Julie (Melbourne) on 12/05/2016

A few years ago, friend told me that a large ceramic water urn fell off a table onto her big toe. It immediately started to change colour and the pain was incredible. Someone had a bottle of lavender essential oil with him and told her to apply that straight away. She placed it all over and under her toe and shortly the colour started to return to normal and the pain receded. She had no bruising and no more pain!

Shortly after, I seriously jammed my finger, right on the nail. It was already turning blue when I applied lavender oil and to my delight, the pain receded and instead of the whole nail being blue, I had one spot about the size of a pin-head. I applied the oil three times during that day only. There was no pain or pressure on the finger at all after the first application.

One day, I was talking with a friend and we heard a bang and a heavy metal door had slammed on her 10 year-old daughter's finger. She was in a great deal of pain and was crying bitterly, hardly able to breath. I asked her and her mum if they would mind if I put some lavender oil on it. They happily agreed. It is so good, I carry it in my handbag wherever I go. I took out my little bottle and I applied it all around the impact site, top and bottom. It was already blue but within a few minutes she said it was feeling a lot better and off she went to play with the other children. That afternoon, before I left, I put some more on it and by that time, it wasn't blue and she smiled as she said it wasn't hurting any more.

I have read the comments on lavender oil causing breast enlargement in young boys, but I also read opposing comments that pointed out that this came from bad science and assumptions and therefore not a sound enough reason to "throw out the baby with the bathwater", in this case, the Godsend, lavender essential oil.

I have used it also for burns from boiling water, steam, oven trays, hot cast iron pans, etc. Each time it has removed the pain and prevented blisters or removed those which had already formed.

It is truly amazing!!!

Kate (Lowell, Ma) on 05/11/2016

Last week, I tripped walking up the stairs:( I ended up bruising my toe pretty badly to the point that I was walking with a limp because it hurt to put any weight on my foot. When I got home, I started by icing my foot, followed by an Epsom salt soak. It brought the swelling down a little, but not the pain or bruising. After the second day of pain, I came to Earth Clinic and saw rave reviews for ACV.

I soaked a cotton ball in ACV and left it on my toe for 20 minutes. I repeated this process twice a day and within 36 hrs, I was healed. No more pain; no more bruise. Thanks Earth Clinic!

REPLY   10      

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Castor Oil for Bruising

Mama To Many (Tennessee, Usa) on 07/13/2015

My daughter had a bruise on her forearm that was really bothering her. The bruise was purple and swollen. I had her put some castor oil on it at bedtime. When she woke up the next day, the bruising was noticeably better and the swelling was gone!

~Mama to Many~

REPLY   6      

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Apple Cider Vinegar for Bruises

Zark (Australia) on 09/02/2014

Apple Cider Vinegar works very well!

A very dear friend of mine was in the passenger seat during a car accident. Her face was quite badly cut and bruised when the airbag activated.

We recommended ACV and it worked beautifully. All the bruising and swelling cleared nicely. The first morning after the accident she woke with swelling around her mouth (the airbag hit her mouth and cut it quite badly), she applied the ACV and the swelling quickly went down. 3 weeks later and it is healing beautifully and it looks like there won't be any scars.

It stung a bit so we diluted it until tolerable, she found that it would only sting at first and then after a few minutes the sting would cease to be an issue when ACV was reapplied. ACV can dry the skin out a little (nothing major), in which case you just need some moisturiser.

REPLY   5      

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Re: ACV for Bruises

Karen (Calgary, CA) on 04/29/2014

Thank you again, EC!!! I came here for ideas on how to take care of my son's rather painful knee injury (he had walked into a chair with all his weight). I soaked a handcloth in ACV and then put on a towel wrapped-ice pack. The bruise and pain were gone in 15mins. Awesome stuff.

REPLY   6      

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Geranium Essential Oil and Arnica for Head Bump

Mama To Many (Tennessee, Usa) on 12/08/2013

My little boys were roughhousing last night and my two year old ended up hitting his head very hard on the corner of a wooden post in our house. He had a good sized dent in his forehead that was 2-3 inches long and beginning to turn blue in the dent. I held him while he cried and we assessed him and my husband went to find remedies. We started with ice (how they hate that! ) Then we applied a homemade arnica oil (recipe below). Next I gently massaged Geranium Essential oil over the spot and beyond. (I figured it was a bit diluted with the arnica oil. But, Geranium is safe used straight, though I am not quick to use any essential oils straight on little children and babies.)

The ice didn't last on his head more than a minute. Within a few minutes he was up and playing again. 24 hours later, there is a faint light red line where he hit his head. It must not have been noticeable because no one at church today even asked what happened to his head. (And he is fair skinned with a buzz cut...) I am sure without the geranium and/or arnica he would have had a lot of bruising and swelling. I have seen either of these treatments work effectively for serious head bumps. Raw onion works great, too, but I didn't see how I was going to keep a raw onion poultice on a 2 year old's head for any amount of time. Geranium and arnica were very pleasant!

A bottle of Geranium essential oil is a great thing to have on hand. It is good for bumps, bruises, bleeding, depression, insect repellent, acne, skin issues, etc.

We make our own Arnica Oil. It is great for bumps and bruises and also to massage into sore muscles. Here is what we do:

Put dry arnica flowers into a glass canning jar. (4 ounces is plenty.) Cover with a carrier oil. We like Almond Oil. Adding a couple of vanilla beans, if you happen to have any (We usually have some left over from making homemade vanilla extract) will make it smell incredible! Let sit for 2 weeks. Strain out the arnica flowers and the vanilla beans. You can add some vitamin E oil to preserve it, but we go through it pretty fast. Store out of light.

Have a great day!

~Mama to Many~

REPLY   5      

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Arnica Gel for Bruises

Mommy V (Washington, D.C., Usa) on 10/21/2011

This stuff works like a miracle. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself. I recently smashed the distal phalanx (smallest bone) of my pinkie. My fingertip swelled to the size and color of a grape in a matter of minutes. I applied a thin layer of Arnica Cream (which I bought at my local health food store) and literally watched as the swelling and bruising disappeared to almost nothing overnight. I also use Arnica frequently on my toddler boys, the youngest of which manages to incur knots on his forehead at an alarming rate. Same story. Goose eggs all but disappear overnight; swelling and bruising are down to just a small mark. It even works on blood blisters. (My aunt, a Farsi accupuncturist, introduced me to this stuff and I am SO grateful!)

REPLY   2      

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Apple Cider Vinegar

Kay (St Augustine, Fl/usa) on 12/31/2010

Thank you earthclinic! I put a paper towell in ACV(Apple Cider Vinegar) and within 24 hrs the bruise was gone. Amazing! Oh, by the way, my knee pain was gone too!

REPLY   3      

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Butter for Bruising

Christina (Brooklyn, Ny, Usa) on 12/18/2010

I always apply butter (cold) and my children have not had a bruise when in my care after a fall or bump in years!! The best home cure ever known to man kind. I use it on my spouse and myself as well. Mash it with hands and apply. Promise no bruise will appear.

REPLY   4      

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Black Tea Bag for Bruises, Bumps, Burns, Etc

Jasmine (Chicago, Illinois Usa) on 12/16/2010

As the mom of a four year old, I've dealt with every type of bump, bruise, pinch, burn and cut imaginable. And for everyone I use one simple remedy. A black tea bag. Any brand will do, but makes sure its good quality and fresh. Great thing about it is, I can slip it in a ziplock back and throw them in my pocket, car or purse and forget about it until an injury occurs. Dunk the tea bag once or twice in hot water if available and blow on it or wave it in the air to get it to cool down. If there is no hot water, hot faucet water works great. And if that's unavailable, just wet it with room temperature water until the liquid coming off of it turns brown. Then apply as a poultice. You may need to wet it again whenever it dries. It takes the pain out, eliminates swelling, and quickens healing.

My daughter is so spoiled with this remedy, she thinks that "owies" are "fixed" by mommy and comes straight to me for any little hurt. If it's in an ackward or large area, throw 3 bags of tea in a hot mug of water for 3-5min, cool it down with ice cubes after and use a rag or paper towel to apply it (be sure you dont like the rag because it will stain). Its important to use this remedy asap. The sooner its applied after the injury, the better and more dramatic the results. After the tea poultice or compress:

(1)if its a nasty bruise, I'll dress it with a thin layer of castor oil and wrap it up.

(2)If its an open cut, I'll dab it with raw honey and cover it with a cartoon bandaid (cartoons optional).

(3)If its a bad burn I'll put the tea poultice over the burn, place a piece of plastic wrap over it and wrap an ace bandage around that. This worked for me on a 2nd and 3rd degree burns I received from a very hot lightbulb. It wouldn't stop stinging until I used the tea. I fell asleep with the ace bandage on, woke up 2-3hrs later with the pain 100% gone and the best part yet, when it healed it didn't scar!

Also, for those lovely times when your child slams there hand in a door or cabinet, I brew the 3 bags in a wide mouth cup, cool it with ice cubes (to a luke warm/cool temp) and have her stick her whole hand in it until she tells me it stopped hurting (usually 5-20min). If it doesnt stop hurting, I would know she may have actually broken something (although thankfully its never been serious). I figured out the black tea bag remedy out of desperation when burning myself years ago on that light bulb. After that, I began experimenting on my own cuts and bruises. Since my daughter was born, its been the best thing I've ever tried, and it has yet to let me down.

REPLY   7      

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Arnica Gel for a Bruise

Lisa (Socal, Ca) on 06/19/2010

I had bruise on my leg that was a very dark purple and didn't fade after 1 1/2 weeks. I tried ACV and witch hazel and nothing happened. I bought some Arnica gel at a health food store Wednesday mid day and applied 3-4 times a day by gently rubbing in. By Saturday morning the bruise was barely visible. I could see the bruise fading each day, I've never seen anything quite like it.

REPLY   1      

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