First Aid from my Apothecary: Bugs, Bumps, Cuts, Poison, Sun

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This post will make more sense if you’ve read the introduction.

Two days ago, my husband said, “I gashed my leg. I need your apocalyptic stuff.” Holistic Husband had trouble with apothecary. Here we go, in alphabetical order of Uh-Ohs:

Bites and Stings
Repellent
The majority of popular brands contains deet, highly toxic especially for kids. I took forever deciding on a natural alternative because contrary to popular perception, essential oils are not categorically beneficial. Too much of it, along with the added fragrance so common in products claiming to be “healthy,” can disrupt children’s endocrine and reproductive systems. Essential oils are strong and I am also sensitive to them. So after looking for something that wasn’t overpowering but effective, I settled on this spray by Quantum. You have to repeat application.

P1040431Echinacea and Goldenseal – Tennyson got a squirt three times a day the first two days of bite inflammation to boost immune response. Topically, the herbs help draw toxins out.  After mUch experimentation the last few years, the most natural and soothing external treatment I came up with was a few drops of these herbs followed by a thick baking soda paste on the itch. The cooling paste has helped my son fall back asleep when he’d wake up itchy. I add just a drop or two of water for a moldable paste and don’t mind the dried crumbs on floor, carpet, or bedding, as the soda is a natural cleaner and of course vacuumable. The alkaline soda neutralizes the acid of the bug poison. Goldenseal is a very strong cooling herb so you can use the Echinacea alone, especially in the winter. Gaia is the best company I know for Echinacea – knows it like the back of its hand and fastidiously harnesses quality herbs.  The bottles for kids are alcohol-free.  Some health food stores carry this brand.  You can go to the Gaia site but online resellers like this one often sells for less.

Homeopathics
Once I saw how lumpy and red the bites had grown, I started Tennyson on Ledum Palustre in liquid form sublingually. The rich blood vessels under the tongue absorb the drops efficiently. Ledum accelerates healing from bites. It is what I would use if he were bitten by a child or an animal. I would add Hypericum Perforatum for nerve endings, where there is risk of Tetanus. After the first day, I found Urtica Urens to be more effective for the itch at hand. This remedy facilitates healing of hives, itch from poison, and burns. Tennyson took Urtica under the tongue about five times a day, down to two times the third day.  We have Apis Mel on hand for bee and wasp stings. Last summer, Daddy and Son were needled by a wasp – Daddy in several places, Son a hairsbreadth from the eyeball. It happened an hour from home and I happened to have Apis in the car. I KnOW!  Don’t ASK!  Homeopathics are available from holistic practitioners, from online and at health food markets. The lower potencies treat acute conditions. You can’t overdose on most of them and there are no side effects with the right remedies. But you use homeopathics only as long as the symptoms call for them. It’s best to consult a homeopathic doctor who can target the remedy to take by mouth but after reading up on them, you can keep some on standby for acute conditions. Homeopathics work on animals just as they do on people.

Bumps, Bruises and Trauma
Arnica Montana – Our dear loyal friend. It speeds healing and has come through even in the most traumatic of falls. Awesome for kids and athletes or those who work out – and of course the clumsy like Yours Truly. Arnica facilitates recovery from surgery and the remedy, along with Aconite which treats shock, are excellent in cases involving hard impact, like auto accidents.

Traumeel Ointment – I should’ve started out with straight Arnica ointment or cream but I was introduced to this combination preparation of homeopathics as a new mom and it is so dang effective I turned a blind eye to the inactive ingredients. At least the ingredients are pronounceable. I justify the breaking of my own law by our holistic doctor’s sentiments: hey, we don’t rub this on everyday. It was indispensable when my son started crawling and walking, greeting hard places head-on. My mother banged her forehead on a sharp protrusion so hard she actually expected to feel a hole. She was amazed at how well she healed from Traumeel. You can get it from most pharmacies and online stores. Traumeel contains Arnica, which you don’t apply on open wounds.

Dehydration
Summer has hit us, no holds barred. The air conditioning graciously lowered the oven heat in the car to 97 degrees this week. Obviously we need to drink more, days like these. Taking pink Himalayan salt in food and capsule at our doctor’s word has revived my husband from the weakness and the headache he gets from sweating out minerals. I pour the salt into an empty gelatin capsule that he washes down with water so he doesn’t have to taste it. When I can manage the extra step, I roast the salt on low at 175 degrees for about 15 minutes in the oven and cool before encapsulating. Macrobiotics practice recommends cooking salt 10 minutes for digestibility. I started giving my son a small capsule of Celtic sea salt, which I also do a bit extra of in the oppressive heat. A sudden very painful tightness on the sole of my foot just below the toes went away tonight after 3/4 capsule of lightly roasted sea salt. I remembered my holistic doctor saying seven years ago that the occasional pain was probably mineral deficiency. In this heat, she was right. A little bit of seaweed (presoaked 20 minutes) or kelp cooked into grains or broth will cool and help remineralize the overheated body. Sea salt supplementation and a banana for the potassium punch are very helpful for long flights, as flying is dehydrating. Natural health care professionals might carry sea salt tablets. Quality salt is not white, the color you get after nutritive minerals have been refined. Celtic grey is among the finest salts.

Detoxification
Bentonite Clay – The medicinal use of clay goes back milennia. Sodium bentonite you usually mix with water and ingest as a laxative aid.  A natural antibacterial, calcium bentonite absorbs toxins when applied externally. I could’ve made a wet pack for my son’s bites a few days ago. To suck out the wasp poison that made Peter’s head throb last year, we left some shampoo that contained bentonite on the sting site on top of his head.  Hubby was awed at how well it eased the pain. Five to ten minutes of a dollop of bentonite on a zit two, three times a day will dry it up. A bentonite or rhassoul clay face mask of just a few minutes leaves my skin clearer, whiter, and softer.

Food Poisoning
Peter got very sick from a group barbeque last year. The aurora threatened a crippling migraine and he expected to call in sick the next day. I gave him about half a tablespoon of brown rice vinegar in a cup of water and, to his disbelief, his head and stomach soon felt better. The vinegar turned him around and by the time he got the second dose some hours later, he felt fine. Paul Pitchford’s deep and wide explanations of the medicinal properties of food in Healing with Whole Foods details the use of quality vinegar in the case of food poisoning. He explains that (white) distilled vinegar is not a food (though a great cleaner), and leaches minerals. After comparing pasteurization temperatures, I chose Spectrum Brown Rice Vinegar as the most nutritional ferment. I also have activated charcoal capsules in my pantry. Homeopathic Arsenicum Alb hastens healing from food poisoning.

Infection
Along with my beloved Goldenseal, I use colloidal silver. Silver was the natural mainstream antibiotic before the synthetic came to market in the late 30s. It treats a gamut of issues and can be ingested or applied. I find integrity and effectiveness in the brand Paul Pitchford considers the best. Here is the site. It’s been the only product to help my son’s occasional eye irritation. I lay Tennyson down for a drop or two and have him roll his eye around. Traditional Chinese Medicine says eye issues trace back to the liver. But it certainly helps to relieve the symptom. We’ve never had Pink Eye but I bet silver would be wonderful for it. I love how it’s safe for kids. The atomizer nozzle in the picture above makes it user-friendly for nostrils and throat.

Painful Cuts and Injuries Open to Infection
Goldenseal – This herb is a phenomenon. I keep some of the powder that comes in the plastic you see above also in a 1 oz. jar for ease of use. My midwife gave us some to apply on Tennyson’s umbilical stump when he was born which helped heal it quickly. Goldenseal has served us beautifully when we’ve had deep or open cuts and punctures that invite infection and can’t take ointment. When Tennyson cut his finger the other day, I scooped out just a little of the powder into a bowl and added about two drops of water to form a wet paste.  When I packed it on the site and covered it with a band-aid, I could see the relief on his face. “Aahh… feels mUch better, Mom.” And he wrapped my legs in a grateful hug. Heads-up: Goldenseal stains.

Calendula gel – I sent my boy to bed with just a little over his cut without a band-aid that first night to let it breathe. Mine is pure Calendula with no other ingredients.

Calendula ointment – The thicker version is more effective for dry skin, when sunburned or in cold weather, as the gel goes on clean and will feel like it evaporated.

Poison Ivy or Oak
Homeopathic Rhus Tox!

Sun
Okay, so I know readers on the fence who stuck it out this far will move on at this point, never to return. Conventional sunscreen has been proved carcinogenic for all the crazy, unpronounceable ingredients. Ironic indeed. The latest research has reneged on its old pontification that Sun is evil.  We need about half an hour a day over at least 20% of our body to produce the Vitamin D hormone that only she supplies. Purists forgo sunscreen altogether and keep covered with clothing and hat, but such a measure is often not very feasible in California. After years of searching, I’ve settled on Thinksport, available in most stores. We like the coconut scent and the way it absorbs as much as its effectiveness.

I feel so bad: Our last beach trip a distant year-old memory, I realized too late today that my son needed to have worn the sunscreen before he did the sand. My tired, sluggish brain saw that application and reapplication were difficult, and he came home pink in some spots. I was so disappointed with myself. Calendula oil soothed and relieved the slight itch on the sensitive areas. My boy will stay another day or so on the homeopathic Urtica Urens that hastens recovery from sunburn. Cantharis would work well, too. Aloe gel also cools and heals sunburn. Aloe plant is wonderful but the gel’s easier to apply on large areas. The little man will be doing about 3,000 I.U.s of vitamin A in gel cap the next couple of days, so good for skin. The vitamin also promotes health of mucous membranes and the upper respiratory. If the pink patches really bother him, I would apply a towel wet with comfrey root tea several times a day. Comfrey works wonders for skin – even bone – injuries. Dehydration often attends sunburn.

*Summer 2014 update: Nutribiotic Skin Ointment with 2% grapefruit seed extract is amazing for sunburn. I recently got it to keep on standby for skin irritations and injuries. A mix of echinacea, goldenseal, calendula extracts with Vitamin C and E. I like the honey that nourishes skin and acts as an antibiotic.

SmartMedI have found this reference useful for the spectrum of concerns that arise in child rearing. The book applies to adults, too. It’s written by a team of professionals that mixes conventional (Px) and natural approaches in treating anything from allergies, burns, colic, eczema, fainting, Lyme disease, with first aid instructions for emergencies like choking. Recommendations on drugs, homeopathics, herbs, acupressure, nutritional supplements, and tips on prevention form a comprehensive plan of action for each concern. You see the range of options available to you.

I’ve summed up years’ worth of research for you. It would redeem my labor of love to learn if you found the information useful, insane, or apocalyptic. In any case, I hope it interests you enough to dig further.

Healing wishes from my apothecary,

HW

First Aid from My Apothecary: Introduction

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HomepthPantrySummer asserted herself today. She blasted inland California with triple digits and greeted us this morning with nasty bug bites on my son’s leg and arm, an augur of the mosquitoes on standby.  Ugh…here we go with the summer itching! To top it off, Tennyson was going ballistic over the red bumps that had swelled by late morning, when he suddenly held out a dark finger and started crying in the car. In less time than he could blink, he had paper-cut himself with a book he’d picked up. Blood oozed right along the edge of nail top and skin. The cut was deep. My boy sobbed and sobbed. Though I managed to stop the bleeding, it started up again when we got home. As I set about nursing the wounds, I decided to share with you a glimpse of my other life as Holistic Medicine Woman.

As you can see, my home apothecary carries herbs, homeopathics, and supplements. The photo caught just the top half; I couldn’t fit the length of the shelves into one shot. I have products in a kitchen cupboard and next to the bedrooms as well. Why I favor a holistic approach to health and healing is really another post entirely, one that’s been on the simmer the last few months. I will limit that discussion to its relevance to homeopathics. For now, I’d like to spotlight some natural first aid remedies, especially with pesky summer bites at hand. The following is not medical advice or even recommendation. I am only sharing what I use for my family and why. I get no kick-back from any of the companies and brands I’ll talk about. I am simply offering those who choose to read on a glimpse of some of the products I have settled on after – in some cases – years of studying the safety and effects on children, and examining fine-print inactive ingredients. The post would run too long if I described each product in full so please Google if you’d like more information on any of them.

SKIN PRODUCTS
As the largest organ of the body, the skin helps eliminate waste through sweat. The porosity that releases toxins also absorbs them. What we apply on our skin is food – or poison – for the body, which the liver ends up trying to spit out of the system. A great rule of thumb in assessing the quality of a skin product is to ask whether you’d be able to eat it, at least in different form. I know, 99% of the products on the market apparently fail this test. Just giving you the ideal. Take it or toss, or take it and try. If I can’t pronounce or duplicate it, I don’t buy it or slather it on my son.

HOMEOPATHIC PRODUCTS
To condense into a few sentences the subject of homeopathics that by nature will fill a book: homeopathy has its foundation in the law of Like Cures Like. The principle of vaccination actually springboards off the discovery of German physician Samuel Hahnemann from the late 1700s. He realized cinchona, the bark of a Peruvian tree, that incites symptoms of malaria could be used to cure those very symptoms in someone who already had the disease. This dynamic lies behind the now-popular encouragement of seasonal allergy sufferers to consume raw local honey. The honey that’s been pollinated can help cure sensitivity to pollen by repelling it out of the body. Western Medicine, which has influenced cultures beyond the West, views symptoms as something to battle, to silence. Hence the business of antibiotic, antihistamine drugs on the market. Holistic Medicine believes in listening to what the body is trying to express through the grievances we call symptoms. Manifestations are not the bad guys but the body’s attempt to rid what is toxic or cumbersome. A problem in one area actually has its roots in another since we are a unified composite. Which is why folks like me look at illness and even injury holistically, working to support the immune system to heal the body as a whole. Homeopathic products work with the body, not against. Medicinal drugs have their time and place. They have saved countless lives. But I feel they also are often used unnecessarily and their byproducts can render them counterproductive.

I will share in the next post what I did to ease my little guy along today.

20 Things I Consider Sacred: Part 2

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Our Body
Who taught us to breathe? How does the heart know to pump blood, push life, to every cell? The kidneys, according to Dr. Henry Bieler, are chemists “whose tasks are more complex than any electronic computer conceived by man.” Human history is how old? And Science has yet fully to unlock the secrets of the human body.

Our Blood
Why do we perform labs? Blood work reveals a lot, doesn’t it? Blood carries nutrients to every tissue in the body to rejuvenate cells. Insufficient, stagnant, or impure blood runs beneath many common ailments. When the elimination channels of liver, kidneys, lungs, bowels, and skin are sluggish, toxins seep into the blood. The blood is not only our life stream. It also bears our essence.

Sleep
It is surrender.  Our confession that we’ve done all we could today and tomorrow is not yet ours to shoulder. Try sleeping three hours each night all week and feel the holy love in the marriage.

Rest
Not only at night but in the dash of day. Even at the simple closing of the eyes, our brain waves change pattern. Release body, mind, spirit from the incessant bid of duty and haste. Embrace the reminder that life is more than the next thing to be done.

Time
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. James 4:14

20 Things I Consider Sacred: Part 1

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Marriage
Someone to walk with as long as you can together, to build a life with. Who sees you at your worst and has vowed to stick around, and encourages you to your best. The ring sealed the vows you made before God and Man, a sacrament of an institution bigger than your best intentions. Because the happily ever after is indeed a fairy tale and you will fail one another miserably. Boundaries in oneness, a mystery.

Mothering
I grew my son inside my body; the air I breathed and the nourishment I took in were his very life. I died to give him birth. The blood, the impossible pain, all of it just the beginning of the everything I have given my child. No one loves him more.

The Life in the Womb
It’s mind-boggling: a baby is born ready to learn, with 100 billion nerve cells (my son probably has a little more because, according to my husband, the wife-who’s-gotten-dumber-since-giving-birth gave some to Tennyson when he was still inside).  That many neurons – about the number of stars in the Milky Way – in just nine months. A unique person who hears, feels, grasps, kicks and stretches, hidden in the bloom of a woman.  Just how do you go from nothingness to completeness?

Relationships
Years ago I read somewhere that even loose affiliations serve to mark our place in the world, give us a sense of belonging. But friends are precious, aren’t they? Who am I that people would take pause from their concerns to ask how I am, to pray for me or prepare a gift? There is no pretense between friends. Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away. George Eliot

The Kiss
You need a relationship to be able to kiss someone but you can’t have a kiss without a relationship. Which is what made Judas’ betrayal of his Lord so twisted. Judas well could’ve just led the Romans to Him, “Here’s your man.”  But Judas chose to plant the kiss, make a mockery of the years he had dined with, talked with, laughed with his Teacher and Friend.