Wound Healing

Following an injury, such as a cut, your body's repair mechanisms immediately spring into action. First the bleeding must be stopped and any bacteria in the wound needs to be contained to reduce the risk of its spreading and an infection developing. After this, essential repair work to your tissues takes place with the building of new proteins. It is just as important that this process comes to a halt after the damage has been repaired, otherwise an excessive formation of scar tissue can result in large and unsightly scars called cheloids.

This may sound complex but another way to look at it is to imagine you have a crack in your kitchen wall. I'm sure that even the non-DIY enthusiasts among you will know that the crack needs to be filled in with a strong and suitable material. That filling can be compared to the building of new proteins that is essential in the wound healing process. It is also important that the crack isn't over-filled, otherwise you'll end up with a bumpy wall - the equivalent of excessive scar tissue (cheloids).

The treatment of wounds, including cuts and grazes, very much depends on their severity and cause. Obviously, it goes without saying that a deep cut that is bleeding profusely requires urgent medical attention. However, there is much you can do to speed up the repair process once the wound has been initially treated and to reduce the risk of an infection developing.

Conventional treatments can leave you vulnerable to additional health problems
When treating cuts, doctors normally clean the affected area with an antiseptic solution, such as hydrogen peroxide or iodine. The problem with these solutions is that they can be toxic both to the dead cells and to the healthy ones left behind. By damaging the healthy cells, which normally act to close and repair the wound, the solution can actually inhibit this natural repair process and slow down your recovery.

For this reason, a better option is to ask your doctor about the possibility of using a saline solution instead, which is far less aggressive than hydrogen peroxide and iodine. This basically contains salt in water, at the same concentration as that found naturally in your body's tissues (0.9% salt in 99.1% water).

A major problem with wounds is the high risk of infection. It is very easy for bacteria to enter through the broken skin and penetrate the rest of your body. Conventional medicine often recommends the use of antibiotics to help prevent this. However, prescription-only antibiotics can cause a host of harmful side effects such as skin rashes, diarrhoea, vomiting, thrush, and blood abnormalities - the last thing that a patient recovering from an injury needs. In addition, diarrhoea causes your body to lose more fluids, which can lead to dehydration and make wound healing more problematic.

Make a faster recovery using natural measures
In order to avoid these harmful side effects, many complementary practitioners often recommend using natural alternatives to help reduce the risk of infection and improve the rate of healing.

After the wound has been cleansed and the injury repaired (such as with stitches or a suitable dressing) it is necessary to provide your body with enough raw material to help it rebuild the damaged area. Following a high protein diet can be extremely beneficial in this respect. By consuming foods high in protein (such as lean meat, fish and dairy products) you ensure that your body has ample supplies to get to work at the heart of the wound and facilitate the natural repair process.

Aloe Vera has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years and is renowned for its potent wound healing properties (Nurs Stand 1998;12(41):49-52). Aloe is the extract of the plant aloe barbadensis, and it contains enzymes, proteins and growth factors which work together to reduce inflammation of the injured area, improve the rate of protein formation in the wound, and reduce pain (Adv Wound Care 1998;11(6): 273-276).

Aloe Vera can be used directly on the wound in cream form (apply liberally over the area), but can also be taken internally in liquid form as aloe vera juice, which is available from most good health food stores (the dose depends on the concentration of the beverage so make sure you read the product label carefully).

The amino acid, arginine, has been hailed as an important wound-healing agent in terms of its ability to stimulate the production of collagen (Diabetologia 1999;42(6):748-757).

Collagen is made up of bundles of strong and resilient protein fibres, which act as scaffolding to support your tissues. Following an injury, it is necessary to repair this damaged scaffolding as quickly as possible, in order that other healing processes can get to work. In addition, arginine also stimulates your immune system - it is extremely important that your immune system is successfully activated following the infliction of a wound to help fight off any pathogens (disease-causing microbes). The recommended dose is 500mg of arginine a day.

Arginine is often used alongside another amino acid called glutamine. This amino acid stimulates the formation of new muscle tissue and also increases the production of new and healthy cells following an injury. The suggested dose is a quarter to one and a quarter teaspoons of glutamine powder 1-3 times a day.

Vitamin C is well known for its powerful healing properties. It is useful during the initial stages of the repair process as it stimulates the formation of collagen (Eur J Ophthalmol 1998;8(1):37-41). The recommend dose is 1,000mg of vitamin C a day.