Bruising - NP Remedy?

[74tiger]

ashlex or mamathinks, I think it was one of you who mentioned a salve that you use on bruising?   H had a nasty fall on his scooter yesterday and fell onto the edge of his scooter.  He is now sporting a bruise the size of my palm and it just pains me to even look at it.  Is it too late?

Comments

[ashlex]

I haven't used the salve but we've had good luck with the homeopathic remedy, Arnica. Some brands also make Arnica salve or gel, but I haven't used those. Not sure if it has to be taken right away or not, would think it would cut down on pain & swelling either way, but might not do as much to actually get rid of the bruise after the fact? The way i understand it, it reduces bleeding, so if you take it right away since a bruise is essentially bleeding under the skin, the bruise will be less, if you take it later I'm not sure, if the bruise isn't actively bleeding, what it would do? You know. But regardless I would expect it to help w/ swelling & pain.

A couple years ago (time runs together, might have been last winter) I was carrying a sleeping Ashlyn downstairs (holding her "like a baby" so I couldn't let go with either hand w/o hurting her) and my feet slipped out from under me & I landed HARD on my butt & elbows/back & slid the rest of the way down. I limped (still carrying Ashlyn) to the sofa, where I happened to have the homeopathic box out because kids were sick & immediately grabbed the arnica (I was freaked out that I was going to be so sore I couldn't move enough to take care of the kids till dh got home, it hurt BAD!!!), not only did it help immensely w/ the muscle pain/brusing, but when I'd landed on my elbow I'd hit the corner of the wood strip along the bottom of the railing & cut my elbow open (didn't realize it immediately since i hurt everywhere & was focused on getting A safely to the sofa LOL), when dh saw it later he said it looked deep enough that I should've had stitches, but never even bled enough to require a band aid. Between that and L landing head first on the floor at Taco Bell and not even having a bruise the next day, I'm 100% sold on Arnica LOL.

[74tiger]

Very good to know! Maybe I should just give N a daily dose of Arnica, he's always got some new bruise, lol!

Actually, my kids and I don't bruise that easily. I always am amazed at some of the hits we take w/ no bruising, versus some of our peers who merely get touched and end up with massive goose eggs. One time N clocked a little friend on the head w/ a small plastic watering can. I was amazed that she had a huge goose egg that was black and blue for days. My kids have definitely been hit like that before and it hardly even leaves a red mark! I wonder why?

Anyhow, when H fell yesterday, he didn't get up. I actually thought he had broken his arm or twisted an ankle he was crying so badly and not getting up or putting weight on his leg initially. Not like him at all.

[ashlex]

I'm the opposite, you can look at me & I get a huge bruise, BUT the bruises that look nasty seriously don't hurt AT ALL! Alot of times I don't even know they're there until someone asks what in the world I did. OTOH, if I have a bruise that REALLY hurts, you can't see it at all, I'm so weird :) The girls don't bruise as easily as I do but they're fair skinned enough that if they do have a bump or bruise it's more noticeable than it probably would be on your kids :)

[mrsjumper]

Arnica will help after the fact, too. It promotes soft tissue healing. If you get it right away, it will cut back on the bleeding. But you can use it afterwards to promote speedier healing. The bruise will fade more quickly, too. We're used both the topical gel and the pills.

Another thing that will help clear the bruise is light massage towards the nearest lymph gland cluster. The touch has to be featherlight, though. Just stroke lightly over the bruise towards the lymph glads; the light touch will stimulate the lymphatic system, which will help to move away the old blood.

Hope he feels better soon!