Essential Remedies

A cold sore is a small but painful liquid filled blister that you will most commonly find on your lip, gums or the roof of your mouth.

They are caused by the virus, Herpes Simplex and they are contagious. Everyone is different but in some cases they can be painful and the area where they are festering may become painful a week or so before they actually appear. Some people confuse cold sores with canker sores.

The canker sores are not contagious but they can be painful as well. You will find cankers in the soft tissue of the mouth like on the tongue and walls of the mouth.

There are natural treatments that you can use to treat these cold sores. Here are some of the most popular treatments available. Lysine, is an amino acid that actually comes from the food you eat or by supplements because the body does not naturally produce it. It is used in making proteins which help create a antibody used to fight off infection. Foods that contain Lysine are red meat, eggs, cheese, fish and wheat germ. Taking Lysine can 1,000 mg 3 times a day can lessen the duration of these cold sores. Ask your doctor before taking any medication whether herbal or prescribed.

Lemon Balm is another natural remedy used to help cold sores. This balm has anti viral property used to help fight off and kill the virus that is causing the cold sore. Studies were done in Germany and they found that Lemon Balm cream promotes the healing of blisters in 5 days , compared to 10 days in the normal way. Reishi and Astragalus, reishi is also known as Ganoderma Lucidum. This is a type of mushroom that has a long history of helping to strengthen the immune system. It has also been proven to inhibit the spread of the Herpes virus.

Resveratrol, this is a compound that is found in red grapes and has been medically proven to be an active compound against the Herpes Simplex Virus. It comes in a cream and it is 5 percent as effective as the prescription medication Zovirax. Peppermint oil believe it or not is great in the fight against Herpes Simplex. Right now , peppermint oil is still being studied so it is not recommended that you use it quite yet for cold sores.

Propolis is also known as bee propolis . Bees actually collect this substance from conifer buds and they use it to close their hives and keep the germs and any unwanted visitors out. You can find it in health food stores. The last method of natural treatment is to self heal. It is not what you think. There is an actual herb called Self Heal. It’s scientific name is Prunella Vulgaris.

It is a perennial plant that is mostly found in China and Europe. The extracts of the herb are effective against both Herpes 1 and Herpes 2.

Acne is a common problem among teenagers and adults. There are many ways to treat acne.

You may have medications to help you or your dermatologist will give you a topical cream to use. But some people really believe in tried and true natural remedies. When you use the word natural in reference to acne treatments you are referring to changing your diet to relieve your symptoms, you are cleansing your internal organs and using herbs and supplements to give healthy nutrients to your skin.

What is considered NOT natural are prescription medications, chemicals found in topical creams and food additives and processed foods like McDonald’s and fast foods.

Here are a few home remedies that you can try and see if they work better than the doctor prescribed medications. Diet is a big part of going natural. Experts say that you should eat 5 servings of vegetables per day and one serving of fruit a day. Try to not eat anything with refined sugar, fried foods and trans fats. Trans fats are found in foods like milk, milk products , margarine and shortening. Increase foods that have omega -3 oils like flaxseed and sardines.

Drink 8 eight ounce glasses of water a day, keeping your skin hydrated is very important for healthy looking skin. Increase your fiber intake, if you don’t really pay attention to fiber then you should start to. Whole grains are great too. Another source of natural treatment for acne is Vitamins and other supplements. Vitamin A is a great natural source of vitamins. It can reduce the sebum production. Vitamin A can help decrease the risk of done density, headaches and muscle and joint pains.

Zinc in the form of zinc gluconate and zinc sulfate can actually prevent acne from occurring. Zinc can heal blemish, reduce inflammation and reduces androgenic hormonal effects. Vitamins B6 and can help acne when the onset of menstruation. Herbs are a great natural treatment of acne. Take a blend of sarsaparilla, yellow dock, cleavers and burdock. These are said to be blood cleansers. They will work to clean out the toxins and in the blood where acne can and will form.

Here are some great homemade remedies to help treat acne. This is a great remedy and all you need is honey. Apply a liberal amount of honey on your face , keep on for 20 minutes and wipe off with a damp cloth. Do not use any soap, simply wipe off with a damp cloth. Try washing your face twice a day with a sulfur based soap. Only wash twice a day, over washing will cause acne.

Keep your hair from your face, you hair has pollutants from the air and when the hair hits your face it is secreting the dirt and oils onto your face. If you wear makeup and nothing can deter you from wearing it then wash your face thoroughly to avoid dirt from settling into your skin.

A few years ago Atkins was so popular that three out of five people you asked was actually on the diet.

It was known as a low carb diet and it was founded by diet guru Robert Atkins. The basic concept of the diet was to first show people that obesity was caused by eating refund sugars, flowers and high fructose corn syrup. He wanted to debunk the myth that saturated fat was a bad thing to have in your diet. Trans fats that come from oils such as hydrogenated oils need to be avoided at all costs.

The traditional food pyramid was a joke to Dr. Atkins who believed that the amount of carbs that the pyramid said we should consume was actually the cause of most metabolic disorders. Dr. Atkins believed that nutritional supplements and exercise were a very big part of the elements to a great diet. The diet is broken down in stages. The first stage was called Induction. During this stage dieters were limited to a carb intake of 20 net grams per day and 12 to 15 grams had to come from salad greens and other different types of vegetables.

You could have as many meats, fishes, shellfish, poultry and eggs. But only 4 ounces of hard cheeses, salad vegetables and low carb vegetables and butter and oils. During the induction you are not allowed to consume alcohol. You could have some caffeine . The Induction Phase was when dieters saw the most amount of weight loss, some people took it so seriously that reports of weight loss was recorded at 5 to 10 pounds per week.

Once you completed Induction, the diet would then include what they called Ongoing Weight Loss. The carb intake was increased by 2 net grams and the goal was for the dieter to control the food they were eating. Dr.Atkins incorporated rungs into the diet, each rung was a carb ladder. The rungs were vegetables , fresh dairy, nuts berries, alcohol, legumes, fruits, starchy vegetables and grains.

They then went to pre-maintenance which increases the carbs by 10 each week as the ladder is grouped. The lifetime maintenance is the next phase, which is how to learn to eat this way for a lifetime. This diet was at the height of it’s popularity was in 2003 and 2004. At the height of the popularity , it was said that many companies suffered losses. Pasta and Rice companies took a hit and companies like Kripsy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts suffered as well. But some companies made money, like Coke and Pepsi, they came out with their versions of a carb free soda.

The reason why so many people went on this diet was to drop weight fast and to learn a better way to live . They wanted to eat healthy but eating foods like fruits and vegetables were healthy and leaving out pasta and rice.

Blood Clotting helps to stop bleeding. Bleeding starts when a blood vessel is broken, usually because of injury.
The body’s first response to such injury is made by blood elements called platelets. These disk-like elements stick to the damaged area of the vessel wall and form a soft plug or patch. This plug is then reinforced by the clotting factors of the blood’s plasma. These factors and the platelets form a thick covering over the loose plug and prevent further bleeding.

If this thick covering is on the skin surface, it appears a scab. Eventually, the plug is dissolved as the injured tissue heals.

Bleeding from small blood vessels usually stops within 5 to 10 minutes. You can help clotting by applying cold compresses to the injured area. The cold shrinks the blood vessels that supply the injured area, reducing the flow of blood. The pressure of the compress helps the plug to form. But if you continually wash the damaged area, the platelets and clotting factors are bathed away and no clot can form.

If your child injures a large blood vessel, the blood clotting process cannot form a plug. Severe bleeding results. To stop the bleeding, apply direct pressure to the wound. Fold a towel or handkerchief into a pad, and hold it on the wound. If you cannot find a cloth quickly, apply pressure with your hand. If the bleeding persists, take the child immediately to the hospital. Sometimes blood clotting occurs in blood vessels that have not been injured physically. This clotting is called thrombosis. Thrombosis blocks blood vessels and reduces the flow of blood. The reduction of blood flow to a vital organ can result in permanent injury to the organ.

Unusual bleeding, for example, bleeding without injury, excessive bleeding from a slight injury, or bleeding that will not clot, occurs for a variety of reasons. A child may have excessively fragile or diseased blood vessels, not enough platelets or defective platelets, or plasma that may lack clotting factors. The lack of clotting factors is known as hemophilia.

HEMOPHILIA
Hemophilia is a hereditary disease in which the blood does not clot properly and bleeding is difficult to stop. Hemophilia occurs almost entirely in males. Women, rarely show signs of the disease, but they carry it and transmit it to their sons.

Hemophilia varies from severe forms in which bleeding occurs after almost any activity, to milder forms in which only major injuries or surgery produce excessive bleeding. The bleeding may occur internally as well as from a cut on the skin. Internal bleeding usually occurs in body tissues, in muscles or in joints such as those at the knee, ankle, elbow or hip.

No cure has been yet found for hemophilia, but bleeding can be controlled with normal blood plasma or with concentrates of clotting factors (medicines that help clot the blood). Prompt medical treatment can prevent large hemorrhages that might permanently damage joints, tissues or organs. Surgery and dental extractions can be performed without danger of hemorrhage if the child with hemophilia is first treated with plasma or the concentrates of the clotting factors. Hemophilia is sometimes apparent in new born infants.

They bleed excessively from the umbilical cord or following circumcision. More commonly, the disease becomes evident when the child begins to crawl or walk. Small bumps cause large bruises and swelling, which are signs of large areas of hemorrhage. If this happens, have the child examined immediately by your doctor. If you know there is a history of hemophilia in your family, report this to the doctor who will deliver the baby and to the baby’s pediatrician. The baby’s doctor will probably want to examine the child at about 3 months.

Once hemophilia is diagnosed, doctors usually recommend protecting the child from activities that might produce injury. For example: discouraging tree climbing or physical contact sports such as football.