Allergic to NSAIDs and Aspirin

[edaleyStudent]

I have a friend who just had a badly broken leg that needed surgery. The stitches were just taken out.  I gave them Bone and Tissue Salve to use help it heal faster and the Pain and Warming (Cayenne) Salve to help his knee from waking on crutches etc.   His wife called and said he is allergic to NSAIDS and Aspirin. and to ask if there was anything in those salves that would bother him? It shuts down his breathing so I said not use them.

I looked up Arnica and it is said to be similar to NSAIDS because of the anti-inflammatory  action it has.

I looked up what I put in the Bone and Tissue Salve. There are several anti-inflammatory herbs in there.   Can you help me to know what could be used to heal the wound? Can I use a simple one herb like Comfrey?  It also is an anti-inflammatory but what can be used to heal the skin and help it from getting infected? Any suggestions? I know the Marshmallow would also help in soothing it. Wormwood is antibacterial  but also anti- inflammatory. She said because he cannot use these things it is very slow in healing.  Please give some thoughts. Are there any properties that are anti-inflammatory that would not bother this man?  Has anyone else worked with someone who has these issues?

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

Yours in italics, mine in Bold

I have a friend who just had a badly broken leg that needed surgery. The stitches were just taken out.  I gave them Bone and Tissue Salve to use help it heal faster and the Pain and Warming (Cayenne) Salve to help his knee from waking on crutches etc.   His wife called and said he is allergic to NSAIDS and Aspirin. and to ask if there was anything in those salves that would bother him? It shuts down his breathing so I said not use them.

Topical use of things is much less likely to cause serious allergic response than internal use. With any new topical, I recommend that a person apply a small dab to the skin and make sure nothing exciting happens (anything exciting from a topical will likely be a rash).

I looked up Arnica and it is said to be similar to NSAIDS because of the anti-inflammatory  action it has.

Two things having the same effect doesn’t in any way mean that they’re doing it with the same chemicals. If a person were allergic to Arnica and aspirin, it’d be from sheer coincidence.

I looked up what I put in the Bone and Tissue Salve. There are several anti-inflammatory herbs in there.   Can you help me to know what could be used to heal the wound? Can I use a simple one herb like Comfrey? 

Topical comfrey is a good anti-inflammatory (in none of the ways that NSAIDS or Aspirin are) and accelerates healing.

It also is an anti-inflammatory but what can be used to heal the skin and help it from getting infected? Any suggestions? I know the Marshmallow would also help in soothing it. Wormwood is antibacterial  but also anti- inflammatory. She said because he cannot use these things it is very slow in healing.  Please give some thoughts. Are there any properties that are anti-inflammatory that would not bother this man?  Has anyone else worked with someone who has these issues?

The Poultice formula does all of those things. If you want something simpler, Comfrey, Calendula and marshmallow together would cover those bases.

As to his allergies, I’d avoid willow, birch, aspen, poplar, spirea and other plants in that group.

Have a look at the Wound Management lessons and the pain management lessons. Lots of good info there.

 

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

• This reply was modified 8 months, 1 week ago by Dr. Patrick Jones.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Kristine W., Alice

[edaleyStudentTopic Author]

Thank you Doc for responding back to me. I am so thankful for your school. It has been an exciting journey.   I am so grateful you were able to answer those various questions.

I was hoping you would answer about the chemical part. I wondered about the same thing but don’t have the experience or knowledge. I don’t want to say to take something and it does more harm than good but this gives us a great point to start from. I will study the Wound Management and Pain Management Lessons again and try to help them work through it.   Thanks a million.

 

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

The actions of a drug or herb are the effect, not the cause. It’s very possible to achieve the same effect through very different means. Arnica is anti-inflammatory, aspirin is anti-inflammatory, comfrey is anti-inflammatory, etc… but none of those things decrease inflammation through the same means. So, for an article to say that “Arnica is an anti-inflammatory like aspirin” would be similar to saying oatmeal fills your belly like pizza. They can both be used to fill your belly but that’s about where the similarity ends. So if someone were allergic to oatmeal, it wouldn’t mean they were allergic to pizza just because they’re both belly fillers. Does that make sense?

I talk a little about this in the Learning the lingo lesson. Herbs are often grouped by their effects rather than by their actual actions on the body. Burdock and Brigham tea can both be antihistamines but Brigham tea does it by suppressing production of histamine and burdock does it by accelerating elimination of histamine. Both result in lower histamines but their methods were completely different.

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

3 users thanked author for this post.

Kristine W., Alice, Greg Boggs

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