It’s time for #SundaySwap! Today’s swap is first aid, with thanks to several of you suggesting it. We did a lot of research on this one to provide you with the most comprehensive list that we could. As always, however, it is just a sample of what is available, and questions, comments, and suggestions are more than welcome! FIRST AID SWAP Animal-tested: All over-the-counter and prescription medications (aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.) are legally required to go through animal testing trials before they are put on the market. There is no way around that fact, but some companies are especially notorious for animal testing, so it is possible to try and minimize your support of them. In case you want to purposefully avoid their first-aid products and medicines, the parent companies are Johnson & Johnson and Proctor & Gamble, with health care items that include 3M, Vaseline, Neosporin, Band-Aid, Vicks, Tylenol, Motrin, Bengay, Savlon, and Cortaid. Cruelty-free: Botanical extracts and essential oils are the best tools in a cruelty-free first aid kit…and for all-around wellness with the hope of not needing to resort to animal-tested medications at all! We divided up the first aid category into smaller sections, but happily all of the companies listed in each section have products for a wide variety of ailments; most could actually go into every category. If you have a first-aid or minor medical concern and want to find a cruelty-free, natural alternative to traditional animal-tested medicine, chances are very good that you will find a product on one of these websites. If you check out your natural/organic local store, they will certainly have many options as well, and Whole Foods has a large section devoted solely to homeopathic remedies. Burns: Aloe vera gel (you can grow your own aloe vera plant or buy the gel through companies like JASON at jason-personalcare or Mill Creek at various sites including amazon and iherb) and Aroma Crystal Outdoor Eazzz, an all-natural, antibacterial spray to soothe irritated skin (aromacrystal). Minor cuts and scrapes: Tea tree oil, Alba Botanica’s non-petroleum gel (albabotanica), herbal salves like MJ’s Herbals First Aid Salve (mjsherbals) that can replace Neosporin, Herbaliz natural remedies for a variety of ailments including cuts (herbaliz), All Terrain bandages and gauze (allterrainco), and Derma e natural skincare with therapeutic topicals like Medicine Cabinet, which includes scar gel and skinbiotics treatment crème (dermae). Hand sanitizer: Method (methodhome), Cleanwell, which also has an awesome line of antibacterial cleaning products to prevent germs around the home (cleanwelltoday), and The Honest Company (honest). Nausea: Ginger tea is a great way to fight nausea naturally, as is peppermint tea, and you can also make your own anti-nausea medicine. We have not tried these ourselves, but two recipes that we found repeatedly on different sites are a ½ C sugar and ¼ C water or 1 C water, 10 drops lime juice, ¼ tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp sugar. There are many other recipes out there too! Immunity system boost: Aroma Crystal Nature’s First Defense roll-on natural antiviral essential oils (aromacrystal). Bug bites, poison ivy, etc.: US Organics All Natural Anti-Itch Balm (antiitchbalm) and Iwilla Remedy Bug Off Herbal Insect Repellant (iwillaremedy). Pain relief: Epsom salt, WellinHand PAIN RESCUE, both warm and cool options, for chronic or short-term pain (wellinhand), and All Terrain natural remedies including Recovery Rub Pain-Relieving Cream (allterrainco). All of the companies listed under the other ailments here also have great pain relief options! If you’re interested in even more information, here is a site devoted to building a natural first aid kit with essential oils: experience-essential-oils/natural-first-aid-kit.html. Happy swapping!!
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 16:27:20 +0000
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