Accidents happen, especially when you have young kids around. Every mom is prepared in her own way of dealing with wounds, burns and bruises. I have my own natural remedies up my mama sleeve when it comes to taking care of burns and wounds.
I wanted to open my natural medicine cabinet and share these tips with you.
You really only need one essential oil in your emergency supply and that is…lavender. Shocking, I know. It is the king of all oils, cleans the wound gently with antibacterial properties and also helps to bring the inflammation down. I do have a wound cleaning protocol as well but wanted to also tell you about other natural powerhouses for your first aid kit.
Here is what I have on hand with me at all times:
- lavender essential oil
- calendula ointment
- hypericum (St.Johns wort) tincture
- calendula tincture
Calendula
It is a plant that is used to make medicine. Specifically the flower part is used for herbal purposes. When applied to the skin it reduces pain and inflammation, treats poorly healing wounds and leg ulcers. It is thought that the chemicals in the calendula flower can help new tissue to grow in wounds and decrease swelling. (1)
Hypericum (St. Johns Wort)
This flower has been to cause some side effects with many medications when taken orally. If you plan on using St. Johns Wort in any way internally, please consult your physician first. Commonly used for depression or nervousness.
Do not use this directly on the skin as is can cause sensitivity to sunlight, but with a mixture of water as described below. If you are pregnant of breastfeeding, it is best to stay away from taking this orally as well as it has been linked to birth defects. (2)
Both the tinctures should be in glass bottles (if you purchase them online) and 1 oz for a family should last you a long way.
Watch the video below
How to take care of a wound
The first thing that is important for me to do is to make sure the wound is clean. Bacteria can form and infection will follow. My protocol for cleaning a wound involves dropping a few drops of lavender EO into a bowl of warm water (2-3 drops) and then putting a wash cloth in it to soak it in.
There are other ways also by putting lavender directly on a wash cloth and then wiping the wound down, I prefer the water method simply because it stings my children less, especially if its a bad open wound. Some also put a drop of lavender on their finger and clean the wound that way. Lavender is the only oil that is safe to use neat (not diluted).
After cleaning the wound with lavender, no germs should survive. That is when I use the calendula ointment on top of the wound and reapply as needed. If you are dealing with a more severe wound and need to wrap a bandage over it, keep reading down below.
Burns/Wounds
Using hypericum tincture along with the calendula tincture on wounds will help the wound to heal more quickly without leaving scars. Of course if it is a severe burn such as a 2nd or 3rd degree burn you will want to rush over to your ER to have that taken care of by professionals.
On your way to the hospital though, there is a great homeopathic remedy that can help with that shock to the body and it is called Arnica 30c.
For burns, cuts and lacerations you will also want to clean the wound with the same lavender EO water solution as above to prevent bacteria to form. Burns are way more sensitive and are harder to clean but will help with the inflammation a lot.
Using Tinctures
In one pint of cool water, I use one drop of each hypericum and calendula tincture and mix it around. The gauze that will be used over the wound, I soak right in that water mix. There is also cotton but I’ve used gauze simply because it does not come apart as easily.
Then I place the wet gauze over the wound and secure it, usually with an ace bandage or some cloth tape.
For burns, the area has to be kept moist. It is important to keep the water mixture with the tinctures and remoistening the gauze. Do not lift the gauze. For cuts, the gauze can be switched out and does not have to be moistened.
To conclude
After a few days the burn will be healed, in most cases with minimal scaring (if any). There is some pain that always comes with burns, for that the homeopathic remedies that I always use is Cantharis 30c and Hypericum 30c.
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Much love,
Krystina
