Home Remedies

[sirrahbed]

I got the idea for this thread from a recent conversation with daughter sirrahsim. She and Tyler both have earaches. When my kids were little, I made salt socks to have them hold on their aching ears for pain relieving warmth. I would put plain salt or rocksalt into a pan and heat it up. Pour into a sock and tie the end in a knot. Later, I had my microwave and could easily warm the "salt sock". I recently read that using rice works even better and holds the heat. (regular rice that needs cooking and not instant rice) I tend to still go for these old non-medicine treatments.

Do you have any tried and true home remedies? Anything for earaches?

[critter crazy]

The only home remedy that I realy know, Is that we use baking soda for Bee stings.

[wombat2u2004]

Slice of tomato rubbed on jellyfish stings.
Wom

[DrKym]

Honey on a burn, lemon tea with brandy for a sore throat, vicks on a rag and wrapped around the throat for swollen glands and sore throats, Eucalyptus oil on the pillow case for earaches.
Peppermint oil mixed with baby oil for muscle aches. Many more but will have to think.

[angelbow20]

This is really gross sounding but I was always told to pee in a cup and stick it in my ear if I had a ear infection... but it has to be your own!!! its really gross but people say it works. you are supose to also pee on your foot if you have athletes foot... I Know a bunch more but dont want to bore everyone with them but what the heck I will do one more... When you get a cut your supose to put the thin skin from an onion on it to help it stop bleeding.

[sirrahved]

I didn't really have many earaches growing up, but my dad was always giving me a shot of whisky with honey warmed in the microwave. I had terrible coughs growing up, and only this could quiet them down! Thankfully at 14 I had my tonsils removed and my coughs went away.

[moosmom]

Earaches can be helped with a hair dryer. Just not sure how.

Meat tenderizer on bee stings helps draw the stinger out. Also, when treating a bee sting, take a credit card or driver's license and and flick it over the area. It'll get rid of the stinger without releasing any of the toxin into your system.

[crow_noir]

I had chronic ear infections and sore throats growing up. The doctor was always prescribing antibiotics. I was sick all the time.

Guess what... I moved out and into my own place and they went away! My parents were smokers. S.O. was but quit because he knew how sensitive my lungs are to the smoke. Even when he did smoke though he never smoked in the house or vehicle. Not i only get those types of colds once a year or so and they only last about a week. Before I'd get them about every other month and they'd last for about a month.

Now if i go somewhere there is cigarette smoke and i'm there for more then a few minutes I'll be sick starting the next day. I'll have a sore throat and two days later I'll have an ear infection that lasts about two weeks.

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I hear that blue ear powder works great for dogs... I wonder if it's safe for human use?

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My science teacher told us that they use the same chemical in Head and Shoulders that they use in some athletes foot treatments. After years and years of never having AF i finally got it a few years ago (I guess that's bound to happen when you share a bed and shower with someone who doesn't have the best foot hygiene... Thankfully His doctor and i have changed that!!!) Well, i tried good 'ol H&S and it works!!!

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Duct tape for warts.

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Diatomaceous Earth (FOOD GRADE!!!) for getting rid of round worm.

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Grapefruit seed extract to treat food poisoning.

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Chamomile tea, with honey to get rid of a sore throat caused by an ear infection. Twice a day for three to four days.

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Gah, I know I'm forgetting some... I went to edit a word and lost my train of thought.

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Edit: 4AM Apr 19
Showers are always good for thinking

I was griping to myself about chlorine (I'm moderately sensitive to it,) but then i remembered to be thankful for it also.

A few years back King was having chronic eye infections for a couple months. Nothing the vet was giving us was curing it. Then i remembered something i had seen on the news about being able to add bleach to water to make it safe for drinking in natural disasters. (This was pre "Katrina.") Somehow my brain associated this with chlorine in pools... just a glimpse into my train of thought. Well, I put some regular tap water (chlorinated in our area... to the point that your tap water sometimes smells like a swimming pool,) in an eye dropper. With in two days of using the tap water King's eye infection was almost completely cleared up. I continued for a full week though just to make sure it didn't bounce back. He didn't like it one bit, I'm sure it stung. Oh well, I'm sure it was better than the eye infection and he didn't loose his eye sight because of it.

I wish i could tell you the parts per million (or what ever it is called,) of the chlorine content in our water. I know not all areas are the same. And i realize that many people have well water.

4:20am Apr 19

Ah yes, that's one that i forgot earlier...
Take B vitamins to keep the Mosquitoes away. I forget which B vitamin it is so i just take a B complex. It had a wonderful side effect! I'm not so tired any more. I originally heard about taking this to keep away the pests on another dog board! lol. Not sure how safe it is for dogs though. I just know they shouldn't have nearly the amount of C we do. In the past five years I've had two mosquito bites. Being in MI that says a LOT... Like that the B vitamins really do work.

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

One word -- GARLIC! I eat whole, raw garlic when I have a cold, but it has some pretty stinky side effects! It really does help get rid of my colds faster.

[crow_noir]

I bet you're flea free!

Seriously though I wish i could stand eating it. One of my friends swears by it for this that and the other thing. I LOVE cooked garlic, but just can't tolerate it raw. ...and i know it NEEDS to be raw for full benefits.

One word -- GARLIC! I eat whole, raw garlic when I have a cold, but it has some pretty stinky side effects! It really does help get rid of my colds faster.

[Scooter's Mom]

Slice of tomato rubbed on jellyfish stings.
Wom

For some reason we used meat tenderizer... mom always had a jar of it when we went to the beach.

[wombat2u2004]

For some reason we used meat tenderizer... mom always had a jar of it when we went to the beach.

And methylated spirits works to. They use that up in the northern waters where they get the sea wasps, or box jellyfish as they are called. The stings of those have killed so many people, that swimmers wear womens pantyhose, so that the stingers can't reach the skin....but still they always take methylated spirits with them to.
Wom

[Karen]

When you feel an ear infection coming on, gargling with warm salt water will help - it help keep the Eustacian tubes from blocking up. When the ear is aching, you can lessen the hurt with a blowdryer - honest. Just aim the warm air into your ear for a few minutes, and it really helps the hurt go away for quite a while.

Bee sting - make a paste of baking soda and water, apply. It draws the stinger out and is soothing.

When you are congested and miserable with a cold, break up some eucalyptus leaves, and sprinkle them over a bowl of hot water. Then lean over it and breathe the steam. If you can take a towel and drape it over your head so you make a kind of "tent" to capture more of the steam.

When Dad was an asthmatic kid, the home asthma remedy was boiling skunk cabbage for tea - I'm not usre whther he was supposed to drink it or what - I just know that I was always grateful for modern asthma meds so I didn't have to have any part of that. Goodness knows asthma meds taste nasty as it is!

[jackmilliesmom]

Pineapple is great for fighting sore throats it has some kind or natural anti bacterial agent in it which kills the bacteria causing a sore throat.