Stuffy Nose Remedies

Having a stuffy nose can be very exasperating. You constantly have to struggle to breathe and your head feels heavy. All this hinders the normal pace of your life. While adults somehow manage to get on with things in such situations, children (when having a stuffy nose) tend to raise a hell lot of a tantrum. Luckily there are a number of home remedies for a stuffy nose that you can employ to get some relief. Read to know.

Natural Home Remedies for Stuffy Nose

Sniff Onion

One easy way to unclog your stuffy nose is by sniffing an onion. Usual medications like Methanol or any other decongestants work by causing some irritation in the nose that makes it de-clog and run. Sniffing an onion has the same effects.  

Go Heavy On Spice

The remedy for a stuffy nose is to make it runny. There are few things that make it run quicker than spicy meals. So if you can, then consume some hot chili peppers. Your nose will soon start running and de-clogging it in the process.

Have Chicken Soup

In order to de-clog a stuffy nose, have chicken soup or any other hot fluid in a cup. Whenever you consume anything hot, the steam of the liquid causes the mucus in the nose to soften up. The result is that the nose de-clogs and runs.

Have a Shower

Having a hot shower has the same effect like drinking a hot fluid from a cup. This one is perhaps the easiest way to de-clog a stuffy nose and prevent it from getting thick.  

Use Humidifier

You can use a humidifier to get cured of a stuffy nose. But you have to be careful as the water used in the humidifier can also spread germs and impurities. So make sure that you use distilled water only in humidifier.

Decongestant Spray

Incase you are using a decongestant spray to cure yourself from a stuffy nose, then remember to use it carefully. Do not use the decongestant spray for more than two times a day, and a maximum of three to four days in a row.

Stomach Ulcer Diet

Stomach ulcers are painful sores that occur within the lining of the stomach or in the duodenum (as is most often the case). They occur when there is a break in the lining of the stomach, primarily due to hyper-acidity, and the digestive juices and acids damage the tissues that lie beneath the lining. A person suffering from stomach ulcer will undergo severe pain and in more advanced cases, suffer from vomiting and bleeding. If left untreated, stomach ulcer can progress into something much worse. 

However, along with treatment, it is necessary to eat the right foods, so as to help the stomach heal itself. If you suffer from stomach ulcers, it is necessary for you to follow a good diet regimen of healthy foods. Restrict the use of foods that irritate the stomach and consume the ones that soothe the body and aid in healing, as well as those that provide you with the proper nutrition. While a stomach ulcer diet may not be very attractive, you should bear in mind that it is just temporary, whereas the bad effects of stomach ulcers can be long lasting, if you do not take the needed care. Therefore, following a proper stomach ulcer diet, along with recommendations by a good physician, will help your stomach heal itself.

Peptic Ulcer Diet Plan

Basic Guidelines

Follow a bland diet religiously.

• Eat food in small portions. This will make the digestion simpler. Eating three heavy, full meals will put an unnecessary strain on the already sore stomach. So, divide them into six smaller meals.
• Do not starve or miss meals. This will aggravate the condition. If there is no food in your stomach for the gastric juices to work on, they will continue to eat up the lining of your stomach.
• Relax before and after each meal.
• Avoid spicy and fried food. They hamper the healing process.
• Avoid citric fruits and juices, as they increase acidity.
• Avoid caffeine, along with chocolate, cola and alcohol. 
• Foods That Can Be Eaten
• The following foods can be eaten in case of stomach ulcer. However, caution needs to be exercised, since some of the foods in this list may not be suitable for those with high cholesterol. 
• Eggs - always boiled, never fried.
• Refined cooked cereals, such as cornflakes and rice crispies
• White bread and plain rolls
• Milk and milk products, with the exception of chocolate milk
• Vegetable soups, without spices and pepper
• Meat, fish and poultry - fresh or boiled
• Cream cheese - plain, not spiced
• Carrots, green beans, peas, spinach and asparagus - cooked without oil
• Cooked or fresh fruits that are non-citric
• Fresh, non-citric fruit juices
• Butter, margarine, sweet cream and mayonnaise - plain, not seasoned
• Plain ice cream, sherbet, puddings, cakes and custard
• Plain cookies, smooth peanut butter, honey and jelly.

Sore Eyes Treatment

One of the most precious gifts bestowed upon us by God, eyes are the windows of our soul. They are one of the five senses, often considered to be the most important amongst them. While they are a priceless treasure, they are also prone to numerous infections and ailments. Nonetheless, most of them only cause visual problems, such as redness of the eyes. Regardless of this fact, our, eyes, when succumbed to an infection called sore eyes, also known as conjunctivitis, cause incredible pain and irritation. 

Reasons could be several, some being allergies, dry eyes, foreign object, injury, or irritation from contact lenses. In most cases, sore eyes are temporary lasting for few days, but when ignored for long durations, they can be highly risky, with chances of even getting visually impaired. In case you or someone close to you has been infected with sore eyes, fret not. Given here are some home remedies for treating sore eyes.

Home Remedies For Sore Eyes

Indian gooseberry is a good remedy for treating sore eyes. Extract juice from the gooseberry and dilute it with some honey. Consume this mixture twice daily.

Coriander is also known to be highly effective for sore eyes. Take a handful of coriander leaves and prepare a concoction using 60 ml water. Wash your eyes with this solution to get relief from pain and swelling.

Extract juice from carrot and spinach. Combine 200 ml spinach juice with 300 ml carrot juice. Mix well and drink frequently.

Parsley is another good option for curing sore eyes, when combined with carrot. Prepare a mixture of 200 ml parsley juice with 300 ml carrot juice. Consume regularly.

Using cucumber is one of the easiest and most effective treatments for sore eyes. Apply cucumber slices on your eyes for 30 minutes.

Soak cotton balls in rose water and apply on your eyes for relief from irritation and swelling.

For immediate relief, soak cotton swabs in boiled water, diluted with a little salt, and place on your eyelids for 5 minutes.

Pour some fresh cow milk in a clean bowl. Dip cotton swabs in the milk and sprinkle some potash alum powder over them. Henceforth, place these cotton swabs over your eyes for few minutes. A very useful remedy for reducing redness and itchiness of eyes!

Try soaking chamomile or green tea bags in warm water. Wash your eyes with the liquid and place the squeezed out bags on your eyes. This will provide you effective relief from redness and irritation.

Place peeled potato slice over your eyelids and rest for about 15 minutes. Thereafter, wash your eyes. If required, repeat again.

Dilute some aloe vera extract to cold water and soak a piece of cotton cloth in it neatly. Place this soaked cloth over your eyes and gently clean them with the cloth.

Tips

Give your eyes a break from contact lenses. Wearing contact lenses all day can dry your eyes, making them dry and itchy. Thus, give your eyes a breather.

Dig through your makeup bag and remove all expired or very old mascara or eye shadow. They could be one of the major causes of irritation or infection to your eyes.

Take a break from TV or computer. Gazing at the screen throughout the day can lead to sore eyes. Hence, ensure that you take periodic breaks to keep your eyes healthy.

Avoid sharing towels, eyeglasses, sunglasses, or makeup/cosmetics with others as this can lead to transfer of infection.

Smoking And Women

More than 140,000 women worldwide, die of smoking and other related causes every year. This should be a wakeup call to all you women who keep puffing on that cigarette, day in and out. Women smokers suffer the smoke as much as men do, even worse with knowledge that it might affect their progeny! America, China and India are the top three producers of tobacco and target the female audience with expensive marketing brands and adverts. The “Tobacco Epidemic” that first began with men, has now shifted to women. 

A statistical survey shows that in the 21st century, about 15% of women in the industrialized countries and developing nations, taken together, smoke cigarettes. A very surprising thing is that women even chew tobacco in some areas. The effects are almost the same. And this is a cause of worldwide concern. An awareness campaign must be run, informing showing women how risky smoking could be to their bodies and their lives. Explore this article to educate women around you of what they’re getting into!

Effects Of Smoking In Women

New research has found that breathing difficulty due to smoking is more prevalent in women than men.

The risk of stroke is higher in pregnant women who smoke or have smoked before pregnancy because there is an increased blood pressure, increased blood loss (during delivery) and a high production of blood clotting factors. Strokes have symptoms such as severe headaches, trouble speaking and vision impairment.

Another very serious consequence is with women who use oral contraceptives (or the pill) as a measure for controlling childbirth. They run the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as blood clots, considerably more than the others. A mild increase in blood pressure is also noted and highly significant.

Pregnant women also run the risk of having mentally impaired babies, abortions and still births etc if they continue smoking till their pregnancies. Others would include having a premature or low weight baby.

Smoking right after delivering a baby can cause the secondhand smoke to reach your child and cause harmful effects of the child as well. For example, if a woman smokes while breastfeeding her child, the milk will contain impurities and will adversely affect the child.

Smoking in women can cause breast cancer. Oral cancer is more common though. The risk is found to be higher in premenopausal active smokers and postmenopausal passive ones. The reason being a gene called NAT2 that responds very slowly to removing the toxins from the body, thereby causing damage to the cells.

Osteoporosis or brittle bones can be the result of excessive cigarette smoke.

PID or Pelvic Inflammatory Disease is very high in women smokers. What happens here is that the reproductive system gets infected with virus, bacteria or fungus. This leads to an inflammation (swelling) of the uterus, fallopian tubes or ovaries.

Fertility issues such as a decreased ovulatory response as well as impairment of the zygote are very common in women who smoke. The cervical fluid maybe altered due to the chemicals in the smoke making it toxic to the sperm. The relationship between infertility and smoking has not been confirmed but statistics have shown that 72% of women smokers have infertility issues.

Teenage women are seen to be more affected in the long run as its affects menstruation. There might be bleeding difficulties such as abnormal bleeding, amenorrhea (no periods) and vaginal discharges.

Remedies For Dry Cough

Coughing is the natural reflex of a body to feeling of irritation in the throat. There are basically two types of cough - Wet and Dry. The wet cough is often accompanied by mucus or phlegm while dry cough is one where there is no mucus and the throat hurts a lot due to dryness. Dry cough can arise due to plenty of factors like smoking, excessive exposure to pollution, dust or any other allergy, etc. The most effective treatment for dry cough is by natural and home remedies. These remedies have been proven useful much before medicines came into existence and became popular. Check out some popular natural and home remedies for treating dry cough.

Natural and Home Remedies for Dry Cough 

• Extract the juice of ginger and mix it with honey. Take this 3-4 times a day for quick relief from coughing.
• Gargles are always effective for treating dry cough. Take some lukewarm water with a bit of salt and gargle. Alternatively, you can prepare a decoction of henna leaves for treating dry cough.
• Take a small and fresh piece of ginger and peel off the skin. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on it and chew it, taking the juice inside. It is very effective in treating dry cough.
• Take 3-4 balls of black pepper and with of caraway seeds with a hint of common salt. Suck on it for some time and you will notice instant relief.
• Take one gram of turmeric powder and mix it with a teaspoon of honey. Take this 3 times a day and dry cough will vanish away quickly.
• Prepare ginger tea by adding ginger when the water begins to boil and before you add tea leaves. Put in a pinch of pepper powder and 3-4 basil leaves. Drink hot and feel your throat soothing down.
• Before going to bed, drink hot milk with some honey. This will provide instant relief from dry cough and also make sure that you have a sound sleep.