It was a bad moment a week or two ago when I was headed in to get my hair cut and I heard the “thump” and then the scream. My boys seem to scream about every three seconds but you learn quickly the difference between fighting screams, play-acting screams, and the real ones. This one was the real deal.
I could see his eye swelling up right before my eyes as he came up from that concrete step. Frederick ran in for ice and we iced it down for a few minutes. We were on the road and so the rest of the “icing down” part was left to Alastair and you can guess how good a six-year-old is at that. When he emerged the next morning I cringed. The swelling was monumental. The bruising was fairly bad and, luckily, the abrasions were minimal.
I applied a very basic turmeric paste to his eye and noticed a big difference within an hour, especially in the swelling. He had dark bruising on the lower part of his upper eye lid but I didn’t apply the paste to that portion. The rest of the affected area was noticeably better with just one application.
Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory and has been used for centuries in India to treat swelling and bruising. Since it also sits waiting in my kitchen, it was an obvious choice. (Read all about turmeric here.)
The paste is just a version of my turmeric facial mask (here) but I left out the oatmeal and mixed the turmeric powder in simply with a yogurt. Yogurt is soothing for skin but even mixing the turmeric with water would be a good option.
Apply the paste over the affected area in a thin layer. If you pack it on, you will end up with turmeric clumps in your lap as you let it sit. A thin layer will stay on nicely.
In Alastair’s case, I applied the paste and then washed it off in a bath about an hour later. This is a good treatment before a bath or shower because you’ll want to get it fairly wet to get it off. Wet it and just wipe the area ever-so-gently. If your bruise is too painful to touch, you may not be able to get all of the orange off. If the bruise is that bad, you may not care if it is black and blue and orange. If you do, you have been warned.
The Half Pint Hacks describe the remedy in the video below.
Store any leftover mixture in the refrigerator.
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Key tip for eating (and drinking) turmeric (aka “You’re eating your turmeric *all wrong*!!!”) plus recipes
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Turmeric powder – How to make your own turmeric powder using a traditional approach from India (and a quality test for the turmeric powder in your cupboard)
A turmeric smoothie with a flavor-enhancing pro tip ;)
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An anti-inflammatory golden tea, ready for your office, ready for the road