Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Good morning, In 3 years since going raw I haven't had to visit a doctor, but yesterday I was stung by a wasp while trying to remove a ground nest and it appears to have become infected. The sting is on top of my left wrist and in the 24 hours since it occurred I've experienced swelling about 12 inches up the arm (toward the elbow). It is 5 AM here on the East coast and our holistic doctor won't be open for a few more hours anyway so I thought I'd ask if anyone can recommend a remedy. I know that garlic and onion are generally considered antibiotic, but kill bacteria indiscriminately (good or bad ones). Is there something else that would act quickly so the swelling doesn't spread further, yet won't do collateral harm to my raw constitution? Thank you. Nickolas Hein Morgantown WV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Perhaps Ice? It's good for keeping most other varieties of swelling down in the first few days of an injury (as my naturopath has suggested in the past). Best wishes and speedy recovery! -Heather/starrrie Nick <nick.hein wrote: Good morning, In 3 years since going raw I haven't had to visit a doctor, but yesterday I was stung by a wasp while trying to remove a ground nest and it appears to have become infected. The sting is on top of my left wrist and in the 24 hours since it occurred I've experienced swelling about 12 inches up the arm (toward the elbow). It is 5 AM here on the East coast and our holistic doctor won't be open for a few more hours anyway so I thought I'd ask if anyone can recommend a remedy. I know that garlic and onion are generally considered antibiotic, but kill bacteria indiscriminately (good or bad ones). Is there something else that would act quickly so the swelling doesn't spread further, yet won't do collateral harm to my raw constitution? Thank you. Nickolas Hein Morgantown WV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Heather, Thanks for the quick reply. I've been putting ice on it since I got up this morning (about 2 hours ago). That's eased the discomfort but I'm concerned that the infection may continue to spread if I don't do something. I'm finding it hard to trust my body to take care of things itself in time in this case. It may be that I don't need to do anything else, but that's not an easy thing to know. Nickolas Hein Morgantown WV - Heather Andersen RawSeattle Monday, August 30, 2004 5:36 AM Re: [RawSeattle] Infected wasp sting Perhaps Ice? It's good for keeping most other varieties of swelling down in the first few days of an injury (as my naturopath has suggested in the past). Best wishes and speedy recovery! -Heather/starrrie Nick <nick.hein wrote: Good morning, In 3 years since going raw I haven't had to visit a doctor, but yesterday I was stung by a wasp while trying to remove a ground nest and it appears to have become infected. The sting is on top of my left wrist and in the 24 hours since it occurred I've experienced swelling about 12 inches up the arm (toward the elbow). It is 5 AM here on the East coast and our holistic doctor won't be open for a few more hours anyway so I thought I'd ask if anyone can recommend a remedy. I know that garlic and onion are generally considered antibiotic, but kill bacteria indiscriminately (good or bad ones). Is there something else that would act quickly so the swelling doesn't spread further, yet won't do collateral harm to my raw constitution? Thank you. Nickolas Hein Morgantown WV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 *nod* Thinking about it more I remember my ND having me drink cold-infusions of Melissa (lemon balm) which she said would work as a gentle antibiotic. I did, and got well, though I know that I cannot always attribute healing to the foods I eat. It tasted good as well! I picked a handfull (growing in my garden), washed them in clean water and then soaked in a 1 litre bottle overnight, then drank the resulting " tea " .If you happen to have it in the garden I don't think it would hurt! I also remember her having me take nettles to help with this too. Got any around? I'm off to burningman in a few short hours, so I must sleep. Best wishes to you! If I meet David Wolfe (his site says he'll be there) I'll try to ask him! -Heather/starrrie Nick <nick.hein wrote: Heather, Thanks for the quick reply. I've been putting ice on it since I got up this morning (about 2 hours ago). That's eased the discomfort but I'm concerned that the infection may continue to spread if I don't do something. I'm finding it hard to trust my body to take care of things itself in time in this case. It may be that I don't need to do anything else, but that's not an easy thing to know. Nickolas Hein Morgantown WV - Heather Andersen RawSeattle Monday, August 30, 2004 5:36 AM Re: [RawSeattle] Infected wasp sting Perhaps Ice? It's good for keeping most other varieties of swelling down in the first few days of an injury (as my naturopath has suggested in the past). Best wishes and speedy recovery! -Heather/starrrie Nick <nick.hein wrote: Good morning, In 3 years since going raw I haven't had to visit a doctor, but yesterday I was stung by a wasp while trying to remove a ground nest and it appears to have become infected. The sting is on top of my left wrist and in the 24 hours since it occurred I've experienced swelling about 12 inches up the arm (toward the elbow). It is 5 AM here on the East coast and our holistic doctor won't be open for a few more hours anyway so I thought I'd ask if anyone can recommend a remedy. I know that garlic and onion are generally considered antibiotic, but kill bacteria indiscriminately (good or bad ones). Is there something else that would act quickly so the swelling doesn't spread further, yet won't do collateral harm to my raw constitution? Thank you. Nickolas Hein Morgantown WV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Hi Nick, Sorry to hear about your encounter. I understand it's hard to get over the idea that we have to assist the body when it's trying to overcome a problem, especially when we're suffering. It helps to understand what's going on. Your injury is not " infected " . The body rushes fluids to the area to dilute the poisons, while it ushers them into your bloodstream, on to your organs of elimination and out of your body. To control the circulation in the area with ice or remedies is to stop the body from doing what it needs to do. You can see how this course of action would actually slow down your healing, rather than help it. To speed healing, it is important that you get out of the way, by resting (and slightly elevating) the affected area, and NOT EATING. When we do have an injury that gets " infected " , the reason is that the bloodstream is so polluted with the waste products of undigested food that the cells can't function like they're supposed to, which complicates and slows healing. Bacteria come along to eat the waste in a cooperative attempt to purify the bloodstream, and they get falsely accused of causing the mess. The real culprit is the waste. Hope this catches you before you go off to the doctor. Take care! Nora Nick wrote: > Heather, > Thanks for the quick reply. I've been putting ice on it since I got up this morning (about 2 hours ago). That's eased the discomfort but I'm concerned that the infection may continue to spread if I don't do something. I'm finding it hard to trust my body to take care of things itself in time in this case. It may be that I don't need to do anything else, but that's not an easy thing to know. > > Nickolas Hein > Morgantown WV > - > Heather Andersen > RawSeattle > Monday, August 30, 2004 5:36 AM > Re: [RawSeattle] Infected wasp sting > > Perhaps Ice? It's good for keeping most other varieties of swelling down in the first few days of an injury (as my naturopath has suggested in the past). > > Best wishes and speedy recovery! > > -Heather/starrrie > > Nick <nick.hein wrote: > Good morning, > In 3 years since going raw I haven't had to visit a doctor, but yesterday I was stung by a wasp while trying to remove a ground nest and it appears to have become infected. The sting is on top of my left wrist and in the 24 hours since it occurred I've experienced swelling about 12 inches up the arm (toward the elbow). It is 5 AM here on the East coast and our holistic doctor won't be open for a few more hours anyway so I thought I'd ask if anyone can recommend a remedy. I know that garlic and onion are generally considered antibiotic, but kill bacteria indiscriminately (good or bad ones). Is there something else that would act quickly so the swelling doesn't spread further, yet won't do collateral harm to my raw constitution? > > Thank you. > > Nickolas Hein > Morgantown WV > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Hey Nick, Are you sure it is an infection ? That quickly after the sting, I would guess that it is an alergic reaction to the wasp venom, rather than an infection per se. I've had numerous stings over the years result in moderate to severe swelling, with the last incident involving hives, indicating the beginings of anaphylactic shock. Pretty scary. My reactions have gradually gotten worse for each sting over the years. Most allopatic treaments range from antihistamenes to ease the results of the bodies immune responses/swelling symptoms, to epinephrine injections for severe life threatening anaphylactic shock. Reactions to bee stings can be pretty severe to life threatening. For my last incident mentioned above, I was on a mountain bike ride (alone, not very wise), about 6 miles away from the end of the ride via mostly deserted dirt roads, when I got a yellow jacket caught in my jersey, which subsequently stung me on the chest and after a few minutes of swelling, I started to get hives. Knowing that adenulin is prescribed in servere reactions, I started riding real hard, like I was in a race, trying to stimulate my own natural adrenulin. It seemed to work, as the hives went away after a few minutes of race pace - not sure if this is recomended or not in such circumstances. I probably should carry an anti-venom/epinephrine kit for such a case. Can probably do some web searches to get some herbs that have antihistaminal properties, here is one I found pretty quickly: http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/41/67.cfm Some natural herbs listed in this article are basil, echinacea, fennel, fig, ginkgo, grapefruit, passionflower, tarragon, tea, thyme and yarrow. David On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 05:40:45 -0400, Nick <nick.hein wrote: > Heather, > Thanks for the quick reply. I've been putting ice on it since I got up this morning (about 2 hours ago). That's eased the discomfort but I'm concerned that the infection may continue to spread if I don't do something. I'm finding it hard to trust my body to take care of things itself in time in this case. It may be that I don't need to do anything else, but that's not an easy thing to know. > > Nickolas Hein > Morgantown WV > - > Heather Andersen > RawSeattle > Monday, August 30, 2004 5:36 AM > Re: [RawSeattle] Infected wasp sting > > Perhaps Ice? It's good for keeping most other varieties of swelling down in the first few days of an injury (as my naturopath has suggested in the past). > > Best wishes and speedy recovery! > > -Heather/starrrie > > Nick <nick.hein wrote: > Good morning, > In 3 years since going raw I haven't had to visit a doctor, but yesterday I was stung by a wasp while trying to remove a ground nest and it appears to have become infected. The sting is on top of my left wrist and in the 24 hours since it occurred I've experienced swelling about 12 inches up the arm (toward the elbow). It is 5 AM here on the East coast and our holistic doctor won't be open for a few more hours anyway so I thought I'd ask if anyone can recommend a remedy. I know that garlic and onion are generally considered antibiotic, but kill bacteria indiscriminately (good or bad ones). Is there something else that would act quickly so the swelling doesn't spread further, yet won't do collateral harm to my raw constitution? > > Thank you. > > Nickolas Hein > Morgantown WV > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Hi Nick, Homeopathic " Apis " is a terrific aid for stings. My son reacts similarly to what you've described, and Apis prevents big reactions. It doesn't mask the symptoms, either, but aids the body in it's own defense. You can find homeopathics at many health food stores, and elsewere. Let me know if you want to know more about it. Tina RawSeattle , " Nick " <nick.hein@v...> wrote: > Good morning, > In 3 years since going raw I haven't had to visit a doctor, but yesterday I was stung by a wasp while trying to remove a ground nest and it appears to have become infected. The sting is on top of my left wrist and in the 24 hours since it occurred I've experienced swelling about 12 inches up the arm (toward the elbow). It is 5 AM here on the East coast and our holistic doctor won't be open for a few more hours anyway so I thought I'd ask if anyone can recommend a remedy. I know that garlic and onion are generally considered antibiotic, but kill bacteria indiscriminately (good or bad ones). Is there something else that would act quickly so the swelling doesn't spread further, yet won't do collateral harm to my raw constitution? > > Thank you. > > Nickolas Hein > Morgantown WV > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Nora, Thanks for the quick response. I just got back from the doctor (a bike riding acquaintance and holistic specialist who has just recovered from cancer) and after expressing my distrust of commercial chemical medicines, was prescribed Russtox tablets. I had some in liquid form at home from a prior poison ivy encounter. They prescribed 5 of the tablets 3 times a day, and to put the liquid on the surface. Your recommendation sounds sensible. I understand that resting and fasting will free more energy for healing, however it also seems from your explanation that exercising would increase blood flow and speed elimination of toxins. In the past (pre-raw) I've found that I recover from colds quicker when I'm exercising as long as it isn't too strenuous. Would green juice be a good idea? If not I assume plenty of water would be helpful. Someone else on the list had expressed the opinion that I might be having an alergic reaction, but from what I read during some quick research it doesn't appear to be. Thanks again. Nickolas Hein Morgantown WV - Nora Lenz RawSeattle Monday, August 30, 2004 10:10 AM Re: [RawSeattle] Infected wasp sting Hi Nick, Sorry to hear about your encounter. I understand it's hard to get over the idea that we have to assist the body when it's trying to overcome a problem, especially when we're suffering. It helps to understand what's going on. Your injury is not " infected " . The body rushes fluids to the area to dilute the poisons, while it ushers them into your bloodstream, on to your organs of elimination and out of your body. To control the circulation in the area with ice or remedies is to stop the body from doing what it needs to do. You can see how this course of action would actually slow down your healing, rather than help it. To speed healing, it is important that you get out of the way, by resting (and slightly elevating) the affected area, and NOT EATING. When we do have an injury that gets " infected " , the reason is that the bloodstream is so polluted with the waste products of undigested food that the cells can't function like they're supposed to, which complicates and slows healing. Bacteria come along to eat the waste in a cooperative attempt to purify the bloodstream, and they get falsely accused of causing the mess. The real culprit is the waste. Hope this catches you before you go off to the doctor. Take care! Nora Nick wrote: > Heather, > Thanks for the quick reply. I've been putting ice on it since I got up this morning (about 2 hours ago). That's eased the discomfort but I'm concerned that the infection may continue to spread if I don't do something. I'm finding it hard to trust my body to take care of things itself in time in this case. It may be that I don't need to do anything else, but that's not an easy thing to know. > > Nickolas Hein > Morgantown WV > - > Heather Andersen > RawSeattle > Monday, August 30, 2004 5:36 AM > Re: [RawSeattle] Infected wasp sting > > Perhaps Ice? It's good for keeping most other varieties of swelling down in the first few days of an injury (as my naturopath has suggested in the past). > > Best wishes and speedy recovery! > > -Heather/starrrie > > Nick <nick.hein wrote: > Good morning, > In 3 years since going raw I haven't had to visit a doctor, but yesterday I was stung by a wasp while trying to remove a ground nest and it appears to have become infected. The sting is on top of my left wrist and in the 24 hours since it occurred I've experienced swelling about 12 inches up the arm (toward the elbow). It is 5 AM here on the East coast and our holistic doctor won't be open for a few more hours anyway so I thought I'd ask if anyone can recommend a remedy. I know that garlic and onion are generally considered antibiotic, but kill bacteria indiscriminately (good or bad ones). Is there something else that would act quickly so the swelling doesn't spread further, yet won't do collateral harm to my raw constitution? > > Thank you. > > Nickolas Hein > Morgantown WV > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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