Burn Update: 1 lesson learned

So, my hand has healed very well from my nasty burn on Monday and something very surprising happened when I stopped applying lavender... On Monday and Tuesday I put lavender on my burn site regularly - no blister.  On Wednesday and Thursday morning I didn't apply any lavender.  By Thursday afternoon I had started to develop a small flat blister pocket on the palm of my hand.  As soon as I realized that I was getting a blister I have been putting lavender on it a few times a day and the size has gotten slightly smaller and it has stayed very flat with almost no fluid inside.  The blister is unlike other blisters that I have had in that it has not interfered with my use of my hand.  The lack of fluid is pretty remarkable.

In summary, this is what I learned from this experience:

To avoid big puffy fluid filled blisters, apply lavender until the burn has completely healed.

Well, thats all folks!  Oh.. and if you are scratching your head and saying? "Burn? What Burn?" Please read my previous post on my wicked burn.   

Burns + Lavender = No Blisters!

 Ok, I know I promised to blog about everything mom related… not just lavender…. But I just cannot pass the opportunity to share this crazy thing that I did yesterday and how lavender saved me from a lot of agony.

Last night I was cooking with a skillet that I had put in the oven at 410 degrees Fahrenheit—you see where this is going don’t you?  I pulled the skillet out, tossed my oven mitt to the side, checked the temperature of my meat, and you guessed it – I grabbed the handle of the skillet with my bare hand.  Yowzer!  It hurt a lot.  This was by far my dumbest and most painful burn of my life.  At the moment, I was sure that my hand was going to be totally unusable for days.  Luckily I was wrong, thanks to the heroine of this story, dun, dun, dun, Lavender!

Thanks to lavender, what I have to tell you now is pretty unbelievable.   Are you ready?

I do not have a single blister on my hand!

You are probably sitting there thinking, “come on Mumma Lavender get a grip, that burn must not have been that bad”.  Actually, this was a really bad burn.  The pain was excruciating for hours.  It was so severe that I thought that I would not be able to fall asleep AT ALL.

 This picture is from 12 hours after grabbing the skillet.  The burn area actually stretches from the first knuckle from each of my fingertips all the way to the bottom of my palm to the base of my thumb.  My pinky was pretty much spared.  Right now my skin is shiny and warped in some places, but in others you can’t even see that I was burned.  In fact, my ring finger and palm were the areas that hurt the most.  Now you cannot even see that my ring finger was part of the burn area.  Thank you lavender!

So why does this all matter?  I am so glad you asked…

I always assumed that bad burn = bad blister = ripped off skin = lots-of-pain-for-days-and-days.  It was the natural order of things.  Now I realize that blisters don’t have to be a way of life!  No blister = no raw skin = no infection!  I probably will not even get a scar.  Lavender is making this burn heal very fast.

This also means that one day post burn, when baby Max stood up WITHOUT-HOLDING-ON-TO-ANYTHING-FOR-THE-FIRST-TIME-EVER I was able to clap with all my might!

So now, I’ll get to the specifics of what I did to prevent blister mayhem all over my hand.

As soon as I realized that I had burnt my hand, I did what most people do – I ran my hand under cool water for a few minutes.

Next, I gently spread several drops of lavender all over my burn.

Finally, I filled a bowl with water, 4-5 drops of lavender, and a few ice cubes.  I used this to keep a small washcloth constantly moist with cool water by dipping it in and wringing it out periodically.  I spread the wet towel over my burn.

I basically used this cool compress all evening until I was ready to go to bed.  I also reapplied lavender directly to my burn under the compress once every hour or so.

When it was time to go to bed I was actually afraid because every time I took the compress off my hand the pain started to intensify incredibly quickly.  My hand looked all right but it felt like I was still gripping that hot pan.  I really thought I would not get any sleep until I remembered something: I have an Aloe plant!

So I broke off a piece (actually my husband did because I was pretty useless at this stage) and spread the inside goo and fibers onto my hand over a fresh application of lavender.   The coolness and moisture of the plant kept my pain at a much more tolerable level and I was able to sleep - A deep lavender sleep -which I had also put under my toes of course ;)

Disclosure:  I am not a doctor, just a mere mortal that uses essential oils for everything.  I am also a Young Living distributor (#3126359) and my statements have not been certified by the FDA.  If you are considering using essential oils, please do your research on which oils are healthy and safe for therapeutic uses.  Not all oils are created equal.

Blister-Be-Gone?

If you have ever gotten a blister, pay close attention!  A few days ago I had two bulging blisters on the tops of my toes.  While working on this blog, singing the praises of lavender it occurred to me that I had read that lavender could treat blisters. So I gave it a try. 

I put a drop of lavender on my finger and spread it over the two blisters.  I did this two more times in the next hour and 15 minutes or so.  After about an hour and a half from my initial application of lavender, I felt the blister loose its fluid without breaking the skin.  I used a napkin to absorb the moisture and finish draining my blister.  I then reapplied lavender.

The next day I could barely tell that there had been a blister there.  My skin did not break and basically just began to reattach itself to the flesh below it.  I experienced zero discomfort when I put shoes on that same morning.  This is the only time I have ever used lavender on a blister (this is all new to me) so I am very curious to see if it will help me prevent blister problem spots.

In the past I would get a blister while running and it would tear or I would have to pop it.  The spot would be sore for a long time and would become a blister breeding ground.  I would get blisters over and over again in the same spot because my skin would be so weak. 

But will this work on feet that are running often? (I was not able to try this because I am supposed to rest my knee).  What about blisters from burns or blisters that have already popped?  To find out, I ordered some lavender for sharing.  This is where I need your help!  I would love it and be eternally grateful to those that are willing to try this out and report back to me.  My goal is to get an accurate picture of lavender as a blister beater in different scenarios.  If you are interested in trying out a bit o’lavender on your blisters (this includes all blister types), let me know and I will try to get some to you right away!

The Best Year of Your Life

So I am a runner.  A brand new runner.  Not a fast runner, but a runner nonetheless.  And I love it!  Well, I hate it too but mostly I love it.  I am sure all you runners out there know exactly what I am talking about.

My decision to become a runner was really a split second decision; probably because I just did not realize what I was getting into at the time.  The Greater Boston Running Company offered a running group and I thought, “oh! That is just what I need to get back in shape so that I can move on to other great things that require stamina.”  Little did I know that running actually was the great thing that I was getting into shape for.

Needless to say, I joined a running group “to get into shape” thinking I would only be running a 5k but I actually ended up running my first half marathon the day before Max nugget turned 6 months old.  Insert applause here!  Yes, I am proud of myself.  I am proud that I did not wait to start to get my body back.  In a way I am thankful that my pregnancy was such a physically miserable experience because as soon as it became mine again I took every opportunity to give it some nice, healthy, exercise.  I am also thankful to the moon and back to have a husband that has supported me every step of the way (even when I acted like an ogre and looked like the Michelin man).

Max was born last November, just before all of the big blizzards that came through.  I was on maternity leave and we were snowed in a lot.  But I did not let that stop me, I still joined a running group, got a Fitbit, and I looked for lots of other ways to stay active.  I went to the mall and walked loops.  When it snowed and my eyeballs felt like they were going to freeze through I still went to my awesome running group and we all bundled up, put on our headlamps and ran circles around the Derby Street Shoppes.  I even got snowshoes and my mom and I explored Webb Park before anyone else had the chance too.  It was amazing!  It was the best winter of my life.  This past year full of inspiring experiences and people (like Cathy-who-ran-20-miles) has helped me decide that from now on, I am going to do my best to make every year the best year of my life.

Anyway, now I am here to tell you that you can be a runner too! Or a snow-shoer (is that a word?) Or an anythingyouwanttobe-er too!  Just don’t wait.  Take advantage your healthy body when you can.   Make every year the best year of your life.

What are you going to do to make this year the best year of your life? (Comment below!)

New Adventures

The past year has been a whirlwind of exciting new adventures for me.  In the last year I became a mom, a runner, an essential oil convert, and now a blogger!  In this blog I will reflect on these new experiences.

So, why do I call myself Mumma Lavender you might ask?  Well, the most important thing that I am is Max’s Mumma.  Every day I am shocked at how awesome it is to be a mom and I feel like I am going to explode right now just thinking about it.

But Mumma Lavender?  Yes, Lavender!  I recently discovered the power of essential oils and I am OBSESSED!  I am on a quest to know everything that I possibly can about my new medicine cabinet of essential oils so I will be sharing what I learn here. 

 So… back to the lavender.  Lavender is the “mumma” of all essential oils.  It has the power to calm, gently induce sleep, repel insects, reduce inflammation, and so much more.   Many have said that Lavender is the Swiss army knife of essential oils.  I hope that my posts will be the Swiss army knife for all your baby momma needs!  I will be posting about thoughts that I had/have as a new mom such as:

• What kind of baby spoons are the best and who has the best deal on diapers?
•  To run or not run?
• What tricks can I use for making my own baby food?
• Does Lavender really get rid of blisters? (I am experimenting on myself right now.  My instinct is to be skeptical but so far lovely lavender has not let me down!)

Now, I definitely do not claim to know the answers to all of these questions (although I am convinced that Nuk Gerber Graduate Easy Rest Spoons are the best!) but I can at least share my insight and experiences.  My hope is that those that read this blog will share their experiences in the comments so that other moms can benefit from our collective knowledge.

With that, I will close out this post by asking:

Are there any particular topics that you are curious about?  Please write your suggestions below!

I just want to give a little disclaimer here. I am so impressed with Young Living Essential oils that I recently became a Young Living distributor(#3126359).  The oils have been so helpful to me that becoming a distributor was just not an opportunity that I could justify passing up.  If you are interested in using oils make sure you do some research about which oils are safe for your situation.  My statements have also not been approved by the FDA.

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