11 Must-Have Healing Remedies

Peeked inside your medicine cabinet lately? Chances are — even if you eat locally, compost food scraps, and clean with nothing but vinegar and baking soda — its contents are a medicinal flashback to your childhood.

“When it comes to our medicine cabinets, it’s habitual to reach for over-the-counter drugs,” says Madelon Hope, M.Ed., LMHC, a clinical herbalist and director of the Boston School of Herbal Studies. “These medications are the ones our mothers gave us, and those memories condition our responses today.”

If this sounds like you, it’s time for a bathroom-cabinet makeover. While there are times you may still want to use conventional meds, such as ibuprofen and antibiotic ointment, natural remedies can be just as fast and effective as over-the-counter fixes — sometimes more so.

Best of all, they often have far fewer (if any) pesky or potentially harmful side effects.

You don’t have to replace everything in your cabinet all at once, of course, and not every natural remedy is right for everyone. But if you’re looking to transform your medicine cabinet from retro-conventional to at least partially au naturel, here are a few items you’ll want to consider keeping within reach.

Next: 11 Medicine Cabinet Must-Haves

1 of 7

Read more: General Health, Health, Home, Natural Remedies

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Jamie J.

2:19PM PDT on Jul 30, 2011

This has a lot of good information. I only have one problem with it - in the Aromatherapy class I took while training to become a massage therapist, my teacher specifically told us to not let any essential oils except for lavender and tea tree touch the skin. The rest, particularly those in the mint family, severely dry out the skin (peppermint will actually burn the skin due to its strength). So if you really want to use the essential oils, it's best to mix it with a carrier oil such as jojoba (especially good because it near-perfectly mimics the skin's own natural oils) before putting it on your skin. A few drops of the essential oil dropped onto an ounce or two of jojoba or sesame (not cooking - you can find these at a health food store without much problem in the aromatherapy section) works amazingly well, and keeps your skin moisturized.

send a green star

Mable E.

10:45PM PST on Feb 24, 2011

Thank you!

Heather D.

11:52PM PST on Jan 18, 2011

A few of these I have used before. Thanks for the information!

Megan R.

8:08PM PST on Jan 13, 2011

We use Tee Tree Oil for ear aches. It can really help, and its worked just as well as antibiotic drops on a few minor ear infections.

Nancy S.

7:59PM PST on Jan 9, 2011

Good Article

7:52PM PST on Jan 9, 2011

Thank you

Priscilla G.

3:44AM PST on Dec 2, 2010

I like to use Natural remidies whenever possible, thanks for the info

jane r.

2:15PM PST on Dec 1, 2010

Thanks

Joy W.

11:00PM PST on Nov 30, 2010

Thanks for the useful info.

Martin K.

6:05PM PST on Nov 30, 2010

I use Oregano Oil as an anti viral and antibiotic. 7 to 10 drops in a shot of good water, make sure you throw it past your lips and tongue as it will "light you up" if you sip it. Chase with a glass of water. About 3 or 4 times a day. I've never gone past the 5th treatment without significant reduction in symptoms.