looking for ways to promote healing

devil-fire

i sliced a piece of the end of my finger off while cutting some basil and i would really like to speed the healing process along as fast as i can. at the moment all i can think of is applying polysporin (a vitamin E enriched ointment) and changing the bandage 2 or 3 times a day.

would including vitamin E in my diet through carrots or sunflower oil help any É

any suggestions or interesting piece of information about the healing process of skin would be great, thanks

jim mcnamara

The overall rate of skin healing is pretty much a function of your age. Assuming no infection and no dietary deficiencies.

It sounds like you are doing the right stuff now. However, if you consider adding vegetables to your diet as a 'health food' thing you may want to re-think your diet.
Carrots have no tocopherols,vitamin E, by the way. Just lots of beta & alpha carotenes,
which your body turns into Vitamin A.

SpicyRamen

I read somewhere that Vitamin E should be taken internally. There was a research somewhere a couple years back that showed no effects of vitamin E used externally, and in fact might lead to scarring.

Moonbear

There's not a lot you can do to "speed" the process up, but if you keep it clean, free of infection (a topical antibiotic ointment may help), and maintain good nutrition, you can allow your body to heal the wound at its optimal rate.

Be careful with lipid-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin E. It is possible to overdose on those. You're unlikely to overdose if you rely on a healthy diet for your vitamins, but if you start taking supplements, be VERY careful about how much you take...stay below the RDA in supplements so there's room for your dietary intake.