| Answer: | To handle bruises, scrapes, burns and cuts while on the move, you' ll need to tuck a few extra items in your first aid kit - selected vitamins, MSM supplements and cream (containing organic sulphur, which has renowned healing properties), aloe vera gel and tea tree oil among them.
Bruising occurs when the tissues under the skin are injured, which leads to an accumulation of blood. Apply MSM cream to the bruised area to speed healing and reduce pain. Vitamin C and bioflavonoids are essential for strengthening capillary walls so they are less susceptible to damage, and also supply oxygen to the area to help it heal. You can get vitamin C cream as ascorbyl palmitate. Both MSM and vitamin C can also be taken orally to speed recovery: I recommend 3g of each a day to recover from any major injury.
Burns need to be treated instantly. Apply aloe vera gel or MSM cream to help healing, soothe inflammation and minimize scarring. Never put a plaster on a burn till the heat is out of it. To promote healing supplement 5,000mcg of vitamin A per day (don' t take more than 3,000mcg if you' re pregnant), or 18mg of beta-carotene, and 30mg of zinc for one week or less, depending on the burn. Vitamin E oil (just cut open a capsule) can be applied when the burn is not an open wound. Drink plenty of fluids, and take 3g of MSM daily for a month and then reduce to 1g a day.
From a nutritional point of view, the treatment of cuts is similar to that for burns. Apply aloe vera gel and MSM cream alternately around the wound several times a day until it has healed - these two facilitate the healing process and reduce scarring. Continue this regime to prevent scarring, plus vita-min C, vitamin E and MSM taken orally. Scars from cuts heal up spectacularly well when you apply vitamin E oil to the injury site (but don' t do this with big open wounds), which you can do by piercing a vitamin E capsule. Cleansing with diluted tea tree oil, a highly effective antibacterial, helps prevent infection. |
