Home remedies for you [Archives:2002/16/Health]

SAAD SHARIF TAHER
YT STAFF
Do you have an ache? A scrape? A cold, perhaps. Chances are, unless the ailment becomes more serious, you can use some home medicine. Heres some common home remedies for common health concerns.
Soar throat
As this symptom is a result of flue or allergy which results in running mucus, it could be treated by gargling warm salty water (a half teaspoon of salt dissolved in a cup of water) four or five times daily. Warm salty water causes expanding arterial capillaries in throat and makes blood run easy to reach the affected area. Drink warm infused licorice slowly, for it contains glycerrhizin which helps sooth the throats membranes. (Chocolates made of liquorice are useful.)
Congestion
Add more pepper to your food because it contains capsaicin which helps to snivel and it also melts mucus. Inhale steam.
Cough
Make a warm drink. Add a teaspoonful of a sugar while boiling a cup of water. Put a slice of lemon in the cup then pour hot water on it. Stir with a stick of canella because sugar stops coughing while lemon melts mucus in chest and throat.
Indigestion
Drink a cup of soda to stop stomach troubles. Never drink soft drinks that include caffeine (like Cola) because they agitate the stomach. If you have gases, take a drink of mint because it contains chemical elements that dissolve gases and send them out.
Constipation
Eat three or four peaches, drink a glass of peach juice or eat an apple because fibers in the husk move the bowel. If it lasts for long, see a doctor.
Diarrhea
Eat non-fibrous food like white rice, starch and bananas because bananas compensate for lost potassium. The body needs the element for the heart and nerves. Because diarrhea causes dryness, one should take salty solution and sugar (dissolve one teaspoonful of salt and four ones of sugar in 1.5 liters of water. If it lasts for more than two days, see a doctor.
Skin injuries
Wash it with water and soap and dry it with a hairdryer. Then add an antibiotic ointment. Put on a clean dressing. Repeat this twice daily till recovery. If the injury causes the skin to break, see a doctor for a tetanus injection or to stitch the skin if needed.
Canker sores on the lips.
Wipe the canker with alcohol three or four times daily because alcohol kills germs. If you dont have alcohol for the moment, use perfumes that include alcohol. Be careful to put the alcohol only on the canker, not the rest of the lips.
Hiccough
Put two drops of vinegar on a cube of sugar and suck it until it dissolves. The taste of vinegar and the roughness of sugar sends signals to the brain to stop the hiccough. Or take a deep breath and hold it as long as you can. Doing this builds carbon dioxide levels in your brain.
Twisted joint
This may cause the cutting of capillary vessels and that causes blood to run and swell tissues. An ice pad should be placed on the area because coldness shrinks capillary vessels and stops blood flow. A few days later, place warm pads on the area for half an hour because warmth expands the vessels. That will help get the blood running again.
Sunburn
Place cold pads on the skin with cold ointment kept in the fridge. If the burn is dark red, one should see a doctor.
Mosquito bites
Rub the area with ice because poison expands arteries and that swells the area. Wipe the area with a solution of sodium bicarbonate and water. Ten minutes later, wash the area.
Things to avoid
1.Never put butter on burns because it keeps heat on the area.
2.Drinking water with soda to treat indigestion is harmful because it tears the stomach.
3.Sunlight doesnt dry acne. It may make it worse in some cases. Washing the area with soap may dry the skin and that sometimes can be harmful. Use lotion instead of soap.
Finally, keep in mind that one should a doctor for more serious conditions and injuries. They are angels of mercy when one is in need.

——
[archive-e:16-v:2002-y:2002-d:2002-04-15-p:./2002/iss16/health.htm]