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We’ve all experienced an injury at some point in our lives, but who knew that the solution to a quick recovery might just lie in our fridge or our closet?
There are many home remedies to cure cuts, scrapes, bruises, burns, and other injuries that can help prevent infection and even facilitate rapid healing of the wound.
Here are my top 15 natural home remedies for cuts, scrapes, and even bruises! Leave a comment below on how these herbal products have helped you heal your wounds naturally.
1-honey
Honey is a great way to speed up wound healing. According to some observations, honey is actually more effective than antibiotics! In laboratory tests, it has been proven that honey can kill the majority of bacterial cells and prevent infections from developing right from the start. Make sure to use raw honey to cover your wound (cooked honey will not have the proper enzymes to work).
When honey dilutes in the blood and wound tissue, hydrogen peroxide is produced by enzymatic reaction with glucose oxidase. This is slowly released, causing an antibacterial action, while keeping the tissue healthy and without damaging it!
Spread some honey on a bandage and apply to the wound. If the wound is deeper, the wound bed should be filled with honey, then wrapped in an absorbent bandage.
2-Garlic
The allicin in garlic has been shown to be as effective as a 1% penicillin solution! It is a great antibacterial and antifungal agent that can help heal almost any injury.
Garlic can cause damage to the skin, be sure not to apply it for more than 20-25 minutes. You can make a mixture of 3 crushed garlic cloves and 1 glass of wine, let stand for 2-3 hours and drain. Apply to the wound with a clean cloth 1-2 times a day.
3-The Calendula
This beautiful little flower is considered to be a vulnerary agent (a substance promoting healing). This plant is also an anti-inflammatory, with a slightly antimicrobial action. It can be used topically to help heal abrasions, infections of the skin and internal mucous membranes.
You can buy calendula balms from health food stores, and apply it on your wounds. For internal infections, make calendula tea with 1 cup of hot water and 1 tablespoon of calendula flowers.
4-Chamomile
Another flower with great healing properties for wounds – chamomile! Also known for its impressive relaxing properties, chamomile is one of the oldest medicinal herbs of mankind! Dried flowers contain many terpenoids and flavonoids, which makes them a potent herbal medicine.
Studies have even found that chamomile heals wounds faster than some corticosteroids. Prepare a chamomile compress for your wound by soaking a few chamomile tea bags in water, draining some of the liquid slightly, then wrap these tea bags around your sore with gauze.
You can also probably find natural chamomile tincture or ointments at your neighborhood health food store.
5-Marshmallow Root
Marshmallow root has nothing to do with the little white sweet cylinders you can find in the candy aisle at the grocery store – this plant actually has incredible power to heal wounds inflicted on the body.
Used as a poultice, marshmallow is great for removing toxins and other bacteria from wounds, and can shorten healing time by removing impurities. It is even possible to use it to heal burns and bruises!
A poultice prepared from marshmallow and applied to your wound can accelerate its healing!
6-Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne pepper is great for helping the blood to clot faster at the site of your injury, and has antifungal and antibacterial properties that help disinfect wounds.
Cayenne pepper stops bleeding from a wound in 10-12 seconds, and for a more serious injury, drinking a 25cl glass of water with 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper can also help considerably!
7-Potatoes
Can Potatoes Heal Wounds? It was also the first thing I thought of! Potatoes have this type of gravitational force which attracts infections from any type of injury or abscess.
Make a poultice with grated raw potatoes and apply it throughout the day, changing it every 4 hours (and rinsing with salt water between poultices). This will reduce inflammation and prevent any risk of infection! To prepare a poultice, grate a raw potato, and spread it out on a clean cloth.
Apply it on the affected area, and cover with gauze or equivalent material. Leave it on overnight and remove it in the morning. Clean the affected area with salt water, cover with a clean bandage and continue the operation until complete healing.
8-Lavender
The amazing benefits of lavender were discovered by chance by a French scientist, René Gattefossé, who had been badly burned in a laboratory accident and had his hand plunged into a vat of lavender.
He found that this oil allowed rapid tissue regeneration without any scars! Use lavender essential oil to aid natural healing, 2-5 times a day topically by applying 2-4 drops to the wound surface. Do not hesitate to dilute it if necessary!
9-Aloe Vera
We all know that aloe vera can help heal burns, but the sap from an aloe vera plant can also be used to treat cuts, scrapes, and other sores. It is enough to cut a stem from the aloe vera plant and apply it to the wound every two hours to dramatically speed up the healing process.
10-Goldenseal
This plant is known for its antiseptic and astringent properties. It can be used to treat cuts, wounds, infections, bites and stings or also internally to fight against sinus infections and treat inflammation of the stomach and intestinal tract.
The main components of goldenseal are alkaloids called berberine and hydrastine which help clear many types of bacterial and viral infections.
Use goldenseal ointment on your wounds (you can find it in local health food stores), and speed up your healing drastically!
11-Tea Tree Oil
One of the best ways to treat a sore and prevent it from becoming infected is tea tree essential oil. It is an excellent antiseptic, antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal. Tea tree oil is so effective that it can even actively attack and eliminate staph infections like MRSA.
The aborigines of Australia use the leaves of tea trees to heal infections, wounds and skin burns by crushing them and applying them topically as a mask.
Fortunately, we can just use tea tree oil applied 3-5 times a day in order to effectively and quickly heal our wounds.
12-Coconut Oil
Among the million benefits it provides, coconut oil can actually heal wounds! It has amazing antibacterial and antifungal properties and can even prevent scarring too!
Use coconut oil on your wound to speed healing – apply coconut oil, cover with a bandage and repeat 2-3 times a day. See that your cut heals in no time!
13-Witch Hazel
Witch hazel is a wonderful astringent that contains procyanidins, resin, and flavonoids, which make it a very soothing, anti-inflammatory herb. Soak a cloth in a witch hazel solution and apply it to cuts, bruises and other wounds, to significantly reduce swelling and speed up healing time.
Witch hazel can also control bleeding – applying witch hazel to a recent wound and wrapping it in gauze helps reduce the bleeding
14-Juniper leaves and berries
Juniper berries, which were also used as a seasoning in gin in the 17st century, are also very useful in the treatment of inflamed joints and wounds. These berries are very rich in vitamins B and C, which allows them to speed up the healing time of cuts, scrapes and other wounds.
Juniper berries also contain antibacterial and antiseptic properties, so are great for treating many wounds or sores like psoriasis, eczema, and other skin issues!
15-The Roots of Comfrey
The scientific name for comfrey is Symphytum, which literally means “to unite or knit together.” Comfrey contains a substance called allantoin, which helps cells grow faster, literally improves the healing time of broken bones, repairs wounds fast, and facilitates rapid healing of burns by minimizing scarring.
In fact, comfrey is often referred to as devil’s coffee! Allantoin is also found in the placenta of pregnant women to help the baby grow and develop in sufficient time. Use poultice comforters the next time you break a bone or have a bruise, cut, irritation, or other injury.