Mindful Living Short Takes
March / April 2007
By Staff
Alternative First-Aid Kit
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from the Ecologist
Help your loved ones beat the cold season, minor scrapes and bumps, and the daily stress of life with a natural first-aid kit. All you need is an old shoebox, a tin, an unused cosmetics bag, or anything else suitable to hold your kit. Here are some suggestions on what to fill it with:
Essential oils: Lavender oil, soothing, antiseptic, useful in treating burns and as a sleep aid. Peppermint oil for instant headache relief; also a decongestant. Tea tree oil, a good general disinfectant for cuts and grazes and occasional blemishes.
Tinctures/remedies: A bottle of Rescue Remedy or similar all-purpose flower remedy for the stress and fatigue of daily life. Echinacea tincture; if you can get this in a spray, so much the better, as it can double as a throat spray and disinfectant for cuts. Propolis tincture, good for cold sores and sore throats.
Salves: An all-purpose herbal salve such as calendula, comfrey, or hypercal. Badger balms for a range of problems from sore feet to insomnia, cuts, and grazes. Traumeel, a homeopathic anti-inflammatory cream made from 14 plant extracts, which is good to treat pain and bruising. Manukacare 18+ (Manuka honey has well-researched antibacterial properties; honey in general is also known to be antifungal), good for cuts, grazes, and burns.
For colds: Potter's Allerclear nasal spray, based on sea salt, to help soothe and clear congestion.
Reprinted from the Ecologist (December 2006), the 2006 Utne Independent Press Award winner in the category of environmental coverage; www.theecologist.org.