Onion--My Friend!!



Any kind of onion will work!



I recently had the misfortune of making a very ungraceful spectacle

of myself in the middle of a pizza parlor...

(fortunately in a town in another state...)

We had ordered and paid for our veggie pizza

and I had filled three large glasses with ice and water

and was walking over the the sectioned-off area

where the Treasure had chosen our booth...

I had three glasses of ice water in my hands

and was looking at her

instead

of where my feet were going....

I vaguely remember there was a difference in the floor color

but I completely missed the fact that there were two steps up...

Now, you can usually recover if you miss one step,

but two?

The harder I tried to recover, the faster I went...

I couldn't even control the direction I was heading!

I must have landed on my knees first,

(due to having my hands full)

and then hit the edge of a table with my right shoulder

which flipped me over

and when I took my next (painful) breath

I was on my back side looking up

with pain shooting all over my body and

wondering what had just happened!

A couple of strangers came running...

and when I could talk again, well,

...I just started giggling!

What else is a girl to do in such a situation?



10 days after the incident...lots of healing has already happened.



I was finally able to get some ice packs for my aching knees,
and got through a few bites of supper.
We still had a horse-trailer and truck load of stuff to move into a storage unit,
but we found a store with some first aid supplies
and did the initial clean up of the rug-burn to the knee on the left.

By this time I was making a lot of old-lady noises
as moving hurt a lot!
But we had work to do, and the Man was dog-tired
and I decided to cowboy up and help him get it done.
The abrasion on the left was painful,
but the swelling and aching in the joint on the right was the worst.

Later that evening we made it to Poppa J's
and before heading to bed I decided to try a home remedy
that I had heard--and then read about--
so I sliced up an onion,
slapped the raw slices all over the right knee
and taped it all in place.
Amazingly, two hours later when I got up
to answer Mother Nature's call
the right knee swelling was all gone
and I could bear weight on it with no pain,
even going up and down stairs!
I still had bruising, and kneeling wasn't comfortable,
but it was an amazing and speedy recovery!

I couldn't bring myself to put the onion slices
over the abrasions on the left knee,
and it took three weeks for the pain and swelling
to subside in it.
(And for the road-rash to heal!)

A quote from the herbal (now out of print, but still available for a price!)
"10 Essential Herbs" by Lalitha Thomas:

In addition to the active ingredients in Onion that help it to break up fluid congestion in body tissues, such as in bruising and swelling, there is also an action that is anti-inflammatory. I have often used an Onion/Salt poultice for the infamous "water-on-the-knee" injury common to many knee twisting sports. In every case so far this self-help approach has been successful--breaking up and drawing out blood and lymph fluids with little or no inflammation to the tissues. The result has been quicker recovery . The same treatment works wonders on sprained ankles and bruised ribs. pg.227
and
Onion breaks up the congestion of many types of fluids under the skin, including blood which causes bruising, and congested lymph which causes additional swelling and pain. Use Onion as a poultice, finely chopped, blended, or sliced into a convenient form and applied directly to a fresh bruise or to an old one, or use it as a preventive measure on an area that might develop a bruise. If extra fluid-drawing power is needed, mix 1/3 to 1 equal part of table salt into the poultice. For ordinary bruises, Onion usually does the job all by itself.
Think of a slice of Onion as a quick tape-on-remedy for most small to medium size bumps and bruises. Use a full-fledged Onion poultice for larger areas of bruising...
Comfrey is a great addition to Onion in any "bruise situation." pg. 231
and
ONION/SALT POULTICE: Onion breaks up congestion and/or toxins under the skin that cause bruising, swelling, inflammation, and pain. It then helps to move the toxins out through the blood, lymph and skin. Salt adds drawing power to the Onion poultice. With this combination I have often had dramatic, overnight results in a large variety of situations, such as water-on-the-knee, twisted or jammed joints and appendages, renewed swelling of old injuiries or of surgeries done to repair those injuries, lung congestion, other organ congestion, "bumps-on-the-head" that result in large knots and /or bruises...just about any situation where you need the kinds of action Onion provides. In some situations it may be more convenient to use a plain Onion poultice without the salt mixed into it. This can work very well. The salt is mainly for extra drawing power of unwanted fluids.
Here is how to make this  poultice. Grind, or finely chop, enough Onion to cover the area to be helped. To this "Onion mush," add salt in the proportions of 2:1, that is for 1 cup of chopped onion you would add about 1/2 cup of salt. Sea salt is preferable and in any case it is best to use salt that is not iodized when possible. Pile this mixture on and/or around the joint, bruise, bump, imflammation, sprian, swelling, etc. Place it either directly onto the skin, or wrap the mixture in a thin, natural fiber cloth, if this is more convenient. If put directly onto the skin first, hold the mixture onto the area with a thin, natural fiber cloth and fasten the cloth in place with an elastic bandage or with surgical tape. Since the poultice is wet, and since you will want to keep it that way, wrap the entire area with a plastic bag or plastic wrap. Seal the edges as best you can with maksing tape or whatever you have. If you keep the skin around the poultice dry, it works well to tape the plastic wrap to the skin which usually forms an adequate seal. At least it minimizes leakage.
The best time to apply an Onion/Salt Poultice is at night so you can sleep with it on and remove it in the morning. I don't find it worth all the preparation unless it is done at a time when it can be left on for at least two hours. In removing it you may find that the Onions will have a strange odor. This is from the fluids pulled out of the area by the poultice. Have a plastic bag handy to throw the whole thing into for convenient disposal. Some People find the Onion aroma lingers on the skin. If this is unwanted, it is easily removed by washing the skin and then rubbing the affected area with lemon juice.
A one-night poultice is usually enough to clear up most conditions. For stubborn situations, such as a lont-term lung congestion or an old injury, you may repeat the poultice as needed.
There are circumstances where a heated poultice is useful, such as for lung congestion. For these times it is a simple matter to put the poultice, cloth and all, into the oven on a baking dish until it is warmed enough. It can be kept warm with a hot water bottle.
Remember, this poultice, without the salt, still works very well. The salt is there for its potent drawing popwer which is necessary when there is more that a little swelling involved...
Comfrey is an additional supplement to use with and Onion poultice...pgs. 239-40.

I do enjoy experimenting with herbal remedies,
but I don't go looking for this kind of trouble to try them on!
I am glad I remembered to try Onion in this situation,
and I will definately use it again should the need arise.
Onions are found everywhere in the world
and have many more medicinal uses than described above.

I find it very satisfying to be able to meet out first-aid needs
with natural and inexpensive medicines.