A week ago or so, I cut myself on a piece of glass. You may be wondering, how the heck did that happen? Well, lets just say I got a little rambunctious in the kitchen cooking up a herbal tonic, dropped a jar and clumsy ol' me, I stepped on a piece of glass. It got the best of me, but being a nursing student and a herbal enthusiast, I leaped into action (not literally though, I was in no shape to do so). I was able to clean the wound and stitch myself up. If the wound wasn't so deep and wide, I would have went down a different path and used a turmeric paste, wrapped my foot and let it heal naturally.
Stay tuned next week for my post about a natural healing paste made from turmeric.
How did I clean the wound? I'm glad you asked. After rinsing the cut with warm water and making sure there were not pieces of glass hiding in the bottom of my foot, I had my fiance conjure up a home remedy that I've used before and it works wonderfully. This concoction consisted of:
Eucalyptus Leaf (and oil)
Echinacea
Ginger
Apple Cider Vinegar
Honey
Cinnamon
(see the end of the post for the benefits of each ingredient)
In a large pot, heat the water on the stove to a tolerable temperature (where you can comfortably leave your foot submersed in). Then, mix in the ingredients mentioned above and let "cook" for 5 minutes or so; stirring occasionally. When done, remove from the stove and pour the mixture into a container of your choice. Mine happened to be a foot bath spa tub I had laying around. I let my foot soak for about 20-25 minutes. Afterward, I rinsed off my foot with warm water. The bleeding had stopped, the pain in my foot had faded and it was clean.
Now the fun part began - for those with a sensitive stomach, I'll leave the details out on this one. I stitched myself up, wrapped it in an elastic bandage and was back in the kitchen hobbling around shortly thereafter.
Fast forward to today, the wound has healed nicely and there are no signs of infection. No medicine was used to clean or treat the wound / pain, only ALL natural products were used.
Nature is a blessing - it's beautiful, inspiring, and full of natural remedies!
BENEFITS OF EACH INGREDIENT:
Eucalyptus Leaf (and oil) -
(LEAF) Acts as an instant repellent, it fights inflammation and promotes healing.
(OIL) It's anti-microbial and anti-septic qualities promote healing and prevent against infection.
Echinacea - Is used to modulate the immune system; some people use it as a way to speed up wound healing. It's used as an anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial agent.
Ginger - Has anti-septic properties. Speeds up the healing process for cuts and abrasions.
Apple Cider Vinegar - Reduces the efficacy of bacteria and yeast to grow. This helps white blood cells, such as macrophages, to clear and engulf these microbes, which will in turn reduce inflammation and harmful cytokine secretion.
Honey - Has anti-bacterial properties and a unique pH balance that promotes oxygen and healing compounds to a wound. Before you reach into your cabinet, know that wound-care professionals use medical-grade honey for healing chronic wounds and other injuries.
Cinnamon - Provides fast healing benefits with it's anti-bacterial properties.