Pet Corner: Herbs for Healthy Skin
Soothe pets' skin with herbs
March/April 2001
By Randy Kidd, D.V.M.
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Try herbs to gently heal your pets’ cuts and scrapes.
Photo courtesy of M. Jackson
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The skin is the body’s largest organ, and it’s made up of simply wondrous stuff. The skin’s many layers of epithelial cells create a rugged body encasement that’s tough enough to contain all of a pet’s inside organs and the other fluids that come with the territory, and yet it’s porous enough to let the healing essences of herbs enter at will. Skin is generally impermeable to sticks and stones, rain, hail, sleet, and snow. A pet’s skin is in some areas as stretchable as spandex, and in others it is as thick and unyielding as boot leather. Miraculous stuff indeed.
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The skin is the organ of first defense. A pet’s fortress against all outside penetrators, the skin is subject to nicks and scrapes, pokes and gouges, and bruises and abrasions. Fortunately, herbal remedies work extremely well on minor skin problems. I’ve found that herbs heal skin wounds better, faster, and less painfully than do the antibiotics and steroids used by most regular vets. However, skin also may be the last organ to heal because many alternative medicines work by healing from the inside out.
As an organ that readily absorbs many natural substances, the skin offers a perfect place to apply herbal medicines. There are numerous ways you can use herbs topically (see below)— you can pretty much pick and choose which method of application is the easiest for you and your pet.
You can toss a dart at a chart full of hundreds of medicinal herbs, and almost whatever herb the dart hits will have some activity for aiding the healing of skin wounds. But before we look at some of the topical herbs I’ve found helpful, let’s take a brief look at the ways you can get herbs onto your pet’s skin. Note: For open wounds, it’s best to carefully clip away any hair that could become matted in an open wound, and then gently cleanse the area with an herbal soap.
Spritz. My favorite way of applying herbs—nothing could be easier. Mix up a batch of herbal tea; let it cool; put the mix into a spritzer and spritz it on the affected areas. For an isolated wound, drip the cooled herbal tea directly onto the lesion. However, spritzes rapidly dry out and don’t stick around like ointments to provide a prolonged herbal application, so you may need to spritz several times daily.
Macerated pure herb/poultice. This is perhaps the best way to utilize mucilaginous herbs such as plantain. Take a leaf or two of the fresh herb, chew it up, and apply the wad to the affected area. If chewing on herbs isn’t your cup of tea, chop the herbs or put them in a blender, and add a little oil or witch hazel to make it gooier and stickier.
Oils. Oil-based herbal preparations will stay on the injured area longer than spritzes, but they can be messy. To make your own, put some fresh or dried herb into a jar and cover the herb with oil (such as olive or sesame), using enough oil to top the wetted herb with 1/4 to 1/2 inch of extra oil. Cap the jar tightly, cover with a brown paper bag, and let it sit on a sunny windowsill for seven to ten days. Shake often to mix the ingredients. Strain, and put the oil in a tightly capped bottle, stored in a cool, dark place.
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