Surprising & Unique Remedies
Unorthodox uses of many common household staples can solve an amazing range of simple health problems. Share your own discoveries.
Is It Safe to Drink Sparkling Water for Acid Ref…
Heartburn, indigestion or acid reflux all describe a similar type of discomfort: a burning pain behind the breastbone. There are numerous prescription drugs for this problem, including Nexium and Pri…
Can You Ease Psoriasis with Natural Remedies?
Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin condition in which the skin cells end up turning over far more rapidly than normal. As a result, red itchy patches with silvery scales (clumps of cells that moved too q…
What Natural Remedies Could Help Neuropathy?
Neuropathy (pain, numbness or tingling, usually in the feet or hands) is caused by a malfunction of the nerves in the skin. We need such nerves to tell us about the world around us, and when they st…
Vicks On the Feet Calms Night Cough: Not a Place…
Whenever we get a question about putting Vicks on the feet for a nighttime cough we hear from skeptics who insist that this is a placebo effect. Since there are no scientific studies to prove otherwis…
Is Cannabidiol Oil Helpful for Hard-to-Treat Epi…
Cannabidiol oil from marijuana may help control epilepsy. This has been suspected for a while. Some parents have even moved to states where medical marijuana is legal to treat their epileptic childre…
Can You Cure Athlete’s Foot with Thymol?
Athlete's foot is caused by a fungal infection of the skin on the feet. The redness, itching, peeling and burning can be most uncomfortable. There are numerous over-the-counter medications that can he…
What Will MSM Do for Joint Pain?
Arthritis creates such dilemmas for its sufferers. There are medications that alleviate pain reasonably well, but many or most of them have serious side effects. Narcotics cause addiction if they are …
How Can You Get Rid of Terrible Nail Fungus?
Nail fungus (onychomycosis in doctor-talk) is a very common problem. Most health care providers don't consider it serious, although some readers have told us that terrible nail fungus can make nails …
What Is the Best Remedy for Warts?
Warts are one of the most common skin problems children develop. They are rather mysterious. We know that human papilloma viruses cause warts, and the warts can be treated with any one of a large num…
Why Does Listerine Soothe Your Itchy Scalp?
Have you been bedeviled by an itchy scalp? There are plenty of reasons why your scalp might itch. Lice are one possibility, of course, though they seem to be most common among children and people who …
How Will Legalizing Marijuana Play Out After the…
The election this week resulted in the passage of new marijuana legislation in several states. How will legalizing marijuana affect policies and practices in those places? Legalizing Marijuana Use: On…
Dandruff Shampoo for Rosacea Restored Social Lif…
Rosacea is a highly visible condition that can have a big impact on a person's self image. Dermatologists have a number of medications that they prescribe for this disorder, but some readers get reli…
How to Use Dandruff Shampoo for Blepharitis
Blepharitis, inflamed eyelids, can be annoying as well as painful. It is frequently quite difficult to treat. The usual recommendation is to use hot compresses on the affected eyelid, but one reader f…
Should Doctors Embrace Home Remedies?
Scientists often dismiss home remedies as bogus because there is no explanation for how they might work. Doctors like drugs because the pharmaceutical companies often have plausible explanations for t…
Can Science Explain Why Vicks on the Feet Calms …
Around the year 2000 a nurse called into our syndicated radio show to tell us that she calmed nighttime coughs by applying Vicks VapoRub to the soles of her children's feet. She then put socks on the …
Will MSM Ease Pain and Swelling in Arthritic Joi…
Arthritis frequently puts people in a terrible double-bind. The medications that are generally used to ease the pain of stiff joints can have risky side effects. People often rely on over-the-counter …
How to Stop Hand Cramps with a Bar of Soap
Have you ever suffered from cramps in the muscles of your hand? In addition to hurting like the dickens, such a cramp can make it nearly impossible to use your hand until the muscle contraction is rel…
Can You Soothe a Burn with Soy Sauce?
What do you do for a kitchen burn? First aid calls for cooling the injured tissue first. Put it in ice water (not plain ice!) or hold it under cold running water from the tap. People have tried many h…
How to Prevent Colds by Taking Cod Liver Oil
With the change in seasons, people are becoming more susceptible to coughs and sneezes. Could taking cod liver oil help them avoid colds or recover more quickly? A History of Cod Liver Oil: Q. I'd li…
How to Ease the Pain of a Jellyfish Sting
There are many home remedies for a jellyfish sting, but medical authorities are skeptical about most of them. Often, there has been little or no research on the effectiveness of a remedy. Some popular…
How to Use Juniper to Fight Arthritis
There are innumerable home remedies reputed to ease the pain of arthritis. One of the perennial favorites is golden raisins soaked in gin. Nobody knows quite how it works, and people have offered a v…
How to Soothe Sunburn with Greek Yogurt
In an ideal world, nobody would ever get a sunburn. We would all exercise prudence and slather on sunscreen if we were going to be outside for any length of time. We would stay inside or under cover i…
Research Vindicates Vicks VapoRub for Foiling Na…
Some people seem oblivious to their gross toenails. They walk around barefoot or in sandals with ugly yellow or even black nails oblivious to bystanders. Their thick, misshapen nails really need help.…
What Is the Economic Benefit of Medical Marijuan…
Medical marijuana may have an unexpected economic benefit in states that have legalized it. An Economic Benefit for Medicare: A new study in the journal Health Affairs shows that in states where medi…
How to Ease a Painful Wasp Sting with Onion
What do you do for a wasp sting? We have heard from many readers who report that putting a freshly cut onion on the sting can ease the pain and swelling. Is there anything to this remedy? The Onion Re…
Are Americans Spending More on Alternative Healt…
Americans are spending their own money on alternative health care. An analysis from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health reports that in 2012 people spent more than $30 billion…
How to Fight Niacin Flush with Apple Pectin
New research suggests that cholesterol may not be the single most important factor leading to heart disease. Nonetheless, it is still relevant in many situations, and doctors will still focus on impro…
How to Stop Your Migraine by Eating Ice Cream
Migraine headaches cause a lot of misery. Although there are medications such as almotriptan (Axert), frovatriptan (Frova), rizatriptan (Maxalt), sumatriptan (Imitrex) or zolmitriptan (Zomig) that can…
How to Cure Swamp Rash with Milk of Magnesia
The ingenuity of our readers always impresses us. We recently heard from a reader who recommended an unusual treatment for a friend. She later had an occasion to use this home remedy herself. Who knew…
How to Use a Banana to Cure a Wart
How do you cure a wart? Doctors can burn, freeze or cut them off, although they often come back. There is a dizzying variety of home remedies used against warts, and most of them have several supporte…
Can Castor Oil Really Help Against Bruising?
Castor oil has been used for thousands of years as a home remedy. The seeds of the castor bean also make one of the deadliest poisons known to man---ricin. Fortunately, ricin is not found in the oil. …
Could Banana Peel Ease Rash from Poison Oak?
Once spring arrives, tiny green shoots start poking up in woodlands and back yards all over America. Some of them are delightful, but others may be less than welcome. Poison ivy and poison oak both st…
Will a Mind-Body Approach Ease Your Back Pain?
Long-lasting lower back pain responds surprisingly well to either mindfulness-based stress reduction or cognitive behavioral therapy. Such a mind-body approach is not usually considered a mainstre…
How to Discourage Mice with Peppermint Oil
Can you keep mice from invading your home? There has been a controversy over this topic lately among readers of The People's Pharmacy. Making sure that these rodents cannot get into your food or leav…
How to Ease Restless Legs Syndrome with Soap Und…
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological condition in which a person feels an irresistible urge to move the legs. The movement temporarily relieves an uncomfortable sensation similar to a tickle…
Acupressure Wristband Is the Secret for Not Snor…
People go to great lengths to stop snoring. Some are silly, like sewing a tennis ball into the back of the pajama top. This is supposed to keep you from lying on your back, a position in which snoring…
Try Coconut Oil on the Skin to Relieve Itchy Ecz…
Eczema is not very well understood. Dermatologists call it "atopic dermatitis," which implies that the red, itchy skin characteristic of eczema is fundamentally a type of allergic reaction. In most ca…
Clear Up Cracks at the Corner of the Mouth with …
Cracks at the corner of the mouth look ugly and feel terrible. Can castor oil help? Q. A year ago I read your newspaper column and discovered a remedy for cracks at the corner of the mouth. I've had c…
Should Breast Cancer Patients Avoid Aluminum Ant…
There is a great deal of confusion about the safety of aluminum-containing antiperspirants when it comes to breast cancer. Most health professionals and patients aren't even aware that there is a cont…
Is Listerine a First Aid Kit in a Bottle?
Some household staples are so versatile that people use them for nearly everything. Where would we be without baking soda and vinegar in the kitchen cupboard and Epsom salts or Vicks VapoRub in the ba…