Mama Rika's Top 25 Natural Remedies Part 2

The post for part 1 can be found here. The same disclaimer applies to this post as applied to part 1. In case you were wondering...I was going to do this all in alphabetical order, but realized I forgot a few, so that is why it is not in order. :)

Ginger can be very soothing for upset stomaches and helpful against carsickness and can be found in things we all like to eat. Ginger snaps, gingerbread, and ginger ale to name a few. However, read the ingredient labels because some of these products actually contain NO ginger! You can also get ginger as a powder (spice), in capsules and as a tea. My children and I are all prone to carsickness, so I like to take ginger snack items with us. I have found that we are more likely to get carsick if we have little in our bellies, so I try to make sure we always eat well before traveling.

Honey Lemon Tea is not only a tasty, comforting drink, it feels really good on sore throats. It is also awesome for kids with croupy cough! (Don’t give honey to kids under 1 because they don’t have the proper enzymes to digest it.) You can make the tea by getting a mug and squeezing in about a half a lemon. Add a teaspoonful of honey. Pour in warm, but not quite hot, water to fill the cup. Stir and taste test. Add more honey if needed.

Milk and Bread Poultices are very useful in drawing out slivers and stickers from the skin. {This one I learned from my MIL who grew up on a farm.} Simply take a pinch of bread and a couple drops of milk. Squeeze any excess milk out of the bread and apply it to the sore with a band-aid. Leave it on overnight and then try to get the sliver out in the morning when the skin is nice and soft.

Mineral Supplements are always good to have on hand for growing pains, cramps, and calming. I like Peter Gillham’s Natural Calm best. It mixes easily with water and the raspberry-lemon flavor tastes fine. Kids don’t mind it.

Molasses Milk should be made with blackstrap molasses for best results. Blackstrap molasses (available at health food stores) is a great “girl tonic” since it is rich in iron, calcium ant potassium. It is good to drink anytime, but especially during PMS time. Make it by pouring a glass of milk (cow, rice, soy or almond is fine) and drizzling in about 1 or more TBS of molasses as you whisk the drink with a fork.

Nerve Tonic comes in a tiny white pill from the company Hylands. Hylands is a homeopathic company whose products are without side effects. Nerve tonic is very mild and can be given in small quantities to small children. It is helpful for when you just can’t fall asleep at night or when a kid is in a bit of a panic after having received an injury of some sort. It has a very calming effect. It has a very sweet taste and just melts on your tongue.

No Milk Products is a rule we use when someone has a cold. Milk tends to be very mucous forming and who needs that when you are going through the tissues like crazy already!

Cayenne Tincture is something I try to keep on hand in the fridge. We have used cayenne tincture to successfully stop bleeding noses. Here’s what we do. Put a few drops into about ½ to 1 oz of water. Have a piece of plain bread right next to the cup. Have the child gulp down the drink as fast as possible and then quickly eat the piece of bread. Why? Cayenne is hot! We came up with this method for my oldest child who got nose bleeds frequently. This is the same child that can not even stand the “heat” from black pepper. He would willing take this treatment, though, because he knew it worked when he couldn’t get the blood flow to stop.

Cayenne Pepper in powder form can be poured directly onto a bleeding wound to stop the bleeding. This cauterizes it right away. We don’t do this every time someone bleeds. This is only used when we can’t get the bleeding to stop. At the risk of sounding completely careless, I shall share a story of my own ineptness. {Warning! Blood story ahead! Faint of heart should not read!} I was trying to pull up the edge of a can that I had just opened with the can opener and decided to use my fingers rather than grab an instrument of some sort to assist me. Needless to say, I managed to slice open my pointer finger on the edge of the can. I quickly grabbed hold of my finger with my other hand because I realized immediately that I had done a stupid thing. I held on tightly and poured water over it, then let go to see what the damage looked like. Bad idea. Blood gushed forth and kept gushing and gushing. I had someone grab the cayenne pepper for me and I covered my would liberally with the red powder. Results were nearly instantaneous. No more blood gushing. I bandaged it up and allowed the healing to begin!

There's the end of part two. As always, please feel free to share your ideas by posting a comment. Part three will be coming along in about a week. Feel free to email this post to a friend, and/or subscribe to my blog for more like this.