Natural First Aid

Let's talk a bit about First Aid and the oils.  

 Let me warn you, there are some graphic pictures of my finger in this blog as well.  

About a week before I went to convention, I was trying to get some yardwork done.  It wasn't oppressively hot out and the shrubs needed trimming, weeds needed pulling, we needed to mulch the flower beds.  You get the picture.  I was on my last set of shrubs of the day with a our handy electric hedge trimmer.  

I cannot say if I was rushing or tired or just plain careless but I can say I got my finger with that power tool.  It stunned me for a second.  I felt dumb then it hurt.  The pain and the blood kicked into high gear as I ran into the house while the rest of my family was finishing up lunch.

Keeping my head in the game, I told my husband to grab Helichrysum and fast!  It is known as "the liquid bandaid" of oils.  I hovered over the sink washing off the finger complete with dirt and mulch.  I was pretty grossed out.  Blood is really not my thing.

The damage to my finger was signifcant but could have been much worse.  All things were attached thank heavens.

My husband handled everything calmly even as the kids were crying "why is Mommy crying and hurt?"  It was a rough few minutes.

Luckily for us, a friend was already on her way to pick up some items.  As she walked in the house, she was stunned at the chaos but put me in her car and off to Urgent Care we went.

Mind you, the bleeding was almost stopped.  As I got back to the nurses, the bleeding began again as the pulled the bandaging off.  My husband was complimented on his excellent First Aid.  The biggest question they had was, "why aren't you bleeding more?"  I replied, Helichyrsum.  It just worked.

With the finger cleaned up, I took a few pictures......

The nurses were kind, glued me back together and wrapped me back up.  I was off to travel west in just a few days.  It was sore and hurt to bump anything.  It was also swollen for a few days.

To help the soreness and swelling, I used Deep Blue.  

For the healing process, I chose to use my oils.  Although, I could not access the actual wound for many days, I applied Frankincense and Helichyrsum at the base of my finger three times a day.  Then I arrived at doTERRA's Aspire Convention where they announced a little product with a huge punch called CorrectX.  It packs all the heavy hitter oils like Frank, Helichrysum, Cedarwood and Lavender in a nice little ointment.  Perfect!

I even won this from Mark Wolfert!  Yeah me!!

Once the bandages came off, I started coating the wound.  It kept my skin moist but really helped speed the healing in my opinion.  I still have ant bites on my foot from June that haven't gone away!  

After a week and a half it looked like this.....the black is a where the glue caused my hand to bleed until the Dermabond sealed it up.  What a weird feeling!

About 2 full weeks later

3 weeks

And now....just about completely healed.  There is still nerve sensitivity on the pad of my fingertip so typing is not always fun but my nail bed is in good shape and really the shape of my finger is not terrible like they warned.  I am extremely pleased with my healing.

If I stress one thing with this blog no matter if you are an oil user or not, have some sort of First Aid kit in your home.  Accidents can happen anytime.  In the middle of one is not the time to wish you had some way to treat your friends or family.  I was extremely lucky to not really do some major damage to my hand.  I do highly suggest using a natural approach!  

Be safe!  Take your time with yard work!  

Operation....not really fun and games!

Last Thursday I went under the knife.  I am going to be perfectly honest and say it just sucked!  I am not the best patient.  I try very hard to remain calm and cool but really I am just big ball of nerves inside.  The internal voice that has helped protect me from harm and dismay in my "real job" kicks in high gear.  Let's just say, it isn't good.

So hernia surgery.  Umbilical hernia.  Thank you pregnancy.  I love my children with all my heart but a woman's body takes a huge hit through it all.  Luckily, mine was small but causing me some significant pain.  See my blog "It's the Bomb Baby" for more on the pain.

Prior to surgery it was recommended to me to stop using  my Long Life Vitality (LLV) pack and limit the use of Deep Blue.   LLV really helps your body regenerate cells so during a surgical procedure it can cause your blood to flow a bit more than you want.  Deep Blue is a blend of oils that help to with pain.  It works great but it has Wintergreen in the blend.  Wintergreen is amazing but can cause the blood to thin a bit.  

     

So for a week prior to surgery, none of the good stuff.  I will tell you, I felt the difference.  My energy levels went way down, my level on concentration suffered, and I got a bit of a cold.  Then top that with, no pain control for the stupid hernia.  Yes, it is stupid!!!

Surgery day arrived.  I was nervous.  I knew I couldn't use a ton of oils but I knew that had a couple options that no one would say anything about.  Lavender was the perfume of the day.  I needed to calm down.  I added a couple drops of Citrus Bliss because it just makes me happy. Finally, a drop of Balance down my neck. 

Surgery went well and we headed home that afternoon.  

The IV usually results in a HUGE bruise for me.  After gall bladder surgery, they missed on a couple attempts and I had 3 large bruises for over a month.  I had a great nurse this time but even great nurses leave me with a big bruise.  When I got home,  I used the Deep Blue around the area.  No bruise!  See for yourself.  

Now pain management......the doctor gave me great drugs.  Not gonna lie.  Of course, with the great pain control, you lose most of your other bodily control.  Percocet knocks me out.  COLD.  Day 1, I was OK since I was still under the influence of the anesthesia.  Day 2, I was ready to be a bit more awake.  My 4 year old was ready for me to be more awake.  But I couldn't beat the drugs and keep my eyes open.  There is no driving or operating heavy machinery when on the either.  Knowing I had to go to work meant not using them by Monday morning.  

Hello Frank & Marj! We meet again.   6 drops each of Marjoram and Frank in a veggie cap.  I took it every 3 to 4 hours as I needed to help me feel less pain.  

Today, that is all I have needed.  It has kept the soreness down and I have stayed "with it".  Love that.

On my incision, I applied a couple of things.  Helichrysum, Frank and Deep Blue.  Helichrysum acts like natural liquid bandaid.  Frank well is Frank....good for everything.  Both will help with reducing the scar tissue.   Deep Blue again was added for bruising and soreness.  My incision is looking pretty good for an incision.

Finally, I have taken On Guard both internally, around my incision and on my feet twice a day.  I was still run down and surgery always puts you at a big disadvantage to fight off germs.  I am giving my body everything I can to fight.  Rest, fluids and On Guard!

Am I sore 4 days post op?  Yep.  Will tomorrow better?  Yep.  Do I believe that using my oils have helped me recover faster?  Yep.  Mostly, because I was asked about a dozen times today "why are you at work?"   Now here is to another week and a half of "don't pick up anything over 10 lbs."  Do I really need to weigh my purse?