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Posted January 26, 2009
Essential First Aid: Using essential oils in the event of an emergency
Finding a natural alternative in the face of skyrocketing healthcare costs
Unfortunately, this is a subject that I have some recent experience with. Just before Christmas this last year (2008), my wife, Linda, sliced her hand with a box cutter. It was quite deep and was bleeding pretty badly when she got me out of bed at 12:30 a.m. (she works second shift, so this was still fairly early for her).
Helichrysum: A better approach to stop bleeding
When I mentioned this incident to the chief science guy at dōTERRA®, he suggested that a better option would have been helichrysum oil. It will stop the bleeding almost immediately.
And, of course, it would have been better to just put several drops on the wound right away. The oils would easily pass through the blood to the wound, to stop the bleeding.
Essential oils: A natural antibiotic
Instead of taking a pharmaceutical antibiotic, the chief science guy at dōTERRA®, recommended taking
put into a capsule and taken twice a day. This is an excellent natural antibiotic, that kills off the bad buggies without destroying the gut's ecosystem.
Rethinking "to err on the side of caution":
So often, when presented with the question of doing one medical thing or another, we decide to err on the side of caution. It seems reasonable — even prudent.
But, when you think about it, which side is the cautious side? Why do we assume that it's the medical side?
The point is, we know that the medical option is probably quite toxic and leads to side effects (which are symptoms of the imbalance it creates in the system). On the other hand, we know that there are safe and effective natural alternatives that could be employed; alternatives that will also build up the body, not tear it down.
I'm writing this article for you, so that you can see that there really is an option. I hope you find that empowering.
Of course, our first concern was to stop the bleeding. I made a really quick check of the Essential Oils Desk Reference and noted that it listed geranium as an oil that could be used for this. Due to the amount of blood, I wasn't sure how much of the oil I could get into the wound, but I tried a couple of drops, then applied pressure again. I'm not sure how well this worked (it was a little nutz trying to deal with things — half asleep as I was); but, a couple of minutes later, we added about six more drops of geranium oil and applied pressure again.1
Then, we headed off to the Emergency Room.
By the time the doctor arrived to look at Linda's hand, the bleeding had completely stopped. After throwing me out of the treatment room (I can never resist joking about the likelihood of my fainting … ), the doctor proceded to take three stitches. A prescription for antibiotics and some simple instructions on wound care later, we were on our way home.
Erring on the side of caution
Because the doctor emphasized the need for an antibiotic, Linda started taking it right away. It was against our better judgement, but we wanted to play it safe. We wondered if it would needed at all, since the wound bled so much; but, since we didn't have any better information on the subject, we decided to err on the side of caution.
The problem is: Linda got so sick from the antibiotic, she discontinued it after about a day. (I know: you're not supposed to do that; but she was so miserable, there really wasn't any alternative.)
The standard tetanus shot
About the only thing that went really right was that we opted out of the tetanus shot. We already had serious reservations about vaccinations of any kind; but we heard later that, when a tetanus shot is given at the time of an injury, it does nothing to prevent tetanus at that time. The bacteria is already in the bloodstream. Doctors just give it for "the next time".
The healing process
Other essential oils to help the healing process:
When I asked the chief science guy at dōTERRA™, he said that he would have used Purify™, lavender, melaleuca or myrrh. He said that any of these oils would have helped the healing process, without upsetting the scab.
Once we got home, it was time for the healing process to begin. The doctor had recommended an antibiotic cream (I think it was Neosporin®). We tried this a time or two, but really wanted a more natural product. We started with frankincense and myrrh oils, then covered this with YL Tender Tush ointment.
Once the healing was well under way, Linda started applying sandalwood oil, to help prevent scarring. Today, the wound has healed up very nicely. It's too early to tell if there will be any scarring, but it looks pretty hopeful, at this point.
And then the bills came in …
This experience has demonstrated to me very well one reason why there is a crisis in healthcare in this country. When the bills for this short Emergency Room visit came in, it came to about $330.00 per stitch. If something as simple as stitching up a laceration would cost almost $1,000.00, I can't imagine what a real health crisis would come to.
Take charge of your own health with the Essential Oils Desk Reference. Get your copy today. It's worth its weight in gold.
What I've learned from this is that you don't need to go running off to the Emergency Room for a laceration like Linda's. Applying helichrysum oil and packing off the wound for the night (then seeing our family doctor in the morning) would have been a much better option. (We've learned that you can wait up to eight hours to have stitches put in — without any problems — as long as the bleeding is under control.) Using the oils for antibiotic purposes would also have worked at least as well as the medical option.
Healthcare costs are really out-of-control in this country. Having the government pay for it won't help that problem (whatever your views are on universal healthcare coverage). What is really needed are natural — essential — measure, where we are empowered to handle emergencies like this on our own.
We made the mistake of relying too much on the medical model — as if there wasn't really a fully viable alternative. We paid for that mistake — in more ways than one. And now, with the problems in the economy, it makes even more sense to discover for yourself the powerful alternatives that are open to you.
There really is no reason to be at the mercy of standard medicine.
1 What we found later, after checking Modern Essentials, was that geranium oil will actually promote bleeding, at first, to cleanse the wound; then it very effectively stops bleeding.
