Here you sit at your desk organizing a letter to go out to a friend in another state when you receive one of those nasty paper cuts. We are talking about the type that takes forever to heal. The ones where every time it gets likely to heal up you expose the cut again. We all know the ones which I am speaking of.
I have undoubtedly experienced my share of these types of cuts and would like to disclose some tips and pointers on how to speed the healing procedure of these small skin splits. It is without failure that these small cuts tend to occur in front of your finger nail just about on the tip of your thumb. As you may already know this is actually a very bad spot for getting one of these cuts as every time you bump it against something sharp your healing time starts all over again. These are the spots where the mere act of buttoning your shirt or other routine hand motion will result in another interference with the healing process.
Being a survivalist and into natural healing methods I have discovered many little hints that prove beneficial should you not be able to access a doctor or a pharmacy. The first thing that we must do is clean the cut real well. It is cuts such as these that start some really serious infections and cleaning them right away can prevent these infections from occurring.
Band Aides
We all know that the usual band aids tend to fall off the tip of the finger when using your hands for routine work. There exist a vast number and types of band aids in your local pharmacy. Some are better for this particular cut then are others. Take a walk through the pharmacy and you will readily see how many types of band aids there actually are.
You can also get what is called a "finger cot" or finger band aid. This band aid is like a finger that was cut from a plastic glove. It is small and flexible but fits tightly on your finger.
Antibiotic Creams
On occasion you can rub some antibiotic cream on the cut and cover it with a band aid while you sleep. Sometimes these minor cuts will heal overnight.
One time I had experienced a little skin split due to dry weather. I immediately put a dab of Lidocaine cream on it and used a good quality brand of adhesive bandage. When I removed the bandage the following day it was much better. You could also try Neosporin or some other antibiotic ointment to keep it moist.
Look at some of the other herbal creams also. There are a couple of really good ones. If this is happening to you on a regular basis you may start to use a barrier cream before you start working on anything and Sorbolene cream after washing and drying your hands.
Also consider what chemicals you are encountering in your environment. A friend went through about ten years of splitting finger pads and finally had to exercise extreme care in avoiding petroleum products and other chemicals as much as possible and wash immediately afterwards.
One person has tried using a drop of DMSO on the cut while they slept. The use of Vitamin C and E tablets will also aid the bodies' ability to heal the cut.
Bush Onion and Aloe Vera
If you decide to treat it in a natural means consider the use of bush onion. It is commonly known as Crinum uniflorum ( Liliaceae ), Simply dig it up, grind it well, boil it and place a few drops of the cooled juice onto your cut. It acts as a painkiller and as a super healer, disinfectant and insect repellant all in one. This natural item is good for burns, cuts, bruises, sunburn, and all sorts of blisters as well as bug bites.
These bush onions look similar to ordinary lilies but the flower of the plant has only four delicate petals. You can use the bud only and it smells a bit like cooked potatoes when it's finished. It is extremely powerful unlike the commercial store bought salves. Keep in mind that it is an onion in name only and is not edible.
Some people have recommended the aloe Vera plant however the Aloe is good for burns. The bush onion it's several times better than the aloes. You will actually find that the bush medicines are more powerful and faster acting than the bought pharmaceuticals'.
Super Glue
Lastly we have the super glue trick. The key here is to prevent the cut from reopening every time it gets hit. You could try the "easy brush" version of super glue that Loctite sells. It's very easy to apply and almost made to order for this.
I hope you have a different insight into dealing with those paper cuts now and will input additional articles of a natural nature in the future.
