All about wound care strategies in a prison environment, including options for integrating plant medicines. From the Prisoner’s Herbal book.
Links & resources from this episode
- Prisoner’s Herbal Book
- Support Niamh
- Kevan’s article – Hungry for Change: Starving within English Prisons
Find them all at solidarityapothecary.org/podcast/
Music from Sole & DJ Pain – Battle of Humans | Plant illustrations by @amani_writes | In solidarity, please subscribe, rate & review this podcast wherever you listen.
Transcript
Welcome to the Frontline Herbalism Podcast with your host Nicole Rose from the Solidarity Apothecary.
Nicole Rose:This is your place for all things plants and liberation.
Nicole Rose:Let's get started.
Nicole Rose:All right, so this episode is all about, , wound care in a prison environment.
Nicole Rose:, it's from a chapter in the prisoner's herbal book.
Nicole Rose:And yeah, even though I say this a bunch in the actual bit I've recorded from the chapter, I just wanna emphasize that like the context of this advice is for people who are in an environment where access to healthcare is super difficult.
Nicole Rose:Like whether that's, , you know, huge waiting list to see doctors and nurses or, you know, something happening and doctors and nurses not coming, or screws not coming, or people self-harming and being kind of alone in their cells, , and waiting several hours for a healthcare member to come up.
Nicole Rose:, so yeah, it's all about kind of like basic advice you know, around pressure and cleaning and dressings, but also using things like herbal teas or, you know, actual leaves that someone can access, like plantain, for example, and when that might be appropriate.
Nicole Rose:But, you know, the emphasis is on really, uh, kind of like minor wounds.
Nicole Rose:All right, so I did a longer episode with a catch up of how we've been and what I've been up to.
Nicole Rose:I just wanted to give a couple of shout outs.
Nicole Rose:There is a new graphic on the Bristol Anarchist Black Cross website for someone called Niamh who, , is.
Nicole Rose:In prison as a result of using self-defense against police violence at only 19 years of age.
Nicole Rose:, she was put in touch with us from someone inside for the riot in Bristol.
Nicole Rose:, she's a really gentle soul, loads of love and appreciation to give.
Nicole Rose:She really welcomes like letters and support to help the days go by easier and quicker.
Nicole Rose:And yeah, her address is on the website.
Nicole Rose:I'll put a link in the show notes.
Nicole Rose:But if you have their capacity to drop her a letter or order her a card on like moon pig.com or use something like email a prisoner, she would really love that.
Nicole Rose:And yeah, the other thing I wanted to mention was my friend Kevan, who is a prisoner who's been in solitary confinement for a really, really long time, who goes through like horrendous , repression and oppression in prison.
Nicole Rose:He's currently been moved to H M P Manchester.
Nicole Rose:But he published an article that's now also gone up on the Bristol Anarchist Black Cross website called Hungry for Change, starving within English Prisons.
Nicole Rose:So yeah, this is like quite a hard read in terms of, , the amount of food that people are able to receive in prison.
Nicole Rose:The profiteering behind that.
Nicole Rose:Yeah.
Nicole Rose:How that is affecting people.
Nicole Rose:How basically people are living on so little that it is like basically hard to, hard to kind of exist inside and that is leading to a lot of anger and desperation and violence.
Nicole Rose:Yeah.
Nicole Rose:So anyway, I would really recommend checking that out and dropping Kev a card.
Nicole Rose:I know I've mentioned him before, but we always joke that the only people that write to him are like queers who love plants, which is basically everyone that follows me on Instagram.
Nicole Rose:So, If you're one of those, or if you're straight or whoever you are, like he would love a letter.
Nicole Rose:He tries to write back to everyone.
Nicole Rose:Okay, so now I'm gonna talk about, , wound care in prison.
Nicole Rose:And, you know, I just wanna say like, this chapter was really written for a reason.
Nicole Rose:Like, inside I saw vast amounts of people self-harming, people having fights, you know, behind closed doors, dealing with injuries that they didn't wanna report to the officers.
Nicole Rose:, or you know, like Kevan, who I just mentioned, he got stabbed, , by a white supremacist, I don't know how long ago now.
Nicole Rose:It was on Christmas day he called me.
Nicole Rose:So yeah, like maybe like four, four years ago now.
Nicole Rose:But, , yeah, like it happens, right?
Nicole Rose:Like this kind of violence and wounds are like really, really a thing like in prison.
Nicole Rose:And, you know, the solution is obviously to like not have prisons anymore, , and have different systems of care.
Nicole Rose:But yeah, where we are now is that like, obviously there are thousands if not millions of people in prison around the world who don't have access to healthcare, who, you know, a little simple wound wash with a strong herbal tea that's got some antimicrobial properties might be the difference between them getting a very infected wound that could, you know, develop into sepsis, for example.
Nicole Rose:So have a listen and yeah, I just wanna emphasize again, it's for a prison context, like people on the outside, it is very different and I would love to do an episode at some point.
Nicole Rose:About our kind of wound care strategies and protocols in Calais with our mobile herbal clinics.
Nicole Rose:I think that would be interesting.
Nicole Rose:Anyway, enjoy.
Nicole Rose:I'll put a link in the show notes to my prisoners' herbal book.
Nicole Rose:This is where the chapter's from.
Nicole Rose:, and yeah, thanks for listening.
Nicole Rose:Take care.
Nicole Rose:Hello.
Nicole Rose:The aim of this section is to provide a brief overview of some wound care strategies.
Nicole Rose:In a perfect world, anyone who was wounded would be able to access a medically trained person who would support them with high quality first aid materials in a clean and sterile environment.
Nicole Rose:We all know in prison this is not the case.
Nicole Rose:You may need to wait a long time to see a nurse or a doctor.
Nicole Rose:Prison officers might be too busy or simply just not care about getting you the help you need, or you may have been injured in a fight or altercation that you don't want to make the officers aware of.
Nicole Rose:In prison, I saw many people struggling with major bruises and minor wounds from fights behind closed doors.
Nicole Rose:More commonly were the women who had self harmed and cut their arms or elsewhere, but they did not want to tell officers out of shame or fear of punishment or consequences.
Nicole Rose:My best friend who has spent the last three years fighting for cancer treatment would regularly come back from the hospital with serious infections such as M R S A, due to wound dressings not being changed regularly or from the poor hygiene in the prison.
Nicole Rose:I want to emphasize that the information on this page should NOT capital letters, uh, replace medical treatment if you are able to get help do it.
Nicole Rose:Wounds can be very unpredictable and get infected easily.
Nicole Rose:There is nothing better than sterile dressings or people treating you with clean gloves in a medical environment.
Nicole Rose:Always seek medical advice if you have a serious injury.
Nicole Rose:Bleeding can be life-threatening.
Nicole Rose:It is absolutely imperative to call an ambulance.
Nicole Rose:If there is a chest injury, the person cannot breathe or is no longer alert or if you cannot stop the bleeding.
Nicole Rose:Likewise, if the person has lost a significant amount of blood, is very, very important to get them to hospital.
Nicole Rose:This section contains useful information for minor wounds.
Nicole Rose:Cuts and bruises.
Nicole Rose:However, I cannot emphasize enough.
Nicole Rose:If you can see a nurse or doctor, then always do so.
Nicole Rose:Okay.
Nicole Rose:Bleeding wounds, there are different types of bleeding.
Nicole Rose:Arterial bleeding is under direct pressure from the heart.
Nicole Rose:It spurts out in a dramatic fashion, and blood loss can be very rapid.
Nicole Rose:It can be life-threatening.
Nicole Rose:Within a couple of minutes, the blood is bright red and rich with oxygen.
Nicole Rose:Venous bleeding is from veins that are not under direct pressure from the heart like arteries.
Nicole Rose:However, bleeding from a major vein will flow profusely and can be just as life-threatening.
Nicole Rose:Capillary bleeding is more like a trickle of blood.
Nicole Rose:It is a necessary part of the healing process and occurs in all wounds.
Nicole Rose:Blood loss is usually slight and controlled.
Nicole Rose:Managing bleeding wounds.
Nicole Rose:I will go into more detail about these aspects of wound care.
Nicole Rose:However, a basic overview is.
Nicole Rose:Apply pressure and stop the bleeding, clean the area, encourage healing.
Nicole Rose:Other key points include, sit or lie down, depending on where the bleeding is, is always worth sitting or lying down if needed, in case you go into shock or develop further symptoms.
Nicole Rose:It also makes it easier to clean and bandage, examine.
Nicole Rose:You need to know what you're dealing with.
Nicole Rose:How profuse is the bleeding?
Nicole Rose:Where is it coming from?
Nicole Rose:Are there any objects?
Nicole Rose:In the wound is more than one area of bleeding.
Nicole Rose:Irrigation wounds need to be cleaned out with clean water pressure, applied pressure to the point of bleeding continuously for 10 minutes, and dress wounds need to be covered with dressings to prevent infection and to reduce blood loss further, or functional damage.
Nicole Rose:You may need to assess whether there is further damage or anything else going on for the injured person.
Nicole Rose:Trained first aiders will do what is called a CMS check, circulation sensation, and motor control.
Nicole Rose:When they're checking circulation, they want to be sure that the wound is not causing the rest of the body to be starved of blood.
Nicole Rose:Obviously, in a small wound, this is not likely, but in the case of a larger wound on the for forearm, for example, you would want to make sure that their hand doesn't look pale and is still getting blood.
Nicole Rose:The purpose of this check is to make sure that if a nerve or a muscle was cut or damaged by the wounds, you know it as early as possible when it may still be repairable.
Nicole Rose:If the person can't move their hand below a forearm wound, it might be just because of pain, but it might be because a wound cut a nerve or a muscle badly enough to make movement impossible.
Nicole Rose:Okay.
Nicole Rose:, some wound care goals.
Nicole Rose:The common goals of wound healing are get it clean and keep it clean.
Nicole Rose:Move blood flow to the wound, stimulate the body's natural inflammatory processes, support with skin repair and remodeling.
Nicole Rose:Plant medicines can support all of these processes.
Nicole Rose:Applying pressure, direct pressure to the area is a common way to stop bleeding or slow it down.
Nicole Rose:Ideally, you would be wearing gloves and have a sterile gore in prison.
Nicole Rose:Washing your hands and grabbing a clean piece of material might be your best bet.
Nicole Rose:For example, a recently washed item of clothing or a bandana.
Nicole Rose:There are also various pressure points around the body where if pressure is applied, bleeding will slow down.
Nicole Rose:Maybe you've seen it on movies where people dramatically rip off a piece of clothing and tie the fabric around arms or legs.
Nicole Rose:, so just a side note, obviously, you know, if you're dealing with anything that needs like a tourniquet, like Jesus, like contact the doctor, you know, like start a right in the prison to access healthcare for that person.
Nicole Rose:Okay?
Nicole Rose:Uh, back to it.
Nicole Rose:Wound cleaning.
Nicole Rose:Like I said, this section is all about minor wounds.
Nicole Rose:Okay.
Nicole Rose:Wound cleaning, always assume a wound is dirty.
Nicole Rose:There may be pieces of debris in it.
Nicole Rose:However, what we cannot see is often the most dangerous.
Nicole Rose:The whole purpose of cleaning a wound is to reduce the total number of harmful bacteria or other microorganisms.
Nicole Rose:Therefore, clean it well and keep it clean with regular changes of dressing.
Nicole Rose:Top tips for wound cleaning and hygiene in prison.
Nicole Rose:Wash your hands with soap and ideally with warm water, make sure you wash 'em properly, especially in between the fingers and the thumb.
Nicole Rose:Wash your hands after giving any first aid.
Nicole Rose:Wash your hands after any kind of exposure to bodily fluids.
Nicole Rose:If you're doing first aid, take off any wrist or hand jewelry.
Nicole Rose:Make sure fingernails are short, short, clean, and free of nail polish.
Nicole Rose:If you've got your own cuts, then keep them covered.
Nicole Rose:If you're dealing with anyone else's, Make sure you get rid of waste.
Nicole Rose:Well, if you have fabric infected with blood, for example, on the outside, there would be specific bins for this, like radical, like red medical waste bags or yellow bags, for example.
Nicole Rose:However, this is unlikely in prison.
Nicole Rose:I'd recommend wrapping up whatever you have inside, some kind of separate bag and tying it tightly so that any wind cleaners don't come into direct contact with infected items.
Nicole Rose:Make sure you clean up any dirty areas with warm soapy water or disinfectant that you can get from wind cleaners.
Nicole Rose:Wipe down all the surfaces and check the floor.
Nicole Rose:Irrigating the wound.
Nicole Rose:Okay?
Nicole Rose:So in an ideal world, you'd have a neat little first aid kit with a sterile syringe and sterile water that you could irrigate a wound with.
Nicole Rose:In prison, not only will you not have access to first aid gear like gloves, but it's also likely in many countries that water will not be clean, very clean, either to clean the water better.
Nicole Rose:You can boil it if possible, for at least five minutes.
Nicole Rose:You can also add salt to the water, ideally when boiling, , at the very least, one teaspoon per quart, just under a liter of water.
Nicole Rose:If you're not able to heat water, then adding salt to it will help.
Nicole Rose:Either way, herbalist Katja Swift, , who's an amazing herbalist, f y i from the Commonwealth Herb School, , says, says, in our herbal wing care trainings, that 10% salinity kills 80% of microorganisms in 30 minutes.
Nicole Rose:Therefore, it is worth adding it in in quantity for a disinfectant action.
Nicole Rose:To irrigate a wound, effectively, you want the water to be flowing away from the wound so that the infected particles are not coming into the, coming into the wound.
Nicole Rose:Like for example, running something under a tap as if you're washing something, keep cleaning the wound until it looks as clean as possible, and you cannot see any visible matter in there.
Nicole Rose:There is a saying, the solution to pollution is dilution.
Nicole Rose:Basically, you want to wash out whatever is in there with good velocity, you know, like power, and with enough volume of water for adequate irrigation.
Nicole Rose:To get further antibacterial benefits.
Nicole Rose:You can also irrigate a wound with a herbal tea or infusion that you have made.
Nicole Rose:If the wound is in a place that you can irrigate, then you can wash it with a cloth.
Nicole Rose:If there is any debris at all, it all has to come out.
Nicole Rose:Don't try to be gentle.
Nicole Rose:You can use things like tweezers, pins, needles, or even a rough towel.
Nicole Rose:It may feel uncomfortable, but it is very important.
Nicole Rose:Even a clean toothbrush could work in the wind.
Nicole Rose:Now, this aspect of wound care is probably the hardest in prison.
Nicole Rose:If you aren't unable to go to prison officers for help because of a fight, for example, then my advice would be to see if anyone else on your wing can try and get sterile materials.
Nicole Rose:For example, asking for a plaster or saying they have cut themselves shaving or something.
Nicole Rose:Many prison kitchens will have basic first aid kits in them, which you can either sneakily try to appropriate from, or you can ask a person who works in the kitchen to get one for you.
Nicole Rose:Ideally, you'd have access to some kind of sterile gores or plaster that you can put on the wound.
Nicole Rose:You may need to bandage this up further.
Nicole Rose:If you are unable to access any kind of sterile dressing, then you'll need to make one good material can include pillowcase, rip sheets, cloths, bandanas, ideally, materials that are thinner than things like jumpers.
Nicole Rose:If possible, try to get white ones so that you can more easily see the dirt.
Nicole Rose:Wash the material in clean, hot, soapy water.
Nicole Rose:A bleach tablet would be ideal if you can get one from a wing cleaner.
Nicole Rose:Rinse out at least twice to completely remove the soap.
Nicole Rose:Hang up to dry.
Nicole Rose:You can then cut the material into sides such as strips.
Nicole Rose:You may need to use several strips on a wound in layers, so try to have as many as you can.
Nicole Rose:You can also sterilize dressing by ironing it.
Nicole Rose:If an iron is available on your wing, whenever you see material that could make a good bandage, it may be worth saving it for the day when you might need it.
Nicole Rose:Okay.
Nicole Rose:Objects embedded in wounds.
Nicole Rose:If there is debris in the wound, always get it out.
Nicole Rose:It becomes a much trickier area.
Nicole Rose:If there are significant objects, there might be stemming the bleeding, whereby removing them could cause further damage.
Nicole Rose:I would seriously recommend getting to a doctor if possible.
Nicole Rose:If something is as serious.
Nicole Rose:If it really is not possible or you have to wait a long time until you can see one, then you can build up dressings around the object to help apply pressure to the wound before getting whatever it is removed.
Nicole Rose:The most important message is that there's, if there is debris in the wound that you are able to remove it, then do it.
Nicole Rose:The most important message is that if there is debris in the wound that you are able to remove, then do it.
Nicole Rose:Infections.
Nicole Rose:Take every wound seriously, no matter how small it is.
Nicole Rose:Important to monitor a wound for signs of infection.
Nicole Rose:These can often take 24 hours to appear.
Nicole Rose:Signs of infection can include increased pain, increased warmth, increased swelling, increased redness, red streaking of the surrounding area.
Nicole Rose:, which is quite significant, you know, in terms of cellulitis risk.
Nicole Rose:Just side note.
Nicole Rose:Okay.
Nicole Rose:Pus draining from the area, a foul smell, tender lumps or swelling in the armpit, groin, or neck and generalized chills or fever over 37.5 degrees.
Nicole Rose:, symptoms will often get worse with time and infection is indicated.
Nicole Rose:If the wound is simply not healing up, many people will be more vulnerable to infection than others.
Nicole Rose:I'd really emphasize again to seek proper medical attention.
Nicole Rose:Especially if you are immunocompromised, diabetic or have any other chronic illnesses.
Nicole Rose:I don't want to scare people, but infections and wounds, if they become systemic, like in the bloodstream, can kill you.
Nicole Rose:I know people don't want to risk getting denied parole, but you might lose your life if you develop a serious infection and it goes untreated.
Nicole Rose:There are many plants that can help with infections internally and externally, but if you see any kind of streaking, it could be lymphangitis, which really demands a trip to the hospital.
Nicole Rose:Likewise, a red waxy sheen could indicate cellulitis and could become septic, so it is important to get to the hospital.
Nicole Rose:All right.
Nicole Rose:Using herbs in wound care mentioned throughout this book at different plants, uh, with wound healing properties.
Nicole Rose:Rose petals, for example, can help when placed on small cuts and daisies can be mashed up and applied to bruises, Kamaal, and black tea bags can be placed on most wounds included in infected toenails and offer antibacterial properties.
Nicole Rose:However, plantain, yarrow and self heal are our major wound healing allies.
Nicole Rose:Herbalist Katja swift writes how Self heal can draw out infection, such as in an abscess, and is very beneficial in stimulating the healing of wounds, burns and ulcers, including internally.
Nicole Rose:Self heal also has diptic actions.
Nicole Rose:Staunching the flow of blood.
Nicole Rose:Yarrow is wonderful in for all stages of the wound healing process from stopping bleeding to tissue repair.
Nicole Rose:Plantain is superb for wound healing due to its ability as a drawing agent as well as an astringent and vulnerary.
Nicole Rose:Read the plant profiles for more specific information on these plants.
Nicole Rose:And obviously you are listening to this, not reading this, but you can check all of them out on this podcast.
Nicole Rose:To use these plants practically, there are a number of options, okay?
Nicole Rose:Using the leaves directly, cleaning cuts and wounds of plantain.
Nicole Rose:Plantain has a drawing action, which means when it is placed over a wound, it will help to draw out debris or poisons from bites and stings.
Nicole Rose:The leaf surface can be applied directly to the skin.
Nicole Rose:Make sure the leaf itself is actually clean of stones, debris, and dust.
Nicole Rose:You might want to wash it under the tap.
Nicole Rose:You can also chew the leaf up in your mouth to help and then apply it to the cut or sting.
Nicole Rose:Depending on the sides of the area, you may need to several leaves.
Nicole Rose:In Ireland, they use one side of the leaf for drawing and then turn the leaf over and apply the other side for healing.
Nicole Rose:You might want to do this, use one or more leaves to help clean the wound.
Nicole Rose:Don't forget to irrigate and then get fresh leaves and apply and hold in place.
Nicole Rose:These simple plantain poultices are one of my favorite herbal party tricks.
Nicole Rose:People are normally blown away by the instant results and how quickly bleeding stops or stings go down, depending on how severe the wound is, you might want to change the leaves regularly until they've had the effect you have needed.
Nicole Rose:Applying Yarrow directly to a cut.
Nicole Rose:You'll also be impressed if you apply yarrow leaves directly to cuts after washing.
Nicole Rose:Ideally, you'll see how quickly the blood stops.
Nicole Rose:You may wish to chew up the leaf little, or you can also just apply direct self-heal.
Nicole Rose:You can also apply self-heal leaves directly to cuts.
Nicole Rose:They're a bit smaller and fiddly than plantain, but if you can mash up a few of them and apply them, they can be very effective at stopping the bleeding.
Nicole Rose:Irrigating wounds with herbal teas, irrigating and cleaning a wound is of incredible importance.
Nicole Rose:I know that I have said this 10 times already.
Nicole Rose:However, the process can be aided in prison by making a strong herbal tea and using it to clean the wound.
Nicole Rose:This will be extra help for fighting bacterial and microbial infections.
Nicole Rose:You may wish to make a strong tea of yarrow, plantain or self heal.
Nicole Rose:You can also use chamomile or peppermint tea if you are unable to access any others or fresh plant material.
Nicole Rose:Make sure if you are pouring tea on a wound that is cool enough and that the actual plant material has been removed so that you don't get anything extra in the wound making poultices For practical reasons, you might not be able to sit there and hold a leaf in place over your cut or small wound.
Nicole Rose:Therefore, you might want to make a studier poultice attached to the bandage, moisten the fresh or dried hub with water for at least two minutes.
Nicole Rose:You can then either apply the damp hubs to the affected area directly.
Nicole Rose:Or if you have one with some kind of gauze material that will still allow contact between the plants and the skin.
Nicole Rose:What you are trying to achieve is as much herbal contact with the skin as possible to enable them to work their magic.
Nicole Rose:If you are using some kind of powder, you might want to mix it with a bit of flour into a paste and then apply.
Nicole Rose:, and once you have placed your herb on the area, cover with some kind of bandage or material to hold it in place, keeping it there as long as needed, and change with fresh herbs when necessary.
Nicole Rose:If you're simply trying to stop a cut from bleeding, it will heal up very fast.
Nicole Rose:If you're trying to support a larger wound, you might want to keep a poulis on for 12 to 24 hours and change every few hours depending on how much plant material you have access to.
Nicole Rose:You can also use herbal tea bags as poultices once they're damp, simply placed on the affected area and change regularly.
Nicole Rose:Compresses.
Nicole Rose:Okay.
Nicole Rose:If you have limited plant material, it may be more effective to make a strong hot infusion and soak material in it, and then apply it to the wound.
Nicole Rose:This will maximize the amount of surface area that can be covered and supported by the plants.
Nicole Rose:If you have cut or scratched your arms, for example, as an act of self-harm.
Nicole Rose:Then soaking material in a warm infusion with plants and straining and applying to the soil area can really, really help.
Nicole Rose:You may like to use wound healers like yarrow, plantain and self-heal, or you can also use cooling plants like mallow, rose and chamomile.
Nicole Rose:Making a tea to drink too will also help the nervous system recover.
Nicole Rose:Taking plants internally to aid wound healing Plants can also help infection and support the wound healing processes when taken Internally.
Nicole Rose:Taking a tea of plantain, yarrow or self-heal can definitely aid the body in recovering from wounds as well as stave off infections using cayenne powder if someone has access to it.
Nicole Rose:On your wing then cayenne powder, , can be useful to help stop bleeding.
Nicole Rose:It does hurt a little to apply, but it is a skeptic, meaning it helps to stop bleeding and encourages blood vessels to close.
Nicole Rose:It helps prevent shock and can also help postpone infection.
Nicole Rose:After you have irrigated the wound, simply put powder over it and then cover with dressing and apply pressure.
Nicole Rose:Other minor wounds.
Nicole Rose:Okay, bruises.
Nicole Rose:So ideally for bruises, you want some kind of ice pack where you can place it on the bruise and apply pressure for 10 minutes.
Nicole Rose:If you don't have an ice pack, running it under cold water will also help.
Nicole Rose:You can then mash up some daisies into a poultice and directly apply to the bruised area.
Nicole Rose:Splinters.
Nicole Rose:If you have a significant splinter, you might need to get it professionally removed.
Nicole Rose:If you want to get it out yourself, then make sure you wash the whole area with warm soapy water to get it as clean as possible.
Nicole Rose:Then pat the area dry with something clean.
Nicole Rose:Then you need a pair of tweezers.
Nicole Rose:You may want to wash the tweezers too, or if you can't, then running a lighter up and down to kill some things, but not all.
Nicole Rose:Grip the splinter as close to the skin as possible.
Nicole Rose:Gently pull it out at the same angle it went in.
Nicole Rose:You can then gently squeeze the area to encourage a bit of bleeding, wash the wound again, and then dry it and cover with a dressing.
Nicole Rose:A black teabag rung out tightly taped to the splinter overnight can also be effective.
Nicole Rose:The astringency squeezes the splinter up a little and makes it easier to grab a planten leaf and banana peel can also have this action.
Nicole Rose:Okay, nose bleeds.
Nicole Rose:You may just experience a nose bleed as people do, or you may have been hit and your nose could be bleeding.
Nicole Rose:You can normally feel from the level of pain.
Nicole Rose:If your nose has been broken for a bleeding nose, sit down and lean your head forward.
Nicole Rose:Don't lie down.
Nicole Rose:It's keeping the nose above the heart reduces bleeding.
Nicole Rose:Pinch the soft part of the nose and maintain a constant pressure for 10 minutes.
Nicole Rose:Breathe through the mouth and let blood run out of it rather than back down the throat.
Nicole Rose:It is probably worth having someone nearby to help more up the dripping blood.
Nicole Rose:It sounds ridiculous, but I've seen it in action.
Nicole Rose:Roll up a ya leaf and place in your nose.
Nicole Rose:You'll be amazed at how fast the bleeding can stop.
Nicole Rose:All right.
Nicole Rose:So yeah, that is the, , chapter from the prisoner's herbal on like wound care in a prison context.
Nicole Rose:And I just wanna emphasize again, that they're quite unique conditions where you have like very limited access to healthcare.
Nicole Rose:, so yeah, for those of us not in prison, hopefully we've got, , Better access, , able to access what we need to care for our wounds.
Nicole Rose:, but yeah, obviously I encourage like wound care as much as possible at home that you can do that's safe to do.
Nicole Rose:And yeah, I will definitely record another podcast on the subject cuz I've just learned so much, , working in Calais and Dunkirk in terms of herbal wound care.
Nicole Rose:So yeah, I will share that at some point this year.
Nicole Rose:Okay.
Nicole Rose:Thanks for listening.
Nicole Rose:Take care.
Nicole Rose:Thanks so much for listening to the Frontline Herbalism podcast.