Green Health

Treating Eczema the Natural Way

Eczema is a group of skin conditions characterized by extremely dry skin with inflammation and red patches.  Eczema can be very traumatizing for the sufferer.  It can look unpleasant as well as be painful and irritating. Unfortunately, many prescription eczema medications are quite irritating and often make the condition worse.  In many cases, the medication isn’t effective at all. If you have eczema, you may want to treat your symptoms naturally.  Here are a few tips and remedies to help you look and feel better. Paying attention to your diet is a great way to help calm your eczema symptoms.  Many doctors believe build-up of toxic chemicals from food in the body is one of the causes of eczema outbreaks.  While you probably will not be able to get rid of all your symptoms with diet alone, eating healthy can reduce some of the symptoms.  Try these small changes to see big results. * Eat more fruits and vegetables * Avoid processed foods * Eat raw foods rather than cooking them * Take your vitamins * Reduce your intake of dairy products Food allergies are another possible cause of eczema symptoms.  Pay attention to your diet and your symptoms and you may figure out if they’re related.  The easiest ...

Rosacea Herbal Remedies

If you have rosacea, you’ve probably had many appointments with your dermatologist, but probably haven’t found the right remedy yet.  For rosacea sufferers choosing the right treatment is important because while some people find relief from prescription medication, many don’t and can even see an increase in pain and redness. What is Rosacea? Rosacea is a skin condition often mistaken for acne.  Those with rosacea not only experience acne-like pustules, but also often have red skin, small visible capillaries, blush easily, and sometimes have a red, swollen nose.  While these symptoms are mostly just superficial, they can be detrimental to the sufferer’s self esteem and emotional health.  Especially since most people with rosacea are older than the average acne sufferer. Relief from Rosacea: While nothing cures rosacea permanently, many people have found relief and significant improvement from herbal remedies.  Here are just a few herbal medications that may be able to offer you some relief. * Licorice. The herb, not the candy.  It can be applied topically once a day to help reduce facial redness. * Green Tea. Green tea is recommended for treating all sorts of conditions, including rosacea.  While drinking it helps, you can get more high powered treatment by applying the tea directly ...

Apple Cider Vinegar Remedies

Apple cider vinegar remedies have been used for many years to help with all kinds of problems that people may have.  In fact, its use has even been extended to cover pets. Apple cider vinegar is a 100% natural product.  Traditionally it was made by fermenting apples to produce cider, then letting the cider ferment again into vinegar.  Vinegar is produced using what is called a 'vinegar mother', which is a live, natural substance. Most modern vinegars are produced using other methods often involving chemicals.  Even if vinegar mother is used, the resulting vinegar is normally pasteurized before bottling, which kills the live substance.  In order to benefit from apple cider vinegar remedies, it is crucial to always be sure to buy a brand of ACV that is live and includes the mother.  Usually these brands will be 100% organic.  You can find live apple cider vinegar in health food stores or online. Apple Cider Vinegar and Weight Loss People who use ACV to help with weight loss take 1-3 teaspoons before each meal.  You can mix it with water or even add a little raw honey. The link with weight loss is not entirely clear but it may help to increase the metabolism, reduce ...

Finding a Psoriasis Remedy

Searching for a psoriasis remedy can be a long and difficult task.  Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that can be painful and disfiguring.  It is thought to be auto immune in origin, which means that it is a condition where the body actually attacks its own cells, in this case by producing excessive skin tissue which forms plaques or scaly areas. It is usually a response of the body to stressors.  These can include but are not limited to psychological stress factors.  Other triggers may be smoking, alcohol, pollutants in the atmosphere, prescription medications or withdrawal of them, and substances in the diet.  Psoriasis may also have a genetic component, in that the tendency to suffer from psoriasis and other auto immune conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes tends to run in families, although not in a predictable way.  However, many people with psoriasis also suffer from arthritis. Medical treatments for psoriasis tend to focus on soothing the skin.  Topical skin ointments may include vitamin D, coal tar, salicylic acid, vitamin A (retinoids), moisturizers and sometimes, corticosteroids.  Many people do not like to use corticosteroids and there are plenty of creams that avoid them. Vitamin D is essential ...

Home Remedies for Heel Spurs

Home remedies for heel spurs are often not necessary because a heel spur does not always cause any pain.  If you have pain in the foot and you have a heel spur, it may not be the spur itself that is causing the pain, but inflammation associated with plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis is inflammation of the plantar fascia, a thick ligament that runs from the heel bone to the ball of the foot.  This problem can be caused by degeneration (wearing out) of the plantar fascia with age, or it may be related to stressing of the plantar fascia during sports or exercise such as running or doing a lot of walking. Heel spurs often go along with plantar fasciitis.  People who have had foot pain for some years are likely to have a heel spur, which is an extra hook of bone that forms on the heel bone.  Some people can feel it and for others it is visible on an X ray.  Sometimes the spur will form even when there is no foot pain. The pain is usually worse in the morning.  This is because the ligament contracts while we sleep.  When we get out of bed and start to walk ...