Wound Care Ointment

To be filed under "well-whadya-know", something fascinating happened this week.

Here's the background: my five year old boy, Leo, has a nervous habit. He constantly runs his lower lip over his upper one. He does this when he is anxious, tired, occupied, sick, etc. When he has a stuffy or runny nose, it he does this so much that his lips and the area above them become really chapped and abraded.

This week Leo had a bad cold. He was in such rough shape that his whole mouth was raw and bleeding. Of course, since he's 5, he just kept rubbing and picking at it and making it worse. In the past I have tried antibiotic ointment, lip balm, vaseline - all to no avail.

Remember the homemade vapor rub I made in the spring? I'm still working through that one little jar. It's great! It's about the same consistency as a lip balm, and I decided to try that on Leo's mouth. It has the same ingredients as other balms I was reading up on, and at least would help clear his nose.

IT'S WORKING!!! The cuts have healed, and the raw, red ugliness is almost completely gone! Why didn't I think of this sooner?!

This is now my go-to for scrapes. It's on the Toddler Terrorist's skinned knee, my chapped knuckles, and a little cut on Leo's forehead.

I'm happy. Especially because it didn't cost me anything extra. I already have a jar of it.