HomeRemedies[2]

7/31/2019 HomeRemedies[2]

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Gra edons Guid e to

Every so often, of course, an old wives

tale will be vindicated by medical re-

sear ch. Cranber ry juice, for example, has

been sh own t o help prevent cystitis. For

the most part, however, double-blind,

placebo-controlled studies are lacking.

Recipes for home rem edies are a little

bit like the recipes a good cook might

use: th eres room for variat ion a nd in -

terp reta tion, a pinch more of th is or less

of that . The most important ingredient

in home treatment is good judgment.Dont forget, ther e ar e times when you

mu st seek pr ofessiona l medical help; if

you a re a llergic to bee stings an d you get

stu ng, go i mmedi a t e l yto an emer gencyroom. But if your hands are chapped,

you dont n ecessar ily need to see a der-

matologist . You can probably f ind

something at your neighborhood phar-

ma cy ... or local far m st ore ... to solve the

problem. As with all self-treat men t, com-

mon sense is essential.

2002 Graedon En terprises, Inc.

THE RAISIN REMEDY

Where do home remedies come from? How do people learn about them? We havent a clue who thought up theidea of soaking raisins in gin and decided nine a day is the right dose for arthritis. We first heard about this remedyfrom Jim Campbell in Hendersonville, NC, but the note he sent us credited several other folks. Lois Loebide in Toledo,OH, wrote it up in her parish newsletter, but she learned about it from a friend of hers in Hyannis, MA, who heardabout it from a podiatrist in Washington, D.C. Who knows where he found out about raisins and gin!

Weve never experienced anything like the enthusiastic response to this home remedy. Many people have writtento us from all over the country to sing the praises of gin-soaked raisins: I was interested toread your column aboutgin-soaked raisins for arthritis relief. I heard about this home remedy from a friend who knew I had problems with

painful osteoarthritis. I had tried all kinds of medicine, from aspirin to Voltaren, without much result. I started theremedy and after about a month I really noticed a difference. It was much easier to get out of bed in the morning.

I can climb stairs without stopping halfway up. I can play tennis three or four times a week without sufferingafterwards. These are just a few things that have changed since I started on the raisin remedy. Its not a cure forarthritis, but it is a lot cheaper than the high-priced medicine that hurt my stomach and I believe it has helped me.

We dont know if the raisin remedy works or is just a figment of peoples imaginations. There are no scientificstudies, but juniper (the flavoring in gin) has historically been used to treat stomach problems, bronchitis andeven arthritis. Compared to many other arthritis treatments, this one seems benign.

Because the original recipe specified that the gin had to evaporate, the most frequently asked question wasDo these raisins ever dry out? We heard from people who waited days or even weeks for the raisins to dry.Others ate their gin-soaked snack while still soggy. We now know the raisins never really dry out, but we askedpharmacologist Brian Thomas at Research Triangle Institute to test them for alcohol on his high-tech mass specmachine. The verdict less than one drop of alcohol left in nine raisins not enough to harm most folks.

R a isin d t r eEmpty one box of goldenlight raisins into a largeshallow container. Pourenough gin to completelycover the raisins. Letstand, uncovered, forabout seven days until allof the liquid evaporates.Stirring occasionally will

help the evaporationprocess. After the gin hasevaporated, place theraisins in a closed con-tainer ... Eat nine raisins aday. If you dont likeraisins, put them on yourcereal or in a salad.

Years a go a t rip to the doctor mightmean t he better part of a day spenttr aveling. Its little wonder th at back

th en, folks didnt us ua lly consu lt a phy-

sician except for a serious medical

emergency. When it came to a minor

problem, more often th an n ot they dealt

with it at home. Grandparents passed

their folk remedies down through the

generations. What with the cost of a

consultation going higher and higher,

many people today still prefer to usehome remedies for situa tions t hat are

an noying but not serious. Not everyone

has the chance to learn these simple

m e t h o d s f r o m a k n o w l e d g e a b l e

gran dma , though, so we have collected a

few of our favorites h ere t o shar e th em

with you.

We cant vouch for most of these tips,

th ough. Scientists dont u sua lly put time

an d money int o test ing them carefully to

see wheth er th ey are safe and effective.

Attributed to The Acts ofSaint Lucas, the newsletter

of St. Lucas Lutheran Church,

Toledo, OH.

Hom e R em ed ieswww.peoplespharmacy.com


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Aq ua m ir a bi l i s

Ba g Ba lmDairy Association Co.

Lyndonville, VT 05851(800) 232-3610

Udd er CreamRedex Industries, Inc.P.O. Box 939Salem, OH 44460(800) 345-7339

2325 Third Street # 216San Francisco, CA 94107

DRY SK IN SOLUTIONS

Making up about 15 percent of your

total body weight, your skin is like a

general health barometer and serves as

a warning system sending signals to

your brain a bout extreme heat , cold and

sharp things.

Because t here is so much skin on th ebody, it is logical th at th ere a re t ons of

home remedies th at deal with making it

softer, making it smoother, soothing

stings and warding off warts. In our

newspa per column , we have frequen tly

had the opportunity to discuss skin-

care products, and you have certainly

let us kn ow about your favorites in t he

moistur izer departmen t.

We wrote about a n elegant bu t pricey

hand cream for cooks, called Aqua-

mirabil is . Made of mango kernel oil

and beeswax, this product is certainly

something you could use on your ha nds

without t ur ning th e food funn y flavors.

Then we got t his letter:

When you wrote about hand cream

for cooks, you missed out on a simple

and inexpens ive hand mois tur izer .

Crisco ha s long been u sed by chefs and

is comp letely edible. In deed it is edible

on han ds an d in pie cru sts t oo.

A reader who served in the WAVES

during World War II used Crisco for

makeu p r emoval. She even suggested,Crisco can be whipped in a m ixer with

a drop of vegetable coloring and per-

fume for a fan cy clean sing cream ! Oth er

rea ders, including a ctors, confirmed t he

value ofCrisco .

Pet roleum jelly (Vaseline ), while not

edible, is also a terrific moisturizer.

When we wrote about a young mother

with dry skin from r insing diapers a nd

washing her ha nds, a reader suggested,

After sh e finishes wash ing her h an ds,

she should not dry them completely.

She should immediately rub in a pea-sized chunk ofVaseline until all the

droplets of water ha ve been absorbed. I

guarantee that if she does this each

time she washes her hands, the skin

will heal a nd n ot be rough. I kn ow I

had the very same problem when my

children were babies.

One reader complained tha t h er heels

were so rough, dry and calloused that

when she removed her panty hose I

actua lly ha ve to rip th em awa y. Rat her

than add an expensive moisturizer to

her pan ty h ose bill, derm at ologist Rob-

ert Gilgor su ggested she a pply petroleum

jel ly a fter ba th in g and then cover the

heels with plastic wrap, keeping it in

place with a stocking. Three weeks of

th i s t rea tment n ight ly should he lp

smooth the skin.We did caut ion t he reader tha t i f this

remedy didnt work it wa s possible

that she had a fungal infect ion and

t ha t Micat in or Lotrimin AF used

daily for a m onth or two may be help-

ful. If not, she should pr obably see a

dermatologist.

Ea sily th e most mail we ha ve gotten

about relief for d ry sk in concerns prod-

ucts you probably wont find at your

local drug store. Over th e last severa l

years we have become aware of the

wonders of what we call barnyard

beau ty a ids. A musician wr ites: I a m

a professional harpist and I learned

early to use B ag B alm during dry

winter weath er with cott on gloves

at night. Carol wrote: A friend of

mine who also quilts gave me a sam ple

ofUdder Cream an d I love it! Since I

am diabetic, my skin gets really dry

an d Udder Cream helps. I l ike the

textur e and t he fact th at i t s non-

grea sy. Im gett ing rid of all my oth er

creams and using just this . Otherqui l ters claim that the ant isept ic in

B ag B alm helps heal the pr icks th ey

get from th eir needles.

Becau se th ey are inten ded for u se on

cows, youll usually find B ag B alm

an d Udde r Cream in feed stores an d

farm co-op stores. One reason people

like these pr oducts so mu ch is the cost.

At about 50 to 70 cent s an ounce, th ey

are far less expensive tha n na me-bran d

moisturizers.

What ever product you choose, the best

time to use it is right after washing. Patthe skin dr y and a pply the moistur izer

to seal the water in. It also helps to

avoid ha rsh soaps a nd deter gents, which

can str ip the skin of its moisture-reta in-

ing oils.

I TCHESAND OUCHES

Lots of people have been faced with

stin gs bees, wasps, yellow jackets an d

Arthritis RemedyDrs. Chas. & BillMayo

Several years ago weheard from a reader whowrote: In 1950 my teacherwent to the Mayo Clinic forcrippling arthritis. She was27 years old and spent sixweeks at the clinic. Thetreatment was a miracle forher. She was given a formulato continue taking, which sheshared with me for mymother. The jar of little blackballs in her fridge changedmy mothers life. Here it is:

Remove the stems fromthree pounds of dried figsand grind the figs with oneand a half pounds of seededraisins in a food chopper.Add three ounces of pow-dered senna, two ounces ofpowdered charcoal and oneounce of slippery elm, a littleat a time. Mix in by handthree ounces of olive oil andone ounce of glycerine.Make the mixture into ballsabout the size of a nickel.

Take one ball night andmorning for one week, thenone ball a day for sixmonths. This formula makesabout 235 balls. Keep themin an icebox or refrigerator ina covered glass jar.

Upon rising in the morningsip the juice of a lemon in ashot water as possible withone quarter teaspoon ofcream of tartar.


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the like have a way of ruining a good

picnic or outin g. Quite a few folks h ave

written to tell us that putting the cut

side of an onion on a sting ma kes it feel

better m uch quicker. Other s like to mix

up a lit t le meat tenderizer with water t o

make a paste tha t can be dabbed on a

sting. Still another refinemen t calls for

mixing the meat t enderizer with en oughwhit e vinegar t o dissolve it. This comes,

we are told, from a lifeguar d in H awaii

who main ta ins th e solut ion is very effec-

tive aga inst jellyfish stings.

We have also been told that baking

soda mixed up with vinegar int o a foam-

ing pas te will help a stin g. Some people

dispense with the vinegar and concen-

tr ate on a baking soda-and-water past e.

One woma n r ecommends moistening an

Alka-Seltzer tablet and pu tt ing it on the

sting as soon as it sta rt s to fizz. Wheth er

this might work a ny better tha n a plain

baking soda past e, we have no idea, but

it might be easier to pack a tablet int o a

pocket or picnic bask et.

Of cour se a severe r eaction t o a sting

is an emergency situation, not appro-

priat e for h ome remedies. If a person

who has been st ung develops breath -

ing problems, hives or widespread

itching, or st ar ts t o feel faint or nau se-

at ed, call th e ambu lance imm ediately.

Sting allergies can result in life-th reat -

ening sh ock.

For ordinary itchy bug bites, not stings,

one of th e most effective ways t o stop the

itching involves no expense at all. Hot

wat er, uncomfortable but n ot hot enough

to bur n (120 to 130 F), for a few seconds

ma y give relief th at can last a few hours.

We hear that this easy itch treatment

ma y also be helpful for limited a rea s of

poison ivy.

WARON W ARTS

Sur prisingly, hot water m ay also work

on some plant ar warts . These f lat t ish

war ts on th e sole of the foot can be ha rd

to t reat , and by n o means a l l of them

respond t o hot wat er soaks. But th is

may be worth a try before seeing the

derm at ologist for su rgery. Dr. Samu el

Moschella of Harvard Medical School

discovered a n old m edical r eference t o

this t rea tment , and t r ied i t . I t worked

for some of his patient s. The idea is t o

soak the affected foot once a week in

wat er 100 to 113 F. Ea ch session is

half an hour t o an hour a nd a half long,

and the course of t reat ment lasts eight

weeks.

There are quite a few popular home

remedies for tr eating everyday warts a s

well. Weve hea rd from m an y folks t ha t

castor oil applied twice a da y will get rid

of a war t. Other s prefer vinegar to ban-

ish those bum ps.

AVON SKIN-SO-SOFT AGAINST BUGS?

Avons Skin-So-Soft, a bath oil and moisturizer, has developed a cult followingfor its reputed ability to repel mosquitoes, gnats, no-seem-ums and biting flies.Avon doesnt advertise or endorse Skin-So-Soft for its anti-bug activity, but wevereceived amazing testimonials from hunters, fishermen, campers and Marines, allof whom believe this bath oil helps prevent bites.

Consumer Reports recently rated bug repellents and the results suggest thatSkin-So-Soft doesnt deserve its reputation. Compared to commercial repellentsthe testers found the bath oil ineffective against mosquitoes. It did deter stableflies, however, at least to some extent. And although there are lots and lots of folks

who swear by Skin-So-Soft, we have also heard from those who found it uselessas an insect repellent.If you still want to try Skin-So-Soft you can order it by calling 1-800-FOR-AVON.

The company has recently introduced a product specifically designed as a bugrepellent, called Skin-So-Soft Moisturizing Suncare Mosquito, Flea & Deer TickRepellent.

Do be careful if you plan to try your favorite remedy on Fido or Fluffy, though.Some dog owners are enthusiastic about Skin-So-Soft for keeping fleas away, butcats lick their fur in grooming themselves and may ingest too much of the oil. Thiscould be harmful. Check with the vet before applying any over-the-countermedicine or home remedy to your pet.

Hom em a d eDa n d r uffRem ed yDr. Robert Gilgor,dermatologist, suggeststhis homemade dandruffshampoo:

Mix 1 part 100% propy-lene glycol

with 4 parts babyshampoo.

This mixture should begentle and effective.Youll have to ask yourpharmacist for propy-lene glycol, a commoningredient in skin careproducts.

A lab tech wrote to tell usshe treated a wart the sizeof a dime by soaking herfinger in vinegar andapplying a vinegarcompress for an hour ortwo a day. Before she triedthis, the dermatologist hadunsuccessfully frozen thewart three times. Thevinegar worked afterabout six weeks. Shereports my husband andcoworkers are amazed.Theyre also glad I dont

smell like Im wearingvinegar perfumeanymore.

War t Pla s ter forSpl in ters?Sometimes its hard toconvince a young childto hold still while you goafter the sliver with atweezer. PediatricianRussell Copelansuggests a little piece of

salicylic acid plaster,sold for wart treatment,be applied to the areaof the splinter and left inplace for 12 hours.Within two or threedays, most splinters willhave worked their wayout with no trouble. Ifnot, then you can fetchthe tweezers.


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Sa ving YourS t o ma c h

We defy you to name one other product that has as many uses as plain old baking soda. From scrubbing thesink to cleaning the connections on a car battery to making chocolate chip cookies rise, sodium bicarbonate isalmost indispensable.

Probably the foremost medical use for baking soda is as an antacid. It has also gained popularity as a dentifrice.Some people brush their teeth with baking soda, and a trip down the toothpaste aisle at your local drug store willshow just how popular baking soda is in oral hygiene. It is less abrasive than some toothpastes and preliminarydental research suggests it may even be helpful in reducing the risk of gum disease. Baking soda in water is alsoan excellent gargle.

Its deodorant properties are legendary, but did you know that smelly feet could benefit? Wade, in Deer Park,Texas, offers the following advice: When I was a kid my feet smelled and sweat something awful. I confided tomy barber and he gave me a solution for them.

Take a pan big enough for your feet and fill it with water as hot as you can stand. Put two tablespoons of plainold baking soda in the water and soak the feet for 30 minutes for 30 nights.

Throw away those synthetic sneakers because they hold in the moisture. Leather or canvas shoes with a cleanpair of socks each day will breathe better. Im 72 and my feet dont sweat and I feel at ease if I have to take myshoes off for any reason.

Thirty days of baking soda soaks may not last until you are 72, but it certainly does seem safe and inexpensive.Other readers rave about baking soda and cornstarch as an underarm deodorant.

Other Herba l Help er s:Anise seedsCaraway seedsCatnipChamomile

DillFennel seedsLicoricePeppermintSage

What we do to our stomachs is a sha me:

overeat ing or sk ipping meals, grabbing

snacks on the go, and gulping down

coffee, cola or cocktails. No wonder

tu mmy-aches ar e comm on. Very often ,

though, they are susceptible to self-

treatment. One of the cheapest and

easiest approaches to simple hear tbur n,in fact, is just chewing gum or sucking

on a piece of hard candy. This stimu-

lates sa liva, which helps wash acid back

into the st omach where it belongs.

t ion and ulcers . Try a banana for a

bellyache.

Herba l indigestion a ids have been used

for centur ies. Ginger ma y be one of th e

best. It is available in capsule form at

most h ealth food stores. Two capsu les

have been recommended a s a sta rting

dose. In a ddition, ginger ha s been sh ownto prevent m otion sickeness. In one test

i t even outper formed an over - the-

counter remedy.

PASS THE BICARB!

HERBALREMEDIES

A soothing cup of cha momile tea might

be helpful in this case as well. It has

been used for centu ries to treat diges-

tive problems, and modern research

shows some of i ts components are

effective anti-spasmodic and anti-in-flammatory agents. When it comes to

heartburn, of course, the mere facts

th at i t is soothing an d wet an d wont

make things worse as i t washes the

acid back into the st omach ar e signifi-

cant. Serious allergic reactions have

occurr ed, though , so cham omile should

probably be avoided by a nyone sensi-

tive to ra gweed pollen.

When it comes to indigestion, the

next st ep beyond cham omile tea m ight

st i l l be in your pant ry. Bana nas are a

tr aditional India n rem edy for indiges-

BAKINGSODA

You wont even have to leave the

kitchen to find one of Americas most

popular antacids. Baking soda, or so-

dium bicarbonate, is a time-honored

acid-neu tr alizer. (It is t he digestive aid

in Alka-Seltzer.) The usu al dose is one-

ha lf teas poon (use a mea sur ing spoon toma ke it a ccur at e) in four ounces of wa-

ter. Bak ing soda is very high in sodium,

th ough, so it isn t for an yone on a sa lt-

restricted regimen. There are importan t

safety warn ings on th e box, including:

do not ingest food, liquid or a ny a nt acid

when stomach is overly full to avoid

possible injury to the stomach. This

precaut ion appea red after a ha pless fel-

low stuffed himself to the limit, took

bicar b for th e discomfort , an d su ffered

an explosion in his stomach tha t lan ded

him in th e hospital.


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Ar t h r i t i s Rem ed iesV IMAND V INEGAR

Vinegar is a perenn ial American favor-

ite when it comes t o home remedies. Back

in 1958, Dr. D.C. Jarvis had a big best

seller in his book, Folk M edicine: A V er-

m ont Country Doctors Gu ide to Good

Heal th . In it, Dr. Ja rvis gives credit t o th efarm families using their simple home

rem edies and t onics. These folks, an d Dr.

J ar vis too, put a lot of stock in a da ily dose

of vinegar as an all-purpose tonic. Pre-

sum ably, th is approach has been kicking

ar ound sin ce Vermont was a colony or

ma ybe even before.

As far a s we can tell, th ere is no medi-

cal evidence that vinegar will lower

cholesterol or protect against heart at-

tacks, arth ritis or a nything else for t hat

mat ter. But Pat ti in Sh illington, Pa., is

convinced: Raw apple cider vinegar isan old New England remedy for a rth ri-

tis. It works t he sam e as it would on an

old tea pot with h eavy minera l deposits.

The vinegar dissolves the calcium de-

posits on joints in t he sa me way.

So far as we know, calcium is not

responsible for most art hr itis pain. And

vinegar is u nlikely to clean out joints.

Norma in Dun nsville, Va., brings up a

good point: Im one of those people

doing th e vinegar tr ick. I mak e my own

concoction a nd allow one ta blespoon vin-

egar da ily. Its n ot too bad once you getused to it . Far more palatable to me

th an a glass of wine!

My ques tion: how will I kn ow if in fact

it is d oing a nyth ing positive for me? I

have rea d it is t outed t o remove fatt y

deposits from your blood which in t ur n

would be good for your hea rt . Do I ha ve

to wait for a n a utopsy to determine t he

resu lts? Or will a cholesterol test t ell?

Has anyone reported a n improvement

in cholester ol after vinegar cockta ils for

month s? Maybe Im just t ur ning myself

into a PICKLE.

Other rea ders have suggested rinsing

dry hands in cider vinegar, soaking

ha ngna ils in one teasp oon vinegar t o 8

ounces of water , or even douching with

2 ta blespoons white vinegar t o a pint of

warm water for vaginal yeast infections.

We dont recomm end routine douching,

but a woman with r ecurr ent pr oblems

might ask her doctor about th is remedy.

F IGHTING FUNGUS

Marion in Conroe, Texas, agrees th at

vinegar doesnt ha ve to be swallowed t o

be helpful. Some of my friends use

vinegar t o soak a spr ained an kle. Re-

member the nur sery rhyme about Ja ck

and J ill?Who would ever believe tha t vinegar

would a lso be good a gainst fungus? The

old expression theres a fungus am ong

us is often tr ue. Fu ngi love warm, da mp

places, wheth er th ey be old tree stu mps

or t he c r ev i ce s be t w een ou r t oe s

(athletes foot). For rea sons th at ar e not

entirely clear, fungal infections of toe-

nails become more common as we get

older. The n ail becomes thick an d yel-

lowish-brown. Prescription medicines

may take 6 months or longer to work

an d can be very expensive. The vinegarsoak has met with a lot of enth usiasm

from some of our rea ders:

For years I had a single toenail so

infected by fun gus th at it was too thick

to be cut with a na il clipper. For almost

a year I h ad been trea ting it twice a day

with an over-the-counter product, but

Id seen essent ially no improvement in

the na il.

Then I read in your column about

soakin g infected t oes in a 1/3 solut ion of

vinegar (1 part vinegar to two parts of

water) for 15 minutes a day an d I tr iedit. After five weeks of soaking for 45

minutes a day, the fungus has com-

pletely disappeared and the nai l is

growing out norma lly.

The pr oduct I was using is fairly ex-

pensive, and vinegar costs pennies by

compa rison. Than k you for t he su gges-

tion.

We can t find an y resear ch validating

the vinegar cure for fungus, but an

acidic environmen t does make it ha rd

for fun gi to survive. An ear, n ose and

throat special is t suggested vinegar

soaks for an i tchy ear that he sus-

pected was du e to fungal infection. He

said to mix up a wh ite vinegar solution

(1 part vinegar to 5 par t s tepid water)

and r inse out t he ear thr ee t imes a day

using an rubber ear bulb. This worked

when we t r ied i t . Of cou rse , any in-

f ec t i on that does nt hea l sh ould be

seen by an M.D.

Hom e Rem ed iesFor Na i l Fu n gus

Other treatments thathave been tried withmixed success include:

- Pierce a vitamin Ecapsule with a pinand squirt the oilbetween the toe andthe nail.

- Apply VicksVapoRub twice a day

- Soak feet in asolution of PaudArco tea (availablein health foodstores).

- Alternative soaksinclude rubbingalcohol or whiteiodine.

Certo and grape juice is

another popular remedy for

arthritis. One couple takestwo teaspoons Certo in

three ounces of grape juicethree times a day. They cut

back to one teaspoon in

juice twice a day as the painsubsides. An alternate

recipe: 1 tablespoon Certoin 8 oz. of grape juice once

daily.Certo, used to make jams

and jellies, is found with the

canning supplies in mostsupermarkets. It is a liquid

containing pectin, potas-sium citrate and citric acid.

No scientific evidence indi-

cates whether this or anyother pectin-containing

product is truly helpful.

We received this recipefrom readers who say it issupposed to have beenused by Sam Houston.Make a potion of: five parts

grape juice, three partsapple juice, and one partcider vinegar. A daily doseof this potion, half a cup willdo, helps relieve the achesand pains of Arthritis.


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6

JET L AG

Our bodies have a har d t ime shif t ing

through multiple time zones. People

who t ravel from the E ast Coast t o the

West often wake up the fi rs t morning

before dawn. Their bra ins were tr icked

by a natural chemical called melato-nin. The fur t her you t ravel the har der

i t is to adapt .

Bright su nlight ma y be one of th e best

ways to reset your biological clock.

About 30 minutes to an hour of sun-

light during the day can be helpful.

The ul t raviolet radiat ion suppresses

melat onin an d helps sh ift t he bodys

schedule to the n ew time zone.

If the pr oblem is waking u p too early,

it 's best to get your light in the late

afternoon. When falling asleep is diffi-

cult, as it may be for those travelingeast, sit in th e sun as ear ly in the morn-

ing as possible.

Many a grandmother has soothed a

sleepless child with a cup of warm milk,

sweetened with a sp oonful of sugar or

honey. We used to think t hat the value

of this common remedy lay mainly in

the calm and loving way it is best ad-

ministered. Theres a lot to be said for

th at , of course, especially when a per -son can 't doze off becau se of anxiety or

eager anticipation.

We now kn ow, however, tha t t her e is

at least some scientific basis for the

soporific effects of milk. Milk pr otein is

rich in t ryptophan , an a mino acid that

serves as th e fun dam enta l building block

for serotonin, th e bodys n at ur al sleep-

inducing neu rochemical. Scientists tell

us th at carbohydrat es enhance the ef-

fect of tr yptophan so it can be helpful to

add some sweetening or a cookie to the

regimen. For some people, herbs likechamomile, hops, valerian, catnip, or

St-J ohns-Wort m ay a id drowsiness.

SleepingSolutions

There are dozens of home remedies

for hiccups, from sipping water from

th e wrong side of th e cup to swallowinga teaspoon of sugar dry. A reader re-

cen t l y s en t u s t h i s t i me honor ed

recommendation:

This r emedy for hiccups was given t o

me by a retired Washington Redskin

about 40 years ago. Take a wedge of

lemon sprinkled with one teaspoon of

granulated sugar and 4 or 5 drops of

Angostu ra Bit ters. Bite into the lemon

an d su ck it. No more hiccups!

If you would like to learn more aboutherbal products and home remedies, not

to mention the best over-the-counter andprescription drugs, we recommend ThePeoples Pharmacy Guide to Home andHerbal Remedies(St. Martins Press).Look for it at your library or order directlyfrom us. Use the enclosed form, call us tollfree 1-800-732-2334 weekdays, or send$27.95 plus $3.00 postage and handling:Graedons Peoples PharmacyP. O. Box 52027Durham, NC 27717-2027

A traditional treatment for asthma

involves the medicine theophyll ine

(Elixophyl l in , Slo-bid , Theo-Dur ,

Theo-24 , etc.). This dr ug is chem ically

related to caffeine. Although we would

not recommen d th is home remedy for a

serious asthma attack, the following

an ecdote demonst ra tes th e power of th is

compound.You saved m y honeymoon and I just

want to thank you. My husband and I

left for Hawaii immediately after the

wedding. In all the excitement I forgot

m y asthm a m edicine. Although I d ont

have to take it every day I always keep

som e on h and.

T he da y after we arrived w e took a

long walk on the beach and by the time

we got back I was wheezing. I almost

pa nick ed u n ti l I rem em bered r eadin g in

you r book t hat coffee can a ct as an em er-

gency treatm ent for asthm a.

T hree cup s cont rolled m y attack a nd I

did nt ha ve any m ore trouble. Th e rest of

the honeymoon was great!

Although it is not an adequat e substi-tu te for m edicat ion, two or th ree cups of

brewed coffee may provide relief in a

pinch for someone experiencing a mild

asthma at ta ck.

Your story demonstr at es just h ow im-

portant it is to pack medication along

with your toothbru sh a nd other essen-

tial items.

Cheerios and honeyToast and jamBagelTurkey sandwichInstant oatmealHerbal teasMalted milkGraham crackers

Sleepy-timeSnacks

Act ion forAsthm a

Hiccup

Rem ed ies

HomeRemedies[2]

Documents

Transcript of HomeRemedies[2]