Home Remedy Recipes

HOME REMEDY RECIPES FOR COMMON AILMENTS

DRY SKIN

-Oatmeal - make your own colloidal oatmeal by purchasing rolled oats in bulk and grinding them into a fine powder with a coffee mill or grinder. Dissolve several cups in a lukewarm bath and soak your body for 10-15 minutes. Rinse off and pat dry.

You can also make an oatmeal mask for your face. Cook some rolled oats according to the directions. Let it cool down and apply to the face (careful around the eyes). Remove the mask when it’s become dry. Rinse.

ITCHY SKIN

-A baking soda soak is a folk remedy to relieve itching. Add 1 cup baking soda to a tub of hot water. Soak for 30 minutes and air dry.

CONGESTION

-Dissolve some menthol crystals on the floor of a steaming hot shower to help relieve congestion when you have a cold, bronchitis or the flu.

STRAINED MUSCLE

-A few leaves of rosemary can help reduce swelling in strained muscles. Use either fresh or dried leaves; fresh has more of the volatile oils. The herb has four anti-inflammatory properties, which can help calm inflamed muscle tissue and speed healing. Because rosemary is easily absorbed through the skin, placing a cloth soaked with a rosemary wash will help ease the pain.

Here's how to make a rosemary wash: Put 1 ounce rosemary leaves in a 1-pint jar and fill the jar with boiling water. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Apply the wash to the area two or three times a day

NAUSEA

Lemon juice. Mix together 1 teaspoon honey and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. And this cure comes with a folk-ish instruction: Dip your finger into the mix and lick it off so that you take it in slowly.

Lime juice. For an immediate nausea/vomiting stopper, mix 1 cup water, 10 drops lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Then add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and drink.

PUFFY EYES (a few options)

Spoons. Teaspoon-size spoons are just the right utensils for temporarily helping your eyes reduce to normal proportions. Place 4 or 6 spoons in the refrigerator. When you need to deflate those eyeballs, lie down, close your eyes, and place one spoon (curved side down) on each eye. As the spoon warms, replace it with a cold one from the fridge.

Cucumbers. From the vegetable bin comes the well-known cucumber remedy. Cucumbers aren't only deliciously cool and soothing to the touch, but their astringent properties cause blood vessels to constrict. Lean your head back, rest a slice on each closed eye, and relax for five to ten minutes while the cukes cure your puffiness.

Egg whites. Call this kitchen cure a souffle for the face. Whip up 1 or 2 egg whites until stiff, and apply with a brush or soft cloth underneath your eyes. The skin will feel tighter and look less like puff pastry.

Potato. The common potato also pampers puffy eyes. Tubers are tried and true in European folk medicine as a means to soothe painful joints, headaches, and other inflammatory conditions. Potato starch acts as an anti-inflammatory agent to ease irritated eyes. Start by pretending you're making hash browns. Peel one potato, then wash and dry it. Grate the potato as fine as possible, then instead of frying it up with butter, place the pulp in a clean cloth and fold to make a poultice. Place the poultice on your eyelids for 15 min.