By Rebecca Zeff, ND
Natural Medicine Chest
Q: What is a “Natural Medicine Chest?”
A: A collection of natural medicines/remedies that can be used to treat common ailments at home.
Q: What is the benefit of using natural remedies?
A: When used appropriately, natural remedies work WITH the body’s normal healing responses & pathways to enhance & support them, rather than STOPPING the body’s normal healing response in order to relieve symptoms. This means that used appropriately, they help you recover more quickly and reduce chances of complications without the consequence of worsened health down the road.
Burn Remedies
Whether it’s candles to brighten the long nights, a wood stove to warm your home, or simple missteps in the kitchen (like when I splashed boiling water on my hand while cooking oatmeal for breakfast), burns are part of life and have been since mankind learned to harness fire. In this post I will share three natural remedies for burns that are easy to add to your Natural Medicine Chest - Honey, Lavender essential oil (lavender EO), and Bentonite clay! (Plus a Bonus Remedy, Homeopathic Cantharis.) First is information on each remedy, then burn treatment gets its own section below. Let's begin!
Honey
This amazing natural substance was featured in my January blog post too. Most of us have honey in our kitchens already, but did you know that it can be used topically (on the skin) as well as internally? In fact, honey may be one of THE BEST burn remedies on earth, here’s why.
Benefits & Burn Severity: When used early, honey can reduce scarring associated with burns, reduce chances of infections, speed healing, and relieve pain.1 One of the very special things about honey is that it can be used even on severe, or “full thickness” burns, the kind that might benefit from skin grafts.1
Types of Honey: If you want to stock highly medicinal honey, go for Manuka. While expensive, it might be the most potently antibacterial honey there is.2 But because burns are a first aid situation, use what you have on hand. Note - Try to make sure you are using REAL honey, not adulterated honey. Cane sugar, corn syrup, and other things are sometimes added to “honey” to make it cheaper.
Some tips on I.D.ing “real” honey - 1. If your honey has crystalized while sitting on your shelf, it’s the real deal. And 2. rumor has it that if you dip an unlit matchstick in real, pure honey, the match will still light!3 I haven’t tried this yet but I’m excited to.
Lavender Essential Oil
This might be the most popular essential oil. It is easy to find, relatively inexpensive, and many of you reading this already have some on hand!
Benefits & Burn Severity: When used on the skin to treat wounds, Lavender EO (essential oil) helps the wounds heal faster5 and smelling the oil reduces the pain from burns and helps the people calm down after being injured.6 While “calm down” doesn’t sound that impactful, if you have ever been badly burned or hurt in other ways, or seen someone suffering severely, you know that it’s no small thing at all. Lavender EO can be used topically on first and second degree minor burns, and can be used as aromatherapy for all burns.
Important Note on Burns & Topical Oils - Lavender EO is one of the ONLY essential oils that are safe to use without dilution in a carrier oil. Most oils, including healing salves, will make burns worse if used immediately. They trap heat in the wound allowing tissue damage to persist. Do NOT use a carrier oil or healing salve until the burn no longer feels hot. The lavender EO on its own will not do this (due to the size of essential oil molecules) & can be used neat (without a carrier oil) while the burn still feels hot.
Bentonite Clay
A naturally occurring clay that is found all over the world, it is made over time from volcanic ash deposits. Its uses in healing are many (both topical and internal), it is inexpensive, and it can be stored as a wet paste for months or years and as a dry powder indefinitely. Add it to your Natural Medicine Chest & you can pass it down to your grandchildren if you don’t get around to needing it.
Benefits & Burn Severity: In treating burns, bentonite clay is used in its moistened state. As a wet paste it is very cooling and helps reduce the pain of burns on contact. It also speeds skin regeneration and reduces inflammation.7 It is appropriate for use with minor burns (1st and 2nd degree, depending on location).
Storage & Sourcing: I prefer to mix a portion of my clay with water & store it wet in an airtight container. This will allow you to access it quickly for topical use in first aid. The rest should be stored as powder in an airtight/watertight container. You can find it easily online from suppliers like Mountain Rose Herbs or Amazon.
*Bonus Remedy: Homeopathic Cantharis - Homeopathic medicines are elegant, amazing medicines with virtually zero side effects. Cantharis belongs in any homeopathic first aid kit and is used to treat burns and burning pains (think urinary tract infection). Homeopathic remedies used at home are usually “low” potencies; 30c, 12c, or 6c. They can be ordered online or found in some health food stores and many vitamin shops.
Burn 1st Aid & How To Use The Remedies
For all burns, minor or severe, take a dose of homeopathic Cantharis as soon as possible by placing 3-5 pellets under the tongue and allowing them to dissolve. (In infants dissolve the pellets in water to avoid choking hazard.) If the remedy provides relief, repeat the dose as soon as pain begins to return, or every 15 minutes for the first hour.
Assess the burn.
If it looks like a sunburn (1st degree), or has blisters (2nd degree) and is smaller than 3 inches, it is considered minor. Cool these burns with cool (not cold) water, then apply the following remedies.4
If it has blisters (2nd degree) and covers a larger area, or if it is charred/blackened/white/leathery/dry (3rd degree), or if it is located on the face/hands/genitals/or large joints, it is considered severe.4 For severe burns, gently apply some honey if possible & cover with something that won’t stick to the wound, then seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
After cooling minor burns, apply your chosen remedy…
Honey - apply directly to the burn, or soak gauze in honey and apply it to the wound. The honey will become diluted as the body releases liquid. Replace the honey dressing as needed to maintain its potency.1
Lavender EO - apply directly to the burn. If irritation occurs, wash it away.
Bentonite Clay - apply moist clay paste directly to the burn & wrap to keep it in place. Change out the clay as needed to maintain cooling effect & pain relief.
Once the burn no longer radiates heat/feels painful you can switch to using healing salves/oils.
There you have it! Three natural remedies for burn first aid, plus homeopathic Cantharis, that you can add to your Natural Medicine Chest! Have you used any of these before? Already have them on your shelves? Let us know in the comment below, and feel free to download and print the pdf of this post. Best of luck staying warm through the rest of the winter!
Sources
Topical Application of Honey for Burn Wound Treatment - an Overview. Author M Subrahmanyam, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3188068/
Antibacterial activity of Manuka honey and its components: An overview. Authors M. Johnston & M. McBride. Published in AIMS Microbiology Nov 2018. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6613335/
Burn 1st Aid from American Burn Association chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://ameriburn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/burnfirstaid.pdf
The Effects of Lavender Essential Oil on Wound Healing: A Review of the Current Evidence. Authors R. Samuelson, et al. The Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2019.0286
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229921000996
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