Treating Minor Cuts and Burns with Herbs

Minor cuts and burns can happen at any time and can happen for any number of reasons. Instead of reaching for antibiotic cream or burn salve to start the healing process there are plenty of natural remedies that can be used when you hurt yourself but it is not serious enough for a trip to the emergency room.

After all minor cuts and burns happen to everyone at some point in their lives. The important thing is to know how to deal with them quickly, safely and effectively. Wounds need your help to heal properly.

Cuts and other small wounds can benefit from the use of turmeric which is an antiseptic herb. You may already have turmeric in your kitchen as it is used in the preparation of many tasty dishes. Turmeric has a variety of anti-inflammatory and medicinal properties that can be used not only to help to heal cuts but also scrapes, scratches and bruises.

Aloe is an herb that is fantastic to have around if you cut or burn yourself. Whether you buy aloe gel or buy an aloe plant it can help to heal minor skin injuries.

Aloe or aloe vera has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties as well as anti-bacterial properties. Aloe gel is a multi-purpose kind of herb that can also be used to relieve the sting of sunburn and mosquito bites as well. Please note that aloe can be purchased as a drink and is safe to ingest. However for the purposes described here applying it directly to the skin will offer the fastest results and the fastest route to healing.

Calendula is an herbal ingredient that is often added to natural hand creams or lotions. This herb has antiseptic properties that make it very useful in terms of treating minor cuts and burns. It also has astringent and anti-inflammatory properties that inhibit bleeding when you injure yourself and promote the growth of the new skin.

Comfrey is another herb that works well when you wound yourself in a minor fashion. This herb is beneficial for topical application in the event of abrasions, burns, cuts bruises and scrapes. If you get a small paper cut or your cat scratches you then reach for comfrey.

Comfrey is an herb that should never be taken orally. It is meant to be applied directly to the skin in a topical manner and that is it. Not only can comfrey speed up the process of healing of the skin but it has also been known to help with the healing of bones that are broken.

If you are at home or work and get a small wound then to encourage the healing process to get started try one of these herbs. The natural method of relieving and repairing the skin when a cut or burn has taken place is a safe and healthy way to get your skin back to its normal state.

Becca

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Alternative Healing with the Aloe Vera Plant

The Aloe Vera plant is not the most aesthetically appealing plant in the world with all of its pointy and sharp edges. However this plant has a healing side to it that is not evident upon first glance.

The health benefits of the Aloe Vera plant have been well researched and well documented. Let us look at why you should purchase an Aloe Vera plant for your home and start doing your part to heal yourself.

The Aloe Vera plant has been used as a form of healing for as many as 2000 years.  There are many different products that contain Aloe Vera but the purest form of Aloe Vera comes from the plant. Aloe Vera can be used to treat wounds that occur to the skin. It can also be used for cuts, burns, insect bites, rashes, itching, irritation and sunburn.

A Look at the Aloe Vera Plant:

The Aloe Vera plant is odd looking to say the least. It looks a bit like a cactus and is a member of the lily family. It is a semi-tropical plant and has origins that can be traced back to Africa. It sports long thick green leaves.

It is the leaves that contain the water supply for the plant.

An Aloe Vera plant is an excellent plant to buy for your home or your workplace. It can be beneficial when you injure yourself or when anyone else in the nearby vicinity hurts themselves. It is the leaves of the plant that you should direct your attention to if you burn or cut yourself. Even if one of your pets scratches you or you get a paper cut an Aloe Vera plant is very handy to have around!

When a leaf is cut from the top of the plant a sap that is yellowish orange in color will come out of it. This sap is what is used to make Aloe Vera drinks and other concoctions for the purposes of healing. Aloe Vera is safe to consume internally. It can also be applied topically to your skin. In fact Aloe Vera is used for medicinal purposes more often than it is used for anything else.

If you touch the leaves of the plant you will notice that they are heavy and are laden with the sap. The sap is sticky and feels a lot like glue. It is made up of a combination of water and fibers that do their part to keep the water supply in the plant in abundance even after the green skin of a leaf has been removed.

The Aloe Vera plant is a first aid plant that was used in biblical times and was also reputed to have been used by Cleopatra to keep her skin glowing with health. Aloe Vera plants can be purchased in any plant store during the spring and summer months (and in some instances during the fall).They can also be purchased at nurseries and at floral shops.

An Aloe Vera plant can help you to heal yourself of minor skin problems.  They cna be purchased online from places like Amazon and Pro Plants and they are inexpensive.

Becca

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Aloe Vera and Asthma- How the One can Help the Other

Asthma is a widespread chronic respiratory problem and it’s been known for awhile natural help comes in the form of aloe vera. Here’s more information.

Approximately one out four people suffers from asthma in one form or another. Asthma can range from mild to moderate to severe. This breathing condition can get its start at any point in a person’s life. It can be caused by any number of factors. Looking to alternative means to help yourself is always in your best interests. When it comes to asthma natural help comes in the form of aloe vera.

Researchers believe that asthma is an inherited allergy related condition. However allergens in the environment can also cause problems to erupt, as can such things as too much stress. Atopic asthma is common in children and is often triggered by such things as dust mites, carpeting and central heating. Animal dander can also cause a problem as can animal saliva and pollen. Beyond that not a lot is known about what causes asthma and why it affects some people worse than others (or some not at all).

Asthma Symptoms:

Asthma can show up very suddenly or it can develop at a slower pace.

It can be characterized by a difficulty in breathing, as well as excessive coughing or excessive wheezing. A person who is asthmatic is likely to cough up large amounts of clear sticky mucous. Asthma is a health condition that causes the muscles in the airways to overreact to stimuli, thereby causing too much mucous production accompanied by the coughing and wheezing.

The Stages of Asthma:

In the acute phase of asthma, allergens are breathed into the lungs and they come into contact with sensitized mast cells. These mast cells are filled with histamine. The cells then degranulate and cause the histamine to travel to the surrounding tissues. This brings about inflammation and swelling. A lack of the minerals copper and magnesium can also cause too much histamine to be released into the system and cause an acute attack to develop.

In the next phase of asthma, known as the latent phase, coughing and wheezing get worse. This makes it impossible for the beta 2 stimulants to control the coughing. Inflammatory cells connected to the immune system then bring about the production of bradykinin, interleukin and prostaglandins.

For Asthma Relief Turn to Aloe Vera:

If you are an asthma sufferer then you know all too well how uncomfortable, frightening and exhausting this condition can be to your life, not to mention disruptive. What you need to start doing is to drink whole leaf cold processed aloe vera juice on a regular basis. Aloe vera juice helps to reduce the severity of the latent phase of the disease. It also contains substances that inhibit inflammation such as Campesterol, B-Sitosterol, bradykinase, phyto steroids and Lupeol.

Aloe vera is advantageous in terms of reducing the severity of asthma symptoms as well as the frequency with which asthma attacks occur. This is because it contains a substance known as Acemannan. Acemannan is extremely effective at acting on the immune system to activate and stimulate T-cells, monocytes and macrophages. Acemannan acts quickly to surround a foreign body and from there it starts to destroy bacteria.

Acemannan is the trade name that researchers have given to the mannose rich polysaccharide that has been extracted from the aloe vera plant. Acemannan is extremely helpful in the fight against asthma.

Researchers who have studied the effects of Acemannan on asthma sufferers have found that consuming aloe vera regularly can be beneficial as it can work as a preventative measure. The effects of this miracle herb have been shown to be beneficial both on a short-term basis as well as a long-term basis.

Aloe vera juice can be purchased at health food stores as well as in the health food aisle of most grocery stores and pharmacies.

Samantha

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Keep Your Summer Glow as Long as Possible with the Help of Aloe Vera

Tis the season when everyone wants their skin to turn to a bronze color that makes them look like a real beach baby! While a tan is not the healthiest thing for your skin, if you are someone who is addicted to tanning then to play it as safe as possible and to ensure a longer lasting tan you need to stock your bathroom shelf with  a plentiful supply of aloe vera.

Look for a commercial brand that contains authentic ingredients and not a lot of fillers.

If you use aloe vera during the tanning process and/or if you use it to condition and replenish moisture in your skin afterward, your tan will last longer than ever before. You will be surprised and pleased at the results you end up with!

Many people are unaware of what a tan really is and why it occurs. A tan is the result of the production of melanin in the skin. It is the body’s way of protecting itself from developing a sunburn and subsequent skin damage. A sunburn occurs when the skin has been excessively exposed to the sun and has not been protected by a sunblock with a high enough SPF (sun protection factor).

Look for a wide spectrum sunblock that protects you from both the UVA rays as well as the UVB rays. A SPF of 30 or higher is a wiser choice. A sunburn destroys cells in the outer layer of the skin and over time this can lead to permanent cell damage and the potential for skin cancer.

It is a common misconception that sun tans will only occur after the skin has been burned. This is not correct and it can be a harmful assumption to make for your health. Many individuals also incorrectly assume that if they wear sunscreen they will not tan. If you wear the right type of sunscreen you can still get a nice golden look to your skin minus the pain and discomfort of sunburn.

The Soothing and Replenishing Side of Aloe Vera:

It is always a good practice to apply a special after sun lotion to your skin following sun exposure. The most important ingredient that the after sun lotion or moisturizer needs to have in it is aloe vera. There are many on the market. If you apply it after you come in from the sun you will be replenishing the vitamins and minerals that your skin needs and this in turn helps you to retain the golden brown look you are aiming for.

Aloe Vera encourages the skin to heal and it provides the after sun care that helps your skin to look and feel its best. Aloe Vera calms and heals skin and it goes to work fast to make sure that your skin has not been damaged by the sun’s rays.

Even if your skin turns a slightly darker shade of pink from being out in the sun but is not burnt, aloe vera gel can be of assistance as it is very cooling and soothing to sun sensitive skin. Some people, and in particular those who are blonde and blue eyed, burn very easily and therefore need sunblock the most. They also need to use aloe vera when they tan on a regular basis.

Bear in mind that aloe vera is a healing agent for the skin and can help a tan last as long as possible. Apply aloe vera gel or lotion to your tan every day for optimum effects. This paves the road to a healthy tan.

Samantha

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The Benefits that Aloe Vera Brings to Your Health

Aloe Vera has its share of healthy benefits and indeed anyone can reap its many advantages.

One of Aloe Vera’s greatest benefits lies in the fact that it is made up of many natural ingredients that can help to balance the body. These include amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Taken together all of these elements make Aloe Vera beneficial in so many ways.

Aloe Vera consists of as many as 300 molecules and 75 natural enzymes. Due to the fact that Aloe Vera comes from a plant and is not synthetic or a type of chemical it can work very well as a form of natural and alternative medicine for a variety of health concerns. Aloe Vera has no known side effects and it works exceptionally well as a complement to traditional medicine.

What benefits come from the use and/or consumption of Aloe Vera?

Whether you choose to drink Aloe Vera juice, use the gel or take it in pill form there are many reasons why Aloe Vera is something to say yes to. Here are some of its greatest benefits for your health:

• Moisturizes and hydrates the skin
• Helps in the development of collagen (Collagen is instrumental in keeping skin supple and youthful looking.)
• Contains astringent pH properties that serve to balance and tighten the skin
• Anti-inflammatory in nature (which means it reduces incidences of pain, swelling and redness)
• Supports the skin in healing and repair following a burn, cut or any other type of minor injury
• Improves the tensile strength of the skin (increases the production of human fibroblast cells at a rate that is six to eight times faster than what the body can do on its own)
• Minimizes scarring (Some researchers theorize that it can even reverse the appearance of scars that have been around for five years or less.)
• Effective for soothing sunburned skin
• Provides the skin with more oxygen to make it healthier
• Improves many digestive tract and intestinal health conditions (including constipation, Crohn’s disease, acid reflux, diarrhea, candida, IBS and colitis)
• Antibacterial properties make it very good at warding off many different kinds of infections (as well as bacteria, fungus and the staph virus)
• Can improve the work of the liver and the reproductive system (especially in women)
• Encourages the body to heal in a general sense

Other Medicinal Benefits

Aloe Vera is still very much a form of alternative medicine but it shows tremendous promise in even more areas than described above. For example, Aloe Vera can help people recovering from surgery and it can prevent the development of premature wrinkles. If you get frostbitten in the wintertime, Aloe Vera can make sure that your blood circulation to the area in question is not cut off.

Further research and testing are required but Aloe Vera appears to show promise for cancer patients as it activates white blood cells and helps to grow new non-cancerous cells. Diabetics can be helped by this herb as it is capable of lowering blood sugar levels. Always check with your doctor first to be on the safe side.

Studies are ongoing but Aloe Vera is showing a positive effect for AIDS patients. Why is that? Studies have shown that it helps to stimulate the immune system which is not working as well as it should in those who have HIV.

Aloe Vera has so many different benefits that everyone’s health can show improvement from using it on a consistent basis. To learn more about the plant often referred to as a “miracle plant”, visit these sites:

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/aloevera/
http://www.naturalnews.com/021858.html
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/herbsupplementguide/a/Aloe.htm
http://www.aloe-vera.org/top_10_reasons_to_use_aloe_vera.htm

Samantha

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