A
wound is break in the skin and, often, the soft tissues beneath the skin are
also damaged.
There
are four types of wounds: incisions, lacerations, abrasions and punctures. An
incised wound is clean cut, caused by a sharp-edged instrument like a blade or
a knife. A lacerated wound is such in which the skin is irregularly torn. An
abrasion is an injury in which the upper layer of the skin is scrapped off, due
to violent rubbing with an uneven surface. A punctured wound is caused by a
pointed object like a nail or a pain.
Deep
wounds, where tissues underlying the skin like muscles, tendons, blood-vessels
or nerves are damaged may require skilled attention or surgical intervention.
But ‘not so serious’ wounds can be treated at home. These not only require
internal medicines but also external dressings, Calendual officinalis, prepared from the tall, wild marigold, ‘the
herb of the sun’, are the chief homoeopathic medicine for wound-dressing.
Calendula is not an antiseptic in a literal sense, but germs do not thrive in
its presence. When a fresh wound is dressed using Calendula lotion, germs can
be kept away. Even when wounds are already badly infected, we have seen
offensive purulent discharges becoming clean and sweet-smelling in a day or
two. However, Calendula is not the only external wound-remedy. Hypericum and Ledum are also useful in treating wounds, each having its own
indication. Hypericum lotion is
particularly effective in relieving pain of injured nerves. Ledum lotion is helpful for punctured
wounds and sprains, especially if the injured part remains cold and numb. It
should, however, be noted that Arnica lotion is an irritant and should not be
applied to broken skin. A lotion of any homoeopathy remedy can be prepared by
putting ten drops of the mother tincture (of the remedy) in one cup of pure
(boiled and cooled) water.
We
would like to emphasize over here that a dressing once applied should be left
undisturbed for days. For a day or two, the dressing may be freshly moistened
from the outside with the lotion in sue, but on no account should it be moved
or removes, even though it may look stained or give off an unpleasant odour.
Not only do frequent dressings interfere with healing by causing damage to
growing calls and new blood-vessels but they also cause pain and discomfort to
the patient and, what is even more serious, predispose to fresh contamination
of the wound by air-borne germs. If, after a couple of days of applying the
dressing, there are signs of wound-contamination and consequent inflammation
(viz. redness, heat, swelling and pain) in the vicinity of the wound, Hepar sulph 30 should be given
internally, there a day till these signs subside.
The
pricinpals of treating any type of wound homoeopathically are the same:
- Give a dose of Arnica 200, to counteract the shock to trauma,
- Clean the wound gently yet thoroughly, either with mild soap and water or with the lotion of an appropriate homoeopathy remedy.
- Dress the wound with a suitable homoeopathic lotion, leaving it undisturbed for a few days and
- Give an appropriate homoeopathic remedy, to be taken orally, for a few days.
An
abrasion should be cleaned with Calendula
lotion. An incised or lacerated wound should be cleaned either with Calendula lotion or with Hypericum lotion, if nerves have been
injured causing severe pain. A punctured wound should be cleaned with or soaked
in Ledum lotion.
After
a wound has been cleaned, it requires to be dressed and bandage, to prevent its
contamination with bacteria. A dressing is a sterile gauze-piece, soaked in an
appropriate homoeopathy lotion and put directly over the wound. A bandage hols
the dressing in place for a few days, till healing has progressed considerably.
Most wounds can be dressed using either Calendula
or Hypericum lotion. However, Ledum
lotion should be used for punctured wounds. As mentioned earlier, the
dressing should not be disturbed for a few days. If it feels excessively dry,
it can be moistened from time to time by pouring over it, a few drops of the
concerned lotion.
For
abrasions, Calendula 30 is a good
internal remedy. Give it thrice a day for a few days. For incisions or lacerations,
again Calendula 30 or (if pain is
sever) Hypericum 30 can be given
three or four times a day. For very severe pain in an incisional wound, Hypericum can be substituted by Staphisagria 30. For punctured wounds, Ledum 30 is an ideal internal remedy. If
the injured part is not numb and cold and if there is severe pain shooting
upwards, Ledum can be replaced by Hypericum
30.
As
usual, discontinue the medicine as soon as pain has been relived considerable
and healing has advanced satisfactorily.
