Pure Naturopathy Blog

“My 9-year-old daughter fell on a kerosene heater and within seconds she was pulled off by her father. Loose skin exposed a large third-degree burn with some areas of second-degree burns. My husband calmed Kim while I gave immediate support with Bach Flower Rescue Remedy drops internally to prevent shock, then carefully applied diluted drops over the burn.

“Gene stayed with Kim while I drove nearby to gather Comfrey leaves and returned home within ten minutes. It took me another ten minutes to wash and rip the leaves into smaller pieces and blend with a half-cup of Wheat Germ oil and a half-cup of honey. I added Lobelia Inflata dried leaves to the mix and blended all the ingredients into a smooth paste.”

“Kim was calm as we spread the paste carefully over the large burned area on half of her upper and lower abdomen and some of her chest and covered the area with two layers of muslin, encircled her abdomen and rib cage with muslin, and secured the poultice with an elastic bandage. At that time about 35 minutes had passed. Kim looked at us and commented calmly, “The pain is gone.”

Farida Sharan: I had already used the trusted and proven Burn and Wound Poultice of my teacher, Dr. Raymond Christopher, to treat a younger child with severe neck and upper chest burns from boiling water that fell over him from a stove. Cathy studied his herbal treatment in the School of Natural Medicine classes she attended in Coton, and Lolworth, Cambridge, and as an apprentice in the clinic over two and one-half years. She sincerely applied the natural independently healthy lifestyle with her family and was fortunate to have had the ingredients for the Burn and Wound Poultice on hand. As a part of their studies, enthusiastic students create home first aid kits and gather essential plant materials and other necessities to have on hand in their homes.

After attending her first class, Cathy brought her daughter, Kim, five years old at the time, for a consultation because she was suffering from regular earaches, colds, and digestive symptoms. Excess cravings for dairy and tasty snacks with a fondness for ice cream were clues that inspired diet changes supported by culinary herbs and combined with Chamomile and Peppermint tea that cleared her symptoms. Cathy returned soon after to request to be a student in the school and an apprentice in the clinic.

Cathy continues: “For the next four hours we gave Kim sips of Peppermint tea and water containing drops of Rescue Remedy and Arnica tincture as she felt nauseous and threw up a little four times, a common reaction to pain and trauma. She was comfortable, did not complain of pain, and dozed between the stomach upsets.

” Farida Sharan: About 8:30 pm, I talked to Cathy on my return from the London clinic and was proud to hear of her confident response and treatment with the support of her husband in the burn accident emergency. Everything that could be done was done. I learned the next day that Kim fell asleep about 10:30 and slept peacefully until morning.

“For the next three days, Kim was in great spirits without pain. As she had no desire to eat, she drank Comfrey tea and glasses of fresh pineapple juice. She slept well, had normal bowel movements, and relaxed most of the day.”

“When my husband spoke with a medical doctor, at his work he was cautioned about the risk of infection and advised us to bring her in for a checkup. However as there was no fever, discomfort, or pain, we decided not to do this because that meant the burn paste poultice would have to be removed.”

Farida Sharan: Cathy and I were in touch daily, talking through the treatment by discussing every detail. A daily dose of one tablespoon each of Garlic, Comfrey root, and the Mullein decoction from Dr. Shook’s ‘Advanced Treatise of Herbology’ was added to Kim’s healing program to make doubly sure infection would not develop.

Cathy: “Every day we added more paste to the original paste and change the cloth dressing around the burn. On the fourth and fifth days, the only change was a slight increase in Kim’s appetite as she wanted to eat fruit with her juice and tea. When my husband was away for a week, support was given with conversations with my husband and daily talks with Farida. I received the reassurance I needed to continue full responsibility for Kim’s care.”

“On the sixth day, Kim felt itching on the skin under the wrapping. Through my holistic body system studies, I understood the kidneys had received a shock and were eliminating acidic waste through the skin. The skin is often referred to as the third kidney in natural medicine, and as a large area of her skin had been injured and was thus not functioning, this contributed to the release of toxins through the skin. There were no other signs and as the itching was only occasional, I continued to observe.”

“On the seventh day when the itching reached a peak, I gave Kim a Mullein herbal tea to calm inflamed and irritated nerves from the burn area, relieve discomfort, and encourage sleep. It worked, as Kim enjoyed a good nights’ sleep and awoke feeling fine. When I removed the cloth in the morning, pustules containing water had formed around the cloth surrounding the burn poultice.”

“I immediately knew what was wrong and removed the plastic wrap we had added to reduce leakage. The wrap had increased body heat and not allowed the skin to breathe. I bathed the skin with Chickweed tea, applied fomentation cloths soaked in the tea over the areas, and saturated the paste poultice. After that, I only used an elastic bandage to secure the poultice.”

“The role of attending natural physician carries responsibility and after I made the mistake with the plastic wrap, I was reduced to tears. Long talks with my husband and Farida reminded me of how well Kim was doing, and that there was no infection or fever. She was not in pain with a third-degree burn, and she had not needed any medication. Thanks for their support, I regained my perspective and was once more able to help my daughter with confidence.”

“The next step was to take Kim to visit Farida. Kim enjoyed being in the clinic and after our greetings, welcome and catch-up conversations, we unwrapped the burn, and Farida, with one good look, immediately noticed the thickness of the paste. We organized ourselves and carefully sliced off a layer of the paste and added a diluted version of the paste to moisten the remaining layer.”

“This is much more comfortable,” Kim commented as she with a playful smile as she showed us how easy it was to walk and move with a lighter poultice.”

“A few days passed. The pustules dried and flaked away. Sleep was natural and Kim’s appetite was normal for the first time since the accident. Her teacher visited one afternoon, but it proved too taxing. Kim was fine with accompanying me on short errands, or to visit Farida where her progress was noted, everything looked at carefully, and any problems discussed. A friend coming by to play also proved too exciting. Her body was using energy for healing, so it was important to keep her balanced emotionally and physically. I learned that rest and relaxation were essential to the healing process.”

“The next phase began in the third week when we noticed a yeasty smell. If I added a fresh layer of the blend, the smell would go away, only to return the next day. A visit with Farida, discussions over options, resulted in the decision that we needed to renew the paste. We decided to give Kim an herbal bath to encourage any paste that was ready to float off could do naturally while she was soaking in a warm herbal bath. Our priority was that the skin healing would not be disturbed.”

Farida Sharan: After thoroughly cleaning the tub, we added infusions of antiseptic, antibacterial, anti- microbial herbs of Golden Seal, Garlic and Thyme. After adding one-half cup of glycerine into the lukewarm bathwater as a softener, we slowly increased the water temperature as Kim relaxed and enjoyed her first bath since the accident.

We enjoyed being together while Kim soaked in the herbal bath infusion until all the areas but the main one had floated away. We left the small area of paste there and helped her out of the tub and reapplied the paste to the entire burn area. Talking things through, we decided the Chickweed tea might have caused the yeasty smell, or it may simply have been a message telling us it was time for the next phase.

It is important to notice, smell, touch, and listen with all the senses in order to be aware of the entire quantum event paradigm with full intelligence. Information gathered with attention presence guides wisdom action to move through the changes that the person and the treatment reveal, level by level, step by step, choice by choice, toward healing completion.

Cathy: “Back at home, two days later after applying the new paste, my husband and I soaked Kim in an herbal bath for the second time and the small, most deeply burned area released the herbal paste. After the bath, we applied only Aloe Vera Gel and Aloe Vera Activator before covering those areas with sterile non-adhering dressings, provided by the doctor my husband had spoken to at the hospital, and securing with the bandage. We moistened the entire area of the burn area with the gel and activator three to four times a day.”

“Throughout the whole fourth week, Kim attended school. She seemed to be her old self again with plenty of energy and liveliness. She was finally wearing her regular clothes and happily out of the oversized t-shirts she had been wearing for nearly a month.”

“On the third of November, just a month after she was burned, there was a complete layer of pinkish red new skin. At this time we removed all the dressings. Three or four times a day, we lightly rubbed the area with Aloe Vera Gel, Activator and Wheat Germ oil for five to ten minutes to support the healing process”.

“For the first two weeks, there was a certain amount of dead skin residue left on top of the new skin after each application of the Aloe Vera and Wheat Germ oil. During this time Kim continued taking one tablespoon a day of the Garlic, Comfrey root and Mullein decoction until January.”

“From this time until January, we applied the Aloe Vera Gel, Aloe Vera Activator, and Wheat Germ oil, three times a day to the area. As each day passed, the skin became less red, so that by the beginning of December the pinkish-red merged into white with a faint tinge of pink, a little whiter than the rest of the skin.”

“Kim understood she was not allowed to expose her abdomen and chest at any time for any length of time to the sun. Natural medicine and medical systems advise a full year needs to pass before sunlight is allowed to shine directly upon new skin. We expected the color to be restored and this proved to be true.”

“Dear Farida, I feel privileged to have found you and been allowed to study and work with you. We are fortunate to have your teachings to live and learn by as they made a difference in our family life. Thank you for always being you. Much heartfelt love, Cathy.”

The Burn Paper created by Graduate ND MH Mir, Cathy Grinstead, will be made into an ebook, at which time photos documenting the burn and healing and information on all the ingredients and protocols will be included. May all burns heal without pain.