Home Remedies for bruises

Well, we've all done it from time to time...walked full force right into that table corner that has been in the same place forever. Or tripped over your very own feet. If you're like me, sometimes these simple accidents can leave a bruise that just seems to linger on and on. Here are a few tips I've come across that may help.

Bruises--

Slice a raw onion and place over the bruise. Do not apply this to broken skin.

Soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.

vitamin C. Bruises occur more frequently in people who don't get enough vitamin C. So if you notice that you bruise regularly, up your vitamin C intake. High doses of vitamin C could increase your risk for kidney stones. To prevent this, make sure that you drink plenty of water if you take extra vitamin C.
Build collagen with vitamin C cream. As a long-term bruise preventative, try daily applications of vitamin C creams and lotions (available at drugstores or through your dermatologist). "The vitamin C is absorbed into the skin and, over time, helps rebuild collagen, which cushions and supports blood vessels, making bruising less likely.

Ice on, ice off. If you apply ice right after you bump your skin, you can limit the size and severity of a bruise and relieve pain. Using ice wrapped in cloth, or a cold pack, ice the bruise for 10 to 20 minutes, then take a break. Repeat every two hours.
After 24 hours, when the bruise has fully developed, it's safe to apply heat. Soak in a hot bath or apply a heating pad or a washcloth soaked in hot water, for 20 minutes, three times a day, until the bruise reabsorbs. But don't apply heat immediately. Heat causes tissues to swell, and at that early stage it can actually cause more bleeding and make the bruise worse.

Arnica--Experts say that this popular muscle soreness remedy is also excellent for minimizing bruises and healing them fast. As soon as you bump your knee or other body part or notice a swelling or discoloration, gently rub some of this homeopathic cream on it. Arnica shrinks inflammation and increases circulation to flush away the stagnant blood that turns your skin black and blue.

Well, David left yesterday. He will leave from Cleveland to go to Fort Benning on the 15th. My car is currently on strike so I rode to the Walbridge Armory Post with David and his girlfriend. We got there and took a few pictures, said good-bye and then he went inside. It seems so strange to me the cute little boy I remember has decided to trade in wearing my and his daddy's shoes around the house for Army boots and his lil' pumpkin bucket in for infantry gear.

Rylie was amazingly quiet most of the time. I don't think she quite realizes yet that David is going to be gone for a while. I was going to post some of the pictures we took, but it appears that when I opened the card (from Jill's camera, his g/f) I apparently just copied the shortcut, or something. I thought I could just copy and paste the picture into my files, but now that the card is not hooked up to my computer, I can't find the pictures.

So it only seemed appropriate to put some of my favorite pictures of David up today. Actually I have a lot more favorites than these few, but I didn't want to over load my wee little blog here. LOL I once had a woman tell me that David had the All American "look" that modeling agencies and some advertisers looked for. He certainly was a little cutie pie.

He could be difficult though...when he wanted to be, lol. He was my other child, before Rylie, that was so difficult to potty train. That was when I first used the kitchen timer trick. I'd set it to go off every 15 minutes, and we'd go into the bathroom and he'd try. He'd get a few m&m's just for trying, and a lot more if he actually went tinkle. He was potty trained within a week. Of course, he was 3...oh, that toddler was a stubborn one. I'm a bit surprised I had more children after him.

I had a hard time getting him to give up his binky (pacifier) too. I started slowly throwing them away when I would find them around the house. We got down to one. He would walk around with that ol' thing in his mouth all the time. He'd do this funny thing and tuck the handle of it up under his nose. Then as he sucked it (lol, omgosh, I can see it in my head) his nose would bop up and down as the handle pushed it. Anyway, we got down to that last binky and I found it one day and took my scissors and nipped a bit off the end of it.

He brought it to me and wanted to know what had happened. I told him that he was using it too much and it was starting to melt away. Oh the look on his face. A day later I nipped a wee bit more off, and this continued for a few days until there was just this little nub left. He tried to put it in his mouth a few times and then finally gave up. He walked over to the trash can and threw it away.

He was the child who would turn around and smile at me when I said "NO". Then he'd walk over and do it anyway. I'd walk over to him and slap his hand or paddle his bottom. He had to know who was in control right? Yeah...he'd just start laughing, like it was some game or something.

I still remember the day we were at my mom's when he was about 12 or 13. He was pushing the limits to see how far he could get away with things with me. He called me the "B" word and I told him to "come here"...he said "no". So I went to go towards him and he took off running. Well, uh, yeah...what do you think I did? I ran after him. I finally caught up with him, grab his arm and brought it up behind his back. I said, "Don't you ever talk to me like that again. It doesn't matter how big you get. I am your mother, I brought you into this world and I will always be able to bring you down, no matter what." Yeah...well, it all sounded good at the time and I think I scared the smart mouthed lil punk in him a bit.

However, there is NO WAY I could handle that boy today if he mouthed off to me. LOL Luckily for me, he doesn't behave that way anymore. And even if there was any of that attitude left...I think the basic training would get rid of it.

Okay...I'm off to browse through photo albums and do some reminiscing. Have a great day.

Jill Marie