Home Remedies That Actually Work

8 Home Remedies That Actually Work 

Sometimes our problems which we are not able to cure with those expensive medicines are likely to be cured by the items that we use in our daily life. Our everyday stuff has got some secret curing powers. We can make wise use of the things around us and help us curing some common problems that we often face. Here are some tricks that you can try and which actually work: 

1. Duct Tape to Remove Warts 

In 2002, effectiveness of duct tape was compared with liquid nitrogen on warts by a group of doctors. 85% of patients’ warts were gone after 2 months of applying duct tape on daily basis and by using a pumice stone once a week as to exfoliate the dead skin. On the other hand freezing helped removing only 60%. “The question is whether there is something in the chemical adhesive itself, or if the occlusion (suffocation) causes the destruction of the wart,” says New York City–based dermatologist, Robin Blum, MD. “The other thinking is that the duct tape causes irritation, which stimulates our body’s immune cells to attack the wart.” 

2. Gargle Salt Water for a Sore Throat 

As per the author of the website “The Medical Consumer's Advocate”, Douglas Hoffman MD, PhD, infected tissues result in sore throat as an inflammatory response. Salt water helps reducing the excess amount of fluid to decrease the swelling and the pain caused temporarily. It is always advised to take more salt rather than less. Always remember, you are treating the symptoms – not the illness. 
  

3. Vapor Rub for Nail Fungus

Vapor rub helps removing the nail fungus by rubbing it on your nails once or twice a day. Though there have been no studies which prove this statement, but some people say it’s the menthol in the vapor rub that helps removing fungus and some say it’s the smothering effect of the gel which helps removing not just the fungus, but the infected toenail too which will turn black and will fall off. 

4. Sugar to Cure Hiccups 

In 1971, a study was conducted by Dr. Edgar Engelman, MD, to check if a spoonful of sugar actually cures hiccups. He tested a group of 20 people who had been experiencing intractable hiccups for more than 6 hours. Each patient was given a spoonful of white granulated sugar to swallow dry and 19 out of 20 patients witnessed immediate effect. The sugar modifies the nervous impulses that would otherwise tell the muscles in the diaphragm to contract spasmodically. 

5. Bite a Pencil to Cure Headache 

Clenching teeth is a common sign of stress. As per doctors when we clench our teeth, we put strain on the muscle that connects the jaw with temples, which trigger a tension headache. So you just have to place a pencil between your teeth (don’t bite it). This will relax your muscles which help reducing stress and pain. This is to be noted that this trick applies only to tension headaches and not migraines or headache caused by sinus pressure. 

6. Olives for Motion Sickness 

As per National Library of Medicine, there are so many symptoms which show that you are suffering from motion sickness. One of them is increased salivation, which helps body protecting the teeth from the high doses of acid accompanied by vomit. Olives contain tannins that helps drying the saliva. This process first helps eliminating symptom and then body’s instinct to follow suit. This treatment is effective only in the early stages of nausea, when change in saliva occurs. 

7. Oatmeal for Eczema 

“This is absolutely true, as oats have anti-inflammatory properties,” says Dr. Blum. You can use it in many ways like a paste, or poured into a bath, but most experts suggest to go for finely grounded oatmeal and then soaking the affected for about 15 minutes. Oats not only reduce the inflammation, they also have antihistamine effect. 

8. Yogurt for Bad Breath 

Usually bad breath comes from stomach and mouth. Yogurt has got some neutralizing powers and probiotics which treat the latter cause. “Yogurt shouldn’t have any effect at all on the bacteria that live on the tongue because it’s not there long enough,” says Robert Meltzer, MD, a New York City–based gastroenterologist and attending physician at Lenox Hill Hospital. However, it has a neutralizing effect on the acid which exists between our mouth and stomach. According to him, any milk based product would have the same qualities. Where yogurt helps eliminating bad breath caused by gastrological conditions, like acid reflux, it does not have any effect on bad breath that is the product of gum, liver or lung disease.