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This post is part of the Natural Cures Blog Carnival hosted by Hartkeisonline.

We don’t have health insurance. It can be a scary place to live, knowing that we are one broken leg away from financial ruin, but we are getting used to it. Hubby has maintained his insurance to help defray the cost of his dozen prescriptions, and we kept the dental insurance because of the kids’ tooth problems. But I am completely uninsured, and the kids have no medical insurance at all. I looked into the state insurance for low incomes, but the premium for all of us is more than we make!

So, we are making do with natural remedies as best we can. I feel confident that most of what we encounter we can heal from with some supporting nutrition and herbs and lots of prayer. There are a few things I wouldn’t do at home. I would not set a broken bone, for example, or leave symptoms of meningitis to a “wait and see” attitude. I am comfortable within my limits.

Our health care protocol starts with sunshine, fresh air, exercise, clean water, real food, prayer and sleep. If someone exhibits the symptoms of illness, we take action right away, knowing that the sooner a condition is treated, the greater the liklihood that a gentle treatment will suffice.

Our favorite natural remedies:

For twisted ankles, wrists, etc.: Cold packs 20 minutes on and 40 minutes off for the first 24 hours, followed by warm packs in the same manner. Resting the injured joint if it is swollen or too painful to move or bear weight. A homemade infused oil (we call it Ahh Oil) of St. John’s Wort and Arnica, infused into coconut oil and applied when the cold or warm pack is removed. Fresh pineapple in the diet to take down swelling.

For sore throats, colds, etc.: Sixteen ounces of filtered water taken immediately when that sore feeling begins usually stops the illness before it “blooms.” If we miss it, we gargle with a vinegar infused with raspberry and sage once an hour. Stuffy noses are treated to a steam tent for five minutes each hour made of a bath towel over a bowl of hot water in which thyme has been steeped. A salad of wolfberries and parsley to give an unbeatable vitamin C boost.

For cough: Mullein to the rescue! We add garlic to the diet to warm the lungs and prevent secondary infections as well.

For itches: Bug bites (as long as the bite has not been scratched open) are treated to a q-tip dunked in ammonia once every several hours. Smells awful, but stops the itch like nothing else we’ve found. We also keep zinc oxide and calamine lotion available for poison oak and ivy rashes, but not for the longer term rashes of eczema and dishydrosis we battle. A booster of Omega 3s and zinc in the diet help skin repair.

For burns: When a burn happens (stove, oven, ironing board etc.) the injured body part is immediately soaked in water for five minutes. If the least bit of redness remains after soaking, I slice off a tiny piece of aloe leaf from a plant we keep in the kitchen and expose the inside where a soothing liquid waits to provide relief. The liquid goes onto the burn every time the heat comes back for the first 24 hours. We don’t cover the burn, but allow it to “cool” in open air. Sunburns are treated to a vinegar rinse after a cool shower. Since we’ve been using vinegar on sunburns, we haven’t had one that peeled. Here too, Omega 3s and zinc seem to speed repair.

For eye problems: We had a baby whose tear ducts didn’t open until she was 2. I did not want the doctor doing surgery on her to open them, but she got frequent eye infections. If I caught them early enough, placing freshly grated potato or apple on her closed eye (while she slept) would stop the infection before naptime was over. I must admit, I have NO idea why or how this works, but it did.

For cuts and scrapes: We love keeping witch hazel around for minor cuts and scrapes. We use it to clean wounds well before applying a tea made of echinacea, yarrow and calendula. Echinacea encourages new tissue growth, yarrow closes wounds and calendula is very soothing.

Headache: A cup of chamomile, peppermint or lemon balm tea usually does the trick here. Of course, a moment of quiet contemplation while sipping the tea enhances its effect.

Diarrhea: A few tablespoons of dried blueberries steeped in hot water and drunk like tea usually stops it.

Gas: Laying on the floor and rolling very slowly like a log can release trapped gas.

Nausea: We chew on papaya enzyme tablets if it is so severe that a spoonful of lacto-fermented vegetable or a cup of raw milk doesn’t do the trick. But more often than not, the food remedies work fine.