ALOE FOR BIRD BITES
by Carolyn Swicegood
(Also see my story Frasier Learns To Bite )
Our love of parrots can be extremely rewarding! Most of the time, interacting with them is pure pleasure. But, one of the few down sides of keeping parrots as a hobby or a business is the occasional bite. I have been surprised to find that although most of us know about the use of Aloe Vera gel for sunburn, there seems to be surprisingly little awareness of its ability as a topical analgesic. It will take only one incident of a smashed toe, a cut finger, a scraped knee, OR a crushing bird bite from a beak capable of exerting a couple thousand pounds of pressure to convince you of the almost magical pain-killing ability of aloe vera gel.
Not only does this wonderful plant gel relieve pain almost instantly, it also helps to prevent bruising and its accompanying purple, black and blue colors. Too good to be true, you say? I challenge you to try it once. You will never allow yourself to be without this almost-magical remedy once you see how highly effective it is.
Aloe vera can be found at your local pharmacy, supermarket, and discount department store, and it is inexpensive. For analgesic purposes, I buy a brand called Fruit of the Earth. A twelve-ounce bottle of 100% pure aloe vera gel costs around four dollars. When you have a cut, abrasion, bruise or painful bite, immediately immerse the wounded area in a thick coating of the gel. For a badly bitten finger, fill a rubber finger cot with the thick gel and wear it on the finger for as long as you like, five minutes is good and an hour is better! The pain will be a thing of the past within the first few minutes.
