Do you save newspaper clippings? We know many people who do, including ourselves. We’ve never quite mastered the knack of keeping them in a really organized file that makes it easy to access information like the best home remedies. Sometimes we get questions from readers like this one:
Questions from Readers about the Best Home Remedies:
Q. I am a fan of your column and keep many clippings. It is very difficult, however, to go back and check on one of your answers. There are just too many clippings in the box where I keep them.
Do you have a pamphlet or a booklet with all these questions and answers? If so, please let me know how much it would cost. It would be so convenient.
This reader had a similar question:
Q. Have you ever considered writing a book containing the remedies you write about in your newspaper column? It would be much easier for me than sifting through the clippings I have saved. It is not always convenient to use the website. I would reach for your book like an encyclopedia and give it away as a gift.
Here Is the Answer to Those Questions:
A. We have indeed written a few books on a variety of health topics. The one you might like the most is The People’s Pharmacy Quick & Handy Home Remedies, from National Geographic.
In this publication you will find our best home remedies for dozens of common ailments including allergies, arthritis, burns, bursitis, canker sores, constipation, coughs, dandruff, diabetes, diarrhea, dry skin, heartburn, hot flashes, nausea, nerve pain, plantar fasciitis, restless leg syndrome, skin tags and sinusitis.
A Sample of the Best Home Remedies:
Soy Sauce for Burns:
Q. I listened to your public radio show and heard a man call in recommending soy sauce for burns. “How weird is that?” I thought. But then, as I took a loaf of bread out of the oven, the inner edge of my thumb and the fleshy pad underneath hit the metal rim of the pan. I expected a painful burn.
Since I had nothing else at hand, I decided to try the soy sauce remedy. The pain eased up in less than a minute, the soreness did not materialize and even the redness went away! It may be weird, but it certainly did work!
A. We wish we knew why this home remedy works, but we have heard from several people that it does, including an Army Ranger who told us that U.S. Special Forces medics also used soy sauce for combat-related burns.
Cold Keys for Nosebleeds:
Q. When I was a kid, I would get very bad nosebleeds. If nothing else worked, my mother would get out her keys and drop them down the back of my neck. I wish I knew why it worked so well.
A. We have heard from many people who have had success stopping nosebleeds with keys or a cold butter knife against the back of the neck. We don’t know why this trick works, but one reader offered the following from his experience as a medic doing water rescue:
“The keys work because of the mammalian dive reflex. Cold hits the nerves in the neck, causing the blood vessels to constrict. You might notice your pulse slowing too.
“The dive reflex is why cold-water drowning victims are not usually pronounced dead until they are ‘warm and dead.’ Cold water only in the face/head area shunts blood to the organs and away from the skin and slows the metabolism for survival. The vital signs are often too weak to detect.”
This hypothesis sounds plausible to us. We can’t offer a better one.
Liquid Bandage to Banish Skin Tags:
Q. In one of your articles you stated that a reader used New Skin Liquid Bandage to help remove skin tags. Please address this again and describe how the New Skin was used. I recently saw a dermatologist and he wanted $300 to remove about 12 small tags.
A. A few years ago we heard from a reader who had managed to get rid of skin tags (benign fleshy growths) by covering them tightly with a Clear Spot BandAid. Several months ago another reader reported that he had tried the special BandAids but “could never get a bandage to stay on long enough.”
He was about to give up when he ran across some liquid bandage in his medicine cabinet. He told us he
“had a large flap growing on my shoulder and put the New Skin Liquid Bandage on it. Within a week the flap fell off.
“I put it on some smaller skin tags and they shriveled and fell off too.”
Sadly, this reader provided no clear instructions. But subsequently we have heard from many people who have applied liquid bandage one or two times daily with good results:
“New Skin for skin tags worked for me too! I did reapply the product several times and they did shrink and were pulled off when removing the “bandage” after about 10 days. This saved me quite a bit of money I would have paid to my doctor.”
Reviews from Readers:
One of the best ways to determine whether a book will be helpful is to read reviews from objective sources. These comments come from visitors to our website. We have no influence on what they say:
Renate put this review on our website two weeks ago:
“I love this book. It’s right up my alley since I always look for natural treatments first, before taking drugs.
“And as soon as I was done with it I ordered a copy for a friend. And now I’m thinking Christmas presents for some neighbors.
“Keep up the good work.”
Renate
Jack in Conyers, GA, left this message:
“I gave one copy to my daughter (she has two sons) and one copy to my daughter-in-law (she has one daughter) because it’s a great quick-fix book for any mother to have.”
Margaret in Garner, NC, had this to say:
“I bought two copies, one for myself and one for a friend. It is an excellent publication – informative and enjoyable with easy access to topics. I’m thinking about buying more for Christmas gifts. Thank you!”
John in Illinois says:
“It should be in every home!”
You can read more reviews at this link to see why this book is rated 4.9 stars out of 5.
One of our best Holiday gift bundles is Quick & Handy Home Remedies plus the book Recipes and Remedies. When purchased together you get 50% off our recipe and remedy book at this link. Even though there’s no time now to wrap them as a Christmas or Hanukkah present, you’ll still get great use from these books in the year to come.
Thanks for asking about our books. We agree that sometimes it’s nice to have all the information in one easy-to-find place. Newspaper clippings fade fast.
Revised 12/22/2016
