The Healing Power of Household Items

Vinegar, baking soda, and plain table salt are among the staples in your kitchen cabinet that can battle pain and sickness. Indigestion, infection, acne, and sore throat are just four conditions you can treat with them.

Baking Soda

You can mix this white crystalline bicarbonate of soda with water as an antacid drink that calms an upset stomach. You can sprinkle it with water to make a toothpaste that will fight bad breath. And you can use the paste to soothe a bee sting, prevent razor burns and oily skin, soften a callus, or help fight acne; rubbing a blackhead gently with the paste for about two to three minutes will loosen it.

Because baking soda, like table salt, contains sodium, repeated ingestion by those with high blood pressure or heart failure is not advised. Anyone who is on a sodium-restricted diet should consult a physician before taking baking soda internally.

Table Salt

A saltwater gargle relieves a sore throat. And warm, diluted salt water, sniffed gently up the nostrils, can clear mucus from the nasal passages when you have a head cold. Also, dentists recommend rinsing with a solution of warm salt water to ease gum irritation and speed healing. Salt water heated to body temperature may relieve earaches by loosening wax. And two teaspoons of salt in a pint of tepid water makes a footbath that helps curb fungal infections by softening and cleansing the skin. A saltwater soak also makes it easier to remove a stubborn splinter.

Vinegar

Two cups of vinegar added to bathwater will often soothe itchy skin. Vinegar can be dabbed on sunburns to cool the skin. And one of the oldest treatments for athlete's foot is to apply vinegar to your toes; it destroys the fungus that causes this itchy, burning condition.

Additionally, vinegar can be used as a treatment for swimmer's ear, a bothersome infection that can develop when water is trapped in the inner ear. Swimmer's ear makes the ear feel itchy and plugged and may interfere with hearing. To prevent a waterlogged ear from becoming infected, doctors recommend placing a mixture of half isopropyl alcohol and half white vinegar into the ear with a dropper. To open the ear canal, tilt the head so that the clogged ear is facing upward and pull the ear toward the top of the head and back. Then add the mixture, massaging the outside of the ear. Tilt the head so that the ear is facing downward, allowing the fluid to drain out. The alcohol, a mild antibiotic, will help dry the ear canal, and the vinegar's antifungal properties may help prevent an infection. But people with perforated eardrums should avoid this treatment.

Epsom Salt

When taken internally, this form of magnesium sulfate acts as a hyperosmotic, drawing water into the bowels from surrounding tissues to soften stools. When used in a soaking solution, Epsom salt draws fluid out of the skin and shrinks tissues, reducing inflammation associated with sprains, insect bites, hemorrhoids, corns, boils, poison ivy, and arthritis. Tired, sore feet can be refreshed by alternately soaking them in warm water with Epsom salt, then plunging them in a basin filled with ice water. A teaspoon of Epsom salt can be mixed with a tablespoon of cold cream and massaged into the skin as an exfoliating cleanser. And Epsom salt and warm water can be used as a mouthwash or gargle, but do not swallow unless you want a laxative effect.

Because Epsom salt dehydrates the body, it should be taken with a full glass of water, followed by a second glass -- and should be used only in the short term, since it interferes with the body's absorption of important nutrients. See a doctor if you experience abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, or muscle weakness after taking Epsom salt internally. Consult a doctor before taking Epsom salt internally if you are allergic to laxatives, are on a low-fat or low-sugar or other special diet, are taking other medication, or have kidney disease, inflamed bowels, or abdominal pain.

Witch Hazel

For centuries, witch hazel has been prized for its medicinal properties, and to this day witch hazel water remains one of the most popular over-the-counter remedies on the market. It is used to treat insect bites, itching, rashes, acne, sprains, bruises, headaches (when rubbed on the temples), and arthritis. It is also an ingredient in many cosmetics, skin lotions, and shaving creams. Perhaps its most common use is as a hemorrhoid treatment; some commercial hemorrhoid pads contain up to 50 percent witch hazel.