Wound care @ home

[VikingChick]

So yesterday, I fell. I was pretty close to the back door into my house, which is brick. I face planted right into the corner of a brick, and now I have a big gash on my forehead. I’ve also got pretty respectable scrapes on my left knee and elbow, and a couple of bumps. Nothing serious.

But I want to use home remedies to support and speed healing, especially for my face (which, at age 50, has enough working against it already!). I’ve applied Manuka honey to my wounds, but I know that some of us here are of a homeopathic mindset, so I wanted to pick y’all’s brains. What’s your favorite home remedy for scrapes/cuts?

 

[justsomeguy]

If you make lotion or emulsified body butter with dl Panthenol it'll speed the skin healing itself.

 

[VikingChick]

If you make lotion or emulsified body butter with dl Panthenol it'll speed the skin healing itself.

Good idea! I do have that on hand.

 

[lsg]

If you have a large gash, perhaps you should have stitches.

 

[VikingChick]

If you have a large gash, perhaps you should have stitches.

It’s not large enough to require stitches. It’s just unattractive.

 

[dmcgee5034]

Oh gosh, @VikingChick - I’m so sorry this happened. Falls are bad news, and I’m glad it’s not worse. I had a honey based wound product before and they are magical. I don’t have any suggestions, but I am sending you some positive, healing vibes your way.

 

[Misschief]

Arnica

 

[VikingChick]

Arnica

That’s a fantastic idea. I need to get some.

 

[dibbles]

That’s a fantastic idea. I need to get some.

I don’t think applying arnica to broken skin is advisable. I’ve seen this both here (Savage Daughter maybe) as well as other places. I’m sorry you were hurt.

 

[VikingChick]

**off to do more research….**

 

[AliOop]

I've heard the same, @dibbles. Arnica is great for bruises, so adding it to unbroken areas around the gash would probably be ok, but you don't want to get it in the gash itself.

@VikingChick so sorry to hear about this fall. Prayers for a speedy recovery!

 

[lenarenee]

The only proven advice I have to to keep it out of any sunlight until it's very well healed. Sunlight exposure can induce/worsen scarring. Perhaps add extra vitamins C and B complex to your diet as well. Skin needs nutrition and it's better to get it internally rather than externally.

 

[not_ally]

In this thread @Zing says that his pine tar salve worked wonders for healing facial burns, I wonder if it would help with the scrapes/cuts and the big one after it had healed up some? https://www.soapmakingforum.com/thr...ave-you-done-today.87378/page-41#post-1001651
Hopefully Zing will be along and opine on whether he thinks it would work.

 

[Prysm]

I'm so sorry to hear of that fall. Best wishes on healing quickly and well. So nice to have so many knowledgeable members here to help you.

 

[Relle]

From my experience, I did a short course through my Naturopath a long time ago for personal use and keep arnica, calendula and rosehip in the cupboard.
Arnica is for bruises specifically, on unbroken skin, ( I've used it for bruises on my hand, after drumming) not cuts, I use calendula ointment from the health food store on cuts, it's suppose to bring the skin together. I have a large scar on my face and used 1 drop of rosehip oil rubbed in daily after the skin came together, I did this for a year, to help with healing.

 

[ackosel]

Correct, do not put arnica cream or gel on broken skin. But you can take arnica in pellet form by mouth.

My mother used to bite or snip open vitamin E gel caps and squeeze some onto cuts a few times a day to reduce scarring.

 

[AliensrReal]

On areas with broken skin I would not use any lotion or creams due to the increased risk of infection and some ingredients can delay wound healing. Around the wound is fine. Medical honey is great for wounds and helps with healing.

Foods high in vitamin C help the body make collagen which is essential to wound healing. Vitamin E is also good. Here’s more information on promoting wound healing. https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/condition/wounds

 

[MellonFriend]

You don't happen to have comfrey, do you? It's like 1# in herbal healing ability. So much so that you don't want to use it on deep wounds because it will heals things too quickly, but it sounds like your not dealing with a deep wound.

Sorry you fell!

 

[Tammyfarms]

I was also going to mention comfrey. I picked up a tin of Herb Farm Original Salve at a local health food store a few months back and have used it on a couple cuts. It seems to work very well. It has a base of olive oil, beeswax, benzoin and rosemary, with comfrey, St Johns wort, calendula, chickweed, mullein and plantain.

 

[Relle]

I understood comfrey to be for broken bones, I have some growing in the vege patch that the naturopath gave me many moons ago, it is used as a poultice they call it knit bone. I use it for a garden fertiliser.