The infection pt. 2

Before I could fall asleep, I had to check on Lilah to make sure she hadn't spiked a fever or perhaps died (these obviously being the only options). Other than sleeping on top of her blankets and it being chilly with the air conditioning on, she was fast asleep with cool, dry skin. Her bandage was still intact and looked exactly the same.

I woke up at 5 and contemplated checking on her again but decided to stay sane and go back to sleep. At 8 I woke with a start at the cat nudging me awake to alert me that she had thrown up under the dining room table. I heard Lilah whining in her crib so I went to get her. Her skin was ice cold because she had thrown all the blankets out of the crib and sat in the air conditioning. Her bandage looked wet and had an odd color to it. I changed her diaper. The whole time she was chanting, "Take it off, Mama? Yeah? Gonna take it off now?" while tugging at her bandage. I took off the tape and unwound it. The swelling was reduced. The redness had calmed down to a gentle pink and was receding from the sharpie lines. The blistered area in the middle was more open and the surrounding skin was peeling a bit but I saw nothing but bright red tissue underneath. No pus, not a bit of drainage. Just healing skin.

The bandage, however, was not so lucky. It was soaking wet (possibly from the aloe goo) and covered in a rainbow of infection colors - greens, milky whites, and yellows. No smell but the aloe, thank goodness. But I looked at it in horror and couldn't believe that had all been in my child's body. Her body, yes, but thank God not her blood. Not yet.

Maybe I've been too nonchalant about her cuts and scrapes in the past. In an effort to make a tough little warrior who doesn't come crying to her mother with every stubbed toe, I might have glossed over the fact that she is still young with a developing immune system and we live in a world full of nasty invisible things. I will still let her stand up and brush off a hurt when she falls, but next time she bleeds I will make her pause from her playing to clean and cover the area. Soap, water, and Calendula if nothing else.

I truly believe my aloe plant did most of the good work in drawing out the infection and healing the underlying tissue. Other than the hydrogen peroxide and bactroban (even though hydrogen peroxide is a naturally occurring compound in the body), everything I used on her was natural. I'm not a super hippie type mother and I am a medical professional, but I think so many of the over the counter products we use in our day to day life could be equally substituted for things that were created and placed in the environment for our use. Animals know what plants to eat to cure different ailments, but humans are really bad at trusting nature after having been indoctrinated to run to the drugstore. Maybe more on this to come. For now I'm just beyond thankful that Lilah is fine. She never even knew anything could be wrong and that's the way it should be.