Best Home Remedies?

Xiney

Woke up this morning with a sore throat and a sore ear... bugger.

Currently drinking hot Earl Grey with honey, which I think is helping. (Didn't have any lemon tisanes left, but I reasoned that bergamot is a citrus fruit)


However, it got me to thinking: home remedies have long been a source of pride for women, and rightly so. It was our role to keep the family healthy and in spite of a lack of formal education, managed pretty well at it considering. You also never know when you might need them again: during the second world war, my grandmother's knowledge of the use of plants as medicine when there was no medicine in the refugee camps helped her save lives.

So what are the best home remedies for various problems that you still use?


Another one I use is equal parts flour and sugar toasted in a bone dry frying pan until it is golden and fragrant - great for all sorts of stomach upsets (although probably not gluten intolerances :rolleyes:)

Nevyn

Gargle with the juice of half a lime, freshly squeezed to shift the nasties out of your throat and then gargle with disprin or solphadol, do as needed.

Some remedies have good groundings and some are utter hogwash.

metrovelvet

My grandmother always swore by gargling with hydrogen peroxide for a sore throat.

cold or flu- whiskey
menstrual crams- double brandy
burns - aloe
bruising- arnica

Fink Goddie

Vodka cures everything!!!

Xiney

Absolutely, Thaed.... some of the stuff I read on the internet for treating earache (which is more normally found in children, I'm just prone to them) was actually horrifying.

amacachi

Sore throat - gargle warm water with salt dissolved.
Sore back - stay in bed.

itsallaboutme!!

my OH swears by gargling tcp for a sore throat! cant get passed the smell of it to try it myself so i take his word for it!

whenever i had an earache as a child my mam would ram a small ball of cotton wool or tissue into it to stop the cold getting into it have no idea how this helped!!

Meemars

Xiney, I feel your pain, I was there yesterday, sore throat one side, and now today, completely stuffed up with head cold. grrrrrr
Olbas Oil, warm drinks, wrap up, and TLC. Sin é, there ain't no cure for the common cold.
+1 Arnica for bruising. Been my friend these many long years (bruising used to be an occupational hazard for me)
Peppermint tea for digestion and tension headaches
Chamomile tea for calming effect. Also helps with menstrual cramps, and migraine. Doesn't get rid of them, but it is an antispasmodic.
Nettle tea is a diuretic, so cleanses the blood. My Nanna swore by nettle tea in May, for a spring clean!

Xiney

I've used vanilla for bruises in the past, never heard of arnica.

Meemars

The Arnica that I use is a homeopathic ointment, so not strictly a home remedy. Although I'm sure a herbal preparation would act similarly, as would have the same properties.
Never heard of vanilla for bruising, interesting, will check it out.

:|

amacachi wrote: »

Sore back - stay in bed.

Isn't this what you're not supposed to do?

Maple

For earache, heat some olive oil on a spoon and then pour into affected ear.

Please note, do not do what Mammy Maple did and heat the oil until it was sizzling and pour into Maple's ear thus burning the bejaysus out of her little head.

Had ear ache few weeks back, did this and it worked.

Jood

Bread soda in a drop of water is excellent for indigestion, for as long as I can remember my mother gave it to us for a dodgy tummy!

anothernight

Ginger infusion - great for when you are feeling a bit queasy, stomach aches and digestion, headaches, and cold and flu symptoms. Basically an all purpose remedy. Helps a lot with menstrual cramps and things like that. It's very easy to prepare: simply shave off a few pieces of fresh ginger, put them in a mug, fill the mug with water just off the boil, and sweeten to taste.

Also, chopped onions boiled in water and sugar make a good cough syrup.

Silverfish

Xiney wrote: »

I've used vanilla for bruises in the past, never heard of arnica.

Raw bacon for bruises. Slap a rasher on it, and then you've a tasty treat to celebrate not having a bruise.


Vanilla ice-cream, pot of natural yoghurt, some milk, and a banana in a blender, for a hangover.

Also, boiled 7up and a tablespoon of sugar for pretty much everything else.

Nevyn

Cloves for toothache, either clove oil rubbed on the area or take a whole clove and place it between the gum and cheek.

metaoblivia

For a sore throat, I take a spoonful of raw honey mixed with lemon juice. It's an intense taste, but it soothes the throat.

serenacat

ginger tea for nausea
honey for face masks and hair conditioning
sugar and vaseline for lip scrub

ashyle

maple wrote: »

For earache, heat some olive oil on a spoon and then pour into affected ear.

Please note, do not do what Mammy Maple did and heat the oil until it was sizzling and pour into Maple's ear thus burning the bejaysus out of her little head.

Had ear ache few weeks back, did this and it worked.

This helped me a lot as a child, I was half deaf and had to get a gromit in the end but it really helps with earache. Btw you should realy let it cool down a lil before putting it in!!
@itsallaboutme - My mam would pour oil in my ear and then put a bit of cotton wool in my ear to keep it from spilling out, was this what yours did??

pikachucheeks

Aloe Vera is probably the handiest plant to have around the house.

It's excellent for clearing up spots, soothing burns or drinking as a tonic to boost the immune system.

smoggy11

amacachi wrote: »

Sore back - stay in bed.

Do NOT stay in bed, your sore back will only take longer to go away. You need to take it easy, no lifting the heavy thing, but you should try to keep as mobile as possible.

We would always take flat coke for gippy tummies. Just a small glass of coke with a ton of sugar in it. The logic was, you'll either get sick or it will clam your stomach. Either way you'll feel better!

My brothers ears always used to pop in the swimming pool and my mum would pour oil in his ear. Just at room temperature though.

As far as the TCP thing goes, my grannies next door neighbour used to gargle with TCP every morning and she never had a sore throat in her life! There must be some good to it! The whole house used to smell of the stuff, yummy!

Will

Sore throat;
I usually avoid garlic but other two are ok

suck on a clove of garlic (if you don't plan on talking/kissing anyone in the next week)

Spoonful of honey

suck on a lemon

Sores, cuts, bruises, sore skin or rashes, also great for eczema and semi healed piercings which are acting up;

Aloe vera plant, just cut a bit off and squeeze out the goodness and rub it in.

Headache, sinus, stuffy nose;

Boil a kettle, get a basin and a towel. Put the boiling water in the basin and put in a drop or two of olbas oil. Place towel over your head and put your noggin over the basin. You will be un-stuffed pretty soon after.

A walk always helps me when I've a headache.

Hangover;

2 pints of water before bed and a pint beside at night to sip on when you wake up during the night.

If you forgot this, and your stomach can take it a reasonable breakfast, and again lots of water. Try go back to bed and sleep it off.

General colds and flu;

Hot whiskeys and plenty of them. If they don't work least you will be half cut and not so worried about it

krudler

As far as the TCP thing goes, my grannies next door neighbour used to gargle with TCP every morning and she never had a sore throat in her life! There must be some good to it! The whole house used to smell of the stuff, yummy!

Its great for mouth ulcers as well, and spots, I rarely every get spots but when i do I just dip a cotton bud in tcp and rub it across it, goes way in 1-2 days tops

LittleBook

Not a "home remedy" as such but a homeopathic remedy ... in fact, more of a preventative measure than a remedy ... so a tad OT

My daughter suffered continually from tonsil infections but they were just sporadic enough that the doctor wouldn't recommend they be removed. So we went looking for a natural remedy and a friend recommended Echinacea which is primarily used for the prevention and treatment of the common cold but is believed to give the immune system a boost, just enough to ward off attacks when the system is vulnerable.

After taking Echinacea for a short period of time at the beginning of each Winter, my daughter never got another tonsil infection.

So I recommended it to my sister who's son was constantly (and I mean constantly) ill with one thing or another and the difference it's made to him this year is unbelievable.

BumbleB

pikachucheeks wrote: »

Aloe Vera is probably the handiest plant to have around the house.

It's excellent for clearing up spots, soothing burns or drinking as a tonic to boost the immune system.

Savage for burns .I remember I burned my hand in one of my mates gf apartment and she broke off a leaf and told me to rub it on the wound.

Dock leaves are great for nettle stings ,only a good tip for the country bumpkins .

Nevyn

I've gotten nettle sting in the back garden so it's not just for country folk.
Treating stings, vinger for wasps and breadsoda for bees.

Rosehip tea for lady cramps and raspberry leaf tea too.
Camomile tea for claming and as a rinse to brighten hair.

Toots

Rosehip tea is also the best hangover prevention I've ever come across. After a night on the booze, a nice cup of rosehip tea and a slice of toast, if you haven't got rosehip tea, I find a berocca will also work, just not as well. The one time I've ever had a hangover, was when I didn't do my tea and toast thing. Never again!