Alternative Information

Tired of costly medications, prescriptions and time lost for doctor's appointments, I found myself on a constant search for alternative, affordable health solutions to heal such common painful infections as sore throats, cold sores and warts. Everyone has had at least one of these in their lifetime. The quick methods below will remove warts, clear painful sore throats and heal unsightly cold sores. A benefit of these treatments is that they can be started immediately. No waiting for appointments, waiting for your prescription from the drug store or lengthy suffering before starting the healing process.

Over the years I have personally used these remedies for all members of my family with repeated success. A recent research venture (by who?) uncovered that many others have successfully used these remedies as well. What's even better is you start healing faster and in the case of warts you can avoid painful removal treatments.

The following scenarios are my own therefore I know the remedies work first hand. They are not intended to be a substitute for medical care. If you have a medical problem you should consult your doctor.

Sore throats

Apple cider vinegar is a natural antiseptic - it kills germs on contact. Think about this - by the time you go to the doctor and have your throat swabbed you can be gargling every 2 hours and have the infection cleared. If your throat feels worse by the end of the day - see your doctor. The Ohio State University Hospital prescribes apple cider vinegar for ear infections.

The Treatment:

As soon as you know your throat is infected, gargle every 2 hours with apple cider vinegar. Make sure you allow a small amount of it to go down your throat (yes, swallow it). Have a glass of water ready to rinse your mouth immediately to avoid the uncomfortable sourness from the vinegar.

Cold Sores

A three day cure - believe it! A cold sore arrived three days before I was to be the maid of honor for my friend. My normal ten day cure wasn't going to be good enough. I frantically did my research and found this remedy in the Prevention Magazine.

Yogurt was the answer. Yogurt is made from the living culture lactobacillus acidophilus and is the active ingredient that will heal your cold sore. The awkward part of this is you will have a white blob on your face, but I think it's worse to have an unsightly cold sore.

The Treatment:

Repeatedly cover the cold sore with plain yogurt- every time it feels dry.Take five yogurt tablets (1,000mg) 3 times a day, with each mealThis sounds like a lot, but it's only concentrated yogurt.The more you stick to this plan the higher the likelihood the cold sore will be gone in three days

It's imperative to purchase the yogurt and yogurt capsules that contain living bacteria (kept refrigerated). More readily found at health food stores.

Warts

Desperate to avoid having my ten year old daughter's large plantar warts burned or frozen off I had nothing to lose trying this solution. My second daughter, in her early teens, also developed plantar warts. She didn't have the patience to work with me using this method. After a while the warts spread across the balls of both her feet, an area covering 1" x 3" on each foot, making it difficult for her to walk. She wanted a quick fix and decided to try the burn off method. After 4 sessions it was too painful for her, thank goodness, because it was too painful for me to watch. She agreed to work with me on the Vitamin method. Over a 2 week course the roots blackened and painlessly could be removed as her foot slowly healed back to normal. Today you would never know her feet were so badly deformed with warts - they never reoccurred.

The Treatment:

Vitamin E

1. Every morning and every night soak the wart with vitamin E (the highest I.U. you can buy)

2. Cover it with bandaids so the wart stays saturated

3. Take one capsule of vitamin E a day (it didn't work for us if we skipped this part)

4. Continue this for 1-2 weeks, as the wart loosens and turns fibrous you can safely remove the particles.

5. The vitamin E will also aid in the healing of the skin.

Alternative Treatment:

Garlic has been reported as another highly effective solution to removing wartsI haven't personally tried this, but because of the amazing healing properties of garlic I would definitely try it.

1. Rub crushed garlic on the wart
2. Cover with bandaids
3. A blister will form and the wart begins to fall off
4. Continue with vitamin E until the skin heals.

These types of treatments have been used for centuries and too often we are accustomed to thinking the drug store has all the answers. What have you got to lose using products you already absorb or consume through foods?