wounds

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,

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,

Truman’s got a boo-boo, Honey.

A New Experiment–HOListic Wound Care