Spoon a thick layer of powdered cayenne over the affected area.

Cover with a bandage; leave on overnight. The bleeding will stop within 10 seconds. What’s more, cayenne’s anti-microbial and astringent properties will help cleanse and close the cut. You do not have to wash the cayenne out of the cut as it is healing, because the cayenne comes off with the removal of the bandage.

Note: Head wounds are characterized by their ability to bleed excessively. Don’t be alarmed. The cayenne pepper remedy even stopped the profuse bleeding from my son’s head when he fell and hit his head on the corner of a table. After the bleeding has stopped, check your child for signs of concussion and have a medical check-up to be sure there is no undetected internal hemorrhaging.

RESCUE REMEDY
I don’t have to tell you that any deep wound is as emotionally invasive as the wound itself. So I use the following natural nerve-calmer to help restore equilibrium to a child’s state of mind. If you had to go to the emergency room, this is something you can take along with you and start giving in the car on the way over.

Place 4 drops Rescue Remedy (a well known Bach Flower Essence available in most health food stores) in 2-4oz water and allow the child to sip the mixture during and after the treatment. A few undiluted drops could even be put right under the tongue.

Less serious bleeding cuts will respond to every child’s favorite:

THE BROWN PAPER BAG TRICK
For minor bleeding cuts, a brown paper bag may act as a compression bandage. It’s an old family method of stopping bleeding popular prior to the advent of plastic. Brown paper bags seemed always to be around, used for garbage, groceries and school lunches. In the same way men often stop their shaving cuts from bleeding with a bit of toilet tissue, a piece of brown paper bag can quickly be torn off to be used as a pressure bandage, applying firmly to the cut. I can remember several incidences arising with my boys, at home in the kitchen, in the supermarket, even in the car after going grocery shopping, where a quick tear from the bag became a fast first aid tool.

Make a “bandage” from brown paper torn from a grocery bag and tape or firmly hold on the cut.

Leave in place until the bleeding stops

When you know how to use simple materials found in your home, even potentially scary situations like bleeding cuts can be gently and effectively healed…although they’ll never replace the loving benefits of kissing the boo-boo along with a hug!

Copyright © 2004 Andrea Candee. All rights reserved worldwide.