http://www.care2.com/greenliving/diy-medicine-cabinet-grandmas-remedies.html
DIY Medicine Cabinet: Grandma’s Remedies
By Sarah Irani, EcoSalon via Divine Caroline
Is the economy beating you up? It’s time to get creative. Next time you have an ache or pain, forget about a costly trip to the drugstore and test drive some of your grandmother’s remedies instead. It’ll save money and be gentler on your body and the environment. Recessionistas (and Gents), welcome to the DIY medicine cabinet.
Indigestion and Heartburn
It almost goes without saying–but consider why yoe’re getting heartburn in the first place. Did you overeat? Too much grease or spicy food? Eating late at night? Scout out the cause and try to stop this before it happens. Then, put down the antacids. The belching, bloat, and heartburn caused by indigestion come about because you don’t have enough stomach acid to do the job right. A spoonful or two of apple cider vinegar will help break down the excess food that is causing you trouble and bring your stomach back to balance.
Sore Throat
Sore, scratchy throats are usually a sign of a cold or flu coming on, so you don’t want to ignore this symptom, but you can relieve the pain by gargling with warm salt water a few times a day and then drinking a soothing honey-lemon tea.
Sore Muscles and Bruises
After a hard afternoon of rowing with a friend, I resigned myself to a few days of burning muscles and soreness. But my friend saved the day with a tube of arnica cream. He rubbed it on my shoulders and voila, instant relief and absolutely no aches the next day. The humble arnica flower makes an incredible cream that no medicine cabinet should be without. Use it immediately to speed up the healing of bruises, sprains, sore muscles, and other general aches.
Stop Bleeding
You’d think it would burn, but a sprinkle of cayenne pepper on a cut will quickly stop the bleeding and actually relieve the pain.
Ear Infections
Ear infections can become quite serious and cause permanent damage, so please see a doctor if your ear ache has become severe. But if you feel like your infection is mild and at the beginning stages, put a few drops of garlic oil or white vinegar into your ear canal and lay down on the opposite side to let those drops do their work. Garlic and vinegar create an environment that won’t support the bacteria causing the infection. Repeat a few times a day until the symptoms disappear. (If your symptoms last longer than a few days, you should definitely see a doctor!)
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53 comments
add your comment »Peppermint tea helps with upset stomach...I have IBS and sometimes it even soothes that, if I drink it early enough....and I've used arnica gel, which helps with bruises, but doesn't do a whole lot for my extraordinarily tense neck muscles...calendula gel or cream is nice on minor cuts and burns....and peppermint oil does help with headaches most of the time, at least it does for me....thanks for all the other tips, I'm really trying to move away from "traditional" medications.....also, for allergies, I take a capsule with quercitin and stinging nettle that seems to work for me (seasonal allergies mainly)
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I never knew apple cider vinegar can treat heartburn - I have to try that instead of Zantac.
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Athlete's Foot and Fungal problems? Use Tea Tree oil! Mix it with the vinegar in a spray bottle (adding peppermint is refreshing and helps with the itch) and spray often. You can apply TTO directly to affected areas as well. It really works!
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when i lived in california, i had chronic cystitis. had it from 1974 until i left california in 2000. doctor put me on macrodantin -- but only 2 weeks at a time.
note -- i had ChRONIC cystitis. which meant that for the 2 weeks i was on the macrodantin, i was pretty much ok. the doctor would not give me a prescription for any more than 2 weeks at a time and only a few times a year.
so what was i supposed to do for the other 300 days of the year??? so i began researching natural health care solutions. that's when i discovered uva ursi. started using that in conjunction with LOTS of cranberry -- pills, eating cranberries, and drinking cranberry juice -- and that pretty much took care of the problem for the remainder of my years in california.
note -- this was all before the internet. now it would only take me a few minutes to find a natural solution to a problem online.
for those with high cholesterol -- there are natural ways to reduce those levels. one has to be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to do so, though -- like giving up foods that perpetuate the high cholesterol levels.
and there ARE people who refuse to do that and would much rather take a pill each day rather than do healthy life changes.
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Arnica works wonders on sore muscles, great information!
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Cayenne pepper on a cut is like magic!
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Cayenne pepper on a cut sounds really painful but if it works than I will try it.
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indeed.. likewise am supposed to be on lifetime meds ie Wellbutrin blah blah infinitum.. but have successfully avoided such with support and self education and organic self medication as last resorts..
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I don't if this has been mentioned yet but too wonderful itch reducers i've found for bug bites are banana peels and onions. They are legit miracle workers if you don't like the onion smell use the banana peel - though the onion works much better. The onion and banana peel alsotake down some of the swelling.
I agree that more often then not western medicine causes me more problems than it helps solve. I have some serious medical issues and I have to take medecine to be able to function, but whenever I can use an alternative mode I will.
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personally, i don't give a flying flip what the mayo clinic has to say about colloidal silver -- they don't even like probiotics!
remember people -- it's a MEDICAL clinic -- which means they are 'doctor' based -- and doctor based people don't REALLY want people to get healthy 'cause then there wouldn't be a need for all those over-priced and over-charging doctors.
i'm an alternative medicine person and have been for MANY years. it's even on my medical chart. western medicine does not agree with me -- in fact western medicine makes me deadly ill.
so i will continue to use natural products as often as needed.
by the way, someone would have to take HUGE amounts of colloidal silver in order to turn blue-ish gray permanently. the small amounts of silver in the bottles sold in the health store don't have the strength to do that.
where most of THAT kind of problem occurs is with people who make their own colloidal silver at home.
every person is different. colloidal silver works for me and i am sure it works for a lot of other people, too.
:::::smile:::::
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