How to Treat a Cough From a Cold or the Flu

You can’t cure colds or the flu, but you can relieve the cough and sore throat that sometimes comes with them.

• Use cough drops or hard candy. Menthol and certain herbal cough drops can slightly numb and soothe your sore throat. But sucking on plain hard candy may work just as well.
• Try a teaspoon of honey. This traditional remedy for sore throat may help soothe coughs, too. Try adding a spoonful to your tea, but don't give honey to kids under 1 year old.
• Drink up. Sipping on drinks will keep your throat moist and comfortable. When your throat doesn't hurt, you may not cough. Just about any drink is OK except alcohol or caffeinated drinks. Those can dry you out. Also avoid orange juice and other citrus drinks if they bother your throat.
• Heat up that drink. Sip some warm tea or chicken soup to heat up your airways. Not only will it hydrate you, but the warmth helps break up mucus and makes it easier to cough up.
• Use cough medicine. Sometimes you need to cough to get out nasty mucus. But other times you need to calm your cough, like when you want to sleep. Over-the-counter cough medicine can help. Expectorants help you cough up mucus. Cough suppressants reduce your urge to cough. If you're not sure which kind you need, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
• Use a decongestant. These over-the-counter meds can help clear your stuffy nose. If post-nasal drip is irritating your throat and making you cough, decongestants may help both your throat and cough. Be careful: While cold and cough medicines are fine for adults and older kids, they are not safe for children under age 4.
• Breathe in steam. If a raw, dry throat is making you cough, moisture may help. Try breathing in steam from a hot shower. Or use a humidifier or vaporizer in your room while you sleep. The steam can keep your nose and throat from being too dry and get rid of that back-of-the-throat tickle. The moisture can also ease your breathing and loosen mucus, helping you cough it up.
• Avoid dirty air. You know smoke isn’t good for you, but it’s especially bad when you're sick. It can really irritate your cough. Don't smoke, and stay away from others who are smoking.
• Rest. If you want to get rid of your cold and cough, you need to take it easy. Your body needs energy to fight off the virus. Push yourself too hard and it will just exhaust you and stress you out. That can make your cold, cough, and sore throat hang around longer.
• Gargle with salt water. Does this traditional remedy really work? Studies haven't shown that it does, but lots of people swear by it. See if it helps you. Mix a teaspoon of salt in 8 ounces of warm water and gargle. Do it several times a day.
• Eat a frozen treat. Want to cool down a flaming sore throat? Numb the pain with Popsicles, sorbet, or ice cream, or suck on ice chips.
• Use an over-the-counter painkiller. Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and naproxen can help with sore throat pain. Aspirin is fine for adults, but it could be dangerous to children under age 18.
• Try a throat spray or lozenge. Some have a drug that helps soothe and numb the throat. They can give you temporary sore throat relief. Just don't let children use them unless a doctor says it's safe.

When to See a Doctor

You don't need medical care for the average cough or sore throat. You often just need to give your body time to recover. Most are caused by viruses, which antibiotics can’t treat.

However, some coughs and sore throats do need help from a doctor. You could be dealing with something more serious.

If you have a cough with any of these symptoms, see a doctor:

• Shortness of breath
• Coughing up blood, bloody mucus, or pink foamy mucus
• Coughing up green, tan, or yellow mucus
• Fever, chills, or chest pain when you breathe deeply

If you have a sore throat lasts longer than a week or a sore throat with any of these symptoms, see a doctor:

• Severe pain
• Trouble swallowing
• Fever over 100.4 F
• Swollen glands
• White patches on your throat or tonsils
• Rash

These are signs that it might be a bacterial infection like strep throat, which can be treated with antibiotics. Or it could be another condition, like acid reflux, and you may need other treatments.

11 Home Remedies To Treat Eye Infections Naturally

Home-Remedies-For-Eye-Infection

Natural Remedies For Eye Infections

• Apply honey to treat conjunctivitis
• Use a warm compress for styes
• Apply clove paste on styes
• Scrub eyelids with tea tree oil for blepharitis

An eye infection can leave you with itchy, swollen eyes. While honey, eye drops containing euphrasia or ginkgo biloba extracts can help with conjunctivitis, a warm compress and a clove or chamomile eyewash can be used to treat styes. If you have blepharitis (inflamed eyelids, usually the edges), scrubbing the eyelids with tea tree oil or baby shampoo may help.

When organisms like bacteria or viruses infect your eyes, they can get red and swollen. What can you do about this? Treatment for an eye infection can vary depending on its cause. So here’s a look at some common eye infections and how you can deal with them.

Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis or red eye is an eye infection involving inflammation and reddening of the mucous tissue that covers the front of the eye (the conjunctiva). You typically experience watering of the eyes and itchiness when you have this eye infection. Conjunctivitis can be caused by bacterial or viral infections. It can also be a result of an allergic reaction to, say, dust mites or pollen or your eye coming in touch with something that irritates it like chlorinated water or shampoo. If it’s caused by an allergic reaction, you might also get a sticky coating on your eyelashes.

Applying honey might help when you have conjunctivitis caused by an infection. As one study showed, honey was found to reduce swelling, redness, pus discharge and the time in which bacterial infections cleared up. This was a result of its antibacterial properties

2. Euphrasia

Euphrasia or eyebright can be applied to the eyes to treat conjunctivitis. A study that used euphrasia eye drops to treat conjunctivitis found that 81.5%  participants recovered completely while 17.0% showed a clear improvement. Euphrasia has astringent and anti-inflammatory properties.  Aucubin, a bioactive compound in it, is also known to have antibacterial properties. These characteristics of eyebright are thought to work cumulatively to help with conjunctivitis.

3. Ginkgo Biloba

This herb is used to treat a variety of conditions. And there is some evidence that it could help with conjunctivitis too. A study that looked at patients who were treated with eye drops of ginkgo biloba extracts and hyaluronic acid ophthalmic solution  and hyaluronic acid ophthalmic solution alone for the treatment of seasonal allergic conjunctivitis found that those treated with ginkgo biloba showed significant improvements in symptoms like swelling, redness and conjunctival discharge while those treated with a hyaluronic acid solution alone only showed small improvements.

4. Chamomile

Chamomile has a reputation as a soothing eyewash that helps with conjunctivitis. Chamomile has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties which may account for its healing effects. Do check if you’re allergic to chamomile before using it as an eyewash though as some people are known to be sensitive to it. 

Styes

Styes are small lumps on your eyelids that can be painful. You can also get a watery eye and experience a reddening of the eyelid or eye when you get a stye. Staphylococcus bacteria related eye infection usually trigger styes. These bacteria usually live on our skin without causing any trouble but can sometimes lead to infections. Styes usually get better on their own in about one to three weeks, especially after they burst and pus is released. But please don’t try to burst a stye yourself, it’s better to see a doctor if you have a really painful or swollen stye. Here are some things that you can do to get better if you have a stye:

1. Use A Warm Compress

Hold a cloth that has been dipped in warm water (take care that the water is not too hot) against the affected eye for five to ten minutes. After that massage the area gently. Do this three to four times a day till some pus is released or the stye clears up. The heat of the compress helps to release and drain pus which quickens healing. In fact, using warm compresses routinely can even prevent styes from forming.

2. Try Baby Shampoo

You can also try gently wiping your eye with some cotton which has been soaked in baby shampoo. Remember to stick to baby shampoo which is alkaline like the surfaces of your eyes.

3. Clove

Cloves are commonly used to treat styes. The beneficial effects of cloves may be due to its oils which contain a compound called eugenol that has antiseptic and pain relieving properties. Rub a clove with some water on a rough surface (traditionally a grindstone is used)and apply the paste on the stye. make sure that the paste doesn’t get into your eye though.

4. Chamomile

As we saw earlier chamomile has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. So moistening a chamomile tea bag with warm water and fixing it over the stye can be helpful.

Blepharitis

Blepharitis is a condition where the glands near your eyelids produce excess oil and your eyelids become inflamed at the edges. It can give you sore, reddish, itchy eyelids that stick together, greasy crusted eyelashes, loss or abnormal growth of eyelashes and an increased sensitivity to light. It can be due to a skin condition known as seborrheic dermatitis (dandruff) which causes oily, flaky skin or maybe a response to staphylococcus bacteria which is found on the skin of many people and usually doesn’t cause any harm. Generally, blepharitis is a chronic condition that can’t be cured and most people have repeated episodes. A severe case may warrant antibiotics. However, in other cases some home remedies can help:

1. Follow An Eyelid Cleaning Routine

Use a warm compress which will make oil from glands around the eye more fluid. Then massage your eyelids gently to remove oil from these glands and clean your eyelids to wipe off any extra oil, dirt, or bacteria. Do this once or twice daily as a routine.

2. Use Baby Shampoo

Loosen oily debris and crusts by placing a warm washcloth over your eyes for about five minutes. Then dilute three drops of baby shampoo with two to three ounces of warm water and use a clean washcloth to rub away loose crusts and scales at the edge of your eyelids. Finish up by washing your eyes with warm water and drying them. Do this in the morning and at night.

3. Try Tea Tree Oil

According to a study scrubbing the eyelids with 10% tea tree oil can reduce mites that are found in people with blepharitis as well as eye discomfort. The researchers recommend that patients scrub their eyelids at least 5 times a weekInfections Of The Cornea

Your cornea can get infected by fungi, viruses, bacteria, or parasite. Symptoms of an infection can include hazy vision, bloodshot eyes, itching, discharge from your eyes, sensitivity to light, pain, watery eyes, or white patches on the cornea. Your doctor will help you figure out the cause and treatment usually involves eye drops which can treat viruses like herpes, bacteria, fungi etc. Don’t delay going to the doctor as untreated infections can permanently scar your cornea and even affect vision.

How To Prevent Eye Infections

Some general guidelines can help keep your eye healthy:

• Wash your hands before you touch your eyes.
• Don’t share eye makeup and change your kit every six months to lower chances of germs growing on it.
• If you wear contact lens, make sure they’re cleaned properly and don’t share equipment.
• If you have an eye infection, don’t use eye makeup or contacts till it clears up.
• Don’t expose your eyes to contaminated water.
• Avoid sharing pillows, towels, hankies, or washcloths.

How to make Vaseline

Out of the several packs I was able to get, I have blessed people and also sold and I still have some left.
You can do this...you can sell or use for you and your family.
Let's make Vaseline.
You will need:

Petroleum jelly - 7 tablespoon
Paraffin oil - 5 tablespoon
Perfume - not more than 5 drops
Glycerin - 2-4 drops (optional)
Lanolin - 1 teaspoon (optional)

Method

Heat up your parrafin oil for 3minutes

Add the wax, stir constantly to ensure, the whole wax is dissolved.

Add the lanolin, then put off the fire to allow the mixture cool .

Add glycerin and perfume and color. The color is optional. Then pour into containers while its still warm.

There is more in my recipe book. Grab your copy now!!!!!!!