Your Top 5 Home Remedies....

willoe

Y'all this is a great thread!

Here are some of the things I use:

- aloe vera gel. everywhere. I use it to style my (curly) hair, shave my legs (no cuts!), put on my skin. it's fantastic. I use the fruit of the earth brand, and it's pure aloe very gel.

- I make a hair gel out of whole flax seeds. great for moisturizing and adding shine. I can put up the recipe if anyone is interested.

- honey goes everywhere! on my face, in my hair (shine! but watch out- it's a humectant!) and in almost all of my food.

- if you use local honey, it will help with allergies

- tea tree oil is a natural antimicrobial, and is excellent for skin massage. Don't use on broken skin!

- jojoba oil and vitamin E oil are fantastic makeup removers, and they leave your skin and eyelashes soft and lush.

- I use a spray of purified water, two drops of honey, a few drops of sweet orange essential oil, and few drops of vitamin e along with a good few pumps of aloe vera. It's an all-over energizer spray.

- zinc taken once a day will help keep your immune system in top shape

- putting a piece of potato on your forehead relieves minor headaches

- taking iron or eating iron-filled veggies helps reduce restless leg syndrome (but be careful- too much iron is VERY BAD for you)
 

Milfoil

stormdancer339 said:
This is probably a dumb question, but....Is "RAW" honey the same stuff we buy in the store? I know at our farmers market there's a "honey guy" with local stuff, but it's not open yet.

The jar of honey you buy in a supermarket has been heat treated usually and filtered. In this process to make it 'safe' (cough) is looses much of its healing properties and is simply a nice tasting sweetener.

Honey on the comb is raw honey. Or, if you know a 'Honey Guy' who will sell you a jar of untreated honey (complete with any bits of wax etc which may have got in there) then that is raw honey too with all its antiseptic properties.

There is a type of hive called a Ware hive which works opposite to the modern ones but the authorities don't like it because they can't inspect for varroa mite and other diseases of the hive unless they dismantle the whole hive. However, this is how bees live and the honey which comes from them is darker and has 'bits' in it because the queen starts laying at the top most point of the comb and works down. As each brood chamber is used a couple of times, cleaned and lined with propolis (a fantastic anti fungal, anti microbial and antiseptic), when eventually the comb is used for honey it takes on some of these properties. When the comb is harvested, some of the propolis is inevitably in this darker honey along with pollen etc which makes it not quite so visually beautiful as the light coloured, clear stuff but has way more healing properties.
 

Tarot Orat

For colds, flus, allergies - not a cure, but major relief: wasabi (green Japanese horseradish). Clears your sinuses, it hurts a bit but it's a good excuse to order sushi. You can also find dried wasabi-covered peas in the dried fruit & nuts section of many stores these days. I keep a jar of them by my bed all winter!

For stomach upset, which I have a lot of: ginger and peppermint. Grate some fresh ginger into hot peppermint tea. If you don't have fresh ginger, even powdered ginger from the spice section of a supermarket works. Crystallized ginger is as tasty as candy and also soothes the stomach. Chewing peppermint leaves or even peppermint candy (if it's made with the real thing) works too.

For insect bites and stings: Honey, which draws the moisture (including venom) out of the skin and reduces swelling. Obviously, if you have bee sting allergies, get medical attention first!

For toothache: Clove oil - dab it on with a cotton swab, or put a few drops on a cotton ball and place it next to the tooth. It is VERY strong, more than a drop or two will burn, so don't overuse it! If you have no clove oil, sprinkle powdered cloves over the tooth and gum, or press a whole clove against it.

For sore throat and chest congestion: If you have mucus or coating in your throat, unsweetened grape juice and cranberry juice clear it right out. Non-alcoholic red wine (the kind where it's fermented, but the alcohol removed) and small amounts of balsamic vinegar are also effective. For a sore throat that doesn't have mucus or coating, licorice candy and tea will soothe it, and also suppress coughing.
 

celticnoodle

Tarot Orat said:
For colds, flus, allergies - not a cure, but major relief: wasabi (green Japanese horseradish). Clears your sinuses, it hurts a bit but it's a good excuse to order sushi. You can also find dried wasabi-covered peas in the dried fruit & nuts section of many stores these days. I keep a jar of them by my bed all winter!
oh Lordy! :p I can imagine this would clear A LOT in the body! lol! :p I cannot eat wasabi--too much for me! :laugh:

For stomach upset, which I have a lot of: ginger and peppermint. Grate some fresh ginger into hot peppermint tea. If you don't have fresh ginger, even powdered ginger from the spice section of a supermarket works. Crystallized ginger is as tasty as candy and also soothes the stomach. Chewing peppermint leaves or even peppermint candy (if it's made with the real thing) works too.
yep, i know ginger is a good remedy for a lot of what ails you. and, if you cannot get ahold of peppermint candies either-try the gum. it helps too! that is what our grandmother always gave to us.

For insect bites and stings: Honey, which draws the moisture (including venom) out of the skin and reduces swelling. Obviously, if you have bee sting allergies, get medical attention first!
really?! :bugeyed: wow! who'd have thought! get stung by the bees, and use their honey to ease the pain, eh?

For toothache: Clove oil - dab it on with a cotton swab, or put a few drops on a cotton ball and place it next to the tooth. It is VERY strong, more than a drop or two will burn, so don't overuse it! If you have no clove oil, sprinkle powdered cloves over the tooth and gum, or press a whole clove against it.

For sore throat and chest congestion: If you have mucus or coating in your throat, unsweetened grape juice and cranberry juice clear it right out. Non-alcoholic red wine (the kind where it's fermented, but the alcohol removed) and small amounts of balsamic vinegar are also effective. For a sore throat that doesn't have mucus or coating, licorice candy and tea will soothe it, and also suppress coughing.

the clove oil, I knew too. but never heard of this juice thing. though, my mom and her mom before here use to give out 'butter balls'. this was just a teaspoon of butter and rolled in sugar. it seemed to help, and naturally, as children was a treat so we wouldn't refuse! :D

good things here!
 

greatdane

Just a reminder.....

Hydrogen peroxide on toothbrushes (think of where you keep toothbrush and, if it's nect to toilet, every time toilet if flushed, those germs go in the air) just a bit, disinfects your toothbrush. Rubbing alcohol on a bit of tissue and rubbed around toilet, kills germs, so if one family member sick, this is especially good to remember for bathroom surfaces. I always remember to rinse off alcohol after cleaning toilet though, you don't want on your bum!
 

Ramona

5 Fave Remedies

1) Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera) Tincture:
Cures earache, sore throat, any bacterial/viral or other infection

2) Willow/Feverfew Tincture:
Migraines, headaches, muscle and/or joint pain

3) Siberian Ginseng:
I take as a tablet 3X a day for energy, depression, well-being

4) Brahmi, powdered:
I make up the capsules myself; for memory enhancement and mental sharpness

5) Sweet Fern (Comptonia peregrina) Tincture:
Can be used as a tonic, but I use it mostly for stomach upset and diarrhea. Works like a charm!

I make all my own tinctures from the herbs I grow myself or that I wildcraft myself from organic sources. I used to make salves and lotions, but now I keep it simple.
oh, and another that is quite nice is Self-Heal Tincture as well:
Well-being, tonic and stops itching from rash or stings.

If dreams could talk, mine would say that herbalism is my calling. ;) But life doesn't see it that way. Sigh!

Great thread! I'm glad I found it.
Blessings
Ramona

Addendum:
I'm going to add something in honour of a great breakthrough that I've just had - yesterday - because of joining the AT. It's wonderful but so scary at the same time. If "herbalism is my calling..." then why am I not practising it openly and with joy in my heart? Because of my false belief that no one will want to know anything from me, or buy anything from me. Comes from a nightmare I had at the age of 3 - a self-fulfilling belief that entered my unconscious at that time, and never left, never changed. NOW is the time to make it change, to use Alchemy for Dreams and undo this destructive pattern. Whew! That feels better!
cheers
Happy New Moon Divination!
 

Briar Rose

A cup of Lipton teas makes me feel really good and lifts up my spirits.
 

beginner

remedy for mild burns

wash the burnt area n coat it with salt immediately this prevents any type of scare from appearing

quick heal 4 cuts -- apply turmeric powder instantly after washing the wound with antiseptic
 

canid

Here's an odd one - for bee or wasp stings, tape a penny over it. Not really a 'natural', I know, but it really does work.
 

Ramona

not salt

I don't know about you, but I would never put salt on a burn! OUCH! Introducing a foreign irritant to an open wound, and one that hurts already, would only make things much worse.
A burn requires that you cool off the area immediately, so lukewarm water is the way to go. I use an Aloe vera leaf, cut length wise to release the inner healing juice and I apply it gently to the burned area. For severe burns, see a medical practitioner. For mild burns, use Aloe. The pain and heat sensation will lessen immediately after the application. If the burn is serious enough, apply an antibiotic cream to prevent infection. To me, the scarring issue is less of a priority than relieving the pain in a natural and non-intrusive way.

The above also applies to cuts, abrasions, sunburn, chafing and other skin irritations. Use Aloe, Mother Nature's skin-healing medicine.

Ramona


beginner said:
remedy for mild burns

wash the burnt area n coat it with salt immediately this prevents any type of scare from appearing

quick heal 4 cuts -- apply turmeric powder instantly after washing the wound with antiseptic