Surprising & Unique Remedies
Unorthodox uses of many common household staples can solve an amazing range of simple health problems. Share your own discoveries.
Cure Your Athlete’s Foot with Time-Honored…
Have you checked out your toes lately? Look closely at the area between the toes to see whether there is red or peeling skin. If there is, you might have athlete’s foot, and you may find that the ar…
Is it Safe to Get Vitamin D From the Sun?
Before there were vitamin D pills, humans made this essential nutrient whenever their skin was exposed to sunlight. Nowadays, dermatologists warn us that any sun exposure is bad for our skin. They are…
Milk of Magnesia for Odd Underarm Odor
Have you ever heard of using the laxative Milk of Magnesia (MoM) as a topical application for the armpits? Many readers have tried it and told us that they have found this an innovative way to manage …
Bee Sting Therapy (Apitherapy) for Arthritis Pai…
Most people have never heard of bee sting therapy. The idea that someone would voluntarily seek to be stung seems implausible. And yet apitherapy has a venerable history. We were fortunate enough to i…
Will Acupuncture Calm Your Restless Legs?
A friend noticed that when he rose early with his dogs, before 6 am, his neighbor's light was invariably on. He inquired why and learned that the neighbor suffers from restless legs syndrome, which wa…
Acupuncture Relieves Symptoms of Menopausal Wome…
Menopausal women each have their own experiences of this challenging time. However, most women do not enjoy the hot flashes and night sweats. What can they do to minimize the disruption? Some women ta…
Can Natural Remedies Help Calm Eczema?
Eczema, also termed "atopic dermatitis," is a common skin condition that frequently makes people miserable. It's considered an inflammatory condition and is more common among people with allergies. Co…
Can Vicks VapoRub on Your Soles Calm Your Cough?
Sometimes a cough can linger on long after the respiratory infection that triggered it has vanished. What do you do for such a cough? We have heard from a surprising number of people that smearing Vic…
Will Probiotics Help You Recover from Antibiotic…
Antibiotics are crucial tools for overcoming serious infections. However, they can often kill beneficial bacteria that live in the digestive tract and elsewhere along with the harmful invaders. As lon…
The Best Way to Lower Your Blood Pressure with E…
High blood pressure (hypertension) increases the risk for heart disease, stroke and kidney damage. While numerous medications can treat hypertension, many people would like to control their blood pres…
How to Make Warts Disappear by Buying Them
Warts are mysterious growths on the skin that are caused by the human papillomavirus. If you wonder why we term them mysterious, just think back to a case of warts you have witnessed or experienced. W…
Will Sniffing Alcohol Ease Nausea After Surgery?
Most of the time when we learn about an unusual home remedy, we have no idea how or even whether it works. So we were thrilled last year when we came across an actual placebo-controlled trial of sniff…
Can You Overcome Depression with Exercise?
People with heart disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions are more prone to depression. This seems understandable. The problem is that if they do become depressed, their conditions may worsen. …
Can You Clear Rosacea with Dandruff Shampoo?
Rosacea is a common skin condition associated with easy flushing or blushing, persistent redness, inflamed blood vessels and small red bumps on the skin. People who have had rosacea for a long time ma…
Are Gin-Drenched Raisins a Big Joke?
Whoever said "Getting old isn't for sissies" certainly got it right. As we age, we often accumulate aches and pains that may be attributed to arthritis. People with arthritis are faced with a horrible…
Can You Cure Your Plantar Warts with Hot Water?
Plantar warts are those that appear on the soles of the feet. You might catch the human papillomavirus that causes plantar warts if you go barefoot in a shared locker room or swimming pool area. Likew…
Show 1155: Can Bacteriophages Save Your Life?
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been cropping up around the world. These superbugs cause serious problems, especially when they fail to respond to increasingly potent medications. One approach may …
Will Milk of Magnesia Help Under-Breast Itching?
Under-breast itching is often an extremely irritating problem. You certainly can't scratch the itch, and figuring out how to treat it is tricky. Doctors don't always have solutions for this stubborn p…
What Is the Right Dose of Baking Soda?
We love simple remedies using ingredients you already have on hand in your pantry, so long as they work and they are safe. One time-honored approach to ease indigestion is taking a baking soda solutio…
Can You Stop Bleeding with Black Pepper?
We have been collecting home remedies for more than 40 years. One of the most unusual came to us from Nell Heard, who told us about a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park. She went with her siste…
Special Creams Fail to Fight Pain
Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars on specially formulated topical pain creams. Medicare Part D paid more than half a billion dollars for such prescription products in 2015. Doctors may p…
Can Acupressure Wrist Bands Help You Get to Slee…
Far too many Americans sleep less than the recommended seven hours a night, according to the CDC. Are you among them? Sleep difficulties can come from having trouble falling asleep or from waking in t…
Have You Tried Castor Oil to Clear Nail Fungus?
Toenail fungus can be very tough to treat. Even with prescription medications, you have to have a lot of patience. Toenails grow slowly, as you may have noticed, and you need to keep treating the fung…
Will Honey and Chocolate Ease Your Cough?
A persistent cough can be hard to manage. Lots of people would like to find a remedy, and some individuals have found sweet ways to calm a nasty cough. Would you believe honey and chocolate could ease…
Can Mindfulness Help You Manage Chronic Pain?
People in chronic pain often feel abandoned by the medical profession, especially as physicians are cutting back on prescribing opioids. They may be interested in some nondrug approaches that could …
Do You Need Help for Hiccup Cure?
What do you do when you have the hiccups? Do you have a hiccup cure that works well for you? One reader found a great technique, but you may find it easier if you can get help. Water-Drinking, Ear-Hol…
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…