My kit means that we've lots of things to hand that
can help us with first aid type situations from splinters to sickness and
bruising to bellyache.
However you don't need to buy a kit to get the benefits (although I do recommend them and wouldn't want to be without mine!) - you can just get a couple of bottles of remedies from Boots or a Health Food Shop to get you started and gradually build on it from there. I thought I'd suggest 10 remedies here that are ones I'd recommend as a starter kit...
What to start with? Arnica springs to mind as one of the most well known and with due cause (I was recently listening to a dance teacher wax lyrical about it and how she should be given shares in Arnica sales as she's always recommending it). You can buy an arnica cream as well but the remedy is one I think anyone should be well stocked up with. Great for bruising but also wonderful for helping with jet lag for those longer holidays. Good for people in shock as well - particularly where they say they're fine but clearly they aren't.
Apis, whilst we're on the A's, is another good one to have to hand - good for stings, especially insects but also burns as well - use where the skin is red and inflammed and feels better from a cold application.
Arsenicum is great to have to hand and is best known for it's use after food poisoning. Often the person may have burning pains and discharges yet feel chilly.
Belladonna is worth having for those sudden onset fevers - come on rapidly and the inflamed area/person is burning up, hot and red. A rapid pulse, they may be angry and a good keynote is that they are thirsty and may desire lemonade.
Cantharis which is thought of highly for intense burns and sunburn is well worth a mention - pains are cutting and burning. people needing it have an intense thirst but feel worse for drinking - particularly cold drinks. Also helpful in cystitis.
Hypericum is brilliant for nerve injuries - particularly to nerve rich areas such as trapping your hand/fingers in the door or falling and hurting your back. The pains feel to shoot along the nerves and are better for warmth.
Ledum - great for puncture wounds such as bites from animals and insects, area is swollen, blue and cold but feels worse for heat and better for cold applications. Also good for black eyes when that campsite game of rounders goes wrong (although thinking a friendly tennis ball shot by mistake rather than a scrap).
A holiday kit can't go without a mention of Nux Vomica - the number one hangover remedy! In fact each time I create a list of remedies - party season, holidays etc Nux Vom seems to get included. Over indulgence of food and drinks can be eased with the remedy (no place for lectures from me that maybe you shouldn't have overindulged in the first place - it is all about the holiday after all!) Good planners can take one tablet a couple of hours before going to bed for best results (although plenty are known to take it the morning after).
Rhus Tox would be your first to think of in the case of sprains and strains. Pains are usually around joints which ache and feel stiff and sore. Pain is worse on first movement but eases with continued movement.
Lastly for my group of ten is Silica which is great for helping to force out splinters, foreign bodies or hard plugs of ear wax. It does come with a warning though and is advisable not to use it if you have a pacemaker, metal pins, breast implants etc. Good also for painless wounds which are slow to heal.
When taking remedies and you've determined which you'd like to take by matching the description of the remedy to that the person is experiencing take one tablet and wait. Should symptoms improve don't take anymore until they return. If nothing happens you can repeat the remedy after a time (say around 20 minutes for acute situations) and wait. If after 4 doses of the remedy there's been no change it's worth re- looking at the symptoms and checking the remedy matched what was going on for the person.
If in doubt in a first aid situation always call for medical assistance before prescribing remedies.
However you don't need to buy a kit to get the benefits (although I do recommend them and wouldn't want to be without mine!) - you can just get a couple of bottles of remedies from Boots or a Health Food Shop to get you started and gradually build on it from there. I thought I'd suggest 10 remedies here that are ones I'd recommend as a starter kit...
What to start with? Arnica springs to mind as one of the most well known and with due cause (I was recently listening to a dance teacher wax lyrical about it and how she should be given shares in Arnica sales as she's always recommending it). You can buy an arnica cream as well but the remedy is one I think anyone should be well stocked up with. Great for bruising but also wonderful for helping with jet lag for those longer holidays. Good for people in shock as well - particularly where they say they're fine but clearly they aren't.
Apis, whilst we're on the A's, is another good one to have to hand - good for stings, especially insects but also burns as well - use where the skin is red and inflammed and feels better from a cold application.
Arsenicum is great to have to hand and is best known for it's use after food poisoning. Often the person may have burning pains and discharges yet feel chilly.
Belladonna is worth having for those sudden onset fevers - come on rapidly and the inflamed area/person is burning up, hot and red. A rapid pulse, they may be angry and a good keynote is that they are thirsty and may desire lemonade.
Cantharis which is thought of highly for intense burns and sunburn is well worth a mention - pains are cutting and burning. people needing it have an intense thirst but feel worse for drinking - particularly cold drinks. Also helpful in cystitis.
Hypericum is brilliant for nerve injuries - particularly to nerve rich areas such as trapping your hand/fingers in the door or falling and hurting your back. The pains feel to shoot along the nerves and are better for warmth.
Ledum - great for puncture wounds such as bites from animals and insects, area is swollen, blue and cold but feels worse for heat and better for cold applications. Also good for black eyes when that campsite game of rounders goes wrong (although thinking a friendly tennis ball shot by mistake rather than a scrap).
A holiday kit can't go without a mention of Nux Vomica - the number one hangover remedy! In fact each time I create a list of remedies - party season, holidays etc Nux Vom seems to get included. Over indulgence of food and drinks can be eased with the remedy (no place for lectures from me that maybe you shouldn't have overindulged in the first place - it is all about the holiday after all!) Good planners can take one tablet a couple of hours before going to bed for best results (although plenty are known to take it the morning after).
Rhus Tox would be your first to think of in the case of sprains and strains. Pains are usually around joints which ache and feel stiff and sore. Pain is worse on first movement but eases with continued movement.
Lastly for my group of ten is Silica which is great for helping to force out splinters, foreign bodies or hard plugs of ear wax. It does come with a warning though and is advisable not to use it if you have a pacemaker, metal pins, breast implants etc. Good also for painless wounds which are slow to heal.
When taking remedies and you've determined which you'd like to take by matching the description of the remedy to that the person is experiencing take one tablet and wait. Should symptoms improve don't take anymore until they return. If nothing happens you can repeat the remedy after a time (say around 20 minutes for acute situations) and wait. If after 4 doses of the remedy there's been no change it's worth re- looking at the symptoms and checking the remedy matched what was going on for the person.
If in doubt in a first aid situation always call for medical assistance before prescribing remedies.
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