Questions and Answers about Essential Oils:

Healing an Injured Knee

This weekend I had a couple of small “accidents” that made me so grateful for my home first aid kit and Reiki!  Saturday, while walking my dog Tilly, I tripped and landed with full force on my left knee.  I knew it could be serious, as I felt it swelling quickly. I sat down immediately and applied Reiki directly for about 5 minutes, until I could feel the pain and inflammation recede. My sweet little dog was confused, but after a minute lay down in front of me and waited.  We were able to continue our walk, though I made it a short one.  I mostly rested it that day, and took Arnica homeopathic remedy as soon as I got home to help relieve the swelling and bruising.  I also took Rescue Remedy, a flower essence that is excellent for any physical or emotional trauma or stress.  It helped my body release the trauma quickly, so the healing can begin quickly.

I continued to give Reiki to my knee off and on all day, iced it, and took Arnica 30C a few more times before bed. When I woke the next morning, I had no pain at all!  I could see and feel a bruise where I’d landed, but I could tell it was mostly healed already and that it would continue to resolve easily.

Remedies to Keep on Hand

• Rescue Remedy – I carry a bottle of drops in my purse, have one in my medicine cabinet, and always travel with it as well. It is invaluable for any situation where you have a physical trauma (accident, cut, burn, fall…) and for an emotional stress or trauma as well (frightening news, an accident, any kind of shock, etc) Costs about $10-15/bottle.
• Arnica 30c Homeopathic Remedy – this is excellent for anything involving bruising or swelling, especially if you start when you first become aware of it.  It can be taken if you sprain or strain a muscle, fall or have an accident with any force, before and after many medical or dental procedures (surgery, tooth removal, etc.)  Costs about $10-15/bottle.
• Flexible frozen ice pack – you can reuse these flexible ice packs endlessly. It helps when you need to apply ice to a curved part of the body, which applies to most parts! If you don’t have one in the freezer, frozen vegetables work well too (peas, corn…) Costs about $5-10 for a reusable ice pack.
• Reiki! Once you have taken a Reiki class and are attuned, you have the healing energies of Reiki available to you forever.  This universal healing force is available at all times, at no cost and has amazing abilities to bring healing on the emotional, physical and spiritual levels.  The sooner a trauma is addressed, the easier and faster it is to heal.  See here for more about learning Reiki to use for healing yourself and others.
• Lavender Essential Oil – this is an all around fabulous healing oil for so many things! It is excellent applied directly to the skin for burns, small scrapes and bug bites.  It also helps to relax, can be used at bedtime to calm and create a relaxed environment for sleep. It’s an adaptogen, meaning it will give you what you need, so if you need to wake up and have more energy, it can help with that as well. Therapeutic grade, organic essential oils are important – Young Living is one brand I use and recommend.  See here for more about using Essential Oils. To order Young Living brand essential oils, sign up as a member and use my member number: 553228.
• Coconut Oil – this is excellent for the skin, for soothing and moisturizing dry skin.  It’s a good soothing, healing oil, useful for burns and small cuts and I’ve known people to use it for healing tattoos too. I also use it for cooking and put a big spoonful in my morning smoothie, as it has so many health benefits I can’t list them all here.  I like to use organic, raw and unrefined coconut oil. If you don’t  like the coconut smell and taste, you can use the refined coconut oil on your skin or in cooking.

Healing a Burn

The next evening, I was hungry and in a hurry, and reached in to the (hot!) toaster to retrieve a small piece of delicious nut/seed bread. Somehow my thumb pressed onto a burning hot piece of metal, and I leapt back quickly. I immediately stuck it under running cold water, as my thumb had searing pain. i could tell right away this was a worse burn than I’ve had before from just quickly touching a rack in the oven, as the cold water didn’t begin to take away the burning sensation.

Next, I got an ice cube wrapped in a clean paper towel and applied that, while I went to get my Lavender Essential Oil. I applied a couple drops of Lavender Oil directly to the area – I could see the skin raised and red about a half inch long.  It started to cool and the pain started to subside.  Again, I took Rescue Remedy, as when we have physical pain, our body registers it as trauma and shock.  I gave Reiki around my thumb, without touching the skin since it was tender, and continued off and on whenever it started to heat up. About an hour later it was much better, but still burning when I took off the ice, and I was concerned about being able to sleep comfortably.  I put another drop of Lavender EO on it, and also some pure coconut oil, which brought some soothing relief.

I gave Reiki to my thumb and did a full Reiki treatment on myself before going to sleep.  I do this most days anyway, but felt it was especially important after these two separate accidents! I clearly wasn’t being very present and aware in my movement, and an overall Reiki treatment helps me get more grounded, more relaxed, and more “in” my body.

When I woke the next morning, I had NO pain, and it was still a tiny bit red and raised, but MUCH less than the night before.  Today, the second day, it looks like this, and it’s hard to see.

One day later, the burn is almost completely healed!

I hope these simple remedies are helpful to you! They’ve been my daily companions for many years and I am so grateful to have them. I’d love to hear if you would share your own remedies that you find especially helpful.