Nowadays, more and more people are turning to natural home
remedies to help them treat their ailments. Some plants with “magic powers” are
safe for human consumption while others are not. It is important to know which plants
are perfectly safe when used externally or internally. Keep in mind that some
plants can be fatal when eaten. And just because they are natural home remedies
that does not mean they are necessarily safe.
Almost every family has a form of home treatment that has
been passed down from generation to generation. Your grandmother may have
taught your mother to serve you peppermint tea when you are sick. How about the
chunk of ginger root that you peel and grate each time you travel to prevent
stomach discomfort while traveling? And remember that chicken soup your
grandmother served when you were recovering from common cold? These are natural
treatments that were used by your grandparents and passed on to your parents
and to you as well.
Thousands of remedies
There are thousands of households and myriad remedies
available today, which were handed on over generation. Some of them are
provided by homeopaths, herbalists, naturopaths and general practitioners.
How to choose the
best?
Choosing the best natural methods in treating certain ailments
must involve careful study. Some of them are effective but not appropriate for
all individuals. Other old remedies are not worthy to be mentioned as they are
too complicated in today’s world.
Remedies and
prescription drugs
Perhaps, you are used to take prescription medicines,
undergo blood tests and other techniques of modern medicine that you tend to
forget the benefits of home cures. You have to remember that time-tested
remedies are as effective as they were before.
- Applying
bicarbonate of soda as a bee sting treatment
- Putting wet tea bag
on your tired eyes
- Applying cooked
cabbage leaf on your boil to draw out the pus
- Dabbing aloe vera
gel on a burn
- Inhaling the scent
of lavender to melt away anxiety
These are just some of the effective home cures that can
make you feel better. They may not replace the effectiveness of modern
treatments but they can prevent small ailments from turning into bigger
problems.
Even some doctors recommend these natural home remedies
because they often work. In fact, some of the drugs contain active ingredients
similar to those found in plants.
- Aspirin was first
derived from white willow bark.
- Ephedrine is based
on the ephedra plant.
- Digitalis is derived
from foxglove.
Pharmaceutical companies are even sending their teams to
remote areas (remember the “Anaconda”?) to look for plants that may contain
promising chemicals.
But of course, it is also important to know which natural
home remedies do work.
- Honey. Coating
a cut from a knife with honey can work more effectively than antiseptic
ointment. But make sure that you wash the wound thoroughly before applying
anything.
- Echinacea. Taking
Echinacea can be as effective as antibiotics when you have sinus infection.
- St. John’s wort.
This plant has now been recognized by thousands of Australians and New
Zealanders to be effective in treating depression.
- Yogurt is a
popular natural home remedy for fungal infection.
- Chamomile tea
is great for people with insomnia.
- Arnica is being
used as one of the active ingredients of many prescription creams as it
contains pain-killing and anti-inflammatory properties.
- Honey and yogurt
can be used for lightening the brown liver spots that appear at the back of
your hands as you age.
- Gaffer tape has
been recognized by researchers in the US to be effective in removing warts in a
few days.
But of course, if you choose to take natural home remedies
for your ailment, you must consider the commonsense approach. This means that
you have to take them for the right reasons.
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