Alternative Health Home Remedies
Common sense may tell you that if you have a small medical problem, you should go to the doctor. Few people realize that there are a host of solution to life’s little health problems that they can find around their house! In this article, we’ll discuss some alternative health methods of solving simple health problems around the house.
- Are you experiencing unexplained back pain? There are some common problems that cause back pain that you may not realize. For example, wearing high-heeled shoes can cause an arching of the back that can cause back pain. A small amount of non-strenuous exercise can help to get your back’s muscles back to working order. Try swimming with a low intensity to help ease your back pain. Putting ice on inflamed back muscles may also ease the tension, as well as ensuring that the mattress that you are sleeping on isn’t causing unnecessary stiffness.
- The common cold is something that we’ve all experienced. While there’s no cure, there are some home remedies that can help you to ease your suffering. Vitamin C supplements can cause you to get over your cold in less time than normal. Zinc lozenges have also shown to have some efficiency when it comes to getting over a cold. Also, chicken soup can help to ease cold symptoms, and garlic has some antiviral properties that may assist you in getting over the cold.
- Feeling nauseous? Proponents of home remedies recommend that you prepare a tea with ginger in it, or purchase some ginger in capsule format. If you can’t find any ginger, ginger ale may act in the same way. Chamomile and peppermint tea have also been said to help to reduce feelings of nausea.
- Sore throats can be a real pain, especially if you have to communicate a lot in the workplace. Garlic is a recommended supplement when it comes to easing a sore throat. Also, you may benefit from drinking a glass of hot water with honey and the juice of one lemon in it. Gargling with warm salt water is another method commonly used to treat a sore throat in the home.
If you’re experiencing serious pains, you may want to go to a doctor. However, if you’ve just got a small problem, you may find that these alternative home solutions may be of merit to solving the issue on your own.
Jonathon Hardcastle
http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/alternative-health-home-remedies-63622.html
4 Responses to “Alternative Health Home Remedies”
Any home remedies for prickly heat rash?
Comment made on February 19th, 2010 at 4:30 pmI don’t have any skin conditions such as psoriasis or excema, and I don’t have any skin allergies. It’s definitely heat rash of some sort. I just get patches of itchy rashes during the summer when it’s hot and humid. I have been China for for years and TCM hasn’t helped much. Right now the best relief I can get is from taking a hot shower (to open the pores), covering my body with shampoo or other products containing menthol, waiting about five to ten minutes until my whole body tingles. After that I rinse with hot water again (to clean the products chemicals out of my pores), then a cold water rinse to close the pores and cool off. This is usually only temporary relief. I do sweat a lot (more than most people), so I take about three cold showers a day too cool off and clean out the pores. I do refrain from scratching (as I know it makes it worse) during waking hours, but during my sleep, I have involuntary scratching. I am really into alternative health and home remedies. Thanks
Prickly heat is a common condition in which areas of the skin itch intensely and often feel prickly, or sting, due to overheating. Also called heat rash prickly heat looks like tiny bumps surrounded by an area of red skin. It usually occurs on clothed parts of the body, such as the back, abdomen, neck, upper chest, groin or armpits and goes away on its own within a few days. In severe forms, however, prickly heat can interfere with the body’s heat-regulating mechanism and cause fever, heat exhaustion and even death.
Prickly heat occurs most often in hot, humid conditions, but you may develop it in cool weather if you are overdressed. The condition usually appears a few days to a few months after exposure to a hot, humid environment. It’s most common in infants. Newborns are particularly vulnerable to prickly heat because their sweat ducts are not mature, which makes it easier for the beads of moisture to be trapped.
Symptoms:
* Small, itchy red bumps on the skin
* Prickly, stinging or burning sensation in the affected area
# Try to avoid scratching, for this may introduce germs into the deeper layers of the skin.
# Wear cool, light clothing and abstain from alcoholic drinks.
# Oatmeal baths twice a day may also relieve the itch.
# Drink plenty of water during hot weather.
# Keep the skin clean and avoid the use of harsh soaps.
# Gently wash skin with soft gauze and lukewarm water and pat on a mixture of one part alcohol to three parts boiled water after cooled.
# Make a compress by dipping a washcloth in a mixture of one teaspoon of baking soda per cup of cool water. Apply to the rash for five to ten minutes. Do this four or five times a day.
# Avoid overdressing. Allow Skin to breathe. Avoid heavy moisturizers.
# Dress your baby sensibly, preferably in layers that can be peeled away as conditions change and you’lllikely avoid the problem altogether.
# Remove some clothing, take her into an air-conditioned room or sit her in a tub of tepid water.
# Wear loose, lightweight clothing. Dust the affected area with cornstarch.
# Avoid sweating by staying in a cool environment.
# Apply paste of gram flour and then a cold-water bath after sometime. It will give relief.
# Prepare a mixture by adding 1 teaspoon of sandalwood powder, 1-teaspoon coriander seeds (dhania) powder, 1 teaspoon nagarmusta (Cyperus scariosus) powder and rose/cold water to make paste. Mix them well and apply on the body. Leave it on for an hour and then take cold-water bath.
# The paste made of powdered bark of pipal tree and finely powdered brick is applied on the affected parts all over the body.
# The powder of sandalwood dusted all over the body is effective in giving relief in prickly heat.
# The paste made of the seeds of jambul and applied over the body is effective in treating prickly heat.
# Persons suffering from prickly heat should avoid heavy garments and try to expose the affected area to air.
# Dissolve Fuller’s earth (Multani mitti) in water to make a thin paste. It should be smeared over the affected parts. When the paste dries, wash with cold water.
# Apply green henna ground in water on the affected skin.
# Grind leaves of neem in water and apply on the affected skin.
# Take a small piece of sandalwood and rub it into a paste on a stone with rose water. Mix a pinch of powdered alum to the paste and apply to the affected skin twice or thrice a week depending upon the condition of prickly heat.
# Leave babies nappy off as often as possible.
Gently wash skin with soft gauze and lukewarm water and pat on a mixture of one part alcohol to three parts boiled water after cooled. Dust with Talcum powder Or, use baking soda in a little water than dust with talcum.
Soak away the itch. To counter the itching that accompanies prickly heat, add some baking soda or a colloidal oatmeal product such as Aveeno Bath Treatment to a tub of tepid water or make your own oatmeal bath. A good soak will soothe the skin and take away the itching.
Try a cool compress. While a thin coating of mild, water-based moisturizing lotion may help stop the itching, cool compresses sometimes work better. Make a compress by dipping a washcloth in a mixture of one teaspoon of baking soda per cup of cool water. Apply to the rash for five to ten minutes. Do this four or five times a day.
If your child is older and is extremely uncomfortable, give him/her an antihistamine such as children’s Benadryl. ( Be sure to read package directions to make certain the product is recommended for your child’s age. For the correct dosage, follow package directions or consult your physician.) Kids are much more sensitive to itchiness at night, and more likely to scratch the rash, which can lead to infection
Prevention:
Comment made on February 19th, 2010 at 9:32 pmAvoid overdressing.
Allow Skin to breathe
Avoid heavy moisturizers. Tender newborn skin tends to be dry and in need of moisturizing. But heavy, oil-based creams can be a problem. ‘Moisturize with a light, water-based lotion instead.
References :
Number one: Cool off. Your body heat is up and the sweat pores are getting blocked, so when you cool down, your body can stop the sweat response. use ice packs on the back of your neck and on the bottom of your feet.
Number two: take a baking soda & epsom salt bath. these can calm and open your pores to draw out trapped oils from the sweat. You can add lavender, bergamot, and orange peel to your bath to help your skin and pores.
Number three: pay close attention to your body temp. when you feel yourself getting too hot, stop, relax, and use the ice packs.
I like aloe & vitamin E creams that are free of chemicals and additives. I also like an egg white and lavender face mask that I make myself. It’s very astringent and tightening for the pores. I have also used PABA capsules for people that would get sun poisoning from their body temp getting to high and causing terrible fever and rashing. Maybe a supplemental PABA could work for you too.
Hope this helps.
Comment made on February 19th, 2010 at 9:34 pmReferences :
me. no copy/pasting here…
Have you tried a Yahoo search for "prickly heat" + "home remedies"?
Comment made on February 19th, 2010 at 9:36 pmReferences :
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