Home remedies have been around for the longest time; certainly well before the first doctors even earned their medical degrees and began prescribing formulated medications.
Over the centuries, every civilization across the globe has found its own ways to ease and cure ailments. Today, many of those same healing methods allow us to address our ailments without resorting to drugs or medication. Some of these are, even now, items typically found in your kitchen cupboard.
You can’t just run to the doctor for every little ache or pain you feel. Today’s doctors are busier than ever treating all sorts of illnesses–a lot of which are likely more critical in nature than yours. That simply means that it’s up to you to try to find the best and most accessible solutions to your everyday ailments.
Here are a few remedies to help ease everyday health problems that could crop up when you least expect it.
Nausea
Ginger has long been used to ease the heaving pangs of nausea. You can suck on homemade ginger ice chips whenever the symptoms hit.
Just take a small knob of fresh ginger, slice it up and infuse it in hot water. When it cools, strain out the ginger and freeze the water in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, crush the ice cubes and suck on them throughout the day.
Or you can just make a hot ginger tea from the same infusion to help quiet down your troubled tummy.
Avoid any milk or dairy products because the proteins and fats they contain are too difficult for your system to digest. Your already compromised digestive system will have to work much harder just to break down the cheese, cream, or milk.
Also avoid eating rich, spicy foods because the oils and flavours are too difficult to digest.
Sore Throat
Grandmothers and mothers everywhere swear by the effectiviteness of a simple salt water gargle to ease the pain of a sore throat. Add a pinch of salt to one-fourth cup of warm water and stir until completely dissolved. Use the gargle four to five times a day as needed.
Drink warm non-caffeinated liquids to soothe the ache and rehydrate the dry mucous membranes. Try herbal teas or hot lemonade with two to three teaspoons of wild honey. Honey is well known for its healing antibacterial properties.
Try to quit smoking or vaping as much as possible while you have a sore throat. The chemicals in cigarette smoke are not only irritating to the throat lining but are also toxic to the entire body. Instead, boost your immune system with vitamin C or zinc tablets or Echinacea capsules.
Bee or wasp stings
Epsom salts have long found use in every household’s medical cabinet. They can be used to draw out the toxins from an insect sting. Add enough water to make a paste and apply to the affected areas for at least ten minutes before washing off.
For treating wasp stings, raid your spice cabinet and bring out the vinegar. Wasp stings are alkaline and you need the vinegar to neutralize its effects. Dip a cotton ball in the vinegar and tape to the sting areas to relieve the redness and swelling.
Bicarbonate of soda is used to neutralize the painful effects of bee stings, which are acidic in nature. Mix a teaspoon of bicarbonate in a glass of water and soak the affected areas in this solution.
Since some people can have extreme allergic reactions to insect bites, it would be prudent to visit a health professional as soon as possible if you experience worsening symptoms.
Nail Fungus
When your toenails show unusual signs of illness like thickening and crumbling of the nail, or evidence of a yellowish tinge, you may have onychomychosis — what’s commonly known as nail fungus.
Tea tree oil is a popular home remedy for this particularly annoying and common ailment. It has potent antibiotic, antiseptic, and fungicidal properties that make it a perfect weapon to add to your home remedy kit.
You can apply drops directly to the affected toenail, making sure to have filed down and clipped off as much of the thickened nail surface as possible. This is because the fungus causing the problem is buried deep within the nail bed.
Or you can use a well-soaked cotton ball and tape it to the nail to ensure that as much of it gets absorbed. You can also create a tea tree oil foot soak if more than one toenail is infected by the fungus. This is also an effective treatment for foot fungi.
Add a few drops of tea tree oil to a basin of water and soak your feet for around fifteen minutes. Do this twice a day several times a week to supplement your regular treatment procedure.
An application of Vicks Vaporub is another popular nail fungus home remedy. The product’s main ingredients – camphor, eucalyptus and menthol – are effective in combating infections from fungus, mold and bacteria.
Use this in combination with the tea tree oil for twice the effectiveness. Apply a diluted solution of tea tree oil to the affected nails and let it dry. Gently rub the Vicks Vaporub on the nail and leave on for a few minutes. Wipe it off thoroughly and then repeat once more later in the day.
Minor Burns
Burns are damage to the skin caused by heat, chemicals, or electricity. Everyone has experienced a minor burn at some point and knows how irritating the sensation of skin sensitivity is. What’s key is to act quickly to prevent the burn from causing more damage.
Run the burned area under cool running water for a few minutes. If water isn’t available, any cool non-irritating liquid like milk or iced tea will also do.
Use fresh aloe vera gel scraped from the inside of a leaf and apply it to the burn. Aloe vera is cooling, so it helps reduce the pain, moistens the skin, and provides an effective barrier against bacteria and air that could irritate exposed nerve endings.
If you don’t have an aloe vera plant, a store-bought all-natural aloe vera gel will do just fine.
Find Your First Aid Kit in Your Kitchen Cupboard
Going to a doctor for a minor ailment isn’t always feasible. And while it may help somewhat to have a fully stocked medicine cabinet, you can’t always rely on it–certainly not for every single ailment you may be experiencing.
Try using natural ingredients that are readily available in your cupboard or backyard garden. They are not only affordable and effective; they are also often free of any strong chemicals and all their accompanying side effects.
Take the wisdom that’s been passed down from grandmothers to granddaughters everywhere and learn to heal yourself with what you already have around you.
Republished with permission from: theAsianParent Singapore