Old Home Remedies

Old home remedies were part of daily life for hundreds of years and they still work today, making them an alternative to chemical-filled synthetic treatments. Though they take longer to work and are less potent than lab-created drugs, natural cures have minimal to no side effects, are readily available and are unlikely to cause internal damage. Much smarter than scientists, Mother Nature gave human beings everything they need to survive, from sun block to arthritis.

Sunburn Surprises

The many natural remedies for sunburn are sure to surprise you, as you can use a variety of Earth grown goodies to prevent, heal and soothe this painful problem. To prevent sunburn, cover your exposed skin in Shea butter, mud or wrap leaves around your appendages. For soothing sunburn on skin that is not broken, you have the option of choosing from many remedies, including:

• Aloe
• Buttermilk
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Ice or cold water
• Potatoes
• Ground Yarrow
• Peppermint Oil  
• Witch Hazel
• Purple Coneflower
• Chickweed or Elder Flowers

If you have black or green tea bags, chamomile, baking soda, Epsom salt, lavender or St. John's Wort available, you can also use them to help heal and soothe your sunburn. 

Old Home Remedies for the Tummy

When living on the run, with no water filtration system and eating foods not in your normal diet, you are likely to run into some tummy trouble. However, old home remedies, courtesy of Mother Nature, can help relieve a number of digestion discomforts. Powdered carob is good for treating indigestion while peppermint, ginger and chamomile all help to alleviate nausea.

Sucking on a raw lemon can also help an upset stomach, as well as deep breathing and relaxation techniques if your belly aches from nerves, stress or anxiety.

Staying hydrated, consuming fruits and vegetables and avoiding sweets, alcohol and caffeine, which should not be difficult given the circumstances, you can prevent unnecessary stomach woes.

Wound Infection

To clean a wound and prevent infection, you have a number of options, though you may not like all of these old home remedies. A few simple basics should keep you safe, such as flushing the wound with plenty of water, keeping it covered and cleaning it with honey, iodine, vinegar or alcohol once a scab forms.

Should an infection occur, you need to drink plenty of water and keep a warm compress on the wound for 30 minutes, changing it every time it cools. You need to do this three to four times a day, if not more, to ensure the best results. 

In addition to these folk remedies, you may also find that you need to drain the infected wound, urinate on it or expose it to flies and then allow maggots to grow in it, as they eat the dead tissue. Once pain intensifies and your blood is bright red, you need to remove the maggots by repeatedly flushing them out and checking the wound to ensure it is free from these bugs.

Although none of these sound appealing, they are all proven ways to disinfect a wound and prevent an infection from getting worse.

You can find many more old home remedies if you do not mind taking the time to look but these are some good survival ones to get you started. When in a crisis, the sun, injuries and digestion problems are among the most likely to occur, especially in the beginning when so much change and chaos is taking place. However, knowing how to deal with these issues is key to maintaining your health and increasing your odds of surviving, which means you should not worry so much, as you already have an advantage.

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