As more and more people come down with ailments in their body, they are seeking complimentary (aka alternative) ways to treat themselves in order to avoid the hospital. Fears surrounding the coronavirus have made at-home treatments more attractive, and widely sought.
It all makes sense if you think about it because ER’s are sometimes overrun with new patients in the winter due to cold and flu… so home remedies and grandma’s folk remedies are looking better and better as you look for instant relief from a problem that just popped up.
Today’s article will deal with a variety of home remedies. I do want to caution you that I’m not a medical doctor and cannot advise on your personal situation, and also that you should seek medical attention if your symptoms become serious.
In the meantime, here are the best home remedies that are handy. You can cook with some of these or look for supplements, or even create an infusion tea out of some. I will elaborate where possible.
7 Home Remedies
1. Chicken Legs or Thighs
Ok so maybe this isn’t right for vegetarians, but it’s a well-known fact that if you’re sick you sometimes feel better with some chicken broth. If nothing else it tastes good and it’s soothing on your throat. Nothing beats the homemade sort because there’s no MSG in yours, hence my advice to keep chicken legs handy. You just simmer them in pure water with some carrots, celery, garlic and onion. Speaking of garlic…
2. Garlic
Keep some garlic cloves on hand in case you encounter an infection, you can put it in your chicken soup for example. Garlic is best known for its beneficial impact on heart disease, specifically in lowering blood pressure and LDL levels. So keeping garlic handy is important because emerging studies on viral replication and healing times are proving that allicin (it’s very high L-cysteine because it’s a derivative of that amino acid) can have a positive effect on C*V1D -!9 as you can read HERE.
This may come as an interesting tidbit: Alliin is a sulfur compound that naturally occurs in garlic and when you chop it or mince it, the enzyme called “alliinase” converts the alliinin to allicin which make it smell so good! Or bad if you hate garlic. You can freeze garlic easily so if you’re snowed in, or feeling too tired to go to the store, it will be as easy as defrosting it!
READ HERE to learn how to freeze fresh garlic, as well as many other herbs and vegetables. Finally, dietary supplements are available for antioxidant protection and immune or heart support.*
3. Ginger
This is also easy to freeze, and you should keep it handy in case you feel queasy or nauseous. If you have it on hand, you can put it in your chicken soup. This can occur from food poisoning which is going around rampantly! Here’s an article I wrote entitled, Why You Should Eat More Ginger.
You can CLICK HERE to read my article, How to Recognize and Treat Food Poisoning. By the way, nausea is a common symptom of SIBO (Small Intestine Bowel Overgrowth) and ginger tea is one quick method of temporarily taming it.
Aside from intestinal disorders and food poisoning, it’s a well-documented fact in addition to the respiratory tract, the pandemic pathogen can strike other tissues in the body including the entire digestive and urogenital tract, the liver, central nervous system, cardiovascular system and all your blood vessels and arteries.
Ginger is not a cure for any disease in these tissues, however it exerts a positive effect on cytokine balance and oxidative stress.* It can down regulate ACE2 receptor binding, and interfere with production of inflammation-causing pain cytokines. It cuts down on prostaglandins and has a positive impact on T helper cells.
All in all, this herb can be immediately soothing to the body, and reduce tissue necrosis formation.* Handy to have in your fridge or freezer! When you think of ginger, think of it as a non-discriminating anti-inflammatory spice. It’s available in supermarkets and produce sections nationwide. It’s also found in some joint supportive formulas due to its ability to protect tissue from damage.*
4. Tea
Keeping herbs around for your ailments is a good idea. I’m always making homemade tea. There are too many to discuss here and plus, I’ve already written about this at great length. CLICK HERE to learn How to Make Tea for Your Troubles.
5. Cayenne
Keep some of the powdered spice in your cabinet for emergency paper cuts. It’s a tried and true story that if you dab your finger into some cayenne pepper, the bleeding will stop pretty instantly. I even wrote the details of it here in my story, Cayenne Pepper Stopped my Bleeding in 30 Seconds.
I’ve tried it and will never be without. Please do not use cayenne if your cut is serious, I’m referring to the tiny cuts you get that are annoying but not dangerous… the kind from a paper cut, or other cut that heals at home with first aid ointments. I am not referring to the kind of cut you might have seen in the movie “Knives Out” lol, or a serious injury!
All kidding aside, cayenne has another use. Cayenne and other red peppers are potent TRPV1 agonists as well as Nrf2 agonists. Let’s break it down: These pathways when unregulated and highly active cause pain and inflammation. They cause spread. They are not good when running amok.
Certain natural foods and compounds (such as cayenne which is high in capsaicin, as well as black pepper and even ginger) have the ability to fit into the receptors of your cells and temporarily block anything bad from getting onto it, and thus, tamp down pain and inflammation for a while. The caution with cayenne is obvious. Don’t spice up your food if you have to chase it with Pepcid to ease the ensuing burn!
6. Frankincense Essential Oil or Supplement
For centuries, we are reminded of frankincense which is derived from a gummy resin from a tree. It also goes by another name, Boswellia. It’s not technically a sap, although you can think of it that way if you want to since it’s close. The resin which oozes out of one of five Boswellia trees that grow all over the world. The resin has been used for body aches and pains because it contains many powerful natural compounds that balance cytokines.
Diffusing frankincense essential oil, or just taking a whiff straight out of the bottle can immediately penetrate the blood stream. You might think of this as a natural ibuprofen if you’d like even though they are different chemical entities. You can certainly take ibuprofen and sniff frankincense EO too, there should be no detrimental reaction with that combo. I made an interesting VIDEO about frankincense and myrrh which is posted HERE on YouTube.
The constituents from frankincense/boswellia have been studied for cancer, suggesting a protective effect on DNA.* You can research this on pubmed later, but the point is that it’s a handy thing to keep in your house. If you feel like you’re coming down with something, it’s useful.
For me, I put it on my tendon (on my foot) with some CBD cream to reduce the pain that I got from overdoing Zumba. I just rub it on there topically when needed and put on my socks and shoes. It’s easy to apply, and if you don’t like the smell mix it with some Wild Orange or Lemon EO and diffuse it that way. Studies show it can help unwrap biofilm on resistant staff, candida and other infections.
7. Nano Ionic Facial Steamer
I discovered this a few years ago quite by accident! I had one on hand for when I want “me time” to do a quick facial at home using a steamer after applying a mask. It’s nice for added hydration. But when I developed a bout of sinus discomfort from a combination of blooming weeds and ash from local fires one summer, I broke out the steamer to try to soothe myself. Voila!
It is so awesome to use if you have a clogged, or stuffy nose. It can be great if you have a headache too. It works within minutes of breathing in the warm vapors.
DO NOT PUT ANY ESSENTIAL OILS IN IT. Just plain water.
You want to have this handy if you’re stuffed up and want some sinus congestion relief. They’re also nice if you have an itchy, scratchy throat from post-nasal drip. Using this can bring instant relief if you feel like you have a head cold. Not to mention the fact that it adds moisture to your face!
These are intended as home spa facial ‘humidifiers’ for your skin, but I’m suggesting them as a home remedy hack to help you breathe better. For that matter, the CDC has come out and recommended humidifiers for respiratory illnesses recently.
This little facial steamer is better than a room humidifier in some ways because it’s fast, easy and convenient. There’s no wait time for the room to humidify! It blows warm steam within a minute!
As for what kind, there are many. Over the years, I’ve purchased a few but returned them for one reason or another. Two of them were not convenient to use, or the bottom got too hot. One of them blew hot vapors! The ones I bought that were intended for cough/colds at my local pharmacy all got returned for one reason or another. They just didn’t work fast enough, or were bulky, or the water spilled easily.
Some pushed out steam that was so super hot it scared me. If the temperature of the steam vapors is too hot, it can be dangerous! The one I’ve settled on as my favorite is the nano ionic facial steamer and it’s offered by two different companies (see below). These are pretty mobile.
You can plug it in behind your nightstand and use it if you’re sitting in bed, or you can set it up on the bathroom counter and sit there and use it. They’re small about 10 inches tall and about 6 inches wide basically, so they are easy and convenient to use.
Pure Ionic Steamer
And finally, there’s this one below which looks (and works) like the type of steamer that you see at a salon! I ordered it to test for you, and it works fine but it’s not as convenient to use since it requires a little more space to set up. I’d say this one is good if you want to lie down in bed and have it set up on your nightstand.
Kingsteam Facial Steamer with Extendable Arm
8. OTC Medications
In terms of home remedies, you should keep a supply of some over-the-counter medications in case of discomfort. Things that are basic such as a fever reducer, throat lozenges, cough syrup, antihistamines and a nasal decongestant spray or pill. Keep a little box in your bathroom with these supplies in case you need them one day.
9. Hot Packs and Ice Packs
Keep a microwavable hot pack in your home because you can lay it on your chest, or on your tummy if you have cramps. These are indispensable if you have fever and chills. You can freeze some of them and if you’re hot, you can put it on your forehead or feet. There is no end to how you will enjoy these, and how quickly they bring relief!
Suzy Cohen, has been a licensed pharmacist for over 30 years and believes the best approach to chronic illness is a combination of natural medicine and conventional. She founded her own dietary supplement company specializing in custom-formulas, some of which have patents. With a special focus on functional medicine, thyroid health and drug nutrient depletion, Suzy is the author of several related books including Thyroid Healthy, Drug Muggers, Diabetes Without Drugs, and a nationally syndicated column.
