DS has a cut on his finger...and it's gonna end up in his mouth

[mrs.t]

DS sort of skinned his finger somehow on something, probably when he was crawling, maybe on the rug. Anyway, it's a small cut but it's getting a little bit red, so I want to put something on it. Normally I would just put some A&D ointment on any little cuts he has, but this is definitely going to end up in his mouth, so I'm afraid of anything that could be toxic. What would be safe?

[CookAMH]

Coconut oil is an edible ointment that we use around here, it'll help heal and keep infection at bay.

[treeoflife3]

I'm going to be honest... I never put anything on cuts and scrapes. I once put some lavender on a pretty bad cut she got on her forehead (she thought that catching herself with her face tripping on gravel was a good idea?) but otherwise I just wipe it off and forget about it. Its how it was always done with me and neither of us have had infections as far as I know. We both also heal pretty quickly.

[prone_to_wander]

what about breast milk? I put breast milk on my LO's boo boos

[Adaline'sMama]

Originally Posted by prone_to_wander

what about breast milk? I put breast milk on my LO's boo boos

that

[snoopy5386]

I use nipple cream.

[mrs.t]

I wasn't really concerned with it until I noticed it had gotten red. There's no pus or anything, it's just a little inflamed looking. I was thinking breastmilk, which made me think of nipple cream, so I put some on it and it didn't seem to do anything. I'll try some breastmilk today. Thanks for the suggestions!

[sunnygir1]

I usually don't put anything on, but if it's looking red and irritated, I'd probably do something too.

I clean with hydrogen peroxide if it's going to be mouthed. Just that in itself will help with the pain and the healing by killing bacteria.

I follow up with a salve. I only use them if I know all the ingredients, so it might be beeswax, coconut oil, or other natural base, with herbal extracts (comfrey, golden seal, myrrh, St. John's wort, etc.) and sometimes essential oils (lavender, peppermint, etc.) I don't worry with these kinds of herbs because it is such a minuscule amount that they might get in their mouth.

[ErinYay]

Hydrogen peroxide is a lousy disinfectant and kills healthy cells which delays healing, so I only use it for the inital cleaning of nasty, jagged wounds.

V gets little scrapes on her toes and hands, but I don't do anything with them other than a wipe down with water every so often.

[sunnygir1]

Originally Posted by ErinYay

Hydrogen peroxide is a lousy disinfectant and kills healthy cells which delays healing, so I only use it for the inital cleaning of nasty, jagged wounds.

V gets little scrapes on her toes and hands, but I don't do anything with them other than a wipe down with water every so often.

Why would you choose it for initial cleaning of the wound if it is a lousy disinfectant? The article you linked doesn't say that the HO won't disinfect the wound. The only thing it says is, "Hydrogen peroxide and providone-iodine (Betadine) products may be used to clean the wound initially, but may inhibit wound healing if used long-term."

Anyway, I don't repeatedly clean with HO, but IME if I have a cut on my finger that hurts (which I would think the OP's lo's wound does since it is red and sore-looking) it starts to feel better after I clean with HO. Sometimes I use alcohol or tea tree oil, but the former stings (for babes) and the latter isn't something you want on a baby's finger because it may wind up in the eye.

[ErinYay]

I mean to flush debris, not to sterilize.

[Asiago]

Same here, I put breast milk on everything, even bumps and bruises. It's comical now my husband refers to it as 'Windex' (ref: My Big Fat Greek Wedding)

Hope your little ones injury heals quickly.

[mrs.t]

Thanks everyone. I put some frozen breastmilk on it, let it melt on his finger, and it's healing really well now. No more swelling or redness, it's amazing how well it worked!

[prone_to_wander]

I never knew how freaking amazing breastmilk was until I had my DS but WOW! I think the world's problems could be solved with a little bit of breastmilk

[mrs.t]

Please, my husband has severe eczema and psoriasis...I think I'm gonna make him use some. It's not like it will hurt him! I just don't think I can keep up with how much he might need is it actually works!