Use natural remedies to heal a minor wound
It’s nearly impossible to get through a year without a cut, scrape, bruise or burn on your skin at some point.
Minor wounds are an unavoidable hazard. Even if it’s a small paper cut, it can hurt pretty bad, and all you want is for it to heal quickly. Moreover, irrespective of the severity, even the most minuscule of wounds can get infected if proper care is not taken.
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Even though your body is well-equipped to heal wounds on its own, certain factors can sometimes hinder the natural healing process and increase the chance of infection. These include:
If you got a wound recently, that doesn’t seem to be healing very fast, check for the following signs of infection.
If you’re nodding your head as you read the list above, it’s likely that the wound is infected and may require a visit to your doctor or nearest emergency room for proper care and treatment.
For other cases, minor wounds can be healed easily using natural antiseptics and salves that you can find in your home. You can also use home remedies to stop bleeding from cuts and wounds in less than a minute.
We bring you the 12 best home remedies that you can use to heal minor wounds without much effort. Before you proceed with any of these remedies, make sure to clean the wound thoroughly using a mild soap and running water. Also, If the wound doesn’t heal even after 5 days, make an appointment with your doctor to get it checked thoroughly.
Sugar has been used in the treatment of burns, postoperative wounds, and diabetic ulcers. Wound healing with the direct instillation of sugar activates an osmotic effect that in return causes the formation of good granulation tissue and reduces swelling. Sugar pastes can create a moist environment to elicit wound healing by causing mechanical debridement of the wound bed.
It can help remove purulent and odorous material along with decreasing surrounding erythema.
Things you’ll need:
Apply the paste twice daily for 2 to 3 days to heal an infected wound.
Honey can inhibit and kill bacteria commonly found in wounds and stimulate wound healing along with reducing scarring when applied to wounds. It can reduce the chances of pathogenic bacteria to cause infection. (1)
Honey is very viscous; therefore, it protects the skin from the environmental bacteria. It also keeps the wound hydrated and reduces the pain. Glucose from the bee crop slowly breaks down into gluconic acid which causes the pH of the honey to decrease. The decreased pH and hydrogen peroxide content in honey help kill the bacteria and sterilize the wound. The low pH of honey causes the oxygen to increase and be released from the hemoglobin.
There is a strong osmotic gradient resulting from the high concentration of sugars that causes fluid to be pulled into the subdermal tissue to keep it hydrated. The higher osmotic pressure from lower water activity causes the flow of fluid that washes bacteria and exudate away. It also removes the slough and necrotic tissue out of the wound. Honey also has compounds that help control inflammation and prevents tissue damage. (4)
One study by Ranzato et al. showed that Manuka honey helped with wound closure and increased the keratinocyte closure rate by 180%. (2)
According to another 2012 study published in Asia Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, Manuka honey exhibited strong antimicrobial activities against S. aureus and H. pylori pathogens, proving its efficacy for the treatment of infected wounds and conditions like perioral dermatitis. (3)
Reapply the honey 2 or 3 times daily until the wound is completely healed. The duration of recovery will depend on the severity of the wound.
Open wounds are quite susceptible to infections and will take longer to heal if you do not take proper care. Cleaning the wound with saline solution can help draw out any invading bacteria via osmosis and, thus, aid speedy recovery. You can use either common table salt or Epsom salt to make the salt solution.
Repeat soaking 3 times daily for 2 to 3 days or until the infection has cleared up and the wound begins to dry and heal.
Our bodies can fight off any infection or heal lacerations on their own. However, external irritants can hinder the recovery and also infect the wound. Vaseline helps form a protective layer over the site of the injury, giving it the right environment to heal.
Since moist healing is faster than dry healing, Vaseline can help heal a wound easily without the formation of a scab.
Clean the wound every morning and reapply Vaseline for 2 to 3 days or until the minor wound heals completely.
The active compound curcumin present in turmeric is what makes it an effective healer. A potent antioxidant, it lends antiseptic and analgesic properties to turmeric.
When used topically over a wound, it helps kill any microbes invading the wound. Turmeric also helps the blood clot at the site of the injury and constricts the wound without leaving a scar.
According to a 2015 study published in the West Indian Medical Journal, turmeric promoted faster healing in the wound of a C-section. (8)
Since turmeric is also anti-inflammatory, it reduces pain and brings quick relief. It is for this reason that turmeric is also touted as an effective treatment for arthritis pain.
Apply the turmeric paste daily for 3 or 4 days to heal a minor wound.
Aloe Vera has many important wound healing components such as glucose, vitamins such as B1, B2, B6, C, E, folic acid, and minerals like calcium, sodium, sodium, magnesium, zinc, copper, and chrome that help accelerate wound healing. It has both anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. It activates cell proliferation, collagen synthesis, and angiogenesis, and enables wound contraction. (5)
Pure aloe vera gel can also be applied to heal minor wounds. Aloe vera contains essential hormones called auxins and gibberellins that speed up wound healing. The gel also promotes skin regeneration by stimulating fibroblast cells that produce collagen and elastin fibers.
The cooling aloe vera is also antiseptic and analgesic, so it is often used to soothe minor burns and sunburn. You can buy the gel or learn how to make your own aloe vera gel.
Continue to reapply aloe vera gel for 4 to 5 days to heal a minor wound.
Coconut oil has many benefits as a wound healing topical. (9) It can enhance protection, repair the skin barrier, close wounds faster, kill bacteria, and reduce inflammation. It can fight off Propionibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Higher concentrations of 5% to 40% can help destroy Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, and Bacillus subtilis.
Reapply coconut oil 2 or 3 times every day until the wound heals completely.
Cayenne pepper can also be used to treat a painful and bleeding wound. Capsaicin, a compound found in cayenne pepper, works as an analgesic to ease the pain. It also imparts antifungal and antibacterial properties, and can also be used to get rid of stomach ulcers.
Cayenne pepper, when taken internally, helps equalize the blood pressure to eliminate excess pressure at the bleeding site and give ample time for the blood to clot; therefore, it can be used to heal minor wounds.
To further aid healing, add 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper to a glass of warm water. Drink it once daily for 2 or 3 days.
Povidone iodine, also known as Betadine, is a popular antiseptic solution used in wound dressings and during surgeries to clean cuts and wounds and to prevent localized infections.
According to a 2017 review published in the International Journal of Surgery, povidone iodine works well as a broad-spectrum antibiotic for treating wounds and is well tolerated even by patients with excessive inflammation. (6)
Repeat application and change the dressing 2 to 4 times daily for 3 to 4 days to heal a minor wound completely.
Famous for its effectiveness in treating acne, tea tree oil is now being considered as a powder antiseptic to expedite wound healing as well.
The monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes provide analgesic, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, anti-inflammatory effects. Tea tree oil is effective against inhibiting the growth of Staph Aureus.
Reapply 2 or 3 times daily until the wound heals.
Zinc is important in every phase of the wound healing process. It can enhance membrane repair, provide coagulation, inflammation, and immune defense, tissue re-epithelialization, angiogenesis, to fibrosis/scar formation. (7)
Do this once daily to heal a minor wound naturally.
Calendula is an age-old remedy to heal cuts and wounds. It has both anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. It activates cell proliferation, collagen synthesis, and angiogenesis, and activates wound contraction.
It helps repair skin tissues by promoting collagen formation in and around the injury, thus hastening the constriction of the wound. Calendula-based creams can also be used to treat skin conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis.
Apply it 2 or 3 times daily to heal a minor wound.
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