A pet’s well-being manifests the type of nurturing afforded to it. While a number of pet owners have become quite adept in the ways of rearing healthy cats, wrongful notions often mislead many over feline nutrition to compromise cat health in the process. What seems to be a typical cat owner flaw in the context of nutrition is the tendency to match the food intake of felines with the diet of either canines or humans. Pet owners should keep in mind that cats are obligate carnivores; therefore they have nutritional needs that are dissimilar from that of their owners and even from dogs. [Read more...]
An Eczema Natural Treatment
February 12, 2009 By
Eczema or dermatitis is one of the more common skin problems people may encounter. This is characterized by dry skin that is flaky and itchy. When symptoms attack, skin inflammation with blisters and lesions may also appear.
Doctors say there is no cure for eczema. But they always reiterate that this disease could be controlled and treated. Treatments usually include medications of steroids and antihistamines. These have chemicals and active ingredients that have side effects, too. One of which is the thinning of the skin during an extended use of these medications.
It is good to know that apart from scientific medications, there are still other treatments that can be considered safer than others. This alternative includes the natural treatment of eczema.
Others were shocked, because they never thought that they could get natural remedies right there in their kitchen and fridge. So to deviate from the norm of using medications filled with chemicals, others opt for these natural ways.
• By juicing carrots and spinach, eczema could be treated gradually.
• Simmered mango pulp and mango skin for 30 minutes could be applied as lotion. This helps soothe the skin.
• The use of virgin coconut oil is great for dry, chapped skin with eczema because of the moisturizing properties it has. Virgin coconut oil has natural oils that are perfect for the human skin in hydrating it.
• Two table spoon of Safflower oil is good for improving eczema skin condition.
These are just a few natural methods to help with eczema. These methods will help with relief but will not cure eczema at the root cause.
How to Manage and Control Asthma Using Natural Remedies
February 3, 2009 By
There are a number of natural remedies that you can easily implement in your effort to manage and control Asthma. Some of the all natural remedies used for treating Asthma symptoms are amazingly effective, and one will find that many of the natural treatments for Asthma are readily affordable as well. A good majority of the natural asthmatic treatments also treat the conditions that might lead to unwanted and undesirable Asthma attacks. By fending off issues with colds and upper respiratory irritations, you can successfully reduce your issues with Asthma. Let’s examine some of the more common treatments that you can turn to in an effort to get your asthmatic symptoms under full control.
Many individuals with Asthma derive great benefits from drinking hot Chamomile tea. Fresh Chamomile can be placed in a tea ball and steeped for a few minutes in hot water. You can sweeten the tea to your desired preference. Chamomile is cited as a natural herb which offers anti-inflammatory properties, as well as antispasmodic benefits. In addition, Chamomile serves as an antihistamine and clearly illustrates benefits associated with one’s respiratory system. Further, Chamomile offers relaxation benefits and makes for a superb de-stressing beverage. If Chamomile is not your type of preferred tea, you may want to consider sipping at a cup of all natural Green Tea as this type of tea serves to open up one’s bronchial pathways. Finally, Hyssop tea is excellent when consumed for the relief of congestion too.
Elderberry is another asthma remedy alternative that you might want to try. Fantastic for treating issues with sinuses, the lungs, and in treating respiratory illnesses, Elderberries are enriched with Vitamin C, which aids in natural healing too. Since the common cold and other respiratory illnesses can seriously agitate and aggravate issues with asthma, elderberries added to one’s diet can help in minimizing potential asthmatic irritations.
If interested in consuming an herb that has immune boosting features, you might want to give consideration to trying Licorice Root. Licorice Root is superb for the treatment of colds and asthma, and it is also cited as being helpful with the management of Lupus, Lyme disease, and certain forms of cancer as well. The primary ingredient in Licorice Root is saponin glycosides which lend to the root’s healing properties. Licorice Root is ideal for dealing with allergies, arthritis, and inflammation as well. Finally, Licorice Root has been successfully used in the past to treat stomach ailments and indigestion too.
You can also successfully fend off issues with asthmatic attacks with the use of Mullein Oil. Mullein Oil is also known under alternative names like Flannel Leaf, Jacob’s Staff, and Verbascum Thapsus. The latter oil has proven effective in relieving congestion, bronchial irritation, and for clearing up issues with coughing that is otherwise unproductive. Mullein Oil serves to alleviate those issues that might otherwise bring on an asthma attack like colds and bronchitis. The added benefits one derives from using Mullein Oil is that it contains many beneficial vitamins, like vitamin B, D, and Magnesium too.
Five Natural Remedies For Nasal Allergies
January 26, 2009 By
Breathing is basic to life, and allergies are an awful intrusion on the easy, regular, deep breathing we all need to stay active and healthy. Fortunately, there are many ways to breathe easier despite nasal allergies without expensive, sedating allergy drugs. Here are my top 5:
1. Use steroid nasal sprays sparingly if at all. Yes, they really work, but the have serious side effects.
Beconase AQ (beclomethasone), Flonase (fluticasone), Nasacort AQ (triamcinolone), Nasarel (flunisolie), Nasonex (mometasone), and Rhinocort Aqua (budesonide) supposedly offer the benefits of steroids for controlling allergies without the risks, namely, high blood pressure, stunted growth in children, osteoporosis in older adults, and a very long list of other potential complications.
The problem with these nose sprays is, other than the fact that they are very expensive, is that in rare instances they can cause nasal perforation (a whole between the nostrils), and more commonly they induce the very burning, irritation, sore throat, headache, nosebleed, and dry sinuses they are supposed to prevent.
2. Get your antihistamines from foods rather than the pharmacy.
Instead of pharmaceutical antihistamines like Benadryl (diphyenhydramine), Dimetapp and Dimetane (brompheniramine), Chlor-Trimeton (chlorpheniramine), Allegra (frexofenadine), Clarniex (desloratadine), or Zyrtec (certirizine), consider their natural alternatives.
Quercitin, a plant compound you can get from grapefruit or from eating an apple with the peel, is chemically similar to NasalCrom (cromolyn sodium); in fact, the active ingredient in NasalCrom was first found in bishop’s weed, an herb that is rich in quercitin. British studies have found that eating just one apple a week lowers the frequency of allergies.
You can also get some allergy relief from vitamin C, but it wears off quickly. It’s better to get 3-4 doses of 500 mg or even less throughout the day than to get one dose of 1,000-2,000 mg all at once.
3. Stop nasal allergies at their source.
If you got poison ivy every week, would it make sense to get a six months prescription for prednisone or maybe to stay out of the poison ivy? The same principle applies to ongoing nasal allergies at home. It doesn’t make sense to take medication constantly if you can stop allergies at their source. HEPA filters can remove mold and dust mites and nearly all pollen and cat dander. Even better, combine a HEPA filter with a dehumidifier. The combination greatly reduces mold spore counts.
4. And if you can’t afford to stop allergies at the source with an expensive HEPA filter, try an inexpensive HEPA filter.
The drawback to HEPA filtration is that you probably can’t install it yourself, and it’s expensive. Your next best method for cleaning the air you breathe indoors is an electronic air filter. You don’t need an ozone generator, because ozone is damaging to the lungs. And if you can’t afford either a HEPA filter or an electronic air cleaner, consider a do-it-yourself air filter such as 3M’s Filtrete for around $25 US. You can fit these into your existing air return system in place of any old-fashioned filter that may now be in use.
5. Don’t just clean your air, clean your floors (and especially your carpets).
Cleaning the air is only half the battle. You also need to clean your floors with a vacuum cleaner. What you want to avoid in choosing your vacuum cleaner is getting that sucks up dust through one end and sends out in the exhaust through the other. Vacuums with their own, smaller HEPA filters are much more expensive but go a long way toward cleaning up the air in your home.
Natural Remedies For Conjunctivitis
January 12, 2009 By
Natural remedies for conjunctivitis are simple and inexpensive. Consider these basic measures for keeping stopping the spread of conjunctivitis:
* Keep hands away from the eyes, and always wash hands before and after touching infected eyes.
* Sterilize contact lenses.
* Change pillowcases every other day.
* Do not share eyeliners or other eye cosmetics, and replace eye cosmetics every 2-3 months.
* Do not share handkerchiefs, washcloths, or towels.
Effective treatment of conjunctivitis can be as simple as finding a clean washcloth and some warm (not hot) water. Simply soak a clean washcloth in warm, clean water, close eyes, and apply the cloth to the eyelids. The moist heat of the cloth creates a “fever” that slows the growth the viruses that cause conjunctivitis.
Certain commonly available, inexpensive supplements also help. Consider taking:
* Vitamin A: Up to 5,000 IU a day. (Do not take vitamin A if you know you are pregnant.)
* Vitamin C: 500 mg one to four times a day.
* Vitamin E: 400 IU a day for up to two months (mixed tocopherols are better), and
* Zinc picolinate: up to 30 mg a day.
Goldenseal and Oregon grape root capsules, taken as directed on the label, may also be helpful.
In the early 1970′s, German researchers found that people who have conjunctivitis also tend to be vitamin A-deficient. This does not prove that taking supplemental vitamin A will necessarily cure conjunctivitis, but since vitamin A is involved in the health of membranes throughout the body, it seems reasonable that this very inexpensive supplement may help. It is not necessary to take more than 5,000 IU a day.
Vitamin C influences the growth of collagen, the “glue” holding the connective tissues protecting the eye in place. As little as 500 mg a day may be beneficial, and up to 2,000 mg a day may help.
Zinc is an important cofactor for vitamin A. When there is a zinc deficiency, the immune system does not produce as many white blood cells to fight infection, and the “clean-up” of damaged tissues in the conjunctiva of the eye is slowed.
A dosage of 30 mg a day should be enough to reverse any deficiency, and you do not have to take zinc supplements indefinitely. Anytime a zinc “pill” begins to taste bad, stop taking it. This is a signal your body has accumulated enough zinc to overcome deficiency. If zinc pills are tasteless, your body may be zinc-deficient.
Herbal compresses may or may not kill germs, but they do feel good. Potentially useful herbs include the well-known eyebright, calendula, barberry, chamomile, goldenseal, and Oregon grape root. Just remember that you prepare the herbs in boiling water to make the compress, sterilizing it, but you let the compress cool down before applying it to closed eyes. Sterile herbal eyedrops, most of them containing eyebright, are also available.
Foot Odor – Best Home Remedies
January 3, 2009 By
The average human foot, scientists tell us, produces about one-quarter cup (60 ml) of sweat each and every day. By the end of 12 hours of wearing tight-fitting shoes, that’s like irrigating hundreds of billions of bacteria and yeast with a good soppy splash of water to encourage them to eat, drink, reproduce, and produce smelly feet. So how can you stop them from stinking up your shoes?
Although there are home remedies to stop your feet from sweating that I’ll list in a moment, your first line of defense against foot odor is to treat your shoes, not your feet. Let them “breathe” and dry out every other day. In summer, wear sandals, as long as they are not made of “jelly-like” plastic. In winter, wear washable shoes that you can launder to cut down the number of bacteria that cause foot odor. Store shoes in mesh bags, not plastic, and don’t keep outside a gym bag or dance bag, not inside.
The second line of defense against foot odor is to treat your feet. You don’t have to start with a prescription. I’d go with foot powder first.
Sprinkle either plain old baking soda or any over-the-counter foot powder on the feet before putting on socks. The powder absorbs moisture before it can nourish bacteria.
Two other home remedies for foot odor that really work are tea and Epsom salts.
The principle behind using tea (that’s on the foot, not in your stomach) is that the tannins in tea “tan” the skin on your foot so it does not leak perspiration quite as fast. You can make a soak from 5 family-sized bags of black tea (although green tea would also work) in a quart (about a liter) of hot water.
Steep the tea for 10-15 minutes and then allow it to cool to room temperature. Pour the tea into a large flat pan and then immerse the feet for half an hour.
Do this every other day for a week and sweating should diminish. You still have to have clean shoes to avoid foot odor, but reducing perspiration also helps. The downside of using tea is that it can stain your feet brown (and the walnut hulls recommended by some herbalists will make your feet even browner). But if that’s a problem, you can use Epsom salts.
Add a handful of Epsom salts to a flat pan of warm water, and immerse feet for 30 minutes.
There’s no scientific explanation of why this should work. It just does.
But if soaking feet is not your thing, consider deodorant. Any deodorant that contains aluminum chloride will knock out pedal perspiration fast, and the limited circulation to the foot means it is far less likely to be absorbed into the body.
Spray deodorant applied to the foot may also relieve the sting of minor insect bites.
You may have heard that urinating on the feet stops foot odor. By this, I mean urinating on the feet in the shower and then rinsing the urine off before drying feet and putting socks and shoes on. There’s some scientific sense behind the method, because urea (found in urine) does kill some kinds of fungus that live on the feet. It’s not high on my list of home remedies, although it may work. Feel free to comment if you’ve tried it.
Another folk remedy for smelly feet falls under the heading of “don’t stink, take zinc.” This may work for you. Just be sure not to take more than 100 mg of zinc a day, and take a zinc formula that’s mixed with copper and other trace minerals.
Finally, as a last resort, there is always prescription medication for extremely sweaty feet. In the US, the best known medication is Drysol. Its chemical name is aluminum chloride hexahydrate, and it’s just an especially potent antideodorant. Drysol can cause foot irritation. If this happens, wash it off the feet before going to bed at night and reapply in the morning.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. Will soaking my feet in black tea stain them? A. A little, which won’t be noticeable unless you have unusually fair skin. It may take 3-5 days to fade.
Q. Would green tea also relieve foot odor? A. Yes, and it’s less likely to stain.
Q. Are there any stained feet remedies? A. Is there a home remedy that takes a stain off your foot? Anything that moisturizes the skin will accelerate recovery from a stain, but anything that would take it out immediately would also injure your skin. If you are going to use a moisturizer on your feet, just make sure feet, socks, and shoes are kept extremely clean, to keep bacterial growth to a minimum.
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