Calendula oil for wounds, better than neosporin.

    Neosporin is kind of like a childhood memory for me. I'd fall off my bike, scrape my knees and elbows and go slather on a nice layer of Neosporin. When I started becoming more aware of what I was putting on my skin, Neosporin was one of the things I took out of my medicine cabinet. The ingredients were foreign enough that I knew I could get something more simple and natural. Here are the ingredients in Neosporin:

        Active- bacitracin, neomycin, polymycin B

        Inactive- cocoa butter, cottonseed oil, sodium pyruvate, vitamin E, white petrolatum 

   I found calendula oil as a great, natural replacement for cuts, scrapes and burns. Calendula is often called "pot marigolds" but are different from the marigolds we think of. Calendula is in the family of daisies and chrysanthemums. They have beautiful flowers and are pretty easy to grow! Calendula oil is said to, reduce swelling, help with wound/burn healing, acne, eczema, diaper rash, bruises, and sunburn....just to name a few :). Whenever one of my children has a scrape of any kind, I dab the oil on with a q-tip and cover it if needed. The oil seems to soothe their scrapes very quickly. 

    We also used to use peroxide, however some studies have said that peroxide can damage the tissue around your wound. You're better off cleaning with soap and water or a little squirt of saline solution than using peroxide. Their are mixed studies about the foaming of peroxide actually even killing bacteria, not sure the deal about that but I have stopped using it because I don't want to damage healthy tissue.  

    You can get a small bottle of calendula oil that fits perfectly in your purse or in the car, right with a box of bandages :).

It's always a part of my "mommy bag". 

~ Janet ✌