A man came into my consulting room recently who has three open ulcers around his right ankle. They are dressed and bandaged by a nurse twice a week and are extremely painful to touch. It's been five months since he had a mosquito bite on his ankle, which didn't heal completely before he broke his ankle and the affected area was then encased in plaster. The ankle itself has set but the skin around the bite site is puffy and mottled and has developed into open weeping ulcers. The only relief he gets is to put an ice pack around the ankle, on top of the dressings.
Over the years in my practice I have seen many such ulcers and noticed how very difficult they are to deal with once the skin is so damaged. The man is 65, a bachelor who smokes and drinks heavily. Well, you might say, he isn't helping his body to heal up by putting these extra strains on his organs. I do agree but we can also see this behaviour as part of his symptoms. Desire for stimulants is so strong that even in the face of pain and life restrictions his mind makes excuses for why it's perfectly OK to continue with his addictions.
PRESSURE ULCER
I was reminded of two remedies; one which would have been of great use to him at the time of the bite and also later on, and a second which will be my part of my prescription for him right now.
The first is Ledum, made from Wild Rosemary, a small evergreen shrub with tiny white flowers that contain an antiseptic camphor like oil. This is one of the homeopathic first aid kit for holidays and should be taken internally following a bite or sting, where the skin becomes puffy and mottled and where a cold flannel or compress relieves the itching and discomfort. Topically, use Bite and Sting mixture which also contains Ledum as well as other anti itch, anti inflammatory remedies and is a good investment for your kit. It can be purchased at any good health food shop or pharmacy.
Ledum is also given following any 'puncture wound' such as stepping on a nail, a prick from a thorn, an injection or vaccination, if there has been some ill effect. Of course, these days we also choose to have an anti tetanus job, just in case - but don't let that stop you using the Ledum as the two approaches work in tandem.
A classic Ledum person gets easily cross, irritable and tends to avoid company. Think of the old Dickensian cartoons of a big gouty man with his foot in a bucket of ice water, shouting at everyone to help him... swigging away at the whisky bottle.
The second remedy would be a very old fashioned medicine made from gunpowder, put through the pharmaceutical process of course so that only the energy of the substance remains. However, this has proven to be extremely effective for old wounds that simply will not heal up and is a good place to begin in cases such as this.
Once the skin has begun to recover then I will consider Ledum for this gentleman and will expect to see, over time, his desire for alcohol will diminish.
Homeopathy is such a marvellous system. Non invasive, gentle and yet extremely powerful. Look around at the people you know, each of them has likes and dislikes, habits and desires that can also be found in a medicine, and it is exactly that medicine which can help to rebalance their health and bring it back to its own optimum state.
Bites and Chronic Ulcer Treatment PRESSURE ULCER
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