Home Remedies

Is there anything as crappy as being sick on vacation? This seems to be a recurring theme. We went to Disney World before Howler was born and sure enough we all started puking the last two days. The last time we went to Missouri we all caught a bug the day we headed home. Fortunately this is all upper respiratory so I'm not too miserable, just up all night choking on my snot and trying to ignore a big headache. I thought I would jump on here and share some of my home remedies since I am bored with pinterest, facebook, and amazon at the moment.

Respiratory:

1. Salt Water: There are benefits to drinking a little bit of salt water, but you have to be missing some taste buds to enjoy it. If I feel a sore throat coming I gurgle salt water a few times a day. This helps more than popping those throat candies. I used to feel like no sooner would I finish one and I'd need another. Gurgling salt water the relief lasts a few hours.

2. Honey Tea: or honey water as the case may be this weekend. Something to bide the time in between gurgling salt water. I know there are health benefits to honey as well, but that's only if you get the expensive honey not the bear and well I like bears :p

3. Peppermint Oil: This is what I really needed last night. It sounds crazy, but boil some peppermint oil in about a cup of water on your stove top. Your sinuses will magically open, plus your house smells like winter :)


Digestive:

1. Clay: This sounds crazy, but it works. People have been eating clay as a digestive aid for thousands of years. Probably one of the oldest home remedies in the world. I picked some up for Chris when he caught an awful bug at work that lingered on him for weeks. I've used it a few times. Once again this is one of those you wish you could turn off your taste buds, but it does work.


2. Ginger: Thanks for reminding me of that one Michelle! I have used ginger ale (it's hard to find one with actual ginger in it these days, check your labels) to ease morning sickness this pregnancy. My first couple pregnancies ginger didn't even touch it. I tried the chews, adding the root to my tea, anything with ginger in it. I agree it is good for moderate nausea, but I know from experience it is not a cure all. Then again none of these things are cure alls. They are to ease symptoms so your body can heal.

Bee Sting:

1. Garlic - smash a clove and rub on sting.
2. Olive Oil
3. Apple Cider Vinegar

Honestly I don't know which one of these did the magic, but I spread all three on Tamarin when she got stung and almost immediately she calmed down and the swelling dropped within 30 minutes. She now associates all three of these things with bees though. Not sure she will ever eat a salad again :p

Muscle Cramps:

1. Epsom Salt: It takes like an entire container for one bath, but it helped me tremendously when I was running. I'll believe Jess and her comments on it detoxing, but this is where epsom salt made a big difference for me.

Trouble Sleeping:

1. Lavender: We've used lavender lotions and bath soaps for the girls sometimes. I used to drink a lavender tea before bed, but with young kids sleep is still a commodity

2. Magnesium Lotion: I'll have to wait till I get back home to pull up a link to where I've gotten this before. We used it on Howler when she was about a year old. We rubbed it into her feet at night and she would sleep. I misplaced my bottle in the move, I need to find it again since she's having trouble sleeping again these days.

Teething:

1. Amber Necklaces: I plan on getting one this time. I almost did with Howler. There's a particular type of amber that secretes when it's against warm skin. The secretions calm and sooth the baby. I have personal friends that swear by them. I'll let you know if they work for us. This is the site I nearly bought from last time and will be this time.


2. Hyland Tablets: I used to use hyland tablets, but when Howler was under a year old there was a recall due to a mishap in their factory and some bottles were not mixed properly :( I'm leery of them now even though I used them with all three of my kids with no problems at all. They have chamomile for calming which is great. The fear is an overdose of belladonna which is a sedative. There is an incredibly small amount in hyland's tablets, but the thought of another factory screw up scares me.

I know there are a lot more home remedies, many of which I have used, but these are the main and most recently used ones. I'm going to go lay down in hopes of getting a little more sleep. I'll add to the list as I think of things.