Tag: natural remedy

How to Heal from Surgery Naturally

March 19, 2019April 25, 2019

Reader question: “My question is ….. i had done labiaplasty last week. i am not fully recover still my stitches bleed and little bit pain. can i use apple cider vinegar for healing.”
~Xara C., Karachi, Sindh

Hi Xara! Ouch! Luckily, regardless of where the surgery occurred on the body, there are some natural remedies for recovering from surgery that you can use to help speed your healing and feel better.

Open Wound Remedies

While I suspect that apple cider vinegar might sting an open wound –though can be helpful for loosening scabs later– my go-to herb is Calendula when addressing broken skin. Coat the wound with calendula oil or jelly and then cover with a bandage. Change the bandage 4x/daily while the wound oozes.

Colloidial Silver can also be helpful to use on an open wound for its antiseptic and healing properties. Apply it before the calendula.

Wound Healing Remedies

Once the wound stops oozing, continue with the calendula and also coat with Vitamin E frequently. You can continue to keep it bandaged, but better to leave it open to air as much as possible. For your wounds, I might suggest wearing an organic cotton pantiliner during this time.

There are also some homeopathic remedies to help you with the pain from the tissue trauma. First should always be Arnica Montana to address the bruising and swelling from the procedure. You could start with one pellet of Arnica Montana 200C underneath the tongue and then take a 30C pellet if you have any more pain, but if you don’t have the higher level, just take a 30C pellet every 4 hours for a day or two, then only if there is continued pain.

Homeopathic Ledum is helpful for puncture wounds and surgeries. Take one pellet of Ledum 30C underneath the tongue as soon as possible after surgery and daily for the next several days during healing. Even though your surgery was a week ago, Xara, you could still benefit from Ledum.

Post-Surgical Vitamins

Whenever you are post-surgery, taking additional Vitamin C and Zinc are recommended. I would do a big boost of 1000 mg of a Vitamin C complex for several days to speed healing.

It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to take Vitamin D3 (be sure to take it with a fat for better absorption). Calcium, Sulfur, and Magnesium, too, if a broken bone is involved.

Best of luck for a speedy recovery!

Natural Remedy for Diarrhea

October 19, 2012

One of my naturopathic clients complained of a sudden bout of diarrhea that was making her very uncomfortable. When these kinds of occasional bouts of intestinal distress arise, I reach for the healing powers of coconut water and probiotics to help the gut calm down.

Tropical islanders have long known coconut water to be helpful in clearing a bit of dysentery from the occasional spoiled food or a food- or water-borne bacteria that your body wants to expel quickly and forcefully. Diarrhea is one way the body evacuates irritants, so it is important not to artificially stop the flow. Staying hydrated, keeping electrolytes balanced, and eating foods that are easy to digest will keep you more comfortable while your body does what it needs to do to keep you healthy.

Besides offering hydration and bio-absorbable electrolytes, coconut water contains other amino acids and nutrients that help to finish the expulsion and calm the gut. It’s like a special sauce that you’ll only get from the water inside a coconut. You used to have to visit a tropical local and whack off the top of the coconut with a machete in order to drink the sweet coconut water through a straw, but now you can find coconut water boxed or bottled in many grocery stores. I like the individual-serving-sized boxes because they are convenient to keep in the pantry for quick re-hydration after sweaty soccer games. For electrolyte replacement needs, coconut water beats the artificial colors and high sugar content of commercial sports drinks hands down.

Besides coconut water, I recommended that my client start on a probiotic and follow the B.R.A.T diet until she felt better.

The B.R.A.T. diet was designed of non-laxative solid foods to help recover from diarrhea, and it is a regimen my family has turned to many times during the periods of digestive distress due to colds or flu’s as well. B.R.A.T. stands for Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. You can modify this as needed, such as gluten-free toast or brown rice, but do not add in apple juice, as it will only encourage the diarrhea to continue. I can always tell when the patient is recovering because they can’t stand to stay on the BRAT diet any longer!

While these tips may be helpful for easing the strain of chronic diarrhea, if your diarrhea is more than occasional it likely means something else is going on such as parasites and/or food sensitivities. Unfortunately, coconut water will not cure either of these conditions, but you are always welcome to contact me to look into other options for getting well.

Arnica A Good Remedy for Stiff Back Muscles

September 11, 2012

I have a long history of discomfort due to tight, locked, and/or spasming muscles in my back. Yet today was the first time I tried taking homeopathic arnica montana to relieve the pain. Much to my surprise, it worked quite well.

In my early twenties, my back was a tapestry of interwoven layers of clenched muscles, frozen and unrelenting, making it painful even to turn my head. I found a talented massage therapy student (she’s now a Master of Chinese medicine) who worked on my back for years, sometimes as often as twice weekly, allowing me to lead a life where I could work around the pain most of the time.

In the beginning, she would knead and massage one side of my back, sometimes using implements to get to deeper layers, and then switch to work the other side. By the time she finished the second side, the first side would be knotted again. After more than five years of regular massage, my muscles would respond to the touch and release easily. I am a believer in the power of massage.

Not to mention the power of touch and its emotional and physical benefits. As a single woman during that time, my massage therapy appointments might have been the only touch I received regularly.

Now, as a working mother in my forties, I can’t get into a professional massage as often as I might like. This episode came on slowly, its roots, I believe, in my foolish shoulder bag full of water bottles that I shouldered for four hours through the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on Labor Day. I felt the dull ache all week and tried to strech out my back when I was warm from my Jazzercise workout. But it wasn’t enough.

Then I work 3 1/2″ heels on Sunday afternoon when a girlfriend and I took our daughters out for tea. Big mistake. As soon as I got home, I headed for the bed and a heating pad on my back. Sunday night was sleepless due to constant spasms, despite a best effort back rub from my husband. Monday was a bed and heating pad day, combined with the frustration that I couldn’t get an appointment with my current massage therapist for eight more days.

That night my son ran the handheld messager over the spasming area, giving me a bit of temporary relief and a slightly better night of sleep as a result. Still, I awoke and was driven from bed several times from painful back muscle spasms.

This morning (Tuesday), my son took one look at me and said, “Mommy, you need the back massager again.” He gave me a round before leaving for the school bus, but within an hour the spasms were back. That’s when I thought to use arnica.

My husband had used the Weleda Arnica massage oil on my back, but I hadn’t thought to take any homopathic arnica internally. I dissolved a 30C pellet of homeopathic arnica in 2-3 oz. of purified water, stirred it, and took one teaspoon underneath my tongue. I kid you not, within five minutes I could feel a little bit of the tightness in my back release.

Fifteen minutes later I placed another teaspoon of the water underneath my tongue. The relief continued to spread. I took three more doses over the next three hours, amazed at how much better my back felt each time.

With homeopathic remedies, which are safe for everyone, including infants, though pregnant women might not want to take arnica, it’s important to have a clean mouth and not have food or drink for 15 minutes pre- or post-dose.

While I don’t feel like the arnica completely eradicated the knotted muscles, at the very least it paused the spasms and has made me feel more comfortable until I can get to the massage therapist.

You might find it worth a try.