Castor Oil For Insect Bites & Stings

Well, I guess I will finish this Castor Oil series and put it to bed, for now.  So far, we've done Castor oil for injuries, bruises or blood pooling and now insect bites.  When my son was about a year old, he got into some ants and before I knew it, his little hand looked like one of those surgical gloves that people blow up.  I rushed him to the ER (pre-natural medicine days!) and they pumped him full of Benadryl.  However, as the swelling would subside, a large area (the size of 4 quarters, sometimes more) would turn black, I guess the damaged tissue was dying off.  A few years later, after the discovery of that awesome book I mentioned in Part 1, I took three of her treatments for insect bites and combined them.  I had already been using lavender essential oil on bug bites but it did not prevent the tissue from dying.  While on vacation one year, my son got several bites on his foot.  The book recommends Castor oil, lavender and aloe, among other things, for bites.  I mixed and applied these 3 and within minutes the swelling was already going down.  Later that day, you could hardly tell where he had been bitten!  For 6 years we had watched every ant bite swell, turn black and take weeks to heal, causing much pain and irritation.  With the Castor oil/lavender/aloe we were business as usual in one day.  It was wonderful!  Now my son is no longer paranoid about getting bit by ants, though he still obviously tries to avoid them.  At least he has a quick fix should he get bitten.  Also of note is that it works even if you do not catch it immediately.  He has been bitten at times when we didn't have the needed items available or he wasn't at home, but as soon as he was able to apply it (within a day) it would begin healing and he has never again experienced the black, dying tissue.

There is no formal recipe for this.  I usually just mix it in my hand and rub it on.  If I had to give measurements I would say I use about a teaspoon of aloe gel (you could also use juice), 5 drops of lavender and 1/2 tsp of Castor oil.  Aloe is anti-inflammatory, lavender is calming, therefore quieting inflamed skin and Castor oil speeds up lymphatic flow and disperses toxins, per the book Gentle Healing for Baby and Child by Andrea Candee.  This works!  Do not hesitate to try it.  You can get all of these ingredients at Iherb.com but I actually purchase my essential oils in bulk from NewDirectionsAromatics.com.  I'm sure you can also get them at a health foods store but you will pay twice as much or more.

As promised, here is my special blend that I am never without.  I have a bottle in my purse, a bottle upstairs, a bottle downstairs and a bottle in my car.  I also hand out bottles to friends and family whenever possible and have received nothing but praise and thanks.  So here goes...I take a 2 oz bottle of Castor oil or fill a 2 oz bottle with Castor oil, add 10 drops of lavender, 10 drops of tea tree, and 5 drops of chamomile.  This will help with anything... rashes, bruises, cuts, bites, etc.  I've had friends who had wounds that just would not heal, put this on it and within a couple days the wound was healed.  I've used it on hurt chicken feet, dog bites on my cats, tick bites on my dogs and goats, goose eggs on my kids' heads and so on and so forth.  So there you go.  If you do not have any Castor oil in your house, get some!  Throw some lavender and tea tree essential oils in while your it at.  You won't be sorry!

Castor Oil For Hematomas

A few years ago, I awoke one Saturday morning and went to go let our Lab, Koda, outside.  We have a laundry room off of our garage and he gets to sleep in there.  He was shaking his head constantly and upon examination, one of his ears was about 1/2 thick or more and squooshy.  We immediately called the vet, not sure what was going on.  They informed us that, without a doubt, he had an aural hematoma or ear hematoma.  Possibly from shaking his head around (he's constantly jumping in the pond and then shaking off), he had hit something and injured his ear, causing it to fill up with blood.  We were ready to throw him in the truck and do whatever to get him fixed up.  Unfortunately, they also informed us that they did not have an anesthesiologist in on Saturdays and that the surgery to fix this required the dog be put under.  They place a drain in the ear to drain the blood and then it later has to be removed.  According to them, if this is not done, it may heal on its own but the dog's ear will be extremely disfigured, like someone ran a thread through it and then pulled the thread tight.  We were supposed to wait until Monday and bring him in, or I guess we could have also opted for the ER vet.  Well, I had my Castor oil with a little lavender oil mixed in, remembered it was good for bruises because it dispersed the blood, so we gave that a try.  3 times a day, my husband rubbed his ear with it, rubbing and massaging.  We noticed improvement right away but by the third day, his ear looked completely normal and he was acting completely normal.  I later took him in for his annual visit and the vet could not believe it.  She said he must not have had a hematoma because there is no way his ear looked like that without having been drained.  (She also told me straight up that she does not believe in natural medicine because she only believes in things for which she's seen proof.  Yet she saw proof and denied it.)  As you can imagine, I was thrilled that once again, natural medicine had done something to shock and amaze a practitioner of modern medicine.  This had happened to me before with my son, but that's another story.  Next I'll tell you about castor oil vs. the ant bite, and I'm not talking about your average ant bite either.

Koda with 2 perfectly normal and beautiful ears!

Castor Oil For Injuries

I first learned about the wonderful (and non-yucky) uses for castor oil through a book that has become a cherished companion to me for going on 10 years now.  It's called Gentle Healing for Baby and Child by Andrea Candee.   This book sits patiently on my shelf, waiting for the next time I lovingly pull it down, cradle it in my hands and seek it's assistance for the current emergency.  Okay, maybe that's a little over dramatic.  Just suffice it to say, I LOVE this book!  Anyways, during an emergency some years ago, I opened it and discovered by new best friend, castor oil.  I have used it for just about anything you can imagine and plan to tell you about every one, okay, maybe 3, but that is why this is part 1.  Too much to put in one post.  Today is my first example.  One of my goat kids was running around, being a kid and acting crazy, I was watching from the window, when all of a sudden, he went to jump off the top of the picnic table and his foot (hoof?) got caught in between the slats and he jumped but his leg did not follow.  I threw my sandwich down on the counter and ran out the door, mentally imagining how I was going to nurse this goat with a broken leg.  Fortunately my son was nearby and already had him on the ground by the time I got out the door.  He stood up but wasn't putting any pressure on the leg.  My son felt around but Nat didn't act like anything really hurt, he just wouldn't put the leg down.  Here comes today's star, castor oil.  I mixed up a little with some lavender essential oil, and some St. John's wort tincture.  According to my book, you are supposed to use St. John's oil, but I didn't have any so tried the tincture.  I went out, rubbed and rubbed and rubbed some more on his leg, all the way up on the inside.  Within, an hour, he was back to normal, putting pressure on the leg and running around.  He may have done that anyway, but part 2 and 3 will prove without a doubt that castor oil works!

How could someone so innocent looking cause so much trouble?!?

I get mine at Iherb.com (use code CAN094 for $5 off your first order).  I use the Home Health Brand.  The 32 oz bottle is the best deal and then you can just make smaller size bottles of it mixed with your favorite oil blends.  I'll tell you my special recipe in part 3 of the castor oil posts.  You can also get some food grade castor oil at Walmart if you are in a pinch and need it now.

Coming soon...Castor Oil vs. the Aural Hematoma (huh?  I didn't know what it was either. I'll explain.)

Natural Treatment of Infectious Coryza

Our Brahma, Nancy Sinatra, the one who started it all!

I've had a lot of interest in exactly how I treat my chickens naturally for Coryza so I thought I would spell it out a little more specifically, though with me nothing is exact or the same from day to day. But this is what seems to be working today.

When I first notice the chicken is feeling ill (she stays on the roost after everyone else is off or kind of just stands around the chicken yard) I immediately get her and put her in a large tub lined with hay. If you have multiple chickens sick, you would need to isolate them in another coop or pen of some sort. I provide her with fresh water (I use distilled and put 5 drops of GSE in it, which is grapefruit seed extract if you didn't happen to read my previous post) and food (our food consists of laying crumble, scratch, sunflower seeds, wild bird food, diatomateous earth, kelp and green tea powder). At this point, they may or may not still be eating and drinking. I then begin dosing them with 3 droppers full of colloidal silver (I buy Silver Boost from Iherb, more about that at the end of the post) in the morning and evening. I also give them water with a couple drops of GSE a couple times a day (mid morning and late afternoon). If the chicken is no longer eating, it is absolutely essential to get something down her. I use almond milk or store brand ensure and add 1/2 t of my homemade drench. This is made from 2oz of hemp oil, 2 oz of molasses, 1 oz of corn syrup, 1/2 T of kelp and 1/2 T bee pollen which I smash with a mortar and pestle. I give about 2 T of this milk mixture twice a day. When you are administering this much this many times a day, it can get a bit time consuming so I would often skip the GSE in water and just add a few drops to the milk mixture. Obviously the more vigilant you are, the quicker your chicken will get better, but sometimes life happens and we just have to do the best we can.

I will also admit that during all this, I have thought, more than once, that it would be so much easier to just humanely end the chickens life and not have to deal with this anymore but unfortunately, I am not at a point where I can do that. All my chickens have names and distinct personalities. In the future, I do not plan to name chickens but this was our first go around and they are as much pets at this point as egg providers.

For the colloidal silver, I purchase mine from Iherb.com (use code CAN094 to save $5 off your first order). The Morningstar Minerals Silver Boost is a concentrated formula that you dilute yourself so you actually get several bottles from 1 bottle. They suggest you dilute down to 5ppm. I dilute down to a little more than 10ppm. I use an 8oz bottle (my old silver bottle), put in 1/2oz of Silver Boost and fill the rest with distilled water. I give my kids 1 teaspoon a day (usually) or when we are being exposed to people who are sick (best on an empty stomach) and it really helps keep everyone well. Also, on the subject of silver, I would advise against making your own as the only reports of anyone turning gray from its use came from people who made their own and took massive doses.

Anyways, I hope this helps anyone dealing with respiratory illnesses in chickens and if you have any questions, please feel free to post them!

UPDATE: As of June 2011, we have remained free of all illness. We are putting a dropperful of GSE in a gallon of water (total of 4 separate waterers) daily and everyone has remained well. We have had a couple of instances where someone sounded congested but they did not get sick and in both cases, by the next day, no longer sounded congested. Also, we have had chicks born from chickens who previously suffered from coryza and they have shown no signs of illness. I believe they are carriers and will never exhibit any signs of illness. I believe that the chickens we purchased from the farm are also carriers as they have never gotten sick and I believe that Nancy Sinatra was not born and raised on that farm. I think she came from somewhere else and when exposed to the carriers became ill. If you have chickens with this condition, it is imperative that you understand that you cannot bring in any new chickens and you cannot give chickens away to anyone who already has chickens. If you are going to keep them, you can only increase your flock by hatching out eggs from your infected chickens. 

Update:  As of January 2012, we are still free of illness.  We now have an automatic waterer and are not as vigilant as we used to be about making sure they get the GSE everyday but even through the cold, we have not had one chicken get sick.  We have also not had any of the chickens we hatched out show any signs of illness, however I am quite sure that they are carriers and will not get sick.  

****Also, please see my post on MMS.  Bathing in it is especially helpful when an animal (or human) is not taking anything by mouth.  I've bathed all my sick chickens in it.