Money saving home remedies

shandyclover

I was away camping this weekend when horror of horrors began to feel a cold sore coming. I'd forgotten to pack some zovirax, and it was late at night and I was not about to go traipsing remote countryside looking for an all night chemist. Brother and I were looking through the caravan food stock wondering what I could use, I'd read of people using salt, lemon, vinegar, alcohol handwash gel etc.etc. In the end I used honey, it sounded the least painful! I'd recently read of it's antiviral antibacterial properties because of its peroxide content. I put on a dab with clean finger and lay down to read for awhile. It was a few hours later when I realised lip was no longer tingling - and now over 24 hours later no cold sore developed - yeay!

Think I will remember that tip for next time. Zovirax is quite expensive so though I will always stock it good to know honey works too!

What are your MSE home remedies that work and save you £££?

jenniewb

I probably have used more then I can bring to mind but off hand this is what I can remember:

Oats: pack into a muslin square and use to buff skin (on body or face) exfoliates and softens. I wouldn't call it a miracle worker but does a good job.

Leave in a hair masque overnight. The ones which read "leave in for 3-5 mins" or even proper masques like Kerastase have. I either apply before going to bed or apply before going to the gym, the difference is definetly worth it!

A tip a hairdresser gave me was when applying either leave-ins or hair conditioners, to take about 1inch sections of hair and work the conditioner into the hair, sort of massage it in. Work in little sections until you have covered all of your hair. I have also been advised that treatments and conditioners work only if the hair is damp/wet so if doing this or the above, keep a sprayable pot of water with you to keep the hair moist.

A good treatment for mosquito bites is ammonia. I read about this before finding an actual treatment product called 'After Bite' which is 2% Ammonia- so it would seem companies know about this too. I don't know how it works- I don't think I care as much as it works and very well- takes a few applications in sevear cases (had 50 bites on the inside of one calf alone after going out running...) but when nothing else works, this does! (Just remember to dliute if making this at home!!)

Ice cold water on just painted nails helps them to set faster, always use a transparent top coat to help prevent chipping.

If you feel a spot coming on, mix witch hazel with tea-tree oil and apply. If it does appear, apply again but do not pick- actually this is my no.1 tip: never never never pick spots. (Know its well known advice but think its the best advice you can follow!)

sparrer

When I was in Crete I got stung by a wasp outside a cafe. The owner removed the sting with tweezers and gave me a slice of tomato to hold on it (he was a bit reluctant to do it himself as it was above my knee ). It took the pain and swelling away in less than a minute. Fortunately it's not happened again but if it does I'll know how to treat it

Toothsmith

sparrer wrote: »

When I was in Crete I got stung by a wasp outside a cafe. The owner removed the sting with tweezers and gave me a slice of tomato to hold on it (he was a bit reluctant to do it himself as it was above my knee ). It took the pain and swelling away in less than a minute. Fortunately it's not happened again but if it does I'll know how to treat it

If the sting needed 'removing', it was probably some sort of bee rather than some sort of wasp. Wasp's stings are like a hypodermic needle, and dont come away from their bodies when they sting. A bee sting is like a barbed arrow, and are pulled out of the bee when it stings (And the bee will die afterwards).

The other big difference between the two is that a bee sting is acidic in nature, and a wasp sting is alkaline. That's why they can be eased by their 'opposite'.

Hence the phrase Winigar for wasps, Bicarb for Bees - meaning you should put Vinegar (A mild acid) on a wasp sting, and Bicarbonate of soda (An alkaili) on a bee sting.

Tomatoes (being a friuit) are mildly acidic, so would neutralise a wasp sting. (So goodness knows what had to be removed with the tweezers - did you swat and kill the wasp as it was stinging you?)

sparrer

Toothsmith wrote: »

If the sting needed 'removing', it was probably some sort of bee rather than some sort of wasp. Wasp's stings are like a hypodermic needle, and dont come away from their bodies when they sting. A bee sting is like a barbed arrow, and are pulled out of the bee when it stings (And the bee will die afterwards).

The other big difference between the two is that a bee sting is acidic in nature, and a wasp sting is alkaline. That's why they can be eased by their 'opposite'.

Hence the phrase Winigar for wasps, Bicarb for Bees - meaning you should put Vinegar (A mild acid) on a wasp sting, and Bicarbonate of soda (An alkaili) on a bee sting.

Tomatoes (being a friuit) are mildly acidic, so would neutralise a wasp sting. (So goodness knows what had to be removed with the tweezers - did you swat and kill the wasp as it was stinging you?)

Thank you, some useful/valuable information there, particularly the winegar/wasps bicarb/bees phrase which I'd not heard before.

Re the question of the wasp/bee, perhaps I was being a tad hasty about naming it as a wasp, but I'm embarrassed to say that although I had a home on the island for five years I don't actually speak enough of the language (typical Brit ) to enter into a conversation with quite all of the fauna about its breeding.

Reluctanty I admit that yes, I did kill it....can I ever return again? Will I be arrested for killing one of their own? I never though of these things until your reply....:(

Toothsmith

That makes more sense now then.

If you swatted the wasp as it was stinging you, it might well have broken off it's sting, necessitating it's removal with tweezers.