A couple of weeks ago I was walking out of the local HEB supermarket with a small bundle of firewood stacked on the lower rack of the shopping cart. As I was pushing the cart over the speed bump I didn’t notice my bundle of wood tumble out the front of the cart – seconds later the cart came to a complete stop and my left shin met the metal bar of the shopping cart. OUCH!

Immediately I had a welt on the tibia the size of a silver dollar and I was blinking back tears of pain. By the time I got home and unloaded my groceries the swelling was quite raised and very uncomfortable.

Heli hydrosol to the rescue!

Earlier in the week I had been reading Suzanne Catty’s Hydrosols: The Next Aromatherapy book while mapping out a couple of blending projects containing hydrosols. I had flipped past Helichrysum then returned to refresh my memory of the therapeutic properties of the hydrosol, which include support for brusing and trauma. I’m so glad I had that in the back of my mind when I was putting groceries in the fridge and saw my bottle of Heli hydrosol in the door pocket!
Helichrysum italicum is a flowering plant in the daisy family, it is also known as Immortelle and can go by the other latin name Helichrysum angustifolia. The hydrosol smells a lot like the essential oil, if it’s not your favorite aroma you may have to push past it to still enjoy the therapeutic effects.
I sprayed my shin bone with a single fine mist pump (one spray) and went about the rest of my afternoon. Within a half hour the pain was quite manageable, in fact it was forgettable. I applied another single spray before bedtime and let it dry before changing into pajamas. The welt was 50% smaller by then and only painful when touched.

The following day I applied the hydrosol three times – morning, midday, and evening. I had the slightest of a yellow tinge of bruising in the morning which disappeared by afternoon. It was only sensitive when pressure was applied directly to the site. By day three I had minimal sensitivity to the area when touched and just a tiny scab where the skin was abraded from the contact with the metal shopping cart.

Trying this at home

If you’d like to try this at home on bumps and bruises dilute at 50% in distilled water for adults and one (1) drop of hydrosol in a teaspoon of aloe vera gel/juice for toddlers and children. You may want to premix an age-appropriate dilution and do a skin test when family members are healthy before trying an un-tested application in a boo-boo crisis situation. If a family member is allergic to daisies he/she may exhibit allergy symptoms to Helichrysum (essential oil or hydrosol) and use should be discontinued immediately.

Is Aromatherapy right for your family? Need some help navigating the dos and don’ts? Talk to a Qualified Aromatherapist. This is our job – we’re here to help!