People stare at us in amazement when we say that black pepper can stop bleeding from a household cut. The first thing they want to know is how much it hurts: almost not at all. The second thing is how well it works: Surprisingly well.
Of course serious cuts require immediate medical attention. But sometimes that is not as easy as it sounds. Years ago we heard from Stephen Scott:
“Once I was working alone in wintertime in a church. I was pushing a duct together and my hand slipped. The raw edge of the metal cut my hand open. Picture the cut you would need if you were removing a thumb–about three inches long and right to the bone at the joint. Pressure wasn’t working, there was no telephone, and it was about ten degrees outside. I had been dropped off there and had no idea where I was.
“I remembered my mother telling me that either black pepper or cobwebs would stop bleeding. I found some pepper in the church kitchen, and after applying great pressure, I opened my hand and the wound, and I dumped about a half shaker of pepper directly into the gaping cut. I pushed it shut again, put a potholder over it and secured it with some electrical tape. The bleeding stopped immediately, and in a matter of minutes there was no pain. After about twenty minutes I got bored and went back to work. I finished out the day, but when I got home, my wife started screaming for me to rush to the hospital.
“When I got to the emergency room there was more screaming. The doctor and nurses thought I was an idiot for putting pepper in the cut and insisted that every bit be washed out. Of course, as they fiddled with it, large amounts of blood began pouring out and it hurt like hell again.
“Finally, my patience ran out and I held some gauze over the cut and left. I immediately went down to the cafeteria, opened a bunch of those little pepper packages, poured the wound full again, and drove myself home. My wife complained that I was stupid and unreasonable, but the entire unstitched, un-doctored, bone-deep wound healed without a scar. I have used black pepper to heal cuts ever since.”
Another Dramatic Black Pepper Story:
Q. I am writing to tell you how your advice helped solve a near tragedy. My husband and I were recently on a trip to Mongolia in a very remote location when he hit his leg on the sharp corner of a metal wood stove. He takes the anticoagulant warfarin, so the bleeding was horrific.
Just before we left on vacation, I had read in your column about putting black pepper on wounds to stop the bleeding. It was the last thing I tucked in my luggage as we walked out the door.
The blood was pouring down his leg like a faucet, filling his shoe. I grabbed the pepper and poured it on and the bleeding stopped immediately. It was like a miracle. Thank you for saving his life. I’m sure he could have bled to death.
A. Thank you for sharing this amazing story. We have heard from many others that black pepper can stop bleeding from minor cuts. We wouldn’t suggest a home remedy for something as serious as you describe, but we are glad it worked in this emergency. When a person takes an anticoagulant such as warfarin (Coumadin), even a minor cut can lead to dangerous bleeding.
You might also want to keep a product called WoundSeal handy. The powder quickly helps stop bleeding, especially for those prone to bleed easily like your husband. It can be found in the first aid section of most pharmacies.
If you find such stories fascinating and would like to learn more about simple remedies for common ailments, please consider our book, The People’s Pharmacy Quick & Handy Home Remedies. You will read hundreds of stories about how things you have in your kitchen cabinet could make a practical difference in your life. Share your own story below in the comment section.
