Homemade Medicinal Preparations

For minor complaints and for alternatives to such products as insect repellent, it is safe to make your own preparations.

Sage lotion for sunburned skin
Tear a handful of fresh leaves into a bowl, cover with boiling water and infuse for 20 minutes. Strain into a bottle, refrigerate, and apply when needed.


Saint-John's-Wort lotion
The mashed yellow flowers of Saint-John's-Wort mixed with olive oil make a soothing lotion for sunburn or varicose veins.


Peppermint oil for muscular pain
To relieve sore muscles, massage the affected area with peppermint oil. If you use a commercial oil, check that it is suitable for external use.


Basil mosquito repellent
Simply crush basil leaves and rub them onto areas of exposed skin to repel mosquitoes.


Disinfect with feverfew
To disinfect slight wounds and to aid sleep, gather dried or fresh feverfew flowers in cheesecloth bath bags and add to bathwater.


Removing nits from hair
Soak your hair in neat white distilled vinegar, wrap it in a towel for an hour, then comb with a nit comb to remove the creatures before washing your hair again. Finish with another coating of vinegar without rinsing off-this leaves hair glossy and shiny. Combining neat vodka through hair also removes nits.


Combat hair loss
Drink a banana smoothie made from mashed bananas, honey, yogurt, and low-fat milk regularly; this mixture is rich in biotin, which is said to prevent hair loss.

MEDICINAL USES FOR WHITE DISTILLED VINEGAR

Bee stings- To soothe bee stings hold a cotton pad soaked in vinegar on the affected part.


Blocked sinuses- Make a vaporizer by adding a quarter cup of vinegar to steaming water, and inhale the fumes to help clear sinuses.


Burns- Keep a container of vinegar in the fridge, and apply to minor burns to relieve pain.


Sunburn- To soothe sunburn, apply vinegar with a soft pad of cotton.


Dandruff- To rid the scalp of dandruff, use a solution of half a cup of vinegar and two cups of warm water.


Sore throats- To soothe a sore throat, gargle with a glass of water to which to which you have added two tablespoons of vinegar.


Hot toddies- If you don't have a lemon to add to a hot toddy for soothing a cold, use vinegar and honey in hot water.