home remedies for eyes

Your eyes are so important.  They are the windows to your soul, your memory photographer, your avenue to many pleasureable activities such as reading, watching movies, taking in a gorgeous setting.  Eyesight is something to be grateful for and to take good care of.

The following home remedies for eyes represents a list that is no means complete.  However, these suggestions should prove safe and effective for minor eye problems and irritations.

Home Remedies for Eyes

Bags Under the Eyes - The most common causes of having undereye baggage are:  water retention; stress; lack of sleep.  To soothe and alleviate this problem, relax with moistened tea bags on the eyes for 15 or 20 minutes.  The regular black tea type of bags, like orange pekoe, will do fine.

Another way to relax the eyes and draw out the bags to make a poultice of grated potatoe, apple, papaya leaves, cucumber or alfalfa.  Again, just lay back, apply to your closed eyes and let the poutice do its work.

Conjunctivitis can be cured by eating goat milk yogurt and using a yogurt poultice daily on the eyes to destroy infectious bacteria.

Pink Eye can be healed fast with a grated apple poultice.  Leave it on for 20 minutes for quick relief.  Repeat daily if necessary.

Chapped Eyelids can be treated by gently rubbing with a cottonball soaked with witch hazel.

You can reduce the swelling and bruising of a black eye by mixing equal parts of lard and salt into a poutice.  This will stimulate the circulation, which aids the body in eliminating dead and buised cells.

Relieve and soothe tired eyes with a cottonball dipped in witch hazel or rosemary tea.  Place on eyelids for 10 - 15 minutes.  As an alternative, you can use a grated apple poutice.

Improve night blindness with watercress.  Eat in a salad daily or if preferred, drink a tea made out of the fresh herb.  Watercress is very rich in many vitamins and minerals that help restore night vision.  Eating 2 or 3 carrots a day or drinking 4 ounces of carrot juice will also help.

Bloodshot Eyes are typically a sign of a lack of high enough vitamin B levels, unless you've been out in the wind.  Wind exposure can bloodshot the eyes and cause them to feel uncomfortable.  If you've not been exposed to wind, try eating sprouted grains, sunflower seeds and other foods that are rich in B-complex vitamins.

If you are unfortunate enough to suffer from sunburned eyelids, you can find some relief by applying a grated apple poultice and drinking lemon juice mixed into a glass water.

Hope this list of Home Remedies for Eyes helps you next time you need some quick eye relief.

Home Remedies for Rheumatoid Arthritis

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful and potentially disabling disease.  When joint cartilage wears out or the lubricating membrane becomes inflamed, the trouble begins.

Many people take prescription drugs to reduce the inflammation and pain but at the time of this posting, there is no cure.  There are however, some natural treatments and home remedies that may help without using chemicals, or may offer more comfort in addition to the benefit of medication.   

If you decide to try homeopathic methods while taking your prescription drugs, make certain to check with your doctor or pharmacist before doing so.  Using them together can be dangerous.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms

Rheumatoid arthritis can be progressive but the common symptoms include swollen, stiff, red and painful joints.  It can affect any or all of the joints in the body.

While either sex may be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, there are more women than men that have it.  Occasionally, younger people may suffer this unfortunate disease, as well.

If the disease continues to progress, scar tissue can form in the joints and aggravate symptoms.

Home Remedies and Natural Treatments

for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Watch your weight.  According to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Preventing Disease, a mere 10 pounds overweight can put approximately 60 pounds of stress on your knees.  If your knee joints are effected by any type of arthritis, consider a safe method of getting your body to a healthy weight.  You'll not only feel better, you'll relief the stress on your joints.

Increase your antioxidants.  Inflamed arthritic joints release free radicals, which in turn, make the arthritis worse.  Slow down things down by ensuring that you are getting adequate amounts of Vitamin C and other antioxidants, which will reduce the harm that the free radical cells are doing.

Get enough Omega-3's.  Omega-3 fatty acids can help lower your risk of getting rheumatoid arthritis in the first place.  Choose foods that are high in Omega-3, such as the ones listed below.  The fish should be baked or broiled.

• Salmon
  
• Anchovies
• Swordfish
• Mackeral
• Herring
• Sardines
• Bluefish
• Canned albacore tuna
• Rainbow trout

Stay limber.  Stretch your body without overdoing it.  Don't over-extend your muscles, or you'll hurt yourself.  Combine stretching with low impact exercising  and you'll be doing a lot to help your joints and reduce your symptoms.  If you are able to comfortably walk, a long walk can be your exercise.

Lower the acid in your body.  Rheumatoid arthritis can be caused by acidosis.  In other words, too much acid in your system.  It can settle into your bones and interfere with cortisone production.  Eat cherries and fresh string beans or drink the juices.  If you decide on the cherries, eat or drink often every day, but only for four days.  Don't ingest any for four more days before starting again -  Take for 4 days, stop taking for 4 days, then repeat the cycle.

If you prefer, or wish to increase your efforts, eat raw, baked or boiled potatoes and turnip - without anything on them - no butter, sour cream, salt, etc.

Pain Relief for Rheumatoid Arthritis

To ease arthritic pain, make a tea of 1/2 teaspoon of either rosemary, comfrey or nettles to one cup of boiling water.

Sage is good for arthritis and rheumatism, with white sage being the preferred type.  Put 1 ounce of sage in 1 1/2 pints of water and simmer for 20 minutes.  When you need some relief from the pain, drink 1/2 cup of the tea.

Applying cod liver oil to your joints on a daily basis helps to relax and strengthen them and should reduce the 'popping'.

Corn silk is another good tea for people with rheumatoid arthritis.  It needs to be fresh silk, about 1 teaspoon to a cup of boiling water.  Drink when in need of pain relief.

If you have parsley in your garden, why not use to make this pain relieving tea?  Just steep 1 cup of packed parsley in a cup of boiling water for 15 minutes.  When it's done, strain and refrigerate, drinking a half cup at a time when needed.

Use the water from boiled potatoes to soak hands and feet.  This will help relieve the stiffness from joints plagued with rheumatoid arthritis.

Other Herbs That Help

Alfalfa - eat fresh sprouts, take the tablets or drink 2-3 cups of daily of the tea using 1 teaspoon to a cup of water.

Alehoof (ground ivy) - crush the leaves to put on swollen joints.  This will help deal with the pain and acidosis.

Wintergreen - use the oil to rub away the stiffness of rheumatoid arthritis.

Home Remedies for Hives - Quick Tips

Sometimes, you just want to look something up fast, especially when you're suffering.  That's what the Quick Tips posts are for.  This particular post about home remedies for hives is meant to provide a quick reference to anyone who needs it.  When you are suffering from something this itchy and uncomfortable, you want to heal as quickly as possible but mostly, you want RELIEF!

Quick Tips 

Home Remedies for Hives

Cream of tartar can help sooth hives.  Just mix with a little water to make a paste and apply to reddened marks on the skin.

Cleanse the blood and bring circulation back to normal by drinking sassafras tea in place of water.  This should help to speed the healing of hives.

Witch hazel is good for pretty much any skin irritation.  Apply to hives for soothing relief.

Additional Tips

If you have the time, there are some more home remedies for hives in this video.  It promotes using chamomile and nettle teas.  I have not tried these remedies, so can't vouch for them.  If you do and find them effective, please let us know.

Home Remedies for Boils

I've never had the experience myself but I have a sibling who had a boil when she was a child. Considering she had to lay on her stomach to avoid the pain of pressure on the boil located on her backside, I figured it must be unpleasant to have such a thing. For that reason, I thought a post on home remedies for boils seemed like a good idea.


Of course, as with anything, it's a good idea to think about how your diet may be contributing to what ails you. Chances are that a change of diet would help prevent another boil and help to heal the one you have now even faster.


If you do have a boil, I hope at least one of these home remedies helps you.

Home Remedies for Boils

Birch Tree Bark Tea

Make a tea by putting 1 cup of birch bark into 1 quart of boiling water. Boil the mixture together for a few minutes, then cool and strain. Drink this tea throughout the day instead of drinking water. Continue until the condition improves.

Garlic Poultice

In case you missed the last posting, it was called, How to Make a Poultice. You can see how to go about it by clicking the title link in the preceding sentence.

You can draw the boil to a head by applying a chopped garlic poultice. All you need is some fresh garlic, chop it up and make your poultice. Change when poultice has dried and apply a fresh one. Repeat until the swelling has been drawn out. It is not recommended that you lance the boil as you invite the possibility of infection.

Make Your Own Capsules

Mix together equal parts of the following and put into #00 capsules. I always like to advise people to make sure that they are not allergic to any of these ingredients before taking.

• cayenne peper
• powdered lecithin
• butcher's broom
• apple pectin

Taking 2 of these daily with a multi vitamin B will work to improve the circulation and flush toxins from the body.

Plantain Leaf

Take one plantain leaf and hold under running hot water. Crush the leaf until it goes limp and place over the boil. Plantain is an astrigent.

Heartsease Pack

Hearts Ease is actually wild pansy. You'll need to grind it up before boiling. Let it cool to warm, then put it on the boil and bandage. Leave on overnight to draw the boil.

Bacon Pack

A small piece of fatty bacon can help bring your boil to a head. Just apply it to the inflammation, bandage and leave on overnight.

Easy Parsley Pack

This is one of the easiest home remedies for boils. Just crush a handful of fresh parsley and put into a cheesecloth. Apply it to the boil and wrap with a hot cloth. Leave it on for 15 minutes, then put a fresh pack on and repeat the process.

Good luck, hope these home remedies for boils contribute to your healing.

How to Make a Poultice

Some of the articles that you will read here on Natural Treatments, will include the use of poultices. For that reason, I thought it was a good idea to do a post on how to make a poultice so that you can take advantage of some of the home remedies referred to on this site.

Poultices are great for drawing out infections and that is what they are best known for. They are useful for other maladies, as well, such as:

• to reduce the pain and swelling associated with sprains, ruptures and broken bones
• aid in the drawing together of cuts
• to help heal broken bones and bruises
• easing sore muscles
  

It is best to use fresh, organic herbs, vegetables, fruit or leaves for making up your poultices. Which you use will depend on which home remedy you are following. You will need to grate, chop or crush before putting into a clean muslin or cotton cloth. Again, go by the directions. If you do not have access to fresh materials, you can use dried. Just soften the ingredients with some boiling water before putting into your cloth.

If you have a real emergency and have no woven cloth, use whatever you have to resort to, even if it is a paper towel (white). Do not leave these on the skin for more than 10 or 15 minutes.

A poultice should be slightly damp. Change it either when it dries or approximately every 3 to 5 hours. With each change, ensure that you use a clean cloth to hold the poultice mixture.

Poultices can be used warmed up in the oven or microwave or at room temperature. They are versatile enough that you can also freeze them and use in situations where you want a cold poutice.

About the video below - I don't know the company or people in this video but if you watch it all the way through, you will see the process of how to make a poultice. Enjoy.

Natural Home Remedies for Coughs

Apple cider vinegar is great for so many things, including as a base for natural home remedies for coughs.

As you'll see in the video below, this recipe is super easy. Just stir together 1/2 teaspoon each of apple cider vinegar and honey. That's it, that's all.

This simple yet effective solution for coughs is quick, easy and inexpensive. Best of all, natural home remedies for coughs are...well, natural. That's what we're all here for, isn't it. Enjoy the soothing results and remember - there are no side effects to worry about unless you are allergic to honey.

Wishing you much good health!