How To Use Home Remedies for Bruises In Right Way

Bruises are caused by bleeding of small blood vessels under the skin and so the most appropriate treatment is the same as for bleeding cuts — apply pressure.

'I remember my father getting into our car which was one of the fifties Rovers with the front door opening towards the back and the back door opening towards the front leaving a pillar in the middle. He was getting back into the car with his hand on this pillar when someone slammed the other door. He pressed his hand hard for some time as we drove on and had no bruising or swelling at all,' Marion Banyard from Suffolk.

Alternatively, if available, cold ice packs (or frozen peas from the freezer) will both reduce the swelling and bruising from a bump by constricting the blood vessels under the skin thus preventing blood and fluid leaking into the surrounding tissue.

Chilblains - The best home remedies for bruises recommended by most doctor
Chilblains are very itchy, reddish-blue swellings, usually of the hands and feet, induced by cold which restricts the circulation of blood to the extremities (to keep the core warm) thus depriving these tissues of oxygen. They have been relatively rare since the almost universal introduction of central heating but can be a serious nuisance for those with poor circulation.

The following home remedies for bruises have been suggested:

Urine: 'As a child I suffered in agony from chilblains and I can still remember the pain and itching. One day when the problem was discussed with a lady visitor, she said to my mother "let her stand in her own water". Although I am now in my seventies, I can still remember that moment which banished forever the suffering of chilblains.

Other contributors have similar comments. 'I remember an old cobbler in my village quite a few years before the last war when chamber pots were in general use. He used to say there is nothing so good for chilblains as to soak the affected part in your own water,' D. Fryer from Yorkshire.

Soda: 'Back in the 1920s at the onset of every winter, chilblains were one of the commonest ailments in our family. The invaluable remedy was a lighted wax candle and a large piece of washing soda. The soda was held in the flame of the candle until melting-point and the hot liquid applied straight to the affected part. Done in the evening, it resulted in dirty sheets but that was a small price to pay for the relief which usually lasted the winter,' T. W. Palmer from Dorset.

Onion: 'My chilblains would last for months each winter until I tried cutting an onion in half and rubbing the cut edge against the chilblain. Its juice soon got rid of the itching and the severity died down,' Shirley de Ath from Hampshire.