Homeopathic First Aid-Accidents and Injuries
The addition of a few simple homeopathic medicines to your first aid kit can speed and ease the healing process, benefitting you and your family tremendously. Childbirth kits, travel kits and home first aid kits are available at the clinic.
Your Home Remedy Kit:
Arnica montana 30C/200C - Hypericum perforatum 30C
Ledum palustre 30C - Rhus toxicodendron 30C
Ruta graveolens 30C - Apis mellifica 30C
Staphysagria 30C - Cantharis 30C
Calendula officinale, Hypericum perforatum tincture
Aloe vera gel
Bruises
The first thought in treating a bruise is Arnica. Arnica has the ability to counteract the shock that accompanies a fall or injury.
Hypericum, known as 'arnica of the nerves' is useful if you catch your finger in a car door, fall on your tailbone, have your toe crushed, or any other painful situation. When the shinbone is bruised, think of Ruta grav.
Consider Ledum when the part is cold and numb; for a black eye, for a splinter under the nail.
Sprains
An injury to the soft tissue about a joint, causing muscles, ligaments and tendons to be stretched or torn.
Give Arnica immediately, since shock is always present. This may be all that is needed. Ruta graveolens acts on mechanical injuries i.e. torn and wrenched tendons, ligaments, and also on the bruised periosteum. Use after Arnica.
Symphytum 30C can be used in severe sprains after Arnica, and Ruta. A fracture heals much more quickly and with less pain if the patient takes Symphytum 30 for the first few days. Don't use this if surgical pins present.
Strains
A muscle injury in which muscle fibers are stretched and sometimes partially torn. Can cause swelling and pain in the affected area.
Arnica is the first remedy to think of. For any sore, bruised feeling, strained back muscles, sore muscles.
Rhus-tox can be used for overlifting or overstraining injuries. It can follow Arnica when the muscles begin to move.
Wounds
A wound is a break in the skin, often the soft tissues beneath the skin are damaged as well.
Arnica can be used for shock of injury, to speed healing, and for jagged wounds. Calendula officinalis tincture cleanses and speeds healing of abrasions, scratches and superficial wounds. Make sure the wound is completely cleaned before using Calendula, as it seals the wound.
Hypericum lotion can be used to relieve nerve pain and pain of jagged wounds. This cleanses and speeds healing.
Puncture wounds can be treated with a dose of Ledum. It can be given if tetanus is suspected, after cleaning and dressing the wound thoroughly. If a person steps on a nail or tack or sticks a splinter under a finger-nail or in the foot, pull it out and give him a dose of Ledum.
Insect bites and stings- bees and wasps
Apis mellifica is one of the most widely used remedies for bee stings. Apis symptoms are: burning stinging pains, a rosy swelling rather than bright red, puffiness, and worse from heat. (Apis is not a substitute for prescribed anaphylaxis medication ).
Calendula lotion relieves pain and swelling when applied directly.
If the sting does not produce Apis symptoms, consider Ledum for puncture wounds, which often relieves a bee sting. If the affected part is red and inflamed and has a burning sensation, consider Cantharis.
Staphysagria 30c can be used for mosquito bites. Take Staphysagria 30c two or three doses daily and mosquitoes will not bite you. Consider essential oils which are effective at keeping mosquitoes away also.
Burns
Burns range from insignificant, though painful injuries, to life-threatening ones. The extent of body surface affected is a key to the seriousness of the injury. (if a large portion of the body is affected, or the burns are third degree, send to the hospital).
If there is an element of shock, give Arnica immediately. When the shock has passed the burned person may feel more pain, so Cantharis 30c can be given every 15 minutes.
Cantharis is a specific to prevent the after-effects of burns and scalds and can be kept in the kitchen. It prevents blister formation. If a large area of the skin is burnt or scalded, apply Cantharis 30c over the affected part (diluted with water) to reduce the burning pain. Also give doses of Cantharis 30 internally.
Urtica urens lotion made from stinging nettle, is a soothing external burn remedy when there is stinging, burning and prickling sensation. A leaf from an Aloe vera plant can be split and the gel can be applied to the burn and has a rapid healing effect. Calendula lotion can be used when healing has begun.
Hypericum lotion can be used to ease the pain of sunburn. Be sure to use on unbroken skin.
Choosing a Medicine
Observation is the key to prescribing a homeopathic medicine. Two people with the same condition, may react differently, and therefore require different medicines. To be a good prescriber, you must match the symptoms of the ill person.
It is important to note that homeopathic medicines are not a substitute for emergency medicine; if an emergency situation or complications occur, please contact your local hospital.
How to Take a Medicine
Pellets are the simplest way to give a homeopathic. To take a medicine, tip the dose onto your clean palm, or measure pellets into the cap of the bottle and place directly onto your tongue. If you are giving the dose to someone else, place the remedy on their palm, not yours. Always take a remedy on a clean mouth, i.e. 20 minutes before and after eating or drinking. There should be no taste in your mouth, including toothpaste, tobacco, mouthwash or mints. Coffee may neutralize the action of a homeopathic medicine; avoid use of other medications.
An alcoholic tincture of a herb is also useful to prepare a lotion as an external application to wash and heal the skin. This can be prepared by dissolving one part of herbal tincture in six parts hot water, and applied directly to the affected area.
Dosage
The standard dosage in acute ailments is two pellets of a 30c every two to four hours. In the case of soft tissue injury, two pellets of a 30C twice daily is sufficient. The standard dose may vary, as each person is an individual, and medicines should be administered according to the urgency of the situation.
Continue giving the medicine until improvement starts, then increase the time between doses. When improvement is going well, discontinue the medicine.
NB:If you prolong use of the medicine past the point it is useful, you may induce a 'proving' or an aggravation, where the patient 'proves' the medicine, and develops new and different symptoms. If this occurs, immediately stop taking the medicine, and consult your Naturopath or Homeopath.
A 200C potency is much higher than a 30C potency, and should only be taken once daily for a maximum of two or three days, then stop. I suggest you purchase your medicines at a 30C potency, with the possible exception of Arnica 200C.
Storage
Homeopathic remedies have an indefinite shelf live if handled and stored properly. Always keep medicines in the containers in which they were supplied. Keep medicines away from strong light, heat and any strong odours such as menthol, cleaners, soaps and perfumes. A homeopathic remedy, even an entire vial consumed at once, is non-toxic, however children may be attracted to the sweet-tasting pills, so store out of reach from small children.
