skin areas afflicted with chicken pox sores.
There are various articles on the net on benefits of daun semambu a.k.a. neem leaves, especially on their antiseptic. anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.
While I don't remember Mak bathing me in air daun semambu (although I still remember being fed young coconut juice) when I was down with chicken pox a long, long time ago, many seemed to testify that it worked for them. So I guess there is no harm in trying them out for my kids, right?
7 comments:
Aiseh, to think I was having a headache finding this plant a few weeks ago when Raimie got chicken pox. (Curik aje kat situ. Muahaha)
Furthermore, we always spend our weekends at Taman Warisan Pertanian, apart from Taman Botani.
I guess yg we all nampak sumer pokok buah aje. Hihi
lina: tak payah curi - pak guard pun tahu & izinkan sebab memang ramai yang nak daun semambu kalau anak kena chicken pox. sesetengah tu bagi upah pekerja kat situ untuk panjat pokok (atau panjat guna tangga) sebab nakkan daun semambu... anak punya pasal, mak ayah sanggup buat apa saja, termasuk tebalkan muka ambil daun ubat di taman awam, hihihi...
itulah, bukannya tak pernah pergi Taman Warisan tu - tapi macam i ni pun, pokok buah & sayur mungkin kenal la juga sikit-sikit - bab2 daun ubat-ubatan ni agak gagal di situ
i pun tak tau daun tu heeh bila the girls bagi comment and now u tulis baru i tau - hmmm kalau in future anak i kena boleh la kan - but sekarang ni ubat clinic yg sapu badan tu pun ok da kan- dulu dulu iya la tak da ubat tu kot
Erma: memang i bagi calamine lotion & bagi ubat minum utk gatal-gatal tu. tapi kesian betul kat baby haniyya - muka dia banyak naik chicken pox sores - kat tempat yang leceh nak letak calamine lotion pulak tu. atas bibir, atas hidung, dekat pipi bawah mata... sebab tu cuba juga buat rawatan alternatif - mandikan dengan air daun semambu & tidur atas katil yang dilitupi dengan daun semambu... manalah tau, kot serasi pulak kan?
Heheh...Aku pun tak kenal la daun semambu, beb! Tak pe, malu-malu kucing jer dah la, kan. Bukan apa, kena campak dulu pun masa kecik2 duluuuu...lepas tu tak de la pulak terserempak dengan kes2 campak bila sudah besar ni...bagus info ni, kot perlu nanti bolehlah Aku terjah Taman Warisan ni.
Anira: Samalah kita! Hahaha... Ha ah, kot2 perlu, bolehlah hang terjah mai sini :-)
tak payah susah2 ambil daun semambu. beli aje sabun neem. brand yang selalu orang pakai ialah franch. malah better and more effective. i sekarang pun mandi pakai sabun tu walaupun anak dah lama baik chicken pox.
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