Muscle Aches and Remedies Part 2

Epsom Salts

This time-honored remedy may be worth considering a few days after completing a course of cold treatments. Once the pain has started to subside, a sore back of knee may benefit from a hot Epsom salt soak.

Exercise

The last thing you want to think about when your back or joints or muscles are sore is exercise. When something hurts, the tendency is to favor it and avoid moving. In the initial stages of a strain or sprain this makes a lot of sense. Pain keeps you relatively immobile so the body can start recovering.

For decades doctors told patients with lower back complaints to remain horizontal for days or even weeks. But Dutch researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that lying in bed does not speed healing or even relieve symptoms. A group of patients with sciatica who maintained gentle motions associated with normal activities got better just as quickly as those stayed prone for 2 weeks.

If you completely avoid motion you can create a vicious cycle as muscle, ligaments, and tendons start to tighten and atrophy. Australian investigators have discovered that people with back problems often experience up to 30% shrinkage of a deep muscle called the multifidus.

Re-injury becomes much more likely when this muscle weakens. People who performed low-impact strengthening exercises of the multifidus were far less likely to experience recurring back pain.

A qualified physical therapist can tailor appropriate exercises for any injury and teach you how to work the multifidus muscle. Such a carefully supervised exercise program will take your particular problem into account and help maintain critical range of motion.

Herbal Medicine and Its Continuing Popularity

Medical herbalists have been using plants and folk remedies for centuries, the herbal medicines they used were once the predominant means of treating illnesses until the discovery and use of modern synthetic drugs and chemicals. A significant number of modern conventional medicines have their origins in plants; morphine comes from poppies, aspirin from willow bark.

In modern times herbal medicine has been accepted as one of the many complementary therapies, used increasingly by a public who have become wary about the perceived side effects of modern drugs and requiring more "natural" forms of healthcare.

Herbal therapy is based on a holistic approach to healing, seeking to treat the whole person not just the symptoms The herbal therapist builds up a whole picture of the patient's health and lifestyle before offering advice and treatment specifically for their needs. One form of treatment for one patient may be totally different for another suffering from the same ailment. This approach differs from conventional treatments where physicians normally prescribe to cure the symptoms.

Herbs can be used in different ways, taken in teas and infusions or applied as ointments or poultices. They are an effective treatment for a wide variety of ailments including colds, blood disorders, boils, ulcers, toothache, nervous disorders, rheumatism, rashes, catarrh and arthritis.

Medical herbalists, who are trained and have diagnostic skills similar to mainstream physicians, tend to use the whole plant unlike Aromatherapists who use distillations of the essential oils. Many drugs used in conventional medicine owe their existence to plants but they are now synthesised by drug companies making use of only part of the plants properties.

Quite often practitioners of herbal medicine work in conjunction with other types of practitioners or refer patients to other specialists for different or complementary treatment.

How to Prevent and Treat Diabetes With Natural Medicine - Home Remedies For Diabetes

Diabetes is spreading like an untamed fire. Most people are coming under its grip. Most people in US are facing this problem. It's becoming a worldwide problem and several measures are taken to eradicate this deadly disease. The advent of junk food culture and erratic eating habits of people led them to the claws of diabetes. Diet plays an important role in diabetes.

Usually when insulin in our body fails to control the blood sugar levels, we suffer from diabetes. They are usually caused due to aging. Especially people at the age group of 40s and above faces this problem while sometimes they are extremely genetic. In order to get rid of them, you can follow some home remedies.

How To Prevent And Treat Diabetes With Natural Medicines?

. Richly colored vegetables and fruits can be consumed more in order to prevent and treat diabetes. Food having high fiber content such as oats and cereals are extremely beneficial for diabetic. You can also have bitter gourd, which is touted to be highly effective. You can mix fenugreek seeds with milk in order to treat this problem.This is how to prevent and treat diabetes with natural medicine.

. Exercise regularly in order to maintain the blood sugar levels in your body. Cardio exercises like running, swimming, walking, hiking and aerobics are especially recommended by doctors to discard this deadly disease. Drinking enough water is always advisable before and after your workouts. You should gulp down at least 10-12 glasses of water everyday in order to stay healthy.This can be the effective manner of how to prevent and treat diabetes with natural medicine.

. Complete avoidance of sugar and junk food can prevent and treat diabetes. You should never consume sugar-based products like soft drinks and sweets if you are suffering from this disease as it increases the blood glucose level in your body.

Toddler Cold Medicine - Home Remedies in the Cabinet

One of the many ways parents can limit toxins being ingested in their children is to use home remedies as toddler cold medicine. Professionals advise that parents minimize use of over-the-counter medicines for their children unless they are truly needed.

Here are a some natural remedies to use when your children have a soar throat and cough due to a common cold or flu.

For Common Cold and Congestion

(Check with your nutritionist on dosage for a child younger then toddler age)

Avoid mucus producing foods

(Dairy products, red meat, oats and gluten containing grains. Bananas and Soya products)

Ginger Lemon Tea: To soothe mucus membranes

2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice in one cup of hot water. Add 1 teaspoon of juiced ginger.

Let steep for 1-2 minutes then strain to remove ginger. Take as needed.

Fresh ginger: To help decongest sinus cavities

1/2 teaspoon juiced ginger, given in a spoon with Manuka raw honey. 2 times daily

Propolis syrup or lozenges: Anti-viral.

Follow directions on the box

Echinacea syrup or tincture: Boosts immunity.

0.5ml 3 times a day until symptoms are better for a maximum of 10 days

Honey garlic vinegar mixture: anti-viral, anti-bacterial

1 teaspoon Manuka raw honey with a bit of crushed garlic and apple cider vinegar. 2 times daily

Eucalyptus oil: To soothe mucus membranes.

Put 2-3 drops on your child's pillow at bedtime, on his t-shirt during the day or in a humidifier.

Salt water nasal spray: to clear out the sinus passages

Can be purchased from the pharmacy; administer as needed

Topical Vitamin E: for older children, to soften and heal the nose's mucous membranes and blood vessels Squeeze the contents of a vitamin E capsule into the nostrils at bedtime

For Cough

Avoid mucus producing foods

(Dairy products, red meat, oats and gluten containing grains, bananas, soya products)

Honey garlic vinegar mixture (as above)

Eucalyptus oil (as above)

Zinc lozenges: to boost immunity; 1/4 tablet for toddler.

For an older child follow instructions on the packaging or ask your pharmacist

Vitamin C: to boost immunity

Start with 500mg 2 times a day (reduce if child gets diarrhea)

Magnesium: to ease tightness in the chest

Or obtain by consuming more magnesium-rich foods such as almonds or

From supervised supplementation if necessary (consult your nutritionist)

If you do use over counter medicines please try and also use the above suggestions. This will help limit the amount of over counter medicine you will have to give to your child per day until their cold symptoms subside. For example: Save the over the counter medicine for night time to get a good night sleep.

A Baby Lymphatic Massage

The Benefits

A Lymphatic massage stimulates the lymphatic system, which runs through the entire body and is a natural draining system that filters out unwelcome molecules and attacks microbes. During illness a lymphatic massage assists in boosting a child's immunity and speed up his recovery.

How to Administer

1. Use a natural oil such as almond oil, or vitamin E oil (especially good for children with Eczema)

2. Start at the feet and work up. Use short, firm strokes. It is important to work upwards towards the heart, as this is what drains the lymph nodes.

3. Do twice a day, 20 minutes, working all the way up to the throat. Just before bedtime is highly recommended. If your child has a soar throat he may complain at this time that it hurts him, like a scratchy feeling. Use a more gentle stroke at this time, but try and complete the procedure for maximum benefit.

Giving your baby a lymphatic massage is a simple task with high reward. Many parents continue to administer this massage even after their child is well because of it's comforting, relaxing effects for parent and child. It is also a great replacement for a bath before before bedtime to help prepare your child for sleep mode.

These home remedies are just as effective, if not more, then the average over the counter cold medicine. In conjunction with a lymphatic massage, make no mistake this combination has a very powerful effect.