healing cuts

[Raw Kyle]

I have cut on my foot under and to the side of my smallest toe on the side where it faces the next toe. It's a spot that gets moved a lot while walking so it's having a hard time healing. I looked through AV's books sure that he would have some kind of remedy, putting meat and stuff on it or some poultice, but nothing could I find. I tried putting a piece of meat on it for a few hours while I took a nap one day but I didn't try it again and didn't notice anything. I'm a little worried about it, have stopped going to the gym because wrestling mats are known to give people some nasty stuff and I really don't feel comfortable rolling around on wrestling mats with a foot with an open cut almost right on the bottom of it. Not to mention the grappling would use foot strength and probably spread it open even more than walking does.

Any suggestions? Sometimes it hurts when I walk, sometimes it itches, and sometimes it doesn't feel like anything.

[van]

 ah perfect, I was wondering who else I could get to try this new potion I have.  First, if you suspect infection,  I have had great results using enough tincture of iodine, drops, into warm water to end up with a dark tea looking solution.  Soak the affected part directly in a bath of solution for twenty minutes a couple of times a day.  It goes deep into cuts and tissues.    But the latest one, is to cut up garlic into very fine pieces, like 4-5 cloves, and put into a jar of eight oz with lid and fill with clean water.  You can set it out for a half day and then keep in fridge.  Then with an eye dropper or spoon, drip liquid onto wound several times a day.   whole garlic or straight iodine will irritate skin to the point of disrupting new skin cell formation.    if you try it let me know what you think, please.

[Raw Kyle]

Ok I'll try that, but it's not so much infection I'm worried about as it is just helping is repair.

[lex_rooker]

Kyle,
I've gotten blisters and other minor open sores on my feet on occasion and have found that the biggest problem with healing is that they are constantly abraded.  During the day when I must use the appendage for walking and support    I find that covering the area with Nexcare Gentle Paper tape works wonders.  It is very thin and the moisture from the wound itself keeps the tape from sticking to the wounded area.  It comes off easily so you may need to wrap it around your foot or toe - whereever the wound is - a full turn too keep it in place all day.  It is also available in widths from 1/2" for wrapping around a blister between toes, to 2" wide for a larger sore on the bottom of the foot.

Every night when I've done most of my movement for the day I will remove the tape and then put a good dab of plain old Vaseline petroleum jelly on the wound and then cover with a Bandaid with a pad large enough to cover the wound area.  This keeps the surrounding skin soft so that the margins of the wound will not crack and healing is accelerated.  Since I'm not walking on it and flexing the area a lot the Bandaid is sufficient and the pad helps hold the petroleum jelly in place through the night.

In the morning I shower and wash off the Vaseline with soap and water, dry the skin well, and then reapply the tape for the day.

This is a similar method used by diabetics to heal sores on their feet. After years of prescribing fancy potions and magic elixirs the medical profession found that plain old petroleum jelly worked better than anything else.  If there is an infection then I'd add a morning and evening soaking with the garlic or iodine treatment that Van suggested then cover with Nexcare Paper tape during the day and Vaseline and a Bandaid at night.

It really does work.

Lex   

[goodsamaritan]

Any suggestions? Sometimes it hurts when I walk, sometimes it itches, and sometimes it doesn't feel like anything.

Try this: http://www.myhealthblog.org/2007/11/19/dried-cayenne-powder-cures-34-thumb-wound-in-1-day/

[SilentBuddy]

Neosporin works very well.

[Raw Kyle]

I want to try those suggestions. My mom made a doctors appointment for me tonight so we'll see what he has to say. Also a nurse looked at it last night and she said it would need stitches, then when she found out it was an old cut said it would probably have to be cauterized with a chemical, silver nitrate. I figured instead of that if it needs cauterization I can burn it myself with a hot metal rod.

[Raw Kyle]

Doc said that it's infected and prescribed me oral antibiotics. I'm on the fence on this one, I can feel the irritation around the wound where infection probably spread. I don't know whether I could take care of that with the garlic tincture or not. I haven't taken drugs for years though and am not looking to try to ever again.

Then he just said to soak it twice a day in epsom salts and when I'm not on it put something in between the toes to air it out, and when I am on it cover it with a bandage cut to fit.

[SilentBuddy]

Kyle, you should try soaking it as the doctor advised. If it is not better or getting worse, just take antibiotic drugs. It is better than getting your toe amputed. If you are not careful, the infection can spread to your bone. It can cause serious problems. You can also use antibiotic ointment. It won't get into your system that much, but your wound will get healed more quickly.

[goodsamaritan]

Doc said that it's infected and prescribed me oral antibiotics. I'm on the fence on this one, I can feel the irritation around the wound where infection probably spread. I don't know whether I could take care of that with the garlic tincture or not. I haven't taken drugs for years though and am not looking to try to ever again.

Then he just said to soak it twice a day in epsom salts and when I'm not on it put something in between the toes to air it out, and when I am on it cover it with a bandage cut to fit.

I really do not like drug company anti-biotics as they are dangerous stuff and the side effects can be disastrous.  They are objects of last resort to me.  Doctors prescribe anti-biotic drugs because that is the ONLY tool they have in their arsenal.

The world has a lot more tools than drugs.  These are some that I know and use.

If you want to use garlic, I would crush it,  put it on a piece of plastic with virgin coconut oil / extra virgin olive oil, then stand on it under the soles of my feet.  Do this 10 to 15 minutes.  That is how I administer anti-biotics to my family.

Another method we administer anti-biotics is via ingestion of 1 drop oregano oil in 1 liter of water.  Or you can use 2 drops of super concentrated oil of oregano in the water. Dip your feet in it.  If you can stand stronger, add more oregano oil drops.  Oregano oil is powerful stuff, do not drop it undiluted on your skin!  I get my super strength oregano from www.barefootherbalistmh.com

Another anti-biotic is electronic, we use a zapper from www.worldwithoutparasites.com which can be locally placed wherever we might have a problem.  Helped our family many times too.  Like my little girl who had neck pain.  http://www.myhealthblog.org/2008/04/12/possible-meningitis-for-my-daughter-zapper-to-the-rescue/

Clove oil is another antibiotic you can merely splash on your feet / skin.  Powerful stuff.  Gets rid of pests.  I got my clove oil from a nearby Indian grocery.  (Indians from India)

If you have festering puncture wounds you can cut and jam in freshly pounded cayenne pepper and it will work really fast.  Actually if I step on an iron nail, cayenne pepper jamming is the first thing I would do.

Another cheap and easy anti-biotic for feet is hydrogen peroxide.  What we have in our stores is a 10 or 20 volumes solution.  Mix 50% with water.  Dip feet in it for that anti-biotic treatment.

Another is silver... colloidal silver... put in a spray bottle and spray on the spot to your heart's content.  Spray and spray and spray.

[Satya]

It's a tough call.  If you do take the antibiotics, make sure it is NOT CIPRO!!!  Get something like amoxycillin instead.  Cipro can cause muscle problems long term, and other weird side effects too.  My friend took it once for something serious, cuz she is 100% organic in everything and does not do conventional medicine lightly.  A year or so later now, she still has problems with her legs.  I am glad I was able to warn her about Cipro - and she immediately switched to something else - else the damage may have been worse. 

Can you put iodine on it?  That is very antiseptic stuff.  Hurts like hell, but it can kill pathogens big time.  Best wishes, and go with your gut on treatment.

[Satya]

One more thing: do you have a fever?  That would show that your body is fighting infection.

[van]

  Yes again, soaking in a dark tea looking solution of iodine and warm clean water for twenty minutes at a time 2-3 times a day, will allow the germ killing action of the iodine to go deep.  I used it on my hand and dogs ear when he got attacted by a pit bull.  Pretty neat stuff.  You just have to let it soak a long time.

[Raw Kyle]

I don't have a fever or anything. Actually my foot feels a lot better after the doc cleaned it with alcohol last night and I used a foam spacer to keep the toes separated for air while sleeping last night.

[feral]

I don't have a fever or anything. Actually my foot feels a lot better after the doc cleaned it with alcohol last night and I used a foam spacer to keep the toes separated for air while sleeping last night.

I second, or third, the use of iodine.  Usually what I do is ignore it until it starts to get infected, then soak it in hydrogen peroxide while asking myself why I didn't put anything on it right away.  Then, when the peroxide has broken up the outer layer and solidified pus I drop some iodine on it. 

I would be more afraid of what the antibiotics would do to my gut than I would be of the infection when it has been topically treated.

I also second Lex's suggestion of tape, that stuff has done wonders for me when I've developed open blisters on my feet from backpacking.  I've never used the petroleum jelly before, but I do know the outer edges drying and cracking can be an issue.  I'll keep that in mind if I run into something like this myself.

[Raw Kyle]

I've been doing admittedly lazy treatment of my cut, but it is looking and feeling better already.

[goodsamaritan]

Congratulations Kyle.
I'm testing povidone iodine on myself now.
This thread got me interested.
Though I do not suggest oral ingestion of chemical iodine.
Barefoot herbalist MH has organic tree iodine for oral ingestion purposes.

[van]

remember that repeated applications of iodine will actually retard new skin cell regeneration.  So,  after the first initial germ killing full dose application, use a watered down version that looks like a dark tea.  And 15-20 minute soakings really go deep to get the deeper bad boys/girls.

[donrad]

I once had a job butchering beef. I would use razor sharp knives all day cutting the meat up. For some reason unknown to me, if I cut my hand I would hold it up and look at it and it would stop bleeding. The next day it would be healed.

That has never happened to me except while butchering thirty years ago. Cuts usually take a week to heal. There must have been something in the raw meat or blood.

[Carnál]

    Why don't you try it again now?  Put raw meat on a cut.  Or do you have reason to think that you'd have to be butchering everyay?  I have not been a butcher, but I have worked with butchers.  Have you shaken many people's hands?  I've shaken an older butcher's hand.  It was the softest (as in pillowy smooth) firmest most flexible handshake, wonderful hand.  I think it would make sense that hands like those would have more growth or healing hormones, and would heal cuts better than other hands.  I thought his hands were that amazing from handling raw meat all the time.  Writing this is getting me to wonder if all meat eating animals who 'handle' raw carcass regularly have great skin like that.  I had never thought of it. 

I once had a job butchering beef. I would use razor sharp knives all day cutting the meat up. For some reason unknown to me, if I cut my hand I would hold it up and look at it and it would stop bleeding. The next day it would be healed.

That has never happened to me except while butchering thirty years ago. Cuts usually take a week to heal. There must have been something in the raw meat or blood.

[donrad]

I will try it. Tape some raw meat on it. But I seldom cut myself anymore. Older and wiser or not a cutting job. I smashed my toe but it healed fast. I have been rubbing myself down daily with flax oil after I shower. Omega 3, I love it.  javascript:void(0)

My choice lately for skin irritations is zink oxide ointment. They sell it for diaper rash in the baby department. It will heal sores fast and is a natural antibiotic.

[van]

sometimes I can't resist,,  my experience with flax oil is that it will go rancid or oxidize very quickly, thus to expose it to heat, air and warmth in extremely thin layers, thus maximizing the oxidative potential, will force your skin to deal and absorb something not very pleasant within hours after application.  You could test this by applying a very very thin layer on a cookie sheet and leaving it in a warm sunny place for several hours to heat up to body temp.  Then spatula the thin film and collect it in a teaspoon and smell and or taste it compared to what's still in the bottle.  You'll be surprised.  Coconut oil, mostly a saturated and more stable fat seems for most a healthier alternative.  What you put on your skin will eventually go into your bloodstream.

[rafonly]

yes, it does go in
in my own experience, coconut oil is not only useless but also deleterious

the saturated oil that works for me is lanolin (from sheep wool) -- great to avoid skin dryness & to heal cuts or repair the skin in general

i've also witnessed the antioxidant power of walnut oil: it removed the rust spots from a stainless steel knife & made it easier for it to stay sharp; when rubbed on the sharpening rod some green stuff came off; now that i clean them merely w/ walnut oil both knife & rod are always shinny, crisp (i keep my knives in a glass jar that contains walnut oil)

afaik walnut is the only nut oil that contains omega 3
unlike the whole nut, walnut oil has no fungi, no fiber, no carbs (& also no protein, vitamin, or mineral)
unrefined cold pressed is best

[rafonly]

the oil of walnuts can be expressed manually, low-tech
a walnut is softer than an almond, macadamia, or brasil nut
nuts, being larger, are easier to extract oil from than seeds such as flax, sesame, sunflower, etc.

a walnut in its shell is like a brain in its skull

(durian is very much brain-like but comes neither w/ 2 hemispheres or a skull type of shell)

[van]

I agree on the lanolin, just didn't think anyone else would go for that.  I also like marrow, especially the soft lower leg type.  Haven't tried Walnut oil.  Tend to think anything besides fresh stone pressed olive oil in a bottle is already past it's prime, especially any of the pufa tpyes.