Stop Infection and Speed Healing of Cuts and Scrapes.

Red alert!
The sight of blood is always alarming, particularly when it's your own. Chop your thumb along with the carrots or take a spill from your bike and scrape a knee, and the first thing you want is for the bleeding (and the pain) to stop.

If you have an inadvertent incision that needs some TLC, you can try any combination of these alternative home remedies.

CALENDULA: Spray-On Relief
After washing the wound, use a nonalcoholic calendula spray, says Beverly Yates, N.D., a naturopathic physician and director of the Natural Health Care Group in Seattle. "It helps stop infection and aids in healing," she says. Apply the calendula three or four times a day, always lightly re bandaging the wound when you're finished. "You want to protect the wound but also allow as much air as possible to reach it," says Dr. Yates.

MASSAGE: To Calm You
A cut can shock your system, particularly if it's a little bit deep and bloody. To calm yourself (or someone else who's been cut), place the palm of one hand on your forehead and the palm of the other on the back of your head so that your palms are at the same level and facing each other. Keep your hands in place for 30 to 60 seconds while taking a few deep breaths.
"There are points on the head called emotional stress points, and this technique gently stimulates them and calms you down," says Kate Montgomery, a licensed massage therapist in San Diego. You can use this technique not just for cuts, she says, but also anytime that you've had a physical shock and need to calm yourself.

HOMEOPATHY: Arnica to Speed Healing
Dissolve two pellets of the 6C potency of Arnica montana under your tongue up to four times a day for up to 4 days, says Dr. Yates. "This is the best homeopathic remedy for any kind of minor trauma to the skin, such as a cut, scrape, or bruise," says Dr. Yates. "It reduces swelling and speeds healing." She advises anyone who is physically active to carry Arnica with them at all times.

AROMATHERAPY: To Fight Infection
Put three drops each of bergamot, lavender, frankincense, and lemon essential oils and one drop of myrrh essential oil in 1 ounce of carrier oil such as sweet almond or jojoba, says Kal Kotecha, an aroma therapist in Waterloo, Ontario. Apply the mixture to the cut or scrape.
All of the oils in this formula are thought to fight infection, says Kotecha. Lemon oil helps stop bleeding, bergamot helps relieve pain and aids the skin in regenerating, lavender also helps stop pain and speed healing, and frankincense and myrrh calm the system. CALENDULA: Soften Scars with Salve
If you're prone to the large, moundlike scars called keloids, buy some calendula salve to use on the wound. It will help to soften or possibly lessen the scar, says Dr. Yates. Apply the salve twice daily to the scar for 2 to 4 weeks after the wound has healed and a scab has formed.

A Herbal Cream Treatment.
This homemade herbal cream is "magic" for scratches, scrapes, shallow cuts, small bites, bruises, or small first or second-degree burns, says Pamela Fischer, founder and director of the Ohlone Center for Herbal Studies in Concord, California.
All three herbal ingredients are thought to help to soothe pain, reduce swelling, and speed healing. A cream works better than other healing mediums, says Fischer, because it lets the herbal medicine stay next to the wound. Here are her step-by-step directions for making your own Boo-Boo Cream. Apply it three or four times a day or as needed for minor irritation and abrasions.

I. Combine equal parts of dried comfrey root, calendula flower, and plantain.

2. Grind the herbs in a clean coffee grinder. (Fischer recommends that you invest in a coffee grinder that you can dedicate to grinding herbs.)

3. Pour the mixture into a jar.

4. Add enough extra-virgin olive oil to cover the herbs, measuring the number of ounces that you use for later reference. The plant material may float to the surface, so you may have to put something on top of the herb mixture to weigh it down. Fischer suggests using a few clean stones.

5. Cover the jar and let the mixture sit for a week. 6. After a week, strain the mixture through a piece of cheesecloth or an old, clean T-shirt into another jar. There should be no plant material in the new jar.

7. Put a saucepan on the stove over low heat and grate beeswax into the pan until the wax is completely melted. Use ¼  to ½  ounce of wax for each ounce of olive oil that you used for the herbs.

8. Pour the melted wax into the jar of oil.

9. Pour that mixture into a small salve jar and let it "set up;' or harden, for I hour, says Fischer. Once it's hardened, close the jar tightly. "Store the cream in your first-aid kit," she says.