FEBRUARY 21, 2012 TURN A PAGE, CLOSE A BOOK-- TREAT A BURN

"There comes a time when you have to choose between turning the page and closing the book"

With the turn of every page, there is a new beginning. With every closing of a book or a chapter in your life, there is a new beginning. The natural ups and downs of life can either generate greater personal growth or create personal fears. In the past for me, it created personal fears. Today, it is all about personal growth. If you live with a lot of fear you will not like change. My whole philosophy in medicine is change, but I know that change often creates more fear. We all must grow up and face the fear. Some of the fear is painful.

As a physician, I try to address both the medical and psychosocial side of the problem. This is my g.o.d. chosen profession. I have turned the pages and closed the book on old friends and family. I am not a recluse. Sometimes life is just life. I moved on spiritually. I have realized that I cannot control people, places and things. Life is not a struggle but an experience. If you feel life is a struggle then you must let go of the control and stop fighting with everybody. Let life just happen. I can only live life fully by not attempting to control it. Life is continuously changing. I go with the flow. Yes there are ups and downs, and defeats and triumphs. For the last decade I have been doing it with another - now my husband. I am blessed in this lifetime to have someone who cares about me as much as I care about him. Life is good...

A burn is an injury to the tissue of the body caused by a chemical, radiation or electricity., Serous burns must always be seen by a doctor. Minor burns can be seen by a nurse or can be treated without medical attention.

There are many treatments some of which you never heard of. I love the folklore remedies like crushed blueberries, honey, or a raw potato applied directly to the burn for instant relief. The most common is to immerse the area in cool water for 10 minutes. You then can use drops of St. John's wort.

The herbs that can be used include aloe vera, marigold tincture (which is calendula) and even echinacea tincture. Some essential oils that may be used are lavender and geranium oil in a liter of cooled water that was first boiled. The homeopathic remedies have the #1 product that most people are used to. This is arnica. Urtica and hypericum and even aconite can be used. The one Bach remedy that should be used to calm the nerves is Rescue Remedy.

I was recently sent an email about using egg whites for burns. In my research I have never seen this in the scientific literature. For me it doesn't have to be in scientific literature, but I found it in no herbal, homeopathic or flower essence textbook either. The directions are to spread the egg white over the burned area after it has been cooled in cold (not freezing) water. This was due to the collagen in the egg whites.

I would rather do the other remedies which I am comfortable with and not try egg whites just yet.

Until tomorrow...