What happens should you or a loved one be injured or wounded? What can you do to not just heal wounds, but to heal wounds faster–especially when medical or pharmacy services are not immediately available?
Fortunately, nature has provided some excellent solutions. In this disaster preparedness article, we describe 9 highly effective all-natural remedies known to heal wounds and even to prevent infection.
Note: this article is for information purposes only. Always confer with your physician before using any of these remedies to treat personal wounds or injuries.
#1: Garlic
Garlic does a lot more than provide a taste boost to your favorite recipes. It’s also a first-rate wound healer. This versatile multi-purpose plant contains powerful antibacterial, anti-inflammation and antioxidant properties that can help speed up the healing of injured skin tissue.
It’s also known as a protection against the common cold and as an aid in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
For emergencies, we recommend storing a can or bottle of garlic oil or salve in your prepper pantry’s medical section.
#2: Arnica
Better known as mountain daisy, arnica is a beautiful yellow flower that can help reduce bruising after a surgery. Just apply the plant gel to the skin around the wound, and it helps keep skin discoloring to a minimum.
Be careful, however, not to apply it to open wounds or broken skin. That could irritate the skin and possibly cause dermatitis.
#3: Marigold
These plants not only look great in the garden, but they have healing properties, as well.
Marigolds (scientific name: calendula) have been shown to be effective in healing wounds and in the treatment of eczema. Simply extract the oil from the plant and apply directly to the affected area of skin around the wound (avoid direct application to open wounds).
These great plants are excellent at providing pain relief and reducing inflammation. Some have reported accelerated wound healing when you combine the marigold oil with aloe vera.
#4: Aloe Vera
For burn wounds, you’ll want to keep aloe vera near at hand. It has a long history of being a very effective healer of burns and skin scrapes. In fact, many well-known chefs keep a small supply of aloe vera gel in their kitchens to treat minor burns.
It’s also a great skin moisturizer and pain reliever.
Studies show that extracts of the aloe vera plant greatly accelerate cell reproduction in cases of both wounds and burn healing. Add one or two of these plants to your garden to have handy in case of an emergency.
#5: Honey
Honey has recently gained clinical popularity as an effective agent in treating and regenerating wounds, especially burns, scratches, diabetic boils, malignancies, surgical wounds and many more.
Actually, people have been using honey to treat wounds for thousands of years. It has strong antibacterial properties and a unique pH balance that promotes oxygen and healing compounds to a wound.
Again, we strongly recommend you check with your doctor before using honey on a wound. The amount used and the way the dressing is applied can impact how effective the healing will be, and that information needs to come from a reliable source such as your health care providers.
#6: Tumeric
Not only is turmeric a great spice to have on hand for countless recipes, but it’s also considered a good antiseptic and antibiotic agent.
Tumeric contains curcumin which is helpful in modulating collagen. That’s important because collagen helps stop excessive bleeding. Keep a powdered form of turmeric on hand in case of an emergency. But again, if the situation permits, always consult a medical professional before using on an open wound.
#7: Chamomile
There’s a lot more to chamomile than making a soothing tea.
Like honey, chamomile is rich in anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s been shown to be especially effective in reducing the pain and inflammation caused by wounds. Simply applying a damp chamomile tea bag to a wound is often quite effective. Balms or pastes can also be used.
According to some, just drinking it as a tea can help promote faster healing.
#8: Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal has the unique ability to absorb toxins, and that’s a powerful asset when used to help heal wounds.
Over the years, activated charcoal has also been used for applications like soothing psoriasis outbreaks, clearing complexions, deodorizing body odors and many more.
Used in wound dressings, activated charcoal is quite effective in minimizing those unpleasant odors that may accompany a wound. That’s important to the patient, relieving him or her of embarrassment or even depression.
#9: Comfrey
Used correctly, comfrey is another of those plants you can turn to for healing wounds faster. Like others in this list, however, it should never be taken by mouth or applied directly to broken skin. That could lead to liver complications and infection.
But when you use it correctly as a salve of comfrey leaves, it can be very effective in speeding up the healing of abrasions and bruises, and in healing scars. It’s also known for reducing inflammation to a significant degree.
But again, it must be used correctly. Consult your physician or other medical expert before use.
Heal Wounds Faster The Natural Way.
In planning for times when you may not be able to access modern medical care, any of these 9 all natural remedies may come in very handy.
Start planning now how you can add them to your emergency supplies or garden.