Inspired by a comment on the List Universe Forums, I decided to write a list of home remedies for some very common ills we all suffer.
10. Toothache
Most toothaches are due to bacteria and decay that have penetrated the tissue at the tooth’s center, according to Kenneth H. Burrell, D.D.S., director of the American Dental Association’s Council on Dental Therapeutics in Chicago. The subsequent inflammation causes pressure, which causes pain. Eugenol (oil of cloves) is available over the counter and provides exceptional temporary relief, especially for toothaches that are temperature-sensitive. Most drugstores sell eugenol toothache kits. You can even mix liquid eugenol with zinc oxide to create your own temporary fillings for painful cavities. A few drops on the tooth surface or in a cavity or crack should do the job until you can get to the dentist.
9. Headache
Americans spend more than $400 million a year on over-the-counter pain relievers, says Seymour Diamond, M.D., executive director of the National Headache Foundation and director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago. But before you spend yet another buck on pills that put down pain, here’s how to head off headaches the drug-free way. “You can ‘massage’ away headaches by pressing on certain acupressure spots,” says Dr. Sheftell. “One way is to squeeze the web of skin between your thumb and forefinger. Another area is the tiny ridge between your neck and the back of your head (approximately parallel with your earlobes).” You should also try to avoid bright lights and apply a cold compress to your head.
8. Chilblains
Chilblains are acral ulcers that occur when a predisposed individual is exposed to cold and humidity. Causes are idiopathic or manifestations of serious medical conditions that need to be investigated. A time proven method to reduce the itching and pain that goes with chilblain is to soak your feet in a pot of warm urine. Yes – that’s right – pee. Urine is highly alkaline.
7. Boils
Boils are the result of bacteria that invade through a microscopic break in the skin and infect a blocked oil gland or hair follicle. An abscess results when white blood cells, sent to kill the invaders, produce pus. Sounds nasty, but even though boils are sometimes painful and ugly, they’re rarely dangerous. A good home remedy for boils is using compresses of heated slices of tomato–or raw onion, mashed garlic or the outer leaves of cabbage. You can press these cut vegetables directly on the boil and see for yourself how well they work. Another kitchen compress: place a warm tea bag of black tea directly on the boil for 15 minutes several times a day.
6. Bee Stings
One of the best ways to remove a stinger–and avoid any additional pain–is to “scrape”–it out of the skin with a credit card, a knife or a long fingernail, advises John Yunginger, M.D., professor and pediatrics consultant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “The biggest mistake people make is trying to pull the stinger out. In doing that, you squeeze the tiny venom sac attached to the stinger and accidentally release more venom into your skin.” If you scrape the stinger out, this sac goes undisturbed. Some doctors say baking soda can help ease bee sting pain. Claude Frazier, M.D., an allergist in Asheville, North Carolina, recommends applying a paste of baking soda and water directly on the sting for 15 or 20 minutes. Another cure is to make a paste with meat tenderizer and water and apply it to the sting – the tenderizer breaks down the proteins in the venom, speeding up recovery.
5. Upset stomach
The cheapest home remedy (which is also available in most homes) is a glass of water with baking soda mixed in to it. This relieves stomach ache caused by gas, and helps to neutralize stomach acids.
4. Chafing
Mild chafing happens to everyone, and usually just applying baby powder or talc to the problem area will help keep your skin happy, however if the problem persists – or you don’t have talc at home, try this: take cornstarch, spread it out across a baking pan and warm it in an oven at 150° F for about ten minutes, so it’s really dry. Test the temperature first. Then lightly dust it onto the problem area.
3. Earache
A typical earache begins when a congested eustachian tube-which runs from the back of the throat to the eardrum-can’t regulate pressure or fluids in the ear. Pain starts when mucus or pus builds up behind the eardrum. The more the fluid builds, the greater the pressure and pain. Some people swear by old-time heat treatments like this: warm up an oven-safe plate, wrap it in a towel, and rest your aching ear right on it. The plate should be warm and comforting, not hot. If you get an insect stuck in your ear, flush it out with alcohol – do not try to work it out with your finger or other objects as it is likely to push it further in. Once you have flushed it out, rinse your ear out with warm water.
2. Cold Sores
Cold sores (also known as fever blisters) are uninvited guests. You may be free of them for months or even years … until one day when they drop in on you, usually at the worst possible time. Their stay may be merely inconvenient or downright painful, but it’s never pleasant. And once you get them, they stay a lot longer than a weekend. In fact, once you have the herpes simplex virus–which is what causes cold sores–you never permanently get rid of it. A compress of whole milk placed directly on the cold sore can ease pain and speed the healing process. Allow the milk to sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before placing the compress on your skin. Be sure to rinse your skin afterward, because the milk can become sour smelling. Note: Whole milk, with its extra protein, works–other kinds don’t have the same healing effect. Alternatively, you can apply a high-alcohol content perfume to the area to dry it out. You will need to repeat this often and it can sting.
1. Burns
Milk is an excellent compress for minor burns; simply soak the burned area in milk for 15 minutes or so, or apply a milk-soaked washcloth to the area. Whole milk is effective: Its fat content soothes burns and promotes healing. But make sure to rinse your skin and the washcloth in cool water afterward, because the milk will smell. Additionally, Preparation H, the hemorrhoid treatment cream, is also incredibly effective when treating minor burns – just dab it on the area and you can cut 3 or more days off the healing time. This is because it contains a yeast derivative that speeds healing.
A word of warning about burns: You probably will instinctively reach for cold water to soothe a new burn. But don’t make it too cold. Using ice water can risk making the burn even worse, because extreme cold can kill just as many skin cells as extreme heat. (That’s why frostbite damage is very similar to the skin damage caused by a bad burn.) Cool, not cold, water will stop the burning from spreading through your tissues and will act as a temporary painkiller. So instead of running to the freezer, head to the kitchen faucet.
Sources: The Doctor’s Book of Home Remedies
A few things here buddy: Your picture of a bee is, in actuality, a wasp. The problem with the difference between these two is personal; a bee sting will send me into anaphylactic shock, while I could get stung by a wasp all day long. Anyway, to the list I would certainly add 'SORE THROAT' remedies! This is pretty common when the weather changes drastically as it has done here in Michigan! We usually try some tea with honey and lemon mixed in, that usually seems to work. Great list though, I hadn't even heard of some of these!
for sore throat you can also drink ginger brew. really great.
http://pestcontrolnewmarket.com/images/wasp.jpg
Actually, this is a wasp.
Obviously you have never heard the term “wasp-waisted.”
HAH, Nice to see I inspired something!
StewWriter: thanks – you are right – I didn’t think about it and just posted the first image of a stinging creature I found. It is now updated to show a bee instead
Juggz: Thanks for the initial post
It made such good sense for a list 
I think a good list would be the top ten most dangerous jobs.
back in my country- we have a home remedy for aids- our minister of health always tells us- eat garlic and potatos….dont belive me? search for Mantu tshabalala-Msimang she is our minister of health of south africa
That upset stomach picture is… well… *****y.
This is one of those lists we should print and keep in the medicine chest
)
The “push in the right point of the body” remedies are quite interesting and useful, there’s another one for travel-sickness: pushing firmly in a point of the forearm (three fingers from the wrist). And believe me, I get sick in a 10-meter travel… it works!
Also, though it seems disgusting, urine is one of the best remedies for itchings and stings.For relieving a sting, they say putting a piece of garlic also works well.
Vinegar is very good for killing louses and doesn’t hurt the hair, and it’s been used for years to calm sunburns. (Natural yoghourt is quite good for that, too)
What else can I remember?
A bowl of milk and a little cup of cognac is good for sore throat and makes you feel better if you have a cold. If you’re coughing and you can’t sleep, half an onion in your bedside table helps.(Yes, it helps
Ah, and (you may not believe it) if your hair is oily, nothing like “washing” it with beer sometimes, and then rinse it.
I should write a book about this, too :S
(By the way, is the last picture a box of haemorrhoid-soothing suppositories?
)
upset stomach = boner
my grandma would put fresh ground coffee on cuts gashes and any kind of penetration of the skin
Nice list I likes. Though a couple things are a bit different from my growing up. Let’s see
*Upset stomache-tea with brandy mixed in.
*Ear aches- Heat up some olive oil, not to hot, drench the end of a q-tip in the olive oil and stick in ear, lay down on your side with the hurting ear up, leave qtip in ear for 5-15 mins. Drain.
*sore throat (for StewWriter)- a 1/2 shot of brandy don’t use any type of dairy til it is gone. Dairy can agrivate it and make it worse.
*canker sores (the little sores you get inside your mouth)- pour a glass of as hot as you can handle water dump salt into it til the satl can not be saturated anymore. Gargle til the glass is gone. repeat ever few hours.
*headache- coffee with a little brandy (seeing a trend?) of course now that I am older and even better cure is *****…
Growing up my grama was an advid believer that brandy cures basically everything.
Morgaine: Here is a couple of diagrams showing the pressure points in hands and feet. Mind you this is not 100% but what the docs are currently believing.
Hand Pressure Points
Foot Pressure Points
Ravyn: I like your home remedy of “manin-up” to the pain personally.
#8 – … or you could try some gold bond medicated powder. May not be a home remedy, but its better than *****ing on your feet.
Juggz: Hell yeah. You don’t need to be no pansey about pain. It comes and it goes. Live with it and shut your pie hole
… j/k…I am just immune to damn near every over the counter meds. When I get a headache, I have to take about 8 extra-strengths before it even starts to have an effect. Not worth it….
Emily: unless you are into water sports
I would post one for sore throats. I just mix cayenne powder or cayenne pepper powder with warm water and gargle. Do this with your eyes clothes because it burns if you get any in your eyes(trust me!). The sore throat goes away almost instantly, like magic.
Your headache remedies don’t work for me. Ever. There are only three things that ever do: ibuprofen (helps for EVERYTHING, even if it’s only a placebo effect), *****, and the third is highly illegal so I won’t list it here.
As for boils, don’t bother with all that weird, smelly food! Just use any safe drying agent, such as lemons which are considerably more pleasant than tea bags or onions, and then when it is dried out enough you can pop it, or if it’s not too painful, after a shower or washing it with really warm water, like as hot as you can stand it, also helps.
And as for chafing…Bag Balm!! (Vasaline/white petrolium. I use Bag Balm for nearly everything though.)
Kelsi: Have you ever tried BC Powder? I always keep a supply handy for headaches. It doesn’t always do the trick, but when it does (which is most of the time) it does it very quickly. If that fails, yeah, then ibuprofen is a miracle drug.
Kelsi: You talk about wierd smelly stuff for boils but yet you mention bag balm as something you use. Thats not the most pleasent smell either. I use it for Tats and it does work wonders but god that smell gets to me.
RP: I used to live off BC powder. It does work very well
Juggz: I don’t know what Bag Balm you’re using, but mine doesn’t have any odor? I haven’t ever heard of BC powder, maybe it would work for me. What is it?
Bee sting-
wet tabbacco…it draws out the poision
Burn-
Aloe vera..the plant is the best…
Hey jamie, how about a list of insomnia remedies?
Does anyone know a home remedy for lupus? What about plantar warts or warts or calluses? What about weight loss?
LisUni: as a kid we were told that dandelion juice cured warts.
Raquel: liquor – lots of it
Tobacco from cigarettes also help bee/wasp stings.
I have even had a doctor tell me that a good way to remove warts is to cover with duct tape for a day and then quickly rip it off.
judd: wow – that sounds really awful! What if it is not ready to come off? Ouch!
While some of these are interesting you should be careful before recommending them. I had chronic Otitis Media when I was a kid. Back then the only relief was aspirin – it did not help. I had to go to the ENT, and there was only one thing he could do in my case – he lanced my eardrum. I had such a buildup of fluid pushing on my eardrum, that when he slid this long sharp metal bar through the otoscope and lanced the eardrum, fluid would come bursting out. It hit him in the face once. One of my last ear infections I had when I was older I laid with my head on a heating pad set to high, sure enough the heat ruptured my eardrum and I achieved instant satisfaction. Of course later I found out that I had torn the eardrum instead of having a hole poked into it. The subsequent scarring has led to a significant loss of hearing in that ear. I enjoy the site though, great time killer!
RBrown: a good point – thanks. We should, of course, consider medical attention in extreme cases of everything.
soak your feet in urine? no thanks lol
ANOTHER REMEDY FOR A SORE THROAT IS MIXING SALT OR CAYENNE PEPPER IN WATER AND GARGLING!!
IT’S SUPPOSED TO FLUSH THE BACTERIA OUT OF THERE
raw meat for burns and cut garlic applied directly to the gum for toothaches!
also a drop of iodine in the eye of the *****is a great morning after cure for std worries!! it will burn …
this might sound strange but is has worked for me… if you have a soar throat, one way to relieve the pain is to rub your left arm on the area opposite from your elbow (where your arm bends)it takes the pain away… reason is,(supposedly) and i believed it as a kid maybe thats why it still works for me today… is rubbing your arm will warm up the blood going towards your brain passing through your neck area… soothing the irritated area.
Don’t put milk/raw meat/butter on burns…they all have bacteria in them and if the burn is an open wound it could cause a serious infection – if you’ve got time to put together a milk compress, you’ve got time to run it under room temp water. The cayenne pepper works well for sore throats because it is a tremendous source of Capsaicin which is a pain modulating substance. Urine soothes dry and cracked skin because of the Urea in it not because of its pH. And I have also heard the duct tape thing about warts except that you should leave it on a few days before ripping it off. Just thought i’d offer a doctor’s opinion…love the site
A cure for sore throats my grandmother taught me was to warm up a glass of orange juice, add sugar, and drink it. It’s got a weird taste. Never tried it; maybe it works.
For upset stomachs I drink a glass of seltzer water mixed with a tiny bit of bitters. It tastes odd but it works really well.
for chemical burns related to stupid stunts like inappropriate use of icy hot and Tabasco on certain parts of the body and apparently jellyfish stings use white vinegar also great as a anti bacterial soak for some foot fungal issues, why i don’t know but pretty sure it has to be white vinegar.
Fantastic list! I will definitely try these – post more if you can!
Wow! Lots of info here, useful and not. I knew a guy in the army. He said if you burn your fingers, grab your earlobes instead of putting them in your mouth. More capilarries absorb the heat; faster than your mouth/tongue. Hard to get used to remembering, but it works. Every time.
jfrater – I feel you may need to ‘re-think’ your burns remedies advice. You have them “back-to-front”. NEVER cover any burn with ANY cream of ANY sort unless it is ‘Silvazene’ which is specifically manufactured for burns treatment – and even then itis applied ONLY after the radiant effects of the burn upon surrounding (unburnt) tissue has ceased.
One’s first measure should be cool (not cold) running water constantly streamed across the burnt area at LOW PRESSURE. (high pressure can lacerate the ‘insulted’ tissue beneath). The cool water treatment should be done for 15 – 20 minutes, at which point a wet, cool sheet (linen material pad, well soaked) can be placed lightly on the burn while the patient is transported to a Casualty or ‘ER’ (if necessary).
Cream will cover the burn and force radiant heat to spread laterally causing the burn to increase in size; so Preparation H is OUT – - – DO NOT USE IT ON A BURN !!! (sorry I can’t italicise so the capitals are necessary as an alternative). Cosequently – NEVER use milk either – while it is cool, even ‘lite’ or ‘low-fat’ milk still contains fats and other proteins – these are brilliant infection vectors and milk will create far more problems than the burn will.
If a burn is serious the patient is in danger – Burns are classified ‘serious’ if they are a ‘superficial’ burn affecting 30% or more of the body surface (such as a scalding, sunburn etc): superficial burns are red and dry and generally produce some blisterin. Deep burns affecting 10% of the body surface – a deep burn is white and wet – the blisters burst, the deeper tissue is affected and they are painless due to burnt nerve-endings (only the fringes are generally painful). Lastly ANY burns tothe airway (from inhaled flame or superheated air) can burn and scar the voice-box, trachea and/or lungs.
Calculate the burnt area using the ‘Rule of nines’ where each portion of the body represents 9% of the body surface: Head = 9%, each arm = 9% upper chest,upper back, abdomen and lower back each = 9% and the upper and lower halves of each leg (or alternatively, the entire front or the entire back of each leg) each = 9%. Add it all up and you get 99%; I’ll leave the 1% left-over to your imagination (lets just say that it’s a LOT more painful and inconvenient for boys to burn their ‘one percent’ than it is for girls. Speakingof which – breast development in women does NOT increase the upper chest allocation to more than 9% (unless she’s an augmented ‘double Q-cup, adult film star).
Finally – if a burns patient begins shivering while receiving the ‘cool, running water’ or the ‘wet sheeting’ treatment – STOP immediately; he/she is going into shock – you’re killing them.
I used to be a paramedic and a lecturer in burns treatment for paramedics (does it show?)
toothpaste works wonders on burns. Stops pain immediately, heals quick.
I definitely agree with the meat tenderizer idea on #6. A few years ago, my mom was mowing the back yard and got stung by bees all over her legs. See, one of our fence was covered in honeysuckle vines and apparently was hiding a beehive. When my mom pushed the mower a bit too close, the bees got *****ed and swarmed her legs. She put meat tenderizer on them every day and took Benadryl as well, and she healed quickly. Great list.
Another great thing for a headache is caffinee.A hot cup of coffee when I have a headache always helps.Alot of OTC meds for headaches include caffinee.It also can help stop/prevent asthma attacks.
It pays to keep a small jar of lavender oil handy. It helps with many different things, and is also one of the few essential oils that is gentle enough to be applied direct to the skin (though you should do a small test to see if it irritates first). Here is a list of uses I’ve found for it so far:
- Helps to ease headaches if a small amount is *****d into the temples.
- Can help heal acne. Just apply a small amount to the infected area twice a day and it reduces redness and helps in the healing process.
- Can help you get to sleep easier, as it helps to relax you naturally. I have a lavender spray, and I normally spray it on my pillow just before I go to sleep.
- Can ease symptoms of depression, anxiety and panic attacks. Get an oil dispenser to help spread the scent throughout the house, or apply a small amount to your finger and inhale the scent a few times.
- Can ease burns and stings. I had a small burn on my hand the other day, was stinging quite a bit and found that after applying a small amount of the oil, the pain went away and the burn completely disappeared.
- ***** into skin to help reduce muscle aches and pains.
These things may not work for everyone, but I didn’t really believe in it until I saw the results for myself.
I know this is an odd (and slightly inappropriate) way to relieve headaches, but orgasms release endorphins, which calm muscles, and relieve pain, without the need to take medications. So, next time you’ve got a headache, you know what to do
Be careful with putting alcohol on your ears. Even if you have an insect you shouldn’t pour alcohol inside your ears without medical indication. Alcohol (and it has to be a certain type, I don’t know the name in English, it’s Alcohol boricado)is not recommended if your eardrum is damaged or torn
excuse my bad English!
My moms remedy for a build up of wax in the ear was to put a lit candle under our ears. Far enough to not burn us but close enough to melt the wax, I’m not really positive how she does it exactly last time she did it I was 4. Also, I have found that no amount of medicine works on me, I don’t even numb fully, or nearly at all. I also can’t swollow pills (my body just plain doesn’t keep them down, even when my mom would hide them grounded up really well in my food without my knowledge) and getting to where liquid medicine is just plain vomit inducing. Well my problem is headaches. I get at least one a day and have yet to find a way to stop them, except to sleep and I usually can’t sleep because of the headache.
toothpaste is best for brushing ur teeth. . try it.
i want top ten home remedies for glowing skin and hair and to maintain home
good burn relief is very strong menthol or minty toothpaste applied to the burn , the cooling tingling feeling helps relieve the pain alot . also on the comment about South africas minister of health saying garlic and potatoe is a good treatment for aids , is correct our health minister and in fact most of the gov are really ignorant , our president has aids and has been on trial for rape !!! a good list would be the outragous corruption and/or mistakes made by the democratic gov of south africa , hey appartied was bad we all know that but all iv lived is the democratic gov and they really are so dumb sometimes eg purchasing ATV combat vehicles for the millitary from norway ( the vehicles are designed for snowy actic terrain ) for 3 times the price of the exceptionally engineerd vehicles( the Rattle) made in south africa for our arid semi desert climate( the vehicles have been deployed by the us in some of their afgan and iraq cmpaignes) investigate and you will see a tresure of dumb and/or outragously contravesial actions taken by the ANC led goverment of south africa . ( sorry for the spelling but to honest im just too damn lazy to try any harder:-)
This is a great list of home remedies. Another great home remedy for boils is to use warm ketchup. Apply it several times per day.
MyHomesRemedies.com
What makes the hiccups go away?
Great cure for hiccups. Take a deep breath and hold it. Then attempt to swallow. Works great.
OMG! I have never seen anyone even come close to what *always* works for me with hiccups. But now you have! My remedy (which never ever fails): Get a timing on the hiccups, as they are usually somewhat regular. With about 10 seconds to go before a hiccup is due, take a deep breath and hold it, but push out, straining a bit, like having a bowel movement. Do this *well through* the time you would have had your next hiccup. You should be pushing hard enough that you do not feel the hiccup break through. Then breathe. The hiccup is gone for me 90% of the time. The other 10%? Just repeat the exercise. It will be gone.
Toothpaste is great on spots. Just put some on the spot, leave overnight and voila – spot gone!
Greatest hiccup cure I know— drop a lit match into about a thirdof a glass of water. Drink the water,and NOT the match. I think it must be the sulfur-works for me every time!
The best thing I have ever found for minore burns and insect bites is and
Alovera plant. Just cut off a tip of a stem and squeez the juice onto the burn.
Instent relief. Also for insect bites. I always keep an Alovera plant in my home.
Most of the things on this list are terribly, terribly wrong. A few of them will actually worsen infections, such as applying milk to a burn. Milk will also do absolutely nothing for a cold sore – get some abbreva, and read up on how it works to block the virus from entering a cell. Baking soda does nothing for bee stings, as the poison is in your skin at that point and nothing you put on it will help, except ice, which will lessen the swelling, and taking an antihistamine to stop the reaction. The pressure points thing for headaches is ridiculous and I challenge anyone sane and not soft minded to try it and see for yourself. When you’re in the midst of a bad one the only thing that helps is ibuprophen and ice. That cure for boils is laughable. Antibiotic ointment or peroxide cream, as well as having the boil lanced by a doctor with sterile equipment, will help a boil heal quickly, as opposed to all the crap you suggest putting on it which is more likely to help spread an infection than cure one. Heat can definitely help ease an earache, but try a sock filled with rice, mocrowave for thirty seconds or until hot enough that you can still stand it, and hold in over your ear or the glands below it – basically a cheap version of the magic bag. The plate is just silly. And dear god, please, please do not put preparation H on a burn. Preparation H shrinks swollen blood vessels, which is why it is used for hemmorhoids, and reduces fluid buildup. Unfortunately, those are the two things that would be healing your skin, if you hadn’t stopped the process by putting an irritating medication on it for a purpose it was not meant for. Also, milk; again, will cause an infection, not heal it.
If you think any of this is incorrect, talk to a doctor with recent medical training, don’t read a do-it-your-self, grandma’s home remidies book. There’s a reason they call it “alternative” medicine. If it worked, it would just be called “medicine”.
As an emergency nurse, I am *horrified* by the suggestion to put minty toothpast on a burn. How awful! And painful. And dangerous. Other remedies that include milk or butter or oil are equally frightening. As stated by Muttley and lotus, the burn needs to cool, not cook.
I'll add another vote for caffeine to treat headaches. Many (not all) headaches are caused by dilation of the blood vessels in the head. Caffeine contricts blood vessels, hence, relieving that type of headache. You will see caffeine as an ingredient in OTC products directed at headache relief. And just ask any caffeine junky (like me!) what happens when they miss their morning coffee. Ouch!
My mother says that her earaches were treating by her mother with "wicking." Grandma would drip oil into the painful ear, then hold a piece of wicking string into the ear and light it. Yes, with a flame (gasp!). Supposedly, the oil would wick up the string as it burned pulling the infection along with it.
Personally, I'm horrified by that suggestion as well. My mother swears it worked though. I imagine, however, that they were just a hardier bunch of people back in those days.
I also see that someone has recommended toothpaste. Mint is an irritant, especially the overpowering mint of toothpaste, and could actually worsen the swelling of an already-irritated burn. A good thing to put on burns, as long as they are not infected, is exactly what a doctor would prescribe: Hydrocortisone cream. You can get it over the counter, and it is guaranteed to help the healing process as it is a steroid, and also reduce inflammation.
Name
This sounds very gross but in high school I had a biology teacher who told us that ear wax worked good on fever blisters and sore throats. If you stick your finger in your ear and rub it on the sore spot in your throat or to the cold sore it will heal it in no time!!