This Wart is Bananas!

Posted on by TayBham

Hey, guess what.

The inside of a banana peel will make your dog’s paw wart go away.

Not kidding.

I did some research the other week to see what might enable us to (once again) avoid surgery.

Recall that post splinter-ectomy, a wart decided to take up residence in the space between Pearl’s paw pads. The vet put us on yet another round of antibiotics and steroids. I didn’t object because if there was some infection still up in there from the splinter (and there had been), then I wanted it to go away. And there was a bit of pain and swelling, which was making her limp. (Tenderfoot & what not).

But if those didn’t work, the vet suggested cutting off Mr. Wart. (His spending was getting out of control). Anytime you cut on the paw, it’s a difficult healing process for obvious reasons.

So I set out to find another way.

Cinnamon leaf oil can be used for wart removal. It’s highly irritating to the skin, so you have to dilute it. I know it will surprise you to learn that I could not find cinnamon leaf oil in the places I searched in Birmingham. (I’ve got to find better sources. This is getting ridic).

Thuja is an herb that supposedly works on warts. (You guessed it. Couldn’t find any).

Next up: Banana peel.

Yep. Banana peel. The fleshy inside part.

Cheap and readily available.

I scraped a bit off the inside of the peel, and stuffed it in between her paw pads. No bandage needed.

Once a day for 7 days.

….Drum roll……

Mr. Wart slipped on the peel and busted his arse.

I’ll take a pun all the way. Oh, yes I will.

It’s really almost completely gone.

Now, certainly, the antibiotics and steroid might still share some of the credit. But, we had given them their due for about a week before climbing into the banana hammock (see, I did it again), and there had been no noticeable change. Also, warts are viruses, and we all know antibiotics are ineffective against viruses.

After a day or so of banana peel application, the wart had shrunk in size. What remained was very soft, whereas before it was a raised knot with a black dot on top. But now, seven days later, it’s totally flat and the discoloration is dissipating.

Natural remedy does it again! And we are saving time, money, and physical pain by not having to endure a cutting to remove the growth.

And we are loving some yummy bananas in the meantime.

Happy Friday!

pugs & kisses,

Pugs & their Paws: A splinter’s tale. #SMH

Posted on by TayBham
#pugs, #puglife, #puglove, #pugsofinstagram, #flatnosedsociety.

Since starting down our HOListic road, I’ve realized how quickly I run to my vet for every little thing. If I took the time to gain a little bit of knowledge of my own, perhaps I could address some problems at home.

Exhibit A: The abscess on Truman’s paw that healed with topical application of raw honey.

But we haven’t quit our vet habit yet.

Pearl picked up a splinter.

I didn’t know she had a splinter. She wouldn’t let me touch her hand to get a closer look.

Pugs & their paws. #smh

Of course, my over-active imagination immediately went bananas:

SHE BROKE HER WRIST JUMPING OFF THE BED!! SHE’S ONLY 3! HER BONES ARE SO FRAIL, SHE MUST HAVE BONE CANCER! THIS RAW DIET ISN’T WORKING! WE’LL HAVE TO CUT OFF HER LEG!! OHMYGOD!!!

No, freak show. It’s just a splinter. Calm your crazy ass down.

I tried to treat it with honey, but after a couple of days, her limp was more pronounced (which convinced me she had a torn ligament. Hypochondriac much?).

So, off to the vet we went. I heard her scream from the back of the clinic when the doc removed it. A quarter-inch long, it took 3 people to hold her down to get it out.

Feeling a tad better about my own limitations when it comes to Pug paws, thank you.

I have never had a Pug who would let me touch the feet. Even the most laid back of them all (Truman) has a big fat fit when I try to do something as gentle as rub a little bit of honey on his boo-boo.

People give me a sideways glance when they see the excessive length in the toenail area. They gently scold me with a note of condescension when I try to explain that it’s not for lack of trying. They say with their eyes, ‘Yeah, whatevs. You just don’t want to do it, lazy human.”

SCREW ALL OF YOU!! IT TOOK 3 PEOPLE TO HOLD HER SCREAMING, 25-lb ASS DOWN TO GET THAT SPLINTER!

Post-splinter extraction, something decided to grow in its place. Great. We’re not living a real-life story of the lion with the thorn that loves the little mouse forever. That lion didn’t get a wart chaser in its paw. Or if it did, that nugget didn’t make the story.  Unlike the lion & the mouse, we get to go back to the vet because this shit just will not quit.

The quickest fix is the traditional medicine route. To my knowledge, there is no holistic vet in Birmingham, and I simply don’t have the knowledge right now to adequately treat whatever this growth is at home.

I’m still using honey on it, but in truth, I think the steroid is doing most of the work because in the days before we went back for the follow-up, the honey didn’t seem to make much difference.

So, it’s not time to say farewell to western medicine just yet. My hope at this point is that if it IS a wart, and thus a virus, her immune system is robust enough to fight it because she has such a healthy diet.

pugs & kisses,

Truman’s got a boo-boo, Honey.

Posted on by TayBham
all natural holistic animal companion health honey remedies

Did you know how awesome raw honey is?!

There are blogs all over the Internet that discuss the health benefits and dangers of raw, unpasteurized honey.

I mean, I knew local, raw honey helps with allergies.

But did you know you can apply it topically to heal wounds?

NEITHER DID I !!!

I was digging around trying to find something to help with the sore on Truman’s paw pad. I went through all those herbs (see previous post) trying to find one that might work. It felt a lot like the first time I tried to write a legal brief. I was only vaguely familiar with the vocabulary, and had no idea of its application or whether it would be successful.

So I kept hunting and read several accounts regarding raw honey to treat burns and other minor wounds.

According to this article in the Whole Dog Journal (by the author of my text book, CJ Puotinen)

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/10_9/features/Bee-Honey-Products-Help-Canines_15967-1.html

raw honey is chock full of wholesome goodness, and has a wide variety of uses.

It contains vitamins & minerals including:

A, B-complex, C, D, E, and K, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, manganese, copper, and iodine among others.

  • It’s antimicrobial.
  • It contains an enzyme that kills harmful bacteria.
  • In clinical trials, honey was used as a wound dressing and was shown to clear infection, inflammation, pain and odor while speeding the growth of new skin cells.
  • You can serve it to your dogs mixed with their food, or right off the honey comb to help with allergies, digestion, sleep, or a sore throat.
  • You can mix it in an all natural shampoo.
  • The article discusses how to use honey with a diabetic dog for its medicinal benefits without dangerous elevations in blood sugar.You can infuse it with medicinal herbs to apply externally or take internally.

Or, you can just put a dab of raw honey directly on a boo-boo on Truman’s paw pad…

I was stunned at how much that sore shrunk in just 1 application. After 4 days, it’s almost completely gone. No cauterizing tool necessary.

From now on, I’m all about the honey for the boo-boo.

pugs & kisses,

A New Experiment–HOListic Wound Care

Posted on by TayBham
all natural herbal wound care home remedy

Truman has a boo-boo on his paw pad.

It’s a sizable sore on the main pad. He wouldn’t let me touch it. Red, raw, and swollen. Ouch.

Pug with a hurt paw tries herbal remedy
Truman has a boo-boo. He likes his purple bandage, tho.

My first reaction was to take him to the vet, which I did two Saturdays ago.

They cleaned & wrapped it & gave us a round of steroids. ($)

We went back for a follow-up last Saturday. ($) Although it diminished in size, it hadn’t gone away.

Since I’m all about the HOListic approach nowadays, I decided to research our options to see what might enable us to avoid a minor ($$) procedure.

I looked first to herbs. But what to get? What might heal a wound or reduce inflammation?

Chamomile was the first to hit all the markers: it’s a nervine (calms & soothes nerves. Duh!), tonic, sedative, antispasmodic, aromatic, stimulant, among other helpful qualities.

… But I couldn’t find it. #sads.

What else, Google? (Don’t judge. I’m at the store. I need options.)

Calendula! Used to heal wounds & soothe skin. Great!

… Couldn’t find it. #nuts

Aloe vera, of course, but no aloe plants where I was shopping. (dammit. I’ve GOT to find a different store).

Gotu Kola. (Because everybody needs a go-to cola. Am I right?)

Reputed to strengthen the skin, boost antioxidants in wounds & increase blood supply in the area.

AND… They have it! Hooray!!

Well, they didn’t have the actual herb, just the extract.

Good enough. Let’s try some.

Why not make a poultice? Say what? 

A poultice is a little herb-soaked bandage to apply externally to the wound.

I soaked a clean cloth in 40 drops of Gotu Kola mixed with 2oz of water. I held it on his paw for 5 minutes (which was as long as he would permit). I left it unwrapped over night. Repeated the process the next morning. That night, it appeared smaller.

… But then I read about raw honey as a treatment for wounds…

FASCINATING! I keep raw honey in the pantry! Had no idea it was a wound fixer, and we are about to give it a go.

I’ll keep you posted!

pugs & kisses,