Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Green Band-Aid (Guest blog)

I'd like to welcome Allison Brooks as a guest blogger on Greenish Me. Allie writes: The Green Band-Aid How to make a holistic first aid kit Households all around are more than likely to have a standard first aid kit somewhere in their house, car, or purse. Though these are a useful thing to have around the house, especially if you have a child, or you are accident prone, what would you do if the cleaning pads and antibiotic creams were out of date? Luckily, there’s this thing called nature, which is often overlooked, that can help you with just about anything. This opens the door to so many different holistic cures that can offer relief, speed up healing, and be less harsh to your body. Below is a list of a few common homeopathic and natural remedies to help treat the common household accidents. But before we dive on in, I would like the say that “common household accidents” are not all that can be treated by homeopathic remedies. The list is endless for treatment, and some have been adopted in the medical community as treatment complements. Now, in integrative cancer institutes, holistic and natural therapies are being offered to patients suffering from cancers ranging for simple skin cancers to aggressive ones like pancreatic and mesothelioma cancer. Much more information can be found in the Healthy Medicine posts on this blog. And back to the list: Emu Oil Emu oil is the oil rendered from the fat of an emu. It has a long history of being used for the treatment of fevers, arthritis, and cuts. Today, this natural remedy has a variety of uses, including minor burn relief, reducing pain and swelling and the treatment of insect bites and stings. Emu oil is also an extremely effective moisturizer, and can be used to treat dry skin, eczema and psoriasis. Ledum Palustre Ledum Palustre is most commonly known as Marsh Labrador tea and is known for it fresh white flowers. This homeopathic remedy is used to treat puncture wounds, insect bites and pain resulting from rheumatoid arthritis. Belladonna For those of you that know what Belladonna is, you might know it as the Devil’s Berries for the fruit of this shrub is very toxic. But handle in the correct way, this remedy is used to treat a variety of conditions, including colic, earache, fever, sore throat, headache and upset stomach. Calendula Succus Calendula Succus, closely resemble Marigolds. This yellow-flowering plant has a long history in treating many skin ailments and wounds. As a topical remedy, calendula is used to treat ailments such as minor cuts and bruises, chapped lips, dry skin, rashes and insect bites. It can be also be taken orally to treat ulcers and upset stomach, and gargled to treat sore throat. Hypericum Perforatum Also known as St. John's Wort, hypericum perforatum is typically used in the treatment of depression and anxiety. For first aid purposes, it can be used to treat shooting nerve pain, especially in the hands and feet. Arnica Arnica belongs to the sunflower family and is a common visitor in the Spring and Summer months. Medicinal uses for arnica include headache relief, as well as the treatment of pain and swelling of muscles, joints and ligaments. The roots of this plant can also be used to form a liniment for sore muscles. Symphytum Also known as comfrey, topical uses for Symphytum include relief from bruises, burns, cuts, scrapes and inflammation. Administered orally, symphytum promotes healing in broken and fractured bones, and also relieves joint pain. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About ~ My name is Allie and I went to the University of Mississippi. I earned my degree in biomedical anthropology and now I am currently studying in the field to finish an ethnography on the effects of biomedicalization on Bolivian cultures, but relate on other societies as well. I love to guest blog on my time off to past time and spread the word.