Two things old timers knew, that you must know about wound care.

  I am going to share with you two things old timers knew, that you must know about wound care, especially if the patient is healing outside.

  The wounds of a person or animal all will be effected greatly be these two things. If you are not able to see a doctor or get to an air conditioned facility such as a hospital, these two things could save your life. You need to know them. I was taught by old timers to pay attention to these two very important things, so I hope you listen up. You may need the knowledge one day. I am so glad I knew what to look for when I needed it.

  Two days ago my daughter was riding her beloved pony. She isn't allowed to ride near the cows, but they weren't around when she went out to ride. I guess she thought they weren't around, so all would be fine. They had come into the front pasture where she was later on. The pony usually scares them off and they normally hang out in different pastures anyway. Thank God the faithful dog went with her. My husband had gone out to check on things and the dog’s actions alerted my husband that something wasn’t right. In the blink of an eye, the bull charged at the pair (pony and daughter) and the pony took a life saving blow for our daughter. Who, by the way, got some pretty good licks in on that bull with a riding crop. Between her blows and the dog, the bull lost. All this happened in a blink of an eye and before we knew what had happened. My husband, who was about 200 ft away was unable to stop it, though he ran to her rescue, it was over as quickly as it started. The scene ended with only a wounded pony and one ticked off 10yr. old. Don’t mess with country girls or their horses! God smiled down on us and our daughter wasn’t hurt, but we had to act fast to help the pony who had been gored pretty bad. Here’s the two things you should know that could mean life or death for you, your family/friends or your animals if someone is wounded and you cannot get medical help. This will specifically address wounds that must be treated and healed outside.

   You can see in the pictures the shoulder wound and in the top one, a ligament is hanging out. It was so deep it required three different layers of stiches. Below you can see how little blood there was as vet shaves area for stitches.

 

  1- Know the weather and protect from bugs! The weather is a major contributor for germs, pests and/or disease. We are in the thick of Mississippi and it’s August. What do you think is my first priority in wound care, besides cleaning? Bugs! Yes, flies and horse flies are going to lay eggs as soon as they can, and maggots will be all in the wound to take up residence. Even ticks will try to get a spot in an open wound. So after cleaning with (YES) peroxide once and iodine, we then pour Neem Oil right into the wound. You can pour around it if you do not feel comfortable to use on the wound. It burns like hell, but gets the job done. This oil is known world wide for repelling pests (very popular Egyptian remedy for lice) and it can actually stop the tissue from profusely bleeding by just slightly

cauterizing the tissue. It isn’t as good as clotting cloths or other remedies. It is more for bug repellent and is what we use in our garden. Old timers knew one thing you should never do in summer was to dehorn or do any other things that would open an animal up for pests in summer. With humidity and bugs, you have nothing more than a test tube for infection. You could also use Cedarwood Essential Oil . Always address this (bugs) when dealing with a wound that is going to be exposed to the outside elements in summer.  On people or animals you should also consider whether or not to cover. This is up to you. Some wounds are much better left open especially if it is humid outside. Sweat will not be your friend if the wound is covered. If it’s summer, treat for pests and consider leaving open to heal. Winter is a much better time to deal with animals and wounds if the patient will be healing outside in the elements. No bugs, less humidity, less warmth for infection to grow in. *You must reapply this or another bug repellent daily to keep the pests away. This is just as important as your daily antibiotics for an outside healing wound. Pests can be a source of infection and are just as important to fight off in summer as germs.

  Below the pony is shaved up and ready for stitches. But where's the blood? Just a drip here or there. Shouldn't it be oozing or gushing out?

 

  We called the vet because we could (amazingly) see very clearly right into the wound. It was a very deep gore that went into the shoulder and she would most likely need to be stitched up. The cut was about 8 inches long and a few inches deep. So this brings us to our next important topic for knowing how to treat wounds outside.

 

    Above the vet is numbing before stitches. Again notice the lack of blood even in the opened wound. He applied nothing to stop bleeding and neither did we. So what gives?!?!

  2- Know how to handle bleeding by the moon! If it is a planned wound, such as dehorning or a non-emergency surgery you should only do it at the right time. If not, you should know how to handle it. It can be easily judged by the moon. The moon controls the amount of blood or bleeding. God gives us the moon for signs and seasons. The moon phase was in between full and quarter. *Quarter actually looks like it's directly cut in half. This happened when it was much closer to a quarter moon, only two nights away. That kept the bleeding down to nothing. We didn't have to do anything this time for bleeding. A few drops is about all we saw. If the moon had been full she would have bled like a stuffed pig! It’s all about the magnetic pull at certain times. Nothing crazy, it’s based on real science. It’s just the pull of gravity by the moon. Just like the tides. Quarter moon is drawing all things down with greater gravity toward the center of the earth. Most babies (people or animals) are born on or near quarter moons because of this pull down. Those that are giving birth naturally, that is. Give or take a few days, it's almost always near a quarter moon. Since the accident happened on the eighth of August and the quarter moon was August 10th, the blood was almost non-existent. You can see the full, new and quarter moons on a calendar. Or check with moonconnction.com for all the info about the different phases. Full moon is the direct opposite of quarter. When it's a full moon, it pulls things up or out with a greater force and causes bleeding to be much more extreme. This would have meant we would have needed to use clotting clothes or applied pressure with alum powder (the kind used for canning) or even used a wash of white oak bark. That is only done when nothing else is available and with very good straining or you’ll leave dirt in the wound. I have used it on many wounds with success. Any of these three would do the trick, but the wound, being so deep, wound also have been extremely hard to stitch up with much bleeding. Our vet had no problem at all. This was most amazing and helpful because we had to deal with this wound at night. The wound was easily cleaned and stitched up all nice and pretty. *She did have to have antibiotics because it was a HUGE puncture wound. Anytime you are punctured by animals (or anything else really) there is a need for antibiotics because other animals and objects carry germs that can be deadly to us. Hopefully you will not ever need this information, but should you find yourself dealing with wounds on your homestead, with people or animals that will be exposed to the elements, knowing these two things will make a difference in the outcome. Remember to plan *if possible* around the weather and the moon for the best of the patient. In reality, life does not always go as planned. I hope you found this helpful. For more tips, look for our You Tube Channel, Homestead Moma or our website Homesteadmoma.com *For a chance to learn some old time skills, including basic soap making and how to use essential oils & wild herbs...Meet us at the National Preppers & Survivalists Expo in Baton Rouge, LA at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center. March 4-5th, 2017. Hope we can meet you there! See more at NPSexpo.com