Head Wound Case (Warning: Graphic Images)

One of my recent cases, a sweet lady with a significant head wound. Only herbs were used.
Warning: Graphic images (but they get better).

Before:


After:

I spoke with her recently and she said there is now hair starting to grow from much of the scar. She's quite happy even though the new stuff is quite a bit curlier than the rest.

You can see more pictures of the process and read the details here: Head Wound Article

Comfrey, as you might expect, was the big player (as usual in these cases). Given what it needs, the body is fully capable of healing even large tissue defects.

Patrick

Nature's herbs are pretty amazing, huh? I have epilepsy and the one thing that has helped me so far is cannabis. I'm thinking about trying nitric oxide supplements. I've heard lots of good things about it. I'm glad she's healing and doing better.

Go to his blog and read the Miracle Max story. This one is even more amazing!

This story and the one about Max are incredible! I have one question - when you apply your poultices directly to a nasty wound like that, how do you clean the herbs out afterwards? Rinse with water? Also, how long do you leave the poultice on? Was there any worry that the comfrey would cause healing that was too quick and leave an abcess underneath? I've heard that can be an issue with comfrey used to heal deep wounds. Okay, that was more than one question...

Jessica Gorton wrote:This story and the one about Max are incredible! I have one question - when you apply your poultices directly to a nasty wound like that, how do you clean the herbs out afterwards? Rinse with water? Also, how long do you leave the poultice on? Was there any worry that the comfrey would cause healing that was too quick and leave an abcess underneath? I've heard that can be an issue with comfrey used to heal deep wounds. Okay, that was more than one question...

When exposed to herbs, these wounds produce prodigious amounts of goo. The herbs slide right off with the old bandage. I then wipe off the remaining goo with a surgical sponge and re-apply the poultice. Early on, I leave the poultice on 24/7. After the first week or so, I go 12 hrs on and 12 hours off with a bangdage between.

The only issue with comfrey healing wounds too quickly is with puncture wounds. THese large wounds heal from the inside out so there is no danger of trapping anything in there.

Doc

HOW does a person get a head lesion like that?

? Drug from a horse?

? Infected small wound gets bigger?

? Attempted scalping by psychopath?

Julia Winter wrote:HOW does a person get a head lesion like that?

? Drug from a horse?

? Infected small wound gets bigger?

? Attempted scalping by psychopath?

By consorting with surgeons.

She had a large skin tumor on her noggin which the surgeons removed (which was a good idea BTW!). However, being surgeons, they then wanted to do more surgery to fix the hole (when you're good with a hammer, everything looks like a nail). They wanted to take a large skin graft from her bottom and sew it to her head. This would have closed the wound but never would have grown hair. All in all, I think the herbs were a better solution in this case.

Doc

Ah, now I see the link in your post above.

That's a fascinating case. I had a vaguely similar experience (on a much smaller scale) when I suffered a third degree burn, a full thickness burn, on the dorsal surface of my thumb from the first knuckle to the second. There was no skin left - my thumb looked like a hotdog that had fallen into the fire: charred black with pink bits poking through.

Many doctors and medical texts will insist that a third degree burn can not be healed, but I healed completely. I used silvadene ointment, applied and reapplied daily. I washed it every night with sterile normal saline and I could see little islands of skin cells develop and spread, finally meeting in a new swath of skin. You can't see much difference between my two thumbs.

So I totally believe that people are capable of healing much more than modern medicine thinks they can.

Wow Doc! How in the hell did I miss this article? Jaw dropped, fucking (pardon French) amazing! I faintly wished I had a tumor on the top of my head so I can grow some of my thinning hair back.

What was the time frame for this healing? I would expect a broad shallow wound like that to close in about 4-5 months, without any interference beyond washing. What was the preparation for the poultice?

Matt Darkstar wrote:What was the time frame for this healing? I would expect a broad shallow wound like that to close in about 4-5 months, without any interference beyond washing. What was the preparation for the poultice?

The specifics are in the blog article. You are quite right that the body will heal on its own. The herbs aren't doing anything magical. The body itself is the real miracle.

The function of the herbs in these cases is twofold; to prevent infection and to accelerate the healing process a bit. I've treated hundreds of wounds like this (mostly in dogs in my veterinary practice). I find that healing time is generally decreased by about 20% and that no meds are required to manage the infection. The herb preparations are also vastly less expensive than the modern products and dressings typically used in such cases. Also, the plants are readily available and will continue to be even if modern technologies or commercial transport someday fail us.

One particularly remarkable case was a dog named Max. In his case the infection had progressed to a serious case of osteomyelitis and sepsis before I ever saw him. The herbs reversed the infection when IV antibiotics failed to do so. After that, they kept things clean and sped up the healing a bit.

For the healing acceleration in these cases, comfrey is the big player. It contains a chemical called allantoin that accelerates cell division rates. It also contains a lot of mucilage which is topically soothing and moistening.

Other important herbs are:

- Calendula: Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory
- Plantain: Draws toxins from the wound topically and helps the body to do so internally when taken orally
- Flax seed: mechanically draws fluid from the wound and is soothing topically
- Marshmallow: topically soothing and helps reverse early stages of gangrene when used topically and internally.
- Echinacea: Stimulates immunity and also stimulates production of hyaluronic acid which is the "cement" that binds cells to each other. Echinacea is fabulous for rattlesnake bites as it also contains an enzyme that inghibits the hyaluronidase in the vnom that dissolves tissue. But that's another story.


Doc

Thanks Doc, for some great information. I'm not trying to seem like an expert, I'm certainly not,but, I have used yarrow to heal deep wounds. It worked wonderfully for me. Any comment would be appreciated. Thanks

Randall Twigg wrote:Thanks Doc, for some great information. I'm not trying to seem like an expert, I'm certainly not,but, I have used yarrow to heal deep wounds. It worked wonderfully for me. Any comment would be appreciated. Thanks

Yup. Yarrow is great too. It's antimicrobial and is great for stopping bleeding. Can't tell you how many times I've had a dog come into the clinic after having been hit by a car bleeding like crazy from the nose/mouth. A squirt of yarrow tincture stops it lie flipping a switch.

Doc