Summer first aid

Summer may be a wonderful time but with it comes little issues that can become a problem, and yet for others, summer can be a nightmare, so here are some tips for surviving the wonders of summer from your kitchen and first aid box/travelling cauldron

Summer may be a wonderful time but with it comes little issues that can become a problem, and yet for others, summer can be a nightmare, so here are some tips for surviving the wonders of summer from your kitchen and first aid box/travelling cauldron

The beasties of summer…and how to repel them and stay bite free

It is amazing what flying insects appear when the heat comes out. In Scotland we have the delightful Midgies, which ain’t so bad if there is a breeze but if it is still, forget it and it is worse on the west coast!! If they aren’t bad, then lavender spike, citronella and/or bergamot can help keep them away. Light a tea-light, and when the candle has melted, add a mix to the tea-light – much better than pre-made bought ones. A mix of lavender spike and bergamot neat smoothed over your clothes and hair will also help keep the little blighters away from you, but if a black cloud of them descends, then no chance!! However, this is where I think Neem oil will help. Neem oil has a bizarre aroma and no insect will descend on the tree itself – so well worth a go if you are going anywhere where they have a problem with any flying creature…mossie, midgie, anything!! Better still, try my Midgie B-Gone range which takes all this and also uses the old Highland remedy of Bog Myrtle alongside. There is a Spray, a pure essential oil blend and finally, the oil blend mixed with Neem…all different strengths…one of them should work!!

Lavender spike is also useful for repelling berry bugs that go after women and children only – apply to knicker and bra line which is where they bite…and boy does it itch!! B-gone will also help do the trick!!

Taking 100mg B1 every 3-4 hours will deter mossies and hopefully midgies – it gives a smell through the skin that we cannot detect but they don’t like and 1000mg Vitamin C once daily as anti-histamine and you should hopefully remain beastie-bite free!! Oils of lavender or tea tree can be applied neat to a bite if you are caught out and keep applying every hour. Diluted calendula or St John’s Wort tincture make good bite remedies too: apply direct on cotton wool. Calendula is especially good for bee stings, whether tincture or strong tea infused from marigold petals. Geranium oil is also hated by mosquitoes, so add to your after-sun at night when venturing out

B-gone is the roller I made for the bizarre insects that come out in strange weather and is 12ml pure essential oil of tea tree, lavender French and Lavender spike that you simply roll on any bite, burn or sting…carry when out and about…just in case!! Remember the berry bugs too…£7.50 per 12ml roller

How to keep cool…

My recent visit to Cyprus heard me issue those unbelievable words – “It’s too hot” yet the Cypriots were still in vests and winter clothes!! We are so not used to heat in Scotland hence why everything stops when the sun comes out… but too much heat and we need to cool down. Peppermint oil is cooling to the body; we even use it for menopausal flushes – inhale the oil and your body will instantly cool down. Drinking Peppermint tea will also help cool you down from the inside. Add the oil to a bowl of water to cool down feet after too much shopping and, a wee tip; if you get invaded by ants, dropping peppermint oil near where they come in will get rid of them as they hate the smell of peppermint oil!!  My Cool mist also contains peppermint and can be sprayed over face and neck as a mist for instant cool-down – great to carry in handbags – overhot feet love it too!! £4.75

Cuts and Grazes

Accidents often occur when everyone is having fun. It is always handy to have Lavender oil and tea tree in the first aid kit, or my B-Gone roller. My Healing cream, affectionately known as my “Kill or Cure” cream is another wonder not to be without if you have children.

When there is a break to the skin, clean the area with warm water and cotton wool to which has been added a few drops tea tree or lavender oil. Tincture of myrrh, calendula or Echinacea can also be used if no oils available. Once the area is clean and any grit has been removed, then apply wither neat lavender or tea tree or healing cream and cover area. If the person seems a bit shocked at the incident, add some lavender to a tissue and let them inhale the aroma to calm them down.

Burns, Scalds & Food poisoning

With the sunshine comes the onset of outdoor eating, BBQ’s and bonfires, and with that can come problems. Here is some help for simple problems…

Easiest thing for a burn is to pour neat lavender oil over the affected area once it has been cooled down under cold water. If no cold water available, then just use the lavender oil. If serious, then proceed to a hospital A&E

Calendula tincture added to a bandage can be applied to a burn to encourage healing, but I always use lavender oil followed by my intensive hand care cream which places a healing beeswax film over the burn to speed healing and keep infection away. It also stops that pulsating burning feeling, which is fab!! £7.50 per 60ml jar

Sometimes the chef can undercook food and upset stomachs and even food poisoning can strike. Take Oregano or garlic oil instantly and throughout the day and for the following week, along with acidophilus to settle the digestive upset and fill it with friendly bacteria. Chamomile tea or hot water with lemon and honey should be drunk regularly, as can peppermint or fennel. Chamomile oil can be diluted and rubbed into the temples to ease symptoms and chamomile or ginger diluted in carrier oil and rubbed over stomach can also help calm the upset. Ginger will also stop any cramps. Avoid any food for the first 24 hours and drink plenty fluids. When vomiting has stopped, eat a ripe banana as this restores the bacterial balance in the gut.

Sunburn:

It is best to apply lots of sun tan lotion to avoid getting burnt when the thermometer is racing, but sometimes the strength of the sun catches us unawares if there is a breeze, and we end up burnt. This bath is great…

Run a warm bath, and to it add a cupful cider vinegar, a tbsp or so apricot kernal almond or even olive oil and 15 drops lavender oil. Swish it around and get in. The aarghh will soon turn to aaahh!! The cider vinegar takes out the sting, the oil replenishes the moisture and the lavender repairs the damage. This mixture will even help the red to go brown and not peel.

For bad sunburn, apply lavender oil added to wheatgerm or rosehip oil after the bath to the burnt area as it heals quickly, prevents scar tissue forming and will help repair any damage. Alternatively, add my Aphrodite oil to the bath and to skin after the bath to repair skin damage. This mix of carrier oils helps the skin stand up to the sun more and helps stop burning. I invented it after getting burnt in Cyprus and, even though I am blonde with fair skin, I didn’t burn again and retained my tan for longer than ever before…Several visits later for re-testing and it still works!! Now, through the good weather, I apply Aphrodite to my skin in the morning so I know I have protection but yet allow Vitamin D production to begin. If then it gets too hot, I then apply lotion.

Blisters:

With the sun comes long summer walks and with that can bring the dreaded blister. If you get a blister, don’t burst it as this makes the area prone to infection. Keep it covered with a plaster to which you have added neat lavender oil. Take this off at night to allow it to dry out. Alternatively, witch hazel can be applied regularly to speed healing and relieve pain. If the blister does burst, add a few drops chamomile oil to half cup water and bathe area regularly to avoid infection. Add neat lavender oil afterwards to speed the healing process.

Prickly Heat

Prickly heat rears its head every year so if you suffer from this problem, up your intake of Vitamin C; it is natural anti-histamine so can help stop any reaction in the first place. The skin gets waterlogged with sweating; the ducts become blocked and swell to form blisters that then burst. Itching is persistent and is relieved by anti-histamine hence 1000mg Vitamin C daily can stop this happening. Zinc is also useful so take daily too. Calendula cream applied to the skin to which you have stirred in lavender oil can help externally. Evening primrose oil can be used in an emergency as most homes have these capsules on a shelf somewhere and a cool shower followed by a body rub with a piece of lemon will help as your kitchen remedy. Chamomile is also natural anti-histamine, so drinking the tea daily also prepares your system. A wee tip is to stay away from hot spicy food but few eat curry in a hot country. Drink plenty of water and eat salads and cooling food to help your system.

If you use my “Lia Replenish” then you just add the juice of some cucumber et voila…this makes a lovely soothing skin softener that will cool the overhot skin, stop the itching and moisturise at the same time…bonus!!

How to enjoy the summer…from the kitchen or garden in an emergency

Did you know that chamomile tea can be applied to sunburn? Or that an onion cut in half can relieve a bee sting (once the sting has been removed) and ant bites and lemon juice relieves wasp stings. Cool cucumber can be applied to any insect bite to cool the area and ease discomfort. Vinegar can be applied to sprains, strains, bruises, rashes and insect bites whilst cider vinegar rubbed into skin makes instant insect repellent.

Honey can be applied to any infected cut as it draws pus and poisin from a wound …and taken daily will keep hayfever away but must be the local honey as commercial honey is too treated to still contain the medicinal properties and only local honey has local pollen in it and this makes your immune system adapt. Take 1tsp per day from March until September – add to chamomile tea for natural anti-histamine too…simples!!

Just as dock leaves soothe a nettle sting and are always nearby, so plantain can be applied to any insect bite or sting, burn or bruise (very handy). They are the flat plant with long leaves that grows along the path, with a central spiked flowerhead.

If sunstroke is an issue, add juice of a lime or lemon to half glass soda water and sip slowly and often. Alternatively, make a tea with ginger root or peppermint to ease symptoms

Witch hazel is very good for applying to any sting including mosquito, and straight from the fridge, will even cool throbbing varicose veins…handy to know if granny comes to call!

Enjoy the summer and these tips should help it be problem free.