There is a myriad of medicines in the market place, yet people still seek home remedies. I do these days because of my budget, but I've used them in the past, as well. I think some of it comes from hearing folk tales over the years. My great grandmother read tea leaves, but she died before I was born. I wish I had the sight to do that. I used to love going to one tea room in particular in Boston while I was growing up. It was $5 for an absolutely delicious sandwich and a cup of tea, as well as a reading. Tips were optional, but of course were usually given, since the readers weren't given a wage. This morning I made a cup of tea, but since I'm more inflamed than usua', I added in some honey, lemon, anise seed and ground ginger. I didn't have fresh ginger, or I would have used that, since the fresh ginger really seems to help clear the phlegm out of my chest and head. Do y'all use home remedies? If so, which ones, and what do you use them for?
When I've had a serious cold and congestion, worrying about a cold becoming pneumonia, this is something that I picked up from my mother/grandmother (who were serious teetotalers). Hot Toddy .. squeeze the juice from 2 lemons (fresh lemons only) and put in a saucepan. Add 1/4 cup of honey to the saucepan. Bring to a boil on the stove. Don't microwave. Set boiled honey and lemon aside and let cool a few minutes. Add a generous shot of rum. Let everything cool until it's just warm. You can take this mixture a tablespoon at a time, or mix it with a cup of tea. You can also mix the honey and lemon with a shot of whiskey. It's great for chest congestion. It's soothing for the throat, and great for coughs. It does help you sleep, and the alcohol will help fight the virus. Bringing honey and lemon to a boil changes its chemistry and it becomes a homeopathic medicine.
I love hot toddies, @Bonnie Thomas. We're Irish, and grew up drinking them with whiskey. I don't have any whiskey in the house, but I do have rum, so I might try out your recipe for a few nights and see if it helps. I do basically what you do, but also add in freshly grated ginger, and it really seems to break through the congestion. I've always had lung issues since I was born, and have to do this at least a few times of year...February seems to be one of my worst months for congestion.
I had a scare with pneumonia when I was about 12 yrs. old, lost 20 lbs., and nearly landed in the hospital. So I understand the worry about congestion. I like your ginger idea too Diane.
A great book of home remedies is Back to Eden, by Jethro Kloss. It has been in publication and periodically updated by the Kloss family since 1939, and it includes herbal medicine, natural foods, and home remedies. It discusses the natural foods that are necessary for healthy living, herbs that can be used to maintain health or to treat disease and other conditions, information about the effects of polluted or adulterated foods on the body, and the importance of water. I wouldn't suggest replacing your doctor with it but it would be unwise to believe that God didn't provide us with a means of keeping or attaining health. It's about 900 pages, including the index, so it's a comprehensive resource. There is a Kindle edition but the cost of the Kindle edition is roughly the same as a paperback so I usually opt for the printed version in such cases.
Here is some cold things to try for a cold http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/common-cold/treatment.html Myself the first indication of a cold I do hydrogen peroxide in my ears just encase the virus has entered from there. Next I wash out my noise and sinus with salt water using a Neti Pot. Lastly I spray colloidal silver in my mouth and noise.
Yes, anything that is about survival or home remedies is better in print for obvious reasons. I used to have a similar book but that wasn't it. It was very good information, and I'm the biggest sceptic in anything like this but I did approve of this book. Will try and see if I can remember or maybe even find it.
I always plan to use home remedies but then I forget to do it. I know ginger and turmeric relieve arthritis pain. A number of years ago two senior ladies were on TV hyping their book on remedies. Here are some (I had written them down). For nausea- breath in newspaper ink. For tension headaches- affix clothespins to all your finger tips. For stuffy nose- cut two narrow strips of orange peel and put them in your nose, LOL. The fumes from the oil in the peels will ease stuffiness. I tried the clothespins a few times and it is kind of relaxing. I almost forgot- for arthritis, 8 golden raisens that have been soaked in gin for a week!
I'm more of a give me real drugs kind of gal! I just remembered Vicks vapor rub, although not a home remedy it would calm me down. There was one year in my life after my husbands first cancer diagnoses where I suffered from pretty bad panic attacks. One day I must have hyperventilated and I didn't know it at the time and I had to go to ER. I felt like I was drowning and couldn't breathe. They did all sorts of tests and finally did a blood oxygen test and that's when they told me I hyperventilated. After hearing that I was so fixated on how I breathe that I would constantly hyperventilate. I was put on xanax 3 times a day, but at night the Vicks on my chest was so soothing...anyway, I got over the anxiety after about a year. Nobody can understand the hell that your brain can play on you unless you've been there.
Were those two ladies high on anything? .... breathe in newspaper ink ?? Oh, that makes me shudder! I've always heard that ink causes cancer . here's one link ..http://www.blindbatnews.com/2012/06/overwhelming-proof-that-printer-ink-gives-you-cancer/13897 In 1996, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported that many studies through out the 90s revealed “significant” increases in cancer rates among people involved with all kinds of printing, from newspapers to silk screen. The cancers studied were of the lung, oropharynx, bladder and kidney, and Leukemia.
This is a good place for this rant I think. All my life I've had paper thin nails. Now I know this might seems trivial to many of you, but for me it can be painful. My nails tear and bend backwards super easy. I have been taking biotin, collagen daily for over a couple of years now. A couple of years ago my nails started splitting vertically instead of horizontally like they use to. This was causing infections in my fingers, so I was adviced to get a good manicurist. I have been doing that since last summer, but those darn nails have to come off eventually. This morning I went in to get my nails repaired because two were loose, and I was afraid of catching them on something and doing damage. My manicurist tore off parts of two of my nails into the quick. I asked for cold water when a third of my thumb nail tore off, then I threw up in the trash can. I came very close to passing out. But I'm thinking, if I come to with EMT's around me, I'm in trouble. My granddaughter would have been called, and so would a friend of mine. They are my ICE contacts if anything happens. The friend would be screaming at the manicurist. And the GD would be screaming at me for letting her do it. As if I would know that she was going to do that. After the cold sweats left me, the manicurist was going to go ahead and redo my nails, even though two fingers were bleeding. At this point I said no more. So here I sit with bandaids on two fingers trying to type. Rant over now. Anyone out there got any home remedies for paper thin nails? I'm back to worrying about infections again.
Yikes Ina! That's scary. I'll trade you my hard nails for your thick hair. Always thought biotin was the best, so don't know anything else.
What Chrissy said ... Biotin, a B Vitamin is for strengthening nails. And people say gelatin helps. White Iodine is supposed to help thin nails too. Good reviews on Amazon about white iodine: http://www.amazon.com/PACK-Decolori...8&qid=1455739347&sr=8-1&keywords=white+iodine