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Category Archives: Holistic Home Remedies
Wow. I Think I Just Stopped Croup Dead in Its Tracks…Naturally.
A couple days before my daughter’s birthday, she developed croup again. Good timing, little Apple! This time, the ringing, seal-like cough was unmistakable. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, then you know I’m an old hand at croup, as this is my 7th or 8th tour of duty. I’ve lost count of all the times I’ve sat in the bathroom holding her, with the hot shower running and the steam curling up all around us, fogging up the mirror. Looking back, here are all my many posts on croup and coughs and croupy coughs, and the list … Continue reading
Posted in Aromatherapy, Baby & Child Care, Holistic Home Remedies, Young Children
Tagged cough in children, cough remedies, cough remedies for toddlers, cough treatment, home remedies for cough, natural cough remedies, natural remedies for, natural treatment, peppermint essential oil, rosemary essential oil, toddler cough
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Natural Remedies for Sore Throats: Home Remedies Submitted by My Readers
In my post last week, I complained of having thrown the kitchen sink at my 4-day-old sore throat, and asked for you to submit remedies that I hadn’t already captured. Well, I had no idea how big the kitchen sink really was! I got tons of remedies from both Facebook “Likers” and blog comments, and as promised, I have compiled and collected all of them below. Boy, did I learn a lot. I hope you will too! PS – My sore throat lasted 9 days total. What ended up helping get rid of it was a suggestion from one of … Continue reading
Posted in Herbal Remedies, Herbs, Holistic Home Remedies
Tagged apple cider vinegar, balm, cough syrup, gargle, garlic, home remedies, honey, lemon, natural remedy, recipe, sore throat, vapor rub
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10 Things You Should Know about Raw Local Honey…and Why I’m Suddenly Thinking about Beekeeping
I recently learned that my co-worker and friend, Larry Bunka, keeps bees in his backyard. His kids finance their annual class trips through the sales of the honey his bees produce, and since he lives within 1.5 miles of me, his honey is truly “local” to us…and so, I bugged and begged and pleaded with him to bring in a few jars and sell them to me. He did, and I bought two jars off of him for $10. Wrapped around the jars was this very sweet, charming, and educational writeup about “Neighborhood Honey.” I asked Larry for permission to … Continue reading
I’m collecting natural home remedies for sore throats. Got any to share?
Today is the 4th day I’ve woken up with a lump in my throat. It hurts so badly to swallow, I find myself collecting large pools of saliva in my mouth throughout the day just to avoid having to do it. Eww, that’s gross, I know. And probably too much information. I’ve also tried every natural remedy that I know of, and I still haven’t beaten it. It seems to be worse at night, before I go to sleep. But when it gets the absolute worst is when I first wake up in the morning…just thinking about the pain in … Continue reading
An Idea for a Delicious Cold/Cough Remedy: Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate?
As I mentioned earlier this week, my little girl is coughing again, and again I am attempting to expand my holistic medicine cabinet to find remedies to ease her symptoms. (There are only so many times a 20-month-old will agree to taking elderberry syrup before balking – and unfortunately, I think we have reached that limit). So I’ve been thinking, what about a nice Mexican hot chocolate as a cold remedy? I know, it sounds crazy. And I haven’t actually tried it yet. But hear me out for a second: it MIGHT work because a) the heat of the drink … Continue reading
Posted in Colds/Flu, Coughs, Herbal Remedies, Holistic Home Remedies
Tagged cold, cough, mexican hot chocolate, natural remedies, remedy, spicy hot chocolate, vegan recipe
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Natural Remedies for UTIs (Bladder Infections)
Yesterday, I had to explain to a male co-worker why women get urinary tract infections (aka bladder infections or “UTIs”) more often than men. “Ahem,” I stuttered, “Not sure how to put this…especially in an open cubicle workspace…but it has to do with the – the – the differences in our, um, well, our anatomies.” “Oh,” he said. Then, “OH!” I could see the light bulb shining brightly over his head. “Okay, say no more.” I started chuckling a bit to myself, and then a light bulb came on over my head as well. It hit me that this would … Continue reading
Posted in Herbal Remedies, Herbs, Holistic Home Remedies, Women's Health
Tagged acute, arbutin, arctostaphylos, bearberry, berberine, bladder infection, blueberry, cranberry, encyclopedia natural medicine, Goldenseal, herbal remedies, home remedies, hydrastis canadensis, murray, natural remedies, pizzorno, prevent, urinary tract infection, uti, uva ursi
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A Holistic Mama’s Confession: I’m Tempted to Take Antibiotics
I’ve had a cough since before Thanksgiving (11/24/11). My little girl got sick first, presenting classic croup symptoms on the Monday before T-Day, and not surprisingly, I followed soon after (there are only so many times you can withstand your baby coughing in your face before your immune system just throws in the towel). She got better within a week, but I went the other way. It was probably the combination of having whatever she had, plus not being able to rest because I had to take care of her. So here we are, it’s Tuesday, 12/6/11, and I’m still … Continue reading
One Year Ago Today, I Started This Blog. I guess it’s my Blog-o-versary?
Exactly a year ago today, I sat down to write my inaugural blog post on Holistic Mamas without really having a clear view of what I was hoping to accomplish. I think I just wanted to share the successes I’d had in using natural remedies to heal my 3-month old daughter’s reflux (in case there were other Moms also looking for a way out of using Zantac or Ranitidine on their precious babes). Today, as I sit down to write the blog’s 200th post, I have a much clearer vision of what I want to do with Holistic Mamas. In … Continue reading
Natural Home Remedies for “Colicky” (aka, Flatulent) Adults
This past weekend, we celebrated my niece’s 2-year-old birthday. We have this family tradition for birthdays, and it involves two things: 1) A family portrait at Sears; and 2) ice cream cake. Not just any old ice cream cake, it HAS to be ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins. We fulfilled both family traditions, but I became rather “colicky” as a result. When I say, “colicky,” I just mean that my stomach got extremely upset and put on a protest rally. It erupted. Exploded. As in, if I were a baby, I’d probably have been crying uncontrollably and inconsolably. See, I’m … Continue reading
Natural Remedies for Grief
I had never lost anyone close to me until I lost my BFF, Christine. Actually, I take that back – I lost my grandfather in November 2004, but that felt different because a) he had been ill for quite some time; b) he was 90 years old and had lived a long and full life; and c) I had a chance to say goodbye. Yes, I did mourn him, but his death did not throw me into a state of shock and grief the way Christine’s did. Christine was healthy, 38 years old, and left suddenly and unexpectedly. There was … Continue reading
Posted in Aromatherapy, Flower Essences, Herbs, Holistic Home Remedies, Natural Health Disciplines
Tagged aromatherapy, clematis, depression, essential oils, flower essences, grief, home cures for, home remedies for, homeopathy, ignatia, lemon balm, natural cures for, natural remedies for, neroli, rescue remedy, shock, star of bethlehem, sweet chestnut
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