Top Natural Remedies for Healing Cuts: Expert Tips and Reader Insights

Tea Tree and Lavender Oils

Posted by Regulator555 (Grand Rapids, Mi, Usa) on 06/02/2010
★★★★★

In my house, essential oils are a must for their medicinal uses. The staple two are tea tree and lavender. Best healing tale: My husband caught his finger in the band saw at his work. As you can imagine, his finger was a mangled mass of meat. There was nothing to stitch together. Gross. Anyway, he applied a drop of tea tree and a drop of lavender, neat, to the wound twice daily and kept it clean, dry, and bandaged. He would air it out a bit once a day for a few minutes. It never became infected - never. It healed well with virtually no scarring.

Witch Hazel

Posted by Tanya (Hailey, ID) on 05/15/2009
★★★★★

Witch Hazel is in my "first-line-of-defense" first aid kit. ESPECIALLY for small cuts, bruises and scrapes.

Cayenne

Posted by Rocky (Hayden Lake, Idaho) on 10/06/2008
★★★★★

A horse pushed me against my horse trailer a few years back & the aluminium sticking out cut me to the bone over the eye. I put cayenne in the wound & wraped a battle dressing around my head to keep it from dripping into my eye. From that moment there was no pain nor was there pain again through the healing...6 to 10 days.

As a point, a friend came to me with a cut deep into her knuckle. I have her cayenne & told her to change it every 3 days. Her pain went away during the healing (6 to 10 days) also there is no scar. The 1st year when her hand got cold you could see a blue mark. Now nothing. Rocky

Cayenne

Posted by Alice (New Fairfield, Connecticut) on 09/11/2008
★★★★★

Cayenne pepper really does work for sore throats! I have been using this remedy for quite a few months now and it works everytime. It does require doses throughout the day but stick with it. My suggestion is to put 1/8 teaspoon of it into a shot glass (2tbsp) of water and down the hatch...it is not going to taste great so get it down as quickly as possible and be done with it is my motto. My 8 year old daughter can down it like a pro and after a few times could even gargle a little in the throat. Have a glass of something (gingerale takes the heat right off for us) to chase it with and be amazed.

Cayenne is also a miracle for cuts that won't stop bleeding. It had worked several times for us. Just wash the cut out in water and put a thick paste of it over the wound and cover with a bandage. It does not burn the cut!!! In fact the first time I tried it the wound hurt after I washed it off too soon. Back to sore throats... Apple Cider vinegar works also but my daughter can't tolerate that so we stick to this one...I do both for good meaasure.

Cayenne

Posted by Alice (Sierra Vista, Az) on 08/26/2008
★★★★★

I had just read about cayenne stopping bleeding. I had worked to remove a bad tooth from my mouth and did not expect what happened: blood gushing out so fast I was choking on it. I had no idea it would bleed like that. I panicked and dumped probably a half teaspoon of cayenne on the wound and the bleeding stopped almost instantly. I was amazed, but it worked. Like turning off a faucet. The bleeding stayed stopped too.

Apple Cider Vinegar and Copper Sulfate

Posted by Liz (Stuttgart, Germany) on 07/06/2008
★★★★★

i mix 40 ml of cider vinegar with 20 grams of copper sulphate into a one liter spray bottle..top with water and it makes the most effective wound spray i have ever used (been using on it on my horses for over 20 years) .. it works equally as well on skin conditions .. copper sulphate prevents proud flesh and kills all skin fungus.

Sugar

Posted by Joyce (Joelton, Tn.) on 05/18/2008 490 posts

Yes, I have heard of this before. It was an old folks remedy and has also been used for healing bedsores (decubiti).

Sugar

Posted by Lisa (Lawton, OK) on 05/20/2008
★★★★★

Yes, I have heard nurses at work talking about using sugar and betadine/iodine to heal wounds.

Honey

Posted by Brenda (Albertville, AL) on 01/24/2008
★★★★★

i had surgery in Nov.,2007 to remove damaged breast tissue caused from a car accident. a couple weeks after surgery, I had what looked to be a blood blister. It proceded to open up, drain and cause considerable pain and redness accross almost the entire breast. The cream the Dr. gave me seemed to keep the area too moist and it kept oozing. After talking and research I decided to try honey. The area which had started to look like a diabetic ulcer or bedsore, looked better the next morning , I continued to use about 1/4 tsp of raw honey on a cotton pad, I just placed it so the honey would be sure to get completely into the wound. It has been a little over a week and my Dr. was amazed at how well it is now healing.

Turmeric

Posted by Steph Williams (Danville, VA) on 11/08/2007
★★★★★

I've had great success with turmeric to stop wounds from bleeding. If you catch a slice by the kitchen knife quick enough, the blood will coagulate behind a layer of turmeric. I also add turmeric to a warm water soak with sea salt or epsom salt to draw out infection/inflammation from wounds for my family. I treated our dog's copper head bite with a turmeric poultice. Her leg was swollen and the skin around the 2 puncture wounds was necrotic and oozing and after many soaks and poultices, it healed leaving no scar.

Cayenne

Posted by Douglas (Monticello, FL) on 09/03/2006
★★★★★

Cayenne pepper stops bleeding and heals the wound, even one that the bone could be seen in the heel of the hand. The scar is almost nil.

Cayenne

Posted by Jane (Poulsbo)
★★★★★

Applying powdered cayenne to a wound stops the bleeding within minutes! I've read that you can also take it to treat internal bleeding. I think the recipe is 1/4 teaspoon in a glass of tomato juice.

Aloe Vera

Posted by Kate (Kingston, Ny) on 06/27/2011
★★★★★

Aloe is great! Topically applied, the gel from the cut stem of the plant dries to form a protective layer on the skin's surface, preventing any dirt or bacteria from entering. Aloe contains a concentrated mix of enzymes, anti-inflammatory fatty acids, and compounds that boost the immune system and speed healing. I found some good information on how to use aloe at home here:

www.aloeplant.info

Raw Honey

Posted by Teena (Melbourne, Australia) on 04/10/2019 233 posts
★★★★★

I have had great success using raw honey on open wound, I would also suggest you look at the amazing wound healing benefits of the comfrey plant. Best to you

Gaffer's Tape and Kinesiology Tape

Posted by Cindy (Illinois, Usa) on 08/02/2016 554 posts

I've discovered two different types of tape that can be used on my skin, without irritation, without the expense of medical tape and without coming off, even in the shower. Gaff tape and kinesiology tape. Kinesiology tape is lighter and stretches but gaff tape is useful for hundreds of things. They both come in a variety of colors. Cutting clean old t-shirts into gauze squares, you'd have more bandages than you'd ever need.

Cayenne

Posted by KT (Usa) on 11/08/2015

Hi Deirdre,

Have you tried taking vitamin E in addition to applying the contents from a capsule? I read it was beneficial to do both. Even though it's been several years maybe keeping the E on the scar under a band aid for several months (six minimum) could soften it and you'd be able to tell if it is helping. I had a horrible wide scar after having an appendectomy. I kept it bathed in vitamin E under a giant band aid for six months and the scar softened and is hardly noticeable. After a shower apply the E and band aid right away.

I think it would be worth trying.

Cayenne

Posted by Pandora (Mount Olympus) on 12/29/2022

I think the salt may have caused the pain. Have you heard of the expression “like rubbing salt into a wound?” The fact it did not hurt right after is likely due to cayenne!

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Gem Roice Nerit (Philippines) on 04/15/2014
★★★★★

I had a bike accident and I scratch my chin I just soaked it in ACV and it heals it fast.

Kelp, Himalayan Salt

Posted by Hercy (Brownwood, Texas) on 07/20/2013
★★★★★

A skin wound on my forearm became infected. The arm swelled up to the elbow, and an angry red color ensued around the site. The Ocean has healing power, so in West Texas, I adventured to prepare a solution of Ocean Water:

I combined Kelp and Himalayan salt in water, dipped my arm in solution covering the wound site for approx 15 minutes... Amazing how the swelling was descending, so repeated soon thereafter. Then the next morning I prepared a fresh solution of "Ocean Water". Repeated treatment thru a 3rd day, and the problem was solved.

Today we use this solution on any fresh wound to accelerate healing.

Royal Jelly

Posted by Kareng (Sugarland, Texas, Usa) on 02/13/2012
★★★★★

My daughter had a 2inch wide 1inch deep gash in the bend of her leg; probably from an abcess. I searched EC for help but could find nothing on Open Wounds. I began with GoldenSeal and Honey from my own bees. There was no infection but I wanted to avoid Staph and get the wound closed up asap.

I finally went by my local Vitamin Store and asked for help. They suggested cleaning the wound with Black Soap and then applying Royal Jelly-also from those precious bees. I began applying only the Royal Jelly in the wound and after only 3 days the wound is almost totally closed. I only applied the Royal Jelly twice a day and bathed her once a day with the Black Soap.

Everyone needs to know how AWESOME this stuff is!

Epsom Salt

Posted by Diane (Everett, Wa) on 06/23/2010
★★★★★

Soak it in warm water with episom salts as often as possible and put some antibiotic ointment w/ bandage. It workes for me. If not better in 24hrs i would see a dr about getting some medication.