OK, because there are like 2 people I don't know reading this, let me just be CLEAR that I in no way advocate putting gelled alcohol ("purell") or boric acid IN YOUR EYE. Also, don't ignore pink eye.
I had no idea about these folk remedies.
That in mind, AND keeping in mind that I'm not advocating actually DOING any of these, what other folk remedies do we all use?
Here are some of MINE that I do not recommend for anyone else:
Digestion issues: digestive enzymes, ginger tea, ginger, candied ginger, mint tea, chamomile tea, any tea
Headache: just ignore it. It will go away.
Sinus headache: wrap your head, straight around the forehead, with an ace bandage. It gives a little back pressure and really helps (not so tight you cut off the blood to your scalp). Neti pot, homeopathic allergy drops.
Itchy eyes (allergies or dehydrated or too much sun/glare): Wash with cool distilled, or at least filtered, water in an eye cup, lie down with a cool cloth on them.
Allergies: homeopathic allergy drops, neti pot, nettle tea, licorice root tea, AVOID DAIRY. Sleep with a humidifier on or some laundry hanging in the room to keep the lungs and sinuses from totally drying out. It is VERY VERY dry here, like 15% humidity in the summer. In Iowa this was not necessary as the summer air could not possibly hold anymore moisture.
Cold: airborne and a toxic mix herbal tea that tastes so bad it must be good for me. The usual ingredients in this witch's brew include: licorice root, dandelion root, goldenseal, nettle, calendula, chamomile, slippery elm and whatever else sounds yucky and therefore healing. Also, I run a humidifier while I sleep to avoid getting all dried out.
Fever: wrap up and go with it and drink lots of water. I think taking anti-fever meds makes it last longer.
Itchy bug bit: scratch it open and apply rubbing alcohol. Sure it stings, but it also quits itching for a bit.
Bee sting: mud or baking soda paste on it (ooo...maybe I should mix those). Also, don't you hate it when someone gets a bee or wasp sting and acts like they are going to die? I'm not talking about people with a real allergy. Regular people who get a bump and whine and whine and whine. Jesus. Half of Afghanistan is missing a limb thanks to us or the Russians or someone else. It's just a sting!
Any cold, flu, infection: AVOID SUGAR. Even honey and fruit sugars. The natural health encyclopedia says to keep total sugars under 45g per day when sick with any bacteria or virus. I checked this with Aunt Sara Lynn (Hi Sara) and she said indeedy that is a good idea. Sara is a nurse.
Also, I almost never take anything that dries the sinuses. I'll just end up with a sinus infection because it will stop the draining. As gross as the draining is, if it stops then things get thick and stuck and infected. I think that's how I got the last sinus infection. I caved in and took alka seltzer cold so I could get some sleep (because I didn't want to be too sleepy to work...hate wasting time-off on illness). Two days later I've got infected sinuses. DAMN!
So, if the readers would like to contribute their non-advocated home remedies, that would be awesome.
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