Burns
Burns are serious, and those beyond first degree need medical attention. Aloe Vera can be excellent first-aid treatment. It acts as an effective pain-inhibitor and antibiotic, but it also has anti-inflammatory agents which are less toxic than synthetic ones. Due to its chemical composition, Aloe Vera gel penetrates the skin and becomes quickly absorbed, so that it is not in the way of any later medical treatment.
Aloe is an excellent first-aid treatment for minor burns, scrapes, cuts and sunburns. Aloe Gel could also be used for this purpose. Ointments are particularly designed for continuous treatment of burns {jcomments on}because they have lubricant added to off-set the astringent aspects of aloe juice.
Chemical burns should be thoroughly washed before any treatment.
The University Of Chicago Burn Center (Dr Heggers, Davis and colleagues) demonstrated, in 1979, the ability of Aloe Vera to stop injuries due to burns. The ability to heal third degree burns was attributed to the salicyilates and fatty acids in aloe.
People have used Aloe gel for thousands of years as a soothing agent by continually wetting the wound with the juice or gel. By keeping the wound wet for 48 hrs, miraculous recoveries have been reported. One of the best products I can recommend for burns and sunburns is Aloe Vera Gelly.
Cuts and Wounds
Aloe Vera was famous for healing wounds even before the days of Alexander the Great. Well known anti-inflammatory and wound healer, it accelerates the growth of epithelial tissue. Aloe Vera contains a growth-promoting factor which speeds up the wound healing process.
Aloin, from the Aloe leaf, is a component which is not doing any good when it gets into gel or juice for ingestion purposes, but it's an excellent anti-microbial agent.
Prof. Davies and his team, in 1987 and onwards, concluded that the effectiveness of Aloe in treating wounds is due to one of Aloe's major sugars, mannose-6-phosphate, which also play a role in bioactivity of Aloe gel. Their research from 1994 claims that gibberellin, isolated from Aloe, increases wound-healing more than 100% in mice.
Their work on diabetic ulcers, based on tests done on mice, concludes that "as an aid in promotion diabetic wound healing, test group treated with Aloe Vera displayed almost 100% increase in wound size reduction..."
Sunburn
Aloe Vera lotion with a sunscreen, Aloe Sunscreen, is a good prevention of sunburn. Although mild sunburn can be treated with aloe gel or juice, by spraying frequently the affected areas, use of the Aloe Vera ointment may be more suitable.
- The power of aloe – from the inside out