Prevention is the Key, Preparedness is the Cure

A popular belief probably across every generation would say that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This is particularly true when you consider the facts behind the words. The practical aspect of the expression is very evident. Working on a preventive measure would typically cost less as compared to providing a cure, which may even take quite a while depending on various factors to hasten recovery.

There are a number of reasons which may cause sudden illness to occur to you or your family; whether at home, work or in school. It may be as simple as catching a cold because of the change in weather, or perhaps developing a headache or migraine because of stress-related factors. For whatever reason, such occurrence of sickness can be quite alarming especially when you need to finish lots of work and you don’t have time to run to the pharmacy or see a doctor.

Before you even press the panic button, you must be aware that many common household items can be used as preventive medicine. Some may only take a moment to make, while others may be a little bit complicated to prepare. Let us take some time and look around the house to see what materials we can use to prevent the spread of common illnesses.

The kitchen would be the best place for you to look for the proper ingredients when creating herbal medications. You need not be a certified herbalist in order to make effective home-made medication from herbal extracts. All you need to do is to follow instructions on mixing the correct herbs at their right amounts and you’re good to go. The following are items which you may readily find and use as possible treatment for common ailments.

Got hiccups?

Grab one teaspoon or two of sugar and swallow (do not melt it in your mouth and just swallow). 

Hiccups are spasms of the diaphragm, and such, a coarse ingredient such as sugar (or salt) may be used to stimulate and revert the irritated nerve to its normal state. I would surmise that sugar is the better choice rather than salt.

Sore throat can be a real pain; not only does it cause undue stress, irritability and discomfort, but also the person’s focus on his day-to-day activities.

The soreness or throat irritation is caused by bacteria build-up around the throat area. Garlic is proven to have anti-bacterial properties that can help eradicate the bacterial infection.

Crush about 6 cloves of garlic and put into a warm glass of water. 

Gargle twice everyday for 3 days and feel the soothing relief that the solution will bring.

Persistent coughing, like sore throat, is a nagging ailment that can keep you awake even in the wee hours of the morning. And did you know that the theobromine compound in a dark chocolate bar has proven to be more effective than codeine when treating a cough?

One to two squares of dark chocolate will help curb that persistent cough, and that’s without the drug’s drowsing side effects.

Burns really sting even long after the initial incident.

The main reason for this is the damaged and exposed nerve endings that got burned in the process.

To provide a soothing relief from the pain, you only need to break an aloe vera stem and use the gel extract as an ointment or coating for the burn.

Aloe Vera also has anti-inflammatory properties which slow down the swelling rate of the wound.

These are but some of the common materials that you can use to make medicinal herbs. You may keep them in clean jars for future use. But first, you must verify that the extracted solutions do not easily expire and can be set aside for long duration of time. Take some time to research on the various herbal plants and their uses to further boost the homemade medications that you can utilize in time of need.