When You Don’t Want to “Feel the Burn”

Knowing how to treat sunburns can make them a lot
less painful.
Image: Shutterstock

There are some burns that feel good—like when you’ve just done a really great workout and you can tell that your body is changing. But other burns, like sunburns, don’t feel so great. And as much as I would love to think that if I were more careful, they would never happen, I know it’s not true.

It’s not that I don’t think getting burned can’t be avoided, it’s more that I realize that I’m a human being and am, therefore, imperfect. I make mistakes. We all do. Sometimes the sun comes out unexpectedly and I’m miles from any sunscreen. Sometimes my hand slips and touches the edge of a hot pan. Sometime I get burned, and knowing how to deal with that makes the process a whole lot less painful.

I’ve had a few bad sunburns in my life, whether because my sunscreen just wasn’t good enough or because I stupidly forgot to apply it. Those experiences, while they weren’t fun, did teach me a few lessons about treating sunburns. One of the simplest solutions is just to take a few ibuprofen or aspirin. They will reduce inflammation and pain.

Pure aloe vera helps cool and moisturize inflamed skin.
Image: Shutterstock

Topical treatments include aloe vera, cortisone cream, or other cooling agent. Aloe vera can be store-bought in gel form or cut straight off of the plant. Gently apply the gel to your skin and rub with your fingers. Don’t rub it all the way in—instead, leave it a bit gooey to help prevent the skin from getting tight and even more irritated.

Other cooling methods include taking a cool (not cold) bath or shower (no soap, no scrubbing). If you have blisters, go with a bath to avoid popping the blisters with the shower pressure. Air dry or pat yourself down with a towel gently afterwards (don’t rub!). A cold compress can also work wonders on sunburns. Just wet a cloth with cold water and lay it on top of the burn for 20-30 minutes, re-wetting as needed.

When you burn your skin, it can dehydrate you. That makes it even more important to make sure you’re drinking as much water as possible. Aim for 64 oz every single day.

As far as lotion goes, begin applying it after the burn has cooled a bit and is no longer so red. Blisters should be gone by this point, and your skin will begin to heal itself. Use a creamy moisturizer without scent and apply liberally for as long as needed. This will help prevent further irritation and will make the peeling process a bit gentler on your skin.

Interested in home remedies? Here are some options that people have tried over the years:

One more reason to love tea: it can help sunburns heal!
Image: Shutterstock

• Apply Noxzema facial cleanser as soon as you suspect a sunburn, leaving a thin layer of white visible. Apply every 2-8 hours as needed to keep skin moisturized.
• Brew 2-4 teabags in warm water and remove when tea is nearly black in color. Allow liquid to cool to room temperature and then dip a cloth in the tea and gently dab the burn. Suggestion: do it at night, sleep on it, wash off in the morning.
• Apply a cold compress made using skim milk.
• Apply fresh tomato juice to the burn when it is still red but not peeling.
• Dilute vinegar 50-50 with water, soak towels in it, and then drape over the burned area.
• Take an oatmeal or baking soda bath to reduce swelling and itching.
• Mash 3-4 apricots and apply as a salve on the burn. Leave for 15 minutes and then wash off with lukewarm water.

Essential Home Remedies: Mouth

Hello and welcome to my fourth and final entry of the “Essential Home Remedies” four-part series I’ve been working on. I’ve already covered skin (here), stomach (here), and sinuses (here), and today I’ll take a quick look at the mouth. I hope you find some of these remedies helpful! Please remember that I am NOT a licensed medical doctor and these articles’ sole purpose is informational. Make sure to check with a doctor before testing these out.

The old-fashioned remedy of cloves can help kill tooth pain.

Image: Shutterstock

Toothache: It’s not always convenient or even possible to get to a dentist when you have a toothache. There are store-bought remedies available to soothe the pain, but the traditional method of using cloves can work just as well. You can do this in a few ways. To make an antimicrobial clove mouth rinse, steep 10-12 cloves in half a cup of water for 10 minutes. When it is room-temperature, swish a mouthful’s worth around for about 30 seconds. Use the remaining liquid to do one or two more rinses. This both cleans the mouth and reduces pain. A second option is to use clove oil or extract and apply it directly to the affected tooth. Put a few drops of the eugenol or essential clove oil onto a cotton ball and then apply it to the gum line and tooth.

Fever Blisters/Cold Sores: Many people suffer from herpes virus cold sores these days, and unfortunately it’s not something that can be cured completely. But prevention and treatment is possible with the use of L-Iysine, which comes in both ointment and tablet form. Covering active sores up with petroleum jelly will also help them heal faster and keep infection at bay. Real licorice also has an ingredient called glycyrrhizic acid, which has been successful in stopping the cold sore virus from spreading further. Check the ingredients list for licorice candy, and if it has “licorice mass,” that means it’s real and could be helpful in moderate amounts.

Use alum on kanker sores to numb and speed recovery.

Oral Ulcers/Sores (nonviral): These are typically treated with a prescription mouthwash that is made up of Maalox, Benadryl and Xylocaine. But those without a prescription can make do by mixing equal parts of Maalox and Benadryl to create a mouth rinse—just make sure you spit it all out and rinse well. You can also use a Q-Tip or eyedropper to just apply a tiny amount to the affected area. However, my favorite remedy is using granulated Alum, a trick passed down from my mother. Alum can be found in the spice section of the grocery store and is a white powder. Wet your finger and then apply the alum directly to the sore, completely covering it. Let it sit for 2-5 minutes (try not to let it get all over your mouth) and then rinse it out thoroughly. Do your best not to swallow it. It will sting and taste terrible, but it will abate the pain for quite a while and help with healing.

Mint naturally numbs and reduces pain.

Image: Shutterstock

Mouth Pain: Mint is a great option for mouth pain, as it has a natural numbing effect. Chewing mint leaves, mint gum, mint candy, or even drinking mint tea can help reduce pain from sores, burns, and sore throats. It’s a great remedy for kids and adults, as it tastes much better than any medicine you can buy. 

Essential Home Remedies: Sinuses

Welcome to the third part of my “Essential Home Remedies” series of articles. I’ve already talked about skincare (here) and stomach problems (here), and today we’re moving up to the head area to talk about sinuses. Got one of these problems? Check out these awesome remedies:

Cold or Flu: Been there, done that. But I never knew that grapefruit could make a difference. Yep, that delicious pink fruit can help you feel way better in no time. Cut a grapefruit into quarters (don’t peel it), place it in a pot filled with water, and heat it to just under a boil. Stir, adding a tablespoon of honey. Pour the mixture into a mug and drink it as a cup of tea. There is vitamin C and flavonoids in the fruit and rind that will help boost your immune system. Plus, the honey and warmth will make your sore throat feel better.

Fresh grapefruit tea will help boost your immune system and make your throat feel better.
Image: prevention.com

Nasal Congestion: The key to getting rid of nasal congestion is getting out any mucus or pollen that might be clogging it up. This can be done using a nasal saline solution from the store, or with a homemade one. Just dissolve a teaspoon of salt in one cup of water, then use a bulb syringe to squirt the liquid up each nostril. This should provide some instant relief, even if it doesn’t make your cold or allergies go away.

Seasonal Allergies: Itchy eyes, runny noses, and sneezing sure have a way of ruining the beautiful spring weather. While there’s no “cure” for seasonal allergies, sufferers can get some relief by using butterbur supplements three times per day. Researchers in Switzerland found that the butterbur worked just as well as antihistamines but didn’t have the side effect of drowsiness.

As with the previous articles on home remedies, these are just suggestions to consider. Before treating yourself, be sure to consult with your doctor or other licensed health professional.

Essential Home Remedies: Stomach

Last week, I talked about several easy home remedies to treat minor skin ailments like rashes and acne. This week, I’d like to go down that same road but for internal problems instead. When you’ve got a stomachache or suddenly find yourself feeling nauseous, it’s not convenient to make a trip to the store. Keep these items around the house for an all-natural solution to your problems.

Ginger root can calm an upset stomach.
Image: Shutterstock

Nausea: It happens to the best of us: you’re doing fine and then all of a sudden you’re not. You’re nauseous and uncomfortable. No Pepto Bismol to save you? Try sugar—that’s mostly what OTC remedies are made up of, anyway. Have some sugary syrup (like from a can of fruit) or drink some (flat) soda. Ginger and peppermint are also natural stomach settlers, so having a ginger ale, chewing some fresh ginger, or even eating a Peppermint Patty can help.

Diarrhea: No one like to talk about it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. If you’ve got a case of the runs, try making some tea with pomegranate skin in it. Steep about 1 tablespoon in a cup of boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Oak bark works, too, if you boil for 3 minutes then let it steep for 30 minutes. Drink 2 tablespoons 4-6 times per day. Why do these remedies work? They contain tannins, which promote the production of mucus in the stomach lining and protect it from further irritation.

Pomegranate skin tea can help treat diarrhea.
Image: Shutterstock

Food Poisoning: If you’ve got food poisoning, you’ll need something to absorb the toxins. Brew some black tea and make some burned toast. Tannic acid and charcoal (the burned part on the toast) will help soak up those toxins and get you feeling better faster. However, if you have extreme food poisoning, go see the doctor.

Hangover Queasiness: Alcohol drains your body, dehydrates it, and generally makes it unhappy. If you wake up after a night of drinking and feel sick, try drinking a cup of tomato juice with a bit of Tabasco sauce. Sounds suspiciously like a Bloody Mary, I know, but hear me out. The antioxidants in the tomato juice and Tabasco will get your liver going again and supplies your body with much-needed antioxidants to kick-start the recovery process.

Has anyone tried these remedies? I keep ginger tablets on hand for queasiness, and I’ve used sugar to help relieve nausea before. Be sure to let me know if there are any other natural remedies you use for upset stomachs—who knows, maybe I’ll add them onto the list!

Stay tuned for the next part of this series: Sinus and Throat. I’ve got a few more home remedies to share that I think you’ll all appreciate. And with spring in full swing, natural allergy remedies will be ever so useful!

Remember that these are just suggestions to consider. Before treating yourself, be sure to consult with your doctor or other licensed health professional. Be sure to share your natural remedy experiences in the comments below!

Essential Home Remedies: Skin

We live in an age that spoils us with ease of access to medications, remedies, and much more. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not opposed to modern medicine—I’m just a big fan of using natural remedies whenever possible. Humanity got by for thousands of years before medicine as we know it today came along. And sure, some of the old “remedies” did more harm than good, but not all. The base for many of our modern medicines are based on herbal remedies—often just more optimized for the desired effect.

Rash? Try mineral water.

There are lots of ailments our bodies can present us with, from surface problems to internal ones. In this article, I’ll be covering some home remedies for skin problems like rashes, acne, and burns. So before you run to the store for that man-made medicine, try some of these out:

Rashes: European mineral water like San Pellegrino is a great way to get instant relief from itchy rashes, burns, and bumps. The minerals work like anti-inflammatories, so spraying a small amount onto affected areas of the skin can help provide instant relief.

Acne: There are lots of all-natural scrubs and masks that can be used to treat acne, but this is one of the simplest. Use coarse salt and neem oil to scrub (gently!) your face and afterwards use plain yogurt to make a facemask that stays on for 15-30 minutes. Salt is a natural antiseptic and neem oil is an antifungal. And the lactic acid from plain yogurt helps exfoliate skin and clear up skin blemishes.

Bug Bites: Most homes have a regular supply of aspirin, but it’s not usually used for bug bites. Aspirin contains salycilic acid, though, which is the main active ingredient in many acne medications Crushed aspirin mixed with water forms a paste that when applied to irritated skin can help relieve redness and inflammation.

Psoriasis? Eczema? Use olive oil to seal skin.
Image: Shutterstock

Eczema/Psoriasis: Olive oil is a wonderful remedy for outbreaks of psoriasis and eczema. One teaspoon per square inch of skin can help seal skin and prevent it from cracking and drying out. Plus, you won’t have to worry about any added chemicals that might irritate skin further.

Burns: Most of us have burned ourselves at some point in time. Sunburns, curling iron burns, and oven burns all do the same thing to our skin—and it doesn’t feel good. But I bet you didn’t know that burns can be treated with tea! Black and green teas contain phytonutrients, which help reduce inflammation in blood vessels. To treat a burn with tea, just soak a dishrag with cold tea and apply it to the burned skin.

Next time you find yourself in need of a natural skin remedy, try one of these out. Next week I’ll cover home remedies for internal problems, like nausea and hangovers—so be sure to check back for more!

Remember that these are just suggestions to consider. Before treating yourself, be sure to consult with your doctor or other licensed health professional.