Natural Remedies for Adults

*This is not medical advice, and this information should not be used as substitution for medical advice. This is for informational purposes only, the writer has no medical training or background.*

If you’re on this page it’s because not only do you prefer not to give children over the counter medicines, but you’d also rather not take them yourself. I totally understand that philosophy, especially since many of the OTC medicines replace your annoying symptoms with drowsiness or cottonmouth, yuck!

Stuffy Nose

Netty Pot

Warm water

Salt

     Seriously, I can not describe to you the wonderful benefits of owning and using a netty pot. If you don’t know what one is, it’s basically a small tea pot with an elongated spout to help you flush saline water through your nasal passages. You can get them at just about any health and wellness store, and they are porcelain so they can be thrown into the dishwasher, or a pot of boiling water to sanitize between uses. Depending on the size of the netty pot, take about 3 or 4 ounces of water and dissolve a tablespoon of salt into it, then fill your netty pot with that water.  Tilt your head backwards, and gently allow the saline solution  to wash out both nasal passages. The salt helps to dry out the mucous membranes and keep them from over producing. You can perform this procedure as necessary throughout the day. This little trick also works on children, but it might be difficult to get the younger ones to hold still long enough to complete the task.

Urinary Tract Infection

Cranactin

Water

Organic raw apple cider vinegar

     There is nothing more painful or irritating than a urinary tract infection, especially for women. When you begin to feel the signs of a urinary tract infection you should immediately begin taking cranactin 2 to 4 times per day (available at health and vitamin stores). It is imperative that you drink plenty of water with the cranberry pills as they are strong and can put a strain on the liver (if you’re pregnant consult your primary care provider). Drink at least one eight ounce glass of water each time you take a cranberry pill. In addition to the cranactin you can also add two tablespoons of organic raw apple cider vinegar to an eight ounce glass of water two or three times daily. This will aide in flushing out the toxins and bacteria in your urinary tract.

Colds

1 quart of water

4 garlic cloves

4 heaping tablespoons honey

2 chamomile tea bags

The juice of one lemon

Vitamin C

Zinc

Echinacea 

     Bring the water to boil, and pour it into a large mason jar. Add the other ingredients and let steep for a minimum of 30 minutes. Once the tea is done steeping and has cooled off a bit   drink it often, and try to drink one whole quart a day. This tea will help you to stay hydrated and provide electrolytes. Take 1000mg of vitamin C when you  first feel your symptoms coming on, and then 500mg every 3 to 5 hours after that until 48 hours after you begin to feel better. In addition to the tea and vitamin C you should also be taking zinc and echinacea (the echinacea tincture works better than the pills or tea, just dilute in 1oz of water as it is bitter). Please ensure you follow the dosage guidelines on the bottles, as taking to much of a homeopathic remedy can cause ‘reckoning’ where it actually makes your symptoms worse.

Soar Throat/Coughing

Honey

Hot water

Lemon

Fenugreek

     Soak 1 tablespoon fenugreek in 4oz water, then use that water and enough honey and lemon juice to make a thin syrup.  Take as often as needed to ease sore throats and coughing. If the sore throat is accompanied by intense coughing at night, I suggest taking a natural menthol (not Vicks) rub and putting it on the feet just before bed, and then covering the feet feet with socks. Additionally drinking as much water as possible will help to keep the mucous membranes moist and reduce irritation.

Constipation

Fresh Squeezed lemon Juice 

Warm Water

     Squeeze the juice of one lemon into 8 ounces of warm water and drink. It make take a few servings before you see any results.  Another thing I like to do for intestinal upset is eat yogurt that contains a lot of probiotics.

Ear Aches 

Peroxide

     If you notice the beginnings of an ear ache, but haven’t had the other signs of ear infection you can put 4 to 6 drops of peroxide in the ear a few times per day, and often this will prevent an ear ache from turning into a full blown ear infection.

Bug Bites and Stings

Apple Cider Vinegar

     Raw apple cider vinegar is an end all be all when it comes to bug bites an stings. Having grown up in the south I’ve seen my fair share of insect bites, especially those of the fire ant (really words can’t describe that pain!).  Recently on a trip home my nephew was running around the house screaming like a banshee because he got stung by some insidious creature. My first step in alleviating his pain was to soak a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar, the second was to physically tackle him (he’s a very large 5 year old) to the ground, and convince him that it wouldn’t hurt to put to cotton ball on his leg. 20 minutes later his little red welt had disappeared and he had forgotten all about that event.

Restlessness/Sleeplessness

Lavender essential Oil

Orange essential Oil

Chamomile tea 

Valerian root

    Depending on the depth of your bath, add approximately 5 or 6 drops lavender oil to the bath tub to help you relax. Another oil I highly suggest for relaxation is orange oil, add approximately 4 to 5 drops either alone or in addition to the lavender oil. Turn the lights down in your bathroom and soak for 15 to 30 minutes until you begin to feel soothed and calm. (Note: Be careful with the orange oil, you should always add it to water first, if you get drops of it on a non porcelain surface wipe up immediately as it could stain.)

    Drinking one to two cups chamomile tea helps to soothe me when I’m feeling restless. If you aren’t interested in drinking the tea, you can add about 4 teabags to your bath, and get the calming effects that way. 

    Valerian root is a known sedative, and can be either taken in pill form or as a tea just before bed time. There are several brands of sleep-aide teas that have valerian root in them as one of their main components. I prefer the Nighty Night tea by traditional medicinals when I can’t sleep, or feel anxious.