Surprising & Unique Remedies
Unorthodox uses of many common household staples can solve an amazing range of simple health problems. Share your own discoveries.
How Could Flaxseed Oil Calm Your Eczema?
Eczema can be quite difficult to treat. People with this skin condition, also called atopic dermatitis, suffer with rashes, irritation and stubbornly dry patches of skin that may not clear up with moi…
Will Chocolate Calm Your Cough?
This is the time of year when lots of people have nagging coughs. Traditional cough medicine leaves a lot to be desired. But could chocolate calm your cough? Might You Use Cocoa to Calm Your Cough? Sc…
Should You Be Peeing on Your Feet?
Warning: this remedy might be too disgusting for you. Many readers tell us that peeing on your feet can help you overcome toenail fungus or athlete's foot. Is there any evidence to back this claim up?…
Could Herbal Tea Overcome Your Nasty Cough?
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common pathogen that usually causes mild symptoms such as runny nose, fever or sneezing and wheezing. It can also cause a nasty cough in some people, especially …
What Happened to Cod Liver Oil as a Home Remedy?
The origin of many a home remedy is lost in the mists of time. Usually we don't have a good record of who started using it or when, and we also rarely have information on when and how it falls out of …
Will Therapeutic Frankincense Help You Sleep?
In the Christmas story found in the Gospel of Matthew, wise men come from the east seeking the newborn king. They bring him presents: gold, frankincense and myrrh. This part of the story with these pr…
How to Calm a Cough Naturally
Do you know how to calm a cough naturally? At this time of year, lots of people are coughing. If you go to a movie or a concert, chances are good that the people around you will be hacking away. Ditto…
Seniors Swear by Marijuana Oil for Pain Relief
In an increasing number of states, the legislatures have legalized the medicinal use of marijuana. (Ten states and the District of Columbia have made recreational use legal, usually in addition to med…
Could Exercise Save Your Brain?
There are a couple of health problems that everyone dreads. A diagnosis of cancer is most unwelcome. Neurological conditions run a close second, though. If a doctor diagnoses Parkinson's disease, ALS …
Can Mindfulness Help You Lose Weight?
Mindfulness, the practice of paying attention to your own thoughts and feelings in the moment, has been praised as a way for people to manage stress. It has also been studied as a way to manage major …
Could Massage Make Your Knees Feel Better?
A weekly whole-body massage sounds like a luxury, but new research suggests it could help people with knee arthritis live with less pain (Journal of General Internal Medicine, online Dec 12, 2018). It…
Can Holding Your Breath Stop Painful Foot Cramps…
Have you often been awakened by painful foot cramps? This is a most unpleasant experience. Some people find that stretching the toes back toward the knee is enough to stop the cramp; they may not even…
Can Epsom Salts Combat Chronic Constipation?
Many Americans have difficulty with "regularity." They may pass stool infrequently or they may find their stool is hard and painful to pass. People are eager to find ways to combat chronic constipatio…
Will Lavender Oil Ease Your Anxiety and Insomnia…
Aromatherapy, the use of plant materials with notable fragrance, has long been popular in Europe. It is now becoming more widely adopted in the US as well. In this approach, people utilize the "essent…
Celebrate with a Cool Gift from The People’s P…
What is the most precious gift of all? Hint: It’s not a new car, a smartphone, an electronic gadget, jewelry or clothing. The most extraordinary gift is good health. Many of us take our health for g…
Is There a Natural Remedy for Cold Sores?
During cold season, many people suffer from outbreaks of cold sores, also called fever blisters. Perhaps when the immune system is busy fighting off another infection, the herpes simplex virus that ca…
Why Would a Veterinary Office Use Coca-Cola?
For decades, we have been warning people not to drink sugar-sweetened soda pop. Not only is it bad for teeth, those liquid calories sneak in too easily and add up too readily. However, we recently wro…
Will CBD for Pain Make You Fail the Marijuana Te…
One lesson learned from the terrible opioid crisis of the past few years: a lot of Americans are in a lot of pain. With doctors increasingly reluctant to prescribe narcotics for pain relief, people ar…
Vicks on Soles of Feet Calmed Grandkids’ C…
When young children cough all night, they may not be awake themselves, but their parents and grandparents won't be able to sleep well. Little ones don't respond well to conventional cough medicines. W…
Terpin Hydrate Helped World War I Veteran
Terpin hydrate, with or without codeine, used to be a highly popular cough remedy. It was available without a prescription from the 1880s until the 1990s. That’s when the FDA decided there wasn’t …
Should You Pour Black Pepper on Your Cut?
Who knows where home remedies come from? Most of the time, their history is untraceable. Who first thought to pour black pepper on a cut to staunch the bleeding? We have no idea. If you search the int…
What Can You Do for a Kitchen Burn?
A kitchen burn or other minor household burn is painful. They usually cause redness and sometimes blistering. Cold water is the standard first aid recommendation. In fact, cold tap water is just the r…
What Is the Alternative to Grape Juice and Pecti…
Arthritis, joint pain and inflammation and rheumatism have plagued human beings since prehistoric times. Possibly as a result, there are more home remedies for arthritis than you could count easily. T…
Can You Cure a Plantar Wart with Silver Nitrate?
Plantar warts are those that appear on the sole of the foot. They can become tender and make walking painful. Over the years, we have heard of many different home remedies to get rid of plantar warts.…
Is Chasteberry a Natural Way to Ease Hot Flashes…
Hot flashes are the signature symptom of menopause. Some women are barely troubled by them while others are incapacitated. Most women in menopause would like to find a way to ease hot flashes, though …
Could CBD Cream Relieve Your Knee Pain?
As people age, their joints often begin to hurt. They may try a variety of approaches, from taking OTC pain relievers such as ibuprofen or naproxen to swallowing home remedies such as gin-soaked raisi…
Do You Want a Natural Thyroid Treatment?
Thyroid problems are far more common than you might guess. Pharmacists dispense approximately 120 million prescriptions each year for levothyroxine (Levoxyl, Synthroid, Tirosint, Unithroid). People wh…
How to Use Cold Keys to Stop Your Nosebleed
Nosebleeds are common, messy and embarrassing. No one likes to drip blood all over everything. Your first reaction might be to try to stop the blood with a handful of paper tissues, but that doesn't a…
Will a Whiff of Lavender Ease Your Anxiety?
Many people think of lavender as a calming herb. Research in mice now shows that this reputation goes beyond folklore. A whiff of lavender has anti-anxiety effects. How Do Mice React to a Whiff of Lav…
Is Black Pepper Better Than Styptic Pencil for C…
Do you have a favorite home remedy to stop bleeding? Many people insist that pouring ground black pepper on a cut stops the bleeding more quickly. Is black pepper better than other approaches to stopp…
Show 1138: What Are the Health Benefits of Yoga?
Yoga has become extremely popular over the last few decades. You have probably seen photographs of fit-looking young people in stretchy clothing and improbable poses and wondered why they are so enthu…
Is There Science to Support Alternative Treatmen…
Psoriasis sucks. It is a condition that causes red, dry, scaly, itchy skin patches. There is no cure. The causes are mysterious. Scientists believe that an overactive immune system is the culprit. For…
Can You Get Rid of Warts with Super Glue?
Warts are bumps on the skin caused by a virus, the human papillomavirus (HPV). Even though you can't actually get rid of the virus, you can get rid of warts. A wide range of home remedies and over-the…
Why Cold Water Is Great First Aid for a Burn
If you burn yourself in the kitchen, what's the first thing you do? It is helpful to know first aid for a burn consists, first, of cold water. Here's one reader's experience with this essential remedy…
Will Grape Juice and Pectin Ease Your Joint Pain…
Arthritis pain presents a big dilemma. The pain itself can interfere greatly with your quality of life. On the other hand, because people suffer from joint pain frequently, if not every day, they may …
How Can You Keep Plantar Warts from Recurring?
Plantar warts occur on the soles of the feet. At first, you might not notice a plantar wart. Most of us don't inspect our soles regularly unless they hurt. Plantar warts often become painful to walk o…
Acupressure Wrist Bands Help You Get to Sleep
If you sleep well, you may not realize how lucky you are. Those who have difficulty sleeping are faced with a tough dilemma. Sleep deprivation is bad for your health, as many studies have shown. On th…
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Relieved With Soap!
There are some medical conditions that are surprisingly common but quite mysterious. You have probably heard of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Doctors now call it myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). The …
Will Vicks VapoRub Ease Facial Pain?
We have been fascinated to hear lately from readers who have found unusual remedies. We have been writing for years about the possibility that soap can alleviate nighttime leg cramps. We were surpri…
Will Tai Ji Help Keep You from Falling?
Older people have a justified fear of falling. A broken hip often leads to disability or death. That’s why it is so important to prevent falls. A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine sugges…