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The Healing Power of the Earth
Here is a remedy which we learned from the animal world. The most powerful natural remedy which I know of. It is was used by medicine men of Manitoba and was kept top secret.

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Treating Burns Naturally

by Traute Klein, biogardener

Natural remedies for treating burns, including simple first aid solutions which you can carry with you at all times.

First Aid First

When a burn causes you to writhe in agony, you first of all need is an effective first aid remedy which will stop the pain. I left a chunk of my right forearm on 500° F oven rack once. Staring at the bare bone, I felt numb with pain, unable to think of what to do. My 10-year-old son, however, had been well trained in natural remedies. He immediately shouted directions at me.

"Get some vitamin E!" Oh yes, I should have known that. I just can't think when the pain is intense. I squeezed the contents of a 400 IU natural vitamin E capsule into the hole in my arm, and within 10 minutes, every trace of pain was gone never to return. I did, of course, repeat the application until the wound had healed and even after that, because I was using the vitamin E to get rid of the freckles on my arms anyway.

That was 25 years ago. I can no longer see the depression in my forearm, because it is covered by new skin which even takes on a tan in the summer. I can, however, still put a finger in the hole to remind me that the burn in fact happened. The muscle did not regrow. The vitamin E not only took away the pain, It also healed the wound. It is certainly the most powerful remedy for the prevention of scarring. And yes, the freckles are also gone for good.

I usually carry a capsule or two of natural source vitamin E with me. It is one of the most effective first aid remedies known to me and you can read about it in the "First Aid Naturally" article which is linked in the left column.

Warning: Don't even bother buying vitamin E oil. It does not contain enough of the vitamin to make it effective.

Aloe Vera and Comfrey

In North America, the most widely advertised natural remedy for burning is aloe vera. That plant comes in two varieties. The large commercially grown plant is tough and has a slighly bitter taste. The smaller plant is grown as a houseplant. It is tender and tastes great. It suckers easily and can therefore replenish itself faster than I can use it. It is a great remedy for sores in the mouth and for soothing gastric ulcers. It can be eaten like a piece of fruit. The thick gooey juice of both plants are effective in soothing and healing burns, and they are much more effective fresh than from a bottle. I would use it when my much stronger favorite remedies are not available.

Comfrey appears to have many of the same properties as aloe vera and the juicy stems are probably just as effective, and I have used it for several other purposes which call for aloe vera. I just never get around to using it, because vitamin E works the fastest, and when I am in pain, I am not willing to experiment with a less effective remedy. You can read about it in the comfrey article which is linked below.

Wet Clay

When I don't have vitamin E handy, an application of wet clay is every bit as effective. It is free for the digging in many parts of the world, and certainly all over the prairies of North America where I live. If I don't have clay handy, I simply pick up a handful of soil, wet it, and apply it. Our local soil contains sufficient clay to be quite effective. The article, "The Healing Power of the Earth," linked in the left column, explains the healing power of wet clay.

Chinese Wisdom

The most powerful Chinese method of dealing with burns and infection is a poultice made of honey and pollen. It will even reverse the ravages of gangrene. I have, however, not had occasion to try it. It would certainly be more expensive than my other methods, and it would not be as handy to carry around in my purse as vitamin E capsules are. You can read more on the healing power of wet clay in the article "Guardian of a Sacred Trust."

Dealing with Infection

If the burn has already gone into the infectious stage, I use natural vitamin A capsules instead of vitamin E. When I am unable to obtain vitamin A capsules, I substitute the vitamin A+D combination, also derived from fish liver oil. It has proven just as effective as vitamin A alone. I have also used bottled cod liver oil when I was really stuck. It is not as strong and needs to be applied repeatedly. The "First Aid Naturally" article discusses this remedy for infection.

The wet clay poultice and the honey and pollen poultice are also great in treating infection, and I use the clay in areas which can be covered in wet clay and a piece of plastic easily. In areas which cannot be covered that way easily, I use vitamin A. Raw onion is the German natural remedy for infection. The juice will draw poisons from the body. It also soothes and eliminates pain, but I do not know whether it would prevent the formation of scarring as well as vitamin E does.

© Traute Klein, biogardener