What We're Doing

That blog title rather sounds like a generic homestead update, but between all our rain and Dan’s hand, there isn’t a lot of homesteading activity going on (except for enjoying the antics of baby goats!) This post is a follow-up to my last one about Dan’s hand.

Of the two fingers that collided with the table saw, the ring finger looks really good, although where the fingernail used to be is still scabbed and tender. The middle finger is still open and draining and looks a mess. The saw sliced through quite a bit of skin which is starting to come off. Healing will be slower for that one because it has to work inside out. Both fingers are extremely sensitive to pressure and to cold.

We received no instructions for the hand other than to keep it clean and change dressings. So to support healing we’ve been focusing on good nutrition, improving circulation, and healing herbs.

Since we grow so much of our own food we eat a pretty good diet anyway. For now, we’re keeping meals light and easy to digest. Bone broth is especially rich in minerals and nutrients, so it forms a basis for daily soup. Detox tea is tasty hot or cold, and makes a nice beverage any time of the day. Here’s the recipe.

• 2 parts dandelion root (cleansing, anti-inflammatory, liver tonic)
• 1 part each of 

• burdock root (blood purifier)
• cardamom seed (digestive, liver, and gall bladder support)
• ginger root (circulatory stimulant, antiseptic)
• pau d’arco bark (anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory)
• cinnamon bark (antiseptic, kidney tonic)
• clove buds (antiviral, antibiotic, antioxident, aids digestion)
• fennel seeds (circulatory stimulant, anti-inflammatory, kidney support)
• licorice root (detoxifier, anti-inflammatory)
• juniper berries (facilitates removal of acid wastes from urine)
• black peppercorns (antioxident, antiseptic, aids digestion)
• uva ursi leaf (bladder and kidney support)
• horsetail (anti-inflammatory, tissue healer, source of minerals)
• parsley leaf and root (anti-inflammatory, immune booster)
• orange peel (bioflavinoids, kidney support, tonic)

To make a decoction (tea of roots, bark, and berries) an ounce of dried herbs is added to a pint of cold water. It helps to soak the herbs in the water for several hours. Then heat to boiling and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool and strain.

I mix this about half and half with green tea which is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, improves blood circulation, and promotes wound healing.

Good circulation is important because it’s the blood that carries nutrients and healing elements to the wound and carries waste products away. Exercise helps here, both walking and working the hand and fingers as best he can.

Hot and cold treatments improve circulation. How? Think of how flushed the skin can become when you’re hot and how it turns blue when you’re cold. Heat forces the blood to the skin and extremities; cold forces it back into the core of the body. Alternating hot and cold promotes circulation. I also give Dan what I call “circulation tea” made from cayenne pepper powder and ginger root powder. Cayenne promotes circulation by strengthening the pumping action of the heart, and ginger promotes circulation in the capillaries.

Another herb that is helpful for circulation is garlic. Plus it’s a powerful antibiotic and antiviral. Dan makes himself a drink of raw garlic and ginger in tomato juice every day.

To promote healing Dan applies an herbal salve during the day called Dy’s Liquid Bandage. It is actually a veterinary product, but it contains healing ingredients we also use on ourselves: olive oil, beeswax, golden seal (antibiotic, anti-inflammatory), bee pollen (immune booster, antibiotic), yarrow (stimulates circulation), aloe vera (anti-fungal, tonic, promotes wound healing), vitamin E (antioxident, promotes healing), tea tree oil (anti-fungal, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory), propolis (antibiotic, antiviral, promotes wound healing), calendula (antiseptic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, promotes wound healing), and honey (antibacterial, anti-inflammatory). It was on sale in January so I ordered some to have on hand. Little did I know then how quickly we would need it. It protects and helps heal the wound plus keeps it from drying out.

At night we’re doing a Bone, Flesh, & Cartilage fomentation. A fomentation is wrapping an area in a cotton cloth soaked in a strong concentration of herbal decoction.

Equal parts of:

• white oak bark (antiseptic)
• marshmallow root (wounds and skin ulcerations)
• mullein (wound healing, kidney support, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory)
• wormwood (antibiotic, antiseptic)
• lobelia (anti-infective, a catalyst for other herbs)
• scullcap (nervine)
• comfrey root (promotes cell growth and wound healing, nutrient rich)
• black walnut bark (anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, rich in minerals)
• gravel root (immune stimulant, solvent for unwanted mineral deposits)

This is also made into a decoction made the same way as the Detox Tea above. After it’s strained it is simmered down to about half it’s original volume and cooled. The fomentation is applied at night, six nights a week. We wrap the BF&C soaked cloths around the fingers, wrap with plastic wrap, and cover the hand with a clean sock. BF&C tincture internally rounds out the routine.

So that’s our daily routine. Of course, anyone who’s had a severe injury knows how slow healing is, and how hard it is not to become discouraged. But I have to say that the response to our GoFundMe for Dan’s medical expenses has been extremely encouraging, not to mention humbling. I hope you could tell from “A Message From Dan” what a difference it’s made for him. To have so many people we’ve never met respond so willingly and generously has given him hope. And to have so many people praying for him has given him peace of mind. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.