If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you may have picked up on the fact that I am, on occasion, a bit clumsy! Life moves fast through this little body. Sometimes I think I am spinning around the Earth rather than passively orbiting the Sun. About once a year, I get a little knock that reminds me to come back down and just enjoy the ride for awhile.
The good news is that as a practitioner, this provides ample opportunity for “research.” I always feel better when I can test out an idea on my own body before asking some one else to be the trial run on one of my inspirations. Herbal Medicine has some wacky moves; some are hilarious……some can be dangerous. What’s amazing to me, is that what all of these years of experimentation have consistently affirmed is that with the right presentation and application they tend to work!
The remedy of the day, however is neither absurd nor intimidating. It is simply DELICIOUS.
It was the night before Thanksgiving and we had a blustery snow falling hard on the island. I got home late to the sweet surprise that my neighbors had come over to turn on the fire for me and toast up the cabin. The big “Yes!” I felt when the warm air hit my face suddenly flipped to a holy “Oh No!” when with robust swing to pull the door snug from drafts, I landed my thumb right in its hinge. Now, my cabin was built in the 70′s by artistic, idealistic hippies. They had artistic, idealistic building skills and nothing says this more than the doors of my cabin. They are GORGEOUS 6″ thick slabs of buttery wood with light beam madalas and hand carved handles…..that have no locks and leave enough gap to fit a tambourine through.
So, basically, I destroyed the tip of my thumb. I can’t in 37 years remember ever hurting myself to this degree. It was gory. Halloween level gore. The bad news: my 3 days ski blast on Crystal mountain was instantly cancelled. The good news: it was the night before Thanksgiving and the family already had enough wine in them to not pass out at the sight of me.
We cleaned it well but I was done in. The entire base of my nail had been pulled out and I had a deep crevasse of soft human parts that had lost their form entirely. It was impossible to tell what would happen. Once my shock settled, I crawled in to bed to nestle my nerves. Long story short, over the next few days, there were consults with surgical nurses and hand specialists but the prognosis was vague. It was an awkward messy wound with not much to do but let it be until it showed it’s own fate. I kept it clean with a mix of colloidal silver and triple anti-biotic cream. I soothed it with lavender and helichrysum oils. I evolved from your average clumse to a four fingered klutz.
Two weeks later, nothing much had changed. All of the tender skin was still slashed open and exposed, the nail was lifted and protruding. I have to admit, I was a bit hopeless by the lack of healing. After our holiday lotus party, I was up late cleaning and when I finished my routine of care and I was moved to try something new.
I have a shelf of raw honey for my patients that I recommend as the first step of treatment for heartburn and reflux. There is research being done in New Zealand which suggests that honey is inhibitory to the bacteria h. pylori (which is the primary cause of heartburn). For about 85% percent of my patients, it has been a silver bullet and has allowed them to go off of antacids within 10-14 days of therapy. I have another patient, Irmagard, who is an 86 year old woman who has a slow healing leg wound that she has dressed at the hospital 2-3 times per week. The hospital is currently using honey bandages.
(My apologies.) There was a “before” photo but I found even glancing at it on my phone provoked nausea! This is the “after” picture. Ok, it is admittedly still horrific but that fresh line of clean pink skin at the base of the thumb was simply gorgeous to me. That skin was grown by honey alone! It was fast. It was clean. And within 2 days of applying honey at night and in the morning, hope had returned. Happily 2 months later, I have full use of my thumb and even the healthy start of happy new nail to protect it.
So many remedies can remain “something we read” until we have the opportunity to learn from experience. Keep your fingers clear of doors and rely on my earned wisdom:
Some wounds do heal.
Much love, Kiki
Medicine Women
Kate
Kiki
Laura Robbins
anniebiscotti
