If you’ve ever gotten a really bad sunburn you know that it is more than a little unpleasant, so as unusual as some of these remedies may seem, they might just be worth trying. Buttermilk, aloe vera gel, grated raw potatoes, plain yogurt and apple cider vinegar have all been touted as possible sunburn cures. Then again, it might be easier to put on sunscreen and avoid the problem in the first place.
Personally, I am thrilled to find any excuse to eat chocolate and hearing that medical data from the United Kingdom has shown that dark chocolate is effective at controlling coughs totally makes my day. The study, as reported by Natural News, found that giving patients twice daily doses of 1000 milligrams of theobromine successfully alleviated their chronic coughs. With a chocolate bar that is more than 70 percent cocoa boasting 450 milligrams of theobromine per ounce, eating just over two ounces of chocolate should yield positive results and minimize coughing.
Go out now and buy yourself an aloe vera plant and next time you accidentally bump up against a hot oven rack, splash yourself with sizzling oil while deep frying egg rolls for your spouse’s birthday or forget to use oven mitts to pick up a hot pot (all things that I have done), snap off a piece of aloe and rub the oozing gel on your burn for quick relief. Alternatively, you can try placing a wet teabag on the burn and let the tannic acid pull out the heat or you can smear the area with honey and cover it with a band aid; that will keep the honey on your skin and not all over everything you touch.
Banish chapped lips with ingredients from your kitchen like honey, olive or coconut oil or cucumber slices. Other ideas? Grab another piece of your aloe vera plant and rub the gel on your lips. If you have castor oil in the house for some bizarre reason, it should do the job as well. Finally, hydrate your lips (and the rest of your body) from the inside out and drink plenty of water – it will help prevent chapped lips in the first place.
Do dryer sheets really do double duty as replacements for those popular Magic Erasers? Is vodka really effective at banishing foot odor? Can Listerine effectively cure dandruff? Does rubbing the cut side of a freshly cut potato work as an anti-perspirant? Can putting a bar of soap under the sheets of your bed prevent nighttime leg cramps? Does ground up licorice mixed with petroleum jelly actually soften calluses? To be perfectly honest, I don’t know the answer to any of those questions. But if exploring these alternative can help minimize clutter and free up valuable space, I am definitely willing to give some of them a try.