★★★★★
I immediately put water on to boil to soften my dried plantain leaves, ones I harvested and stored for such a time as this.
As soon as my daughter came in I gently rubbed some arnica cream onto both fingers.
Meanwhile, I used the boiling water to rehydrate several leaves in a mug. After a couple of minutes, I rinsed the leaves in cool water, placed them on the counter, and used a rolling pin to flatten them out and further release their healing properties.
I wrapped her fingers with the cool leaves. I covered those with some plastic wrap and then attached it all with cohesive tape. As soon as the plantain leaves were on her fingers her pain was less.
I encouraged her to keep the plantain on her fingers all night and to be sure to sleep with her hand on pillows above the level of her heart to keep swelling to a minimum.
The next morning she removed the poultices on her fingers. She had good mobility and little pain or bruising. The two cuts on her fingers had already begun to close up and heal. (The cuts were small. I did not put arnica into the cuts as arnica is not meant for broken skin.)
She never needed any more treatment. She had a little bruising on the fingers, I think where I didn't get any arnica cream.
Plantain is amazing. It took her breathtaking pain to a very manageable level in a minute. I have seen this happen before. That is why I always harvest the fresh plantain leaves this time of year. I put them on a cookie sheet in a room with a fan until they dry out. Then I store them in my herb cabinet til needed.
Dried plantain leaves, even the chopped kind, will work similarly if you don't have a source to harvest fresh plantain leaves.
I hope you don't ever need this remedy. But if you do, now you know what to do! :)
~Mama to Many~
