Treating summer ailments doesn’t have
to be expensive – or complicated. Stock up on everyday items to feel better all
season.
1. Soothe a sunburn: Vinegar
Plain white vinegar helps ease the pain and
itch of a recent burn, and may also prevent blisters from forming.
Use it! If the burn is on your face, soak a
cotton ball in vinegar and dab onto affected areas. If it’s on a larger part of
your body, use a washcloth or paper towel and cover your skin for 15 minutes.
2. Fade sun or age spots: Lemon juice
The citric acid in a lemon helps dissolve
dead skin cells, exposing fresh skin underneath. Lemons also contain vitamin c,
an antioxidant that protects the skin from future damage.
Lemon
juice
Use it! Cut the fruit in half and squeeze
out the juice. Dab on skin with a cotton swab and leave on for 1 to 2 minutes
before rinsing. Use this remedy before bed, but not in the morning (citrus
contains a compound that can cause darkening when exposed to sunlight).
3. Relieve an itchy bug bite: Bananas
The inside white part of a banana peel
helps moisturize and calm irritation.
Bananas
Use it! Apply the inside of the peel
directly to the bite for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Calm swollen skin: Green tea bags
The tannins and caffeine in tea bags help
reduce swelling. Green tea works best because it also contains EGCG, an
anti-inflammatory compound.
Use it! Put used tea bags in the fridge for
30 minutes, and then place on swelling.
Bonus benefits have a small paper cut or
scrape? Clean it thoroughly, and then put a tea bag directly on the cut,
pressing gently for 5 minutes. The tannins in tea help clot the blood.
5. Prevent a poison ivy rash: Rubbing alcohol
Before you go hiking, prepare a bottle of
water and rubbing alcohol. The “poison” that causes the painful rash is oil
called Urushiol, and rubbing alcohol helps keep it from spreading into a
full-blown rash.
Use it! Put two parts water and one part
70% rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. Spritz on skin that might have been
exposed to the itch-inducing ivy quickly after exposure, and then let air-dry.
6. Get rid of warts: Duct tape
The glue in the duct tape softens the wart,
so you’ll be able to remove the tissue more easily. In fact, one study found
that duct tape is more effective at removing warts than cry therapy, which
involves freezing off the wart in a doctor’s office.
Use it! Cover the wart with duct tape for
six days, then remove the tape and soak the wart in warm water for about 15
minutes. Gently rub the wart with an emery board or pumice stone and leave it
uncovered overnight. Repeat the six-day cycle if the wart doesn’t come off.
7. Smooth cracked heels: Papaya
This tropical fruit has enzymes that help
smooth and remove rough skin.
Papaya
Use it! Mash up chunks of papaya in a large
bowl or bucket. Rest your feet in it for 30 minutes, then rinse and apply
moisturizing lotion.
8. Heal dry, chapped lips: olive oil
Olive oil is a great source of moisture
because it contains omega-3 fatty acids, which cells easily absorb.
Germ alert you’re more likely to
catch a wart-causing virus in the summer due to walking around barefoot in pool
areas.
Use it! Dab a little on your lips every few
hours until they feel smooth again.
9. Whiten yellowed nails: Hydrogen peroxide
This natural compound can whiten your
nails.
Hydrogen
peroxide
Use it! Mix 1 tbsp 3% hydrogen peroxide
with 2 tbsp baking soda. Soak a cotton ball in the mixture and apply to nails.
Repeat daily until the yellow color goes away, which can sometimes take a week
or more?
10. Repair damaged hair: Avocado
The healthy fats in this fruit can help
strengthen and nourish hair that’s broken due to sun and chlorine damage.
Use it! Mash up a ripe avocado and apply it
as a prewash treatment. Leave in for 30 minutes, then rinse and shampoo.
Find more home remedies in the tablet
editions of this issue. Go to my.womansday.com to subscribe.
Berry benefit: Another good reason to munch
on strawberries: The fibers act as a surface cleanser to remove bacteria from
your teeth.
11. Remove stains from teeth: Strawberries and baking soda
Strawberries contain malic acid, an
astringent used in whitening toothpastes to remove surface stains.
Strawberries
Use it! Mash 1 strawberry with 1 tsp baking
soda. Brush onto your teeth and leave for 2 minutes, then brush with regular
toothpaste after. Use this whitening method no more than once or twice a week
(more frequent applications could damage your enamel).
12. Quell motion sickness: Ginger candy or tea
The next time you feel nauseated; pop a
piece of ginger candy. Studies have found that ginger can help combat nausea –
experts think it works to calm the neurotransmitters in your gastrointestinal
tract responsible for that woozy feeling.
Ginger
candy
Use it! Sip on ginger tea, lick a ginger
lollipop or munch on crystallized ginger (dried ginger with a bit of sugar)
from the grocery store.
13. Treat irritated skin: Aloe Vera
Aloe contains magnesium lactate, a natural
antihistamine that quells the itching you often experience as sunburn begins to
heal.
Aloe
Vera
Use it! Snap one of the plant’s leaves – or
squeeze the gel out of a bottle (you can buy at a drugstore) – and let the gel
drip onto your burned skin. Rub a thin layer over the affected area. You can
apply as often as needed until the burn heals.
14. Stop a sore throat and a stuffy nose: Salt water
A saline solution (salt and water) helps
soothe inflamed tissues in the throat and also loosens mucus, which helps flush
out irritants like allergens and bacteria. One study found that gargling with
salt water three times a day reduced respiratory infections up to 40%.
Use it! Dissolve ½ tsp table salt in 8 oz
warm water and gargle at least three times a day.
