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Medical Monday – Photosensitive Epilepsy – Is Your Site Seizure-Free Friendly?

Mar 192012

There are many types of seizure disorders but there is one that I feel is important to touch base on as a blogger – Photosensitive Epilepsy. Why do I feel this way? The reason is because often times we tend to manage our site including background images, site headers, banners, and buttons. For some bloggers they may be able to design their site from scratch. Our choices can ultimately effect who will be able to visit our sites or become long term readers. Personally, I don’t want to exclude any individual with a disability in being able to visit my site. If there is information out there to help me make my site a compatible site for those with disabilities – I will educate myself on how to make this happen.

What is photosensitive epilepsy? In a nutshell, these are seizures brought on by flashing lights, rapidly changing or alternating images, as well as static spatial patterns such as squares or stripes. Mouse-overs that cause large areas of a PC screen to flash rapidly on and off are contributors to bringing on this type of seizure in addition to going from dark to light. Many other factors contribute to this type of seizure disorder; however I won’t get into the nitty gritty of them, but you can read a good article {here}, if you’re interested in learning more. Children have had issues in years past with this type of seizure disorder from television broadcastings causing mass seizures in children. A good article to read mainly pertaining to these types of seizures in children can be found on the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance site. Please note – these seizures don’t just pertain to children – adults have this type of seizure too.

Let’s take this a step further. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) – is the international standards organization for the WWW (W3 or World Wide Web). Their job is to address and develop Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. In 2008, Version 2.0 specifies content should not flash more than 3 times in any 1-second period. Flashing above this rate is allowed if the flashing is below the “general and red flashing thresholds”. That basically means it is okay to flash more than 3 times in a 1 second period if the flashing is low enough in contrast and small enough. A free tool is available to web developers to determine if a site meets W3C guidelines. The tool is Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool (PEAT).

United States federal agencies are governed by section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. This particular act states that pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and less than 55 Hz. When the 508 regulations are updated it is expected that they will use the same criteria as WCAG 2.0.

How can you as a site owner make your site seizure-free friendly?

Don’t put rapidly flashing banners on your site.
Don’t put rapid flashing banners that go from light to dark or vice-versa.
Don’t have your background look like one of those illusion posters – they are too visually busy for those with this type of seizure disorder.
Don’t have rapidly moving scrolling or rotating widgets on your site.
Don’t have large areas of darkness lead into large areas of lightness and vice-versa. FYI – Many individuals have these seizures simply from getting out of a vehicle into daylight or going from inside a home to the daylight outside and vice-versa.
Take a break from looking at your site – when you come back does anything stick out to you that is hard on the eyes at a first glance? Even certain types of fonts have been noted to effect people with these types of seizures.

Here’s a cool tool for you provided by W3C – free service for validating Web pages against standard formats. Note – validation is not mandatory on the Web – however, it is useful for improving the quality of the pages on your site. That being said – the only thing that passed their standards for my site was the Feed Validator – guess I better get busy on learning more about Word Press.

Did you know? Certain types of music can bring on seizures.

Another Post you may be interested in – Tipsy Tuesday – I Can’t Read the Text

Prednisone – The Good – Bad Drug

Medical Monday

Jul 012011

Prednisone is a steroid as many of you may know. It’s a great drug for those who have breathing issues…the drug calms the airways. However, this Good – Bad drug has side effects that often times aren’t spoken of. I’d like to share our encounter with this med…maybe it could save you or someone you know from becoming panic stricken like I was.

Many years ago after my son had his inter-cranial shunt lengthened (tube used to drain fluid for hydrocephalus), he was sent home. Shortly after he started to cough and vomit all night long. He was given anti-biotics and Prednisone. To make a long story short, this was in November and come January the doctors still had no answers as to why he was having these symptoms, and referred us to a much bigger facility in NH to be seen by a pediatric pulmunologist.

While waiting to go to this appointment, Ryan was weaned off the prednisone – which one has to be weaned of. Good enough, except…I thought Ryan was dying. He stopped talking, stopped laughing, – stopped everything! He was not my Ryan. After spending an afternoon calling every doctor I knew, all the while crying my eyes out, I told them I thought he was dying. I finally got this one nurse on the phone who asked what meds he’d been on recently…I told her. She immediately said, “Sue…he’s having withdrawal from the Prednisone. He was on it so long his body is having withdrawals even though he was weaned from it. Give him a week or so, and he should be just fine.” I did…and he was. If I had only known…I wouldn’t have thought he was dying, I wouldn’t have spent an afternoon calling all the healthcare providers he was hooked up with and I certainly wouldn’t have been in a state of panic for days thinking he was dying.

That was our first negative experience with prednisone. Recently we had another. After being hospitalized for post-viral pneumonia where he was intubated and on the IV form of prednisone for 12 days, he was sent home with it for me to wean him off. Good enough. Ryan seemed good until he started having issues again and was put back on it for a week. No more than did he come off it and Ryan was back to doing a lot of coughing. Back to the doctors we go. This time I was told his 02’s were fine (oxygen levels) and the anti-biotic he was put on is still working…but she felt the prednisone was the culprit of what was going on. She told me when one is put on prednisone, it shuts down the body from fighting whatever infection is going on. Then when one comes off it, the body picks up where it left off, thus seeing the symptoms of regression. Well…had I only known, I wouldn’t have freaked at the whole deal thinking he’d have to be intubated once again. I wouldn’t have had him back in for another visit quite so soon. Within a few days – he was fine.

I also learned many years ago from when my son’s great-grandfather was on it during his cancer treatments , the drug causes the skin to thin and bruise easily. For grandpa…he also had all these sores on his body the size of a dime to a quarter in diameter. After Ryan came home from the hospital stay, when shaving him he would get a terrible rash and bleed. I knew right away the cause and didn’t panic. Three months later…the skin is getting better but it’s still not where it was before all the prednisone was given.

I hope I’ve learned all there is to know about this drug and it’s horrible side effects that aren’t spoken about. If you know something I don’t (other than the real common side effects such as bloating) please tell me. I don’t want any more surprises!

Cell phone Use and Cancer…What are your thoughts in light of New finding?

Medical Monday

Jun 012011

So…what now? Do we have a whole lot of choices in today’s world? We all want the newest technologies…we all want the conveniences. I’d love to hear your take on all this :-).

It’s all over the news…The World Health Organization is now categorizing cell phones as being in the same “carcinogenic hazard” category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform due to the radiation (non-ionizing) they emit. “What that means is they found some evidence of increase in glioma and acoustic neuroma brain cancer for mobile phone users, but have not been able to draw conclusions for other types of cancers.”

What are your thoughts on cell phones and brain cancer? Are you concerned for your children (those who use cell phones) in developing brain cancer where their skin and skulls aren’t as thick as adults? Will you be going more hands free? Holding the phone further from the head when talking? Using the speaker phone? What about how the kids use cell phones?

Even though it’s stated it could take decades to develop a brain cancer…I do not completely buy that. My brother in law (31 yrs. at the time) died a few years back from a type of glioma (fast growing cancerous brain tumor) that manifested so fast that we were told even if he had been diagnosed prior to finding him dead…they wouldn’t have been able to do anything because these types of brain tumors grow at such a fast rate.

Here’s the timeline he experienced symptoms…it shows you how fast a brain tumor can kill. About 3 weeks before his death…he began to complain of headaches. Then he started to complain of heartburn and was downing milk to ease the symptoms. A couple of his friends noted him wandering off by himself during this time…which was not like him, but nothing was ever said to his family. Next thing…he was found by his brother dead in his bed. The tumor had brought on a grand-mal seizure, seizure caused a heart attack and it was fatal.

So knowing what I do know about gliomas…I am not convinced it takes decades for them to erupt. And, sure there are other brain tumors and they aren’t as fast growing as the gliomas. In fact, my son still has a piece of one (choroid plexus papilloma) in his brain…it’s never grown in 27 yrs. And as far as acoustic neuroma brain cancer…I have no idea what these are about…but I will be researching these for sure.

It’s a scary world we live in today. I have said for a long time that it’s our environment killing us. All these new products we use to cook with. All of the chemicals we use. Our drinking water…drinking water in Maine was said to be the cause of two children from the same area having a type of leukemia back when my son was at Children’s Hospital in Boston when he was 3 weeks old…they both died. I ran into a woman a few years back…she told me she was a breast cancer survivor…she told me the doctors told her it was her drinking water that caused it. How do we trust anything being safe for us today?

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Buzz around today…join in on the Wednesday Social Bzzz Hop.

Ticks…Do You Have Them Where You Live? Check out how my daughter dressed for bed tonight and why!

Medical Monday

May 192011

Every year, for at least the past 10 years, we have been nastily blessed with ticks. These nasty lyme disease causing bugs are just that! Nasty! Needless to say, the past 3 or 4 years we have been getting increasingly infested by these bugs and this year by far…has been the worst so far.

Ticks began to show up around our area (southern NH) about a month and a half ago. My animals have to be treated with a good flea and tick treatment and us humans…we have to check our bodies all the time. About three weeks ago, I pulled off a good size tick from my daughter’s fathers back. Not long after that, I was removing another near his neck. Yesterday, I was in the shower and discovered a black spot on my breast. Not sure what it was because I couldn’t see clearly w/out my glasses…and I wasn’t touching either…I called Paul in to look at it. Sure enough…it was a nasty tick. I have pulled several off my cats in the past few weeks despite the tick treatment (they stick to the animal and will die on them). I walked 25 ft. to my car last weekend…got in it drove around the block to get the dog…came back…walked back into the house and what was crawling in my hair? A tick!

Well tonight…my daughter comes out to me and says, “Mom…can you check me for ticks?” I asked why. She says, “I found one crawling on me and I panicked and flipped it off in the bedroom.” I asked where in the bedroom…which happened to be MY bedroom….she says, “I’m not sure if I sent it towards the TV or towards the big bureau.” Fabulous I am thinking…just fabulous! So, I check her, go in my room looking for the tick…it’s no where to be found! I asked how big of a tick it was…she told me it was a big one…not the one like she found on a kitten two days ago which was a pin head size. So, in my bedroom somewhere a tick is living there for free!

Well…since my daughter’s room is in the process of a good spring cleaning…she’s been sleeping with me.
Take a look at how she went to bed tonight:

Yes, you see correctly! She’s got on a long sleeve turtle neck, sweat pants and a winter knitted hat that covers the neck. At one point, she was duck taping the sleeves and cuffs of the pants to her body…aye yup. She tossed that thought out for around the wrists but she still may have purple duck tape around her ankles still.

Ticks can make us humans very sick. Two years ago, I thought I had gotten bit by a flea under my bra strap. I saw the little bugger and didn’t give it a second thought as to being anything other than a flea (our home is in a sandy area so we have to do flea control all summer). Anyway, I kept itching the area and thought the redness in the area was from my scratching. About two months down the road, over-night the redness tripled in circumference over night. I was feeling very hot and was very sweaty..sweat was just pouring off my skin. My MIL had come to visit and said you don’t look good…we’re going to the walk-in clinic. Once there, a nurse looked at the area and said to the doctor…it looks like a tick bite to me. He said…I do believe you are correct. I was then informed I had second stage lime disease. I was give two anti-biotics that I had to take for quite some time and then revisit my primary care physician.

For those of you who may not know…Lyme Disease progresses in three stages. If not caught before progressing to the third stage, it can cause devastating effects to your body.

My favorite part about finding a tick…is burning it with a lighter or match! They blow up (you can hear it as it does) and let me tell you…that works for me!

Carcinogens in your Cleaning Products???

Daily Meme's, Medical Monday

Mar 162011

Have you ever wondered what carcinogens are in your cleaning products? Here’s a list of a few.

Carpet Stain Removers: To have the power to lift serious stains, these products sometimes use percloroethylene, which isn’t only toxic but also can irritate the respiratory system.

Furniture Polish: This one is pretty scary – Most furniture polish achieves that shine with nitrobenzene, a central nervous system toxin that can be absorbed through the skin.

Air Fresheners: These generally contain formaldehyde and naphthalene, known carcinogens, and other chemicals as well. You don’t even need to use air fresheners! They simply mask the odor, when you need to be removing it.

The Solution: There are tons of green cleaners on the market as well as natural green cleaners. There are even tons of DIY recipes for homemade cleaners. When it comes to air fresheners, baking soda does the trick. And if you want a delicious scent, light a candle or simmer natural spices like cinnamon or ginger.
Since I only clean my area rugs twice a year, I don’t worry too much about using the cleaner I do…which isn’t a traditional carpet cleaner such as Bissell’s. I came across one at the pet store when our dog was a puppy as she had them ‘accidents’. Well…that carpet cleaner turned out to be the best thing ever for my braided rugs. I decided that since it worked so well to just keep using it; and, it actually costs less than what I would pay for Bissell’s brand.

Furniture Polish…well only on occasion in my house. I had heard a long time ago these weren’t good for you, or your furniture. And air fresheners, I don’t use either as I would rather simmer cinnamon sticks in water on my stove. I also use vinegar and water or just vinegar to clean surfaces. In fact, vinegar is one of my best friends. I wash my windows with it, my floors, fabrics that need deodorizing…I add it to my wash, I use a mixture of vinegar and water in my hand-held steam cleaner to wash my walls, and more. Vinegar is cost effective, a natural deodorizer, green and doesn’t leave the water-like marks on my laminate flooring like other cleaners do.

The WORTH of a BANANA – Bananas Beat the Worth of an Apple

Daily Meme's, Medical Monday, Special

Mar 042011

I received this in an email….I actually tried the wart removal method years ago on a wart my daughter had…worked like a charm 🙂

Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes. But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills – eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia : High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey.. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a ‘cooling’ fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack. Eat bananas to help with leg cramps and charlie horses.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, ‘A banana a day keeps the doctor away!’

Black Salve, Ichthammol Ointment, Drawing Salve – all the same!

Furry Friday, home remedies, Medical Monday

Feb 182011

BLACK SALVE….aka…Drawing Salve, Ichthammol, Black Drawing Salve not to be confused with the black drawing salve made with bloodroot also referred to as black drawing salve and is used for skin cancer.

UPDATE 6/22/14: The salve I’ve been using (below) has either gotten extremely hard to find or extremely EXPENSIVE. That said, I’ve ordered this Squire Drawing Salve at Amazon.com (NOTE: the image below shows that the label is blue – it is NOT. The product I have is the red label you see when clicking on the link):

drawing salve

Now, I can’t tell you how well it works compared to what I had been using, but can tell you that it contains the same ingredients as the Perrigo brand and is a drawing salve like Perrigo’s. The other important piece that I have noticed once I received this, is that the scent of this brand’s isn’t as strong as Perrigo’s….whether that be good or bad – I don’t know yet.

I do know that it smells exactly like the Prid brand drawing salve, which I know has worked on healing other issues on humans. That said, I’m COUNTING on it working as well as Perrigo’s and will update you after I’ve tried it out on a cat’s abscess (it’s only a matter of time before one of the 13 cats gets another).

****ORIGINAL POST****

I have been dying to tell you about my encounters with Black Salve. So, for you who don’t know what it is, or would like to read what black salve is all about….here you go. This stuff has saved me so much money in vet bills you can’t even begin to imagine! Plus, I have saved countless trips to the doctors using Black Salve….read on!

What is this salve? Well…if you go to a store you would more than likely find…Ichthammol ointment on the shelf, or many times you need to ask the pharmacist for it, as it’s kept in the pharmacy. I have asked some pharmacists for Black Salve, and have them not have a clue what I was talking about, as most only know it by Ichthammol ointment. You can purchase alternative products made with herbs online and possibly in health food stores.

For purposes of this writing, I am going to use the ingredients you’d find in Ichthammol ointment. It is made from sulfonated shale oil and combined with other ingredients, like lanolin or petroleum, to treat skin problems. It comes in different strength concentrations. Ichthammol ointment, well-known for its drawing effect, also has antibacterial, antimycotic and anti-inflammatory properties. Ichthammol ointment can be useful to treat different types of skin conditions in both humans and animals.* And…don’t say I didn’t warn you…it stinks!

This is the same exact product (below) I use to treat…boils, ingrown hairs, pimple like lesions that don’t come to a head (sorry…don’t know how to describe them otherwise), slivers, and the countless abscesses my cats have encountered (as they aren’t too smart and have to fight thinking they each own the home). I recommended this to a friend when she had no health insurance as she had an issue with a toe nail…she told me it worked like a charm! One can find it online at Amazon.com and many other online retailers as well as in pharmacies. I would not hesitate in buying the product below either – it’s the same as the one below – just by a different company. If you don’t have the need for the larger tub above, try this.

So here’s what you do with it:

Boils:

When you have a boil manifesting apply the black salve to the area and cover with a bandaid. Continue this treatment…usually about 3 days until the boil or pimple like lesion erupts and begins to drain. Once this happens, you need to stop using it right away. Next, I use a triple anti-biotic ointment on the wound to help keep the area from getting infected (not always necessary…but I like to be on the cautious side…you know…an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure…kinda thing). That’s it!

The lesions I refer to are very common for my son who has multiple handicaps. He gets them on his back and on one shoulder. Just recently, he had one on his lower back…it looked so sore! So I applied the ointment at bedtime, and come morning…yes…the very next morning, the lesion opened and drained. It’s was completely healed in two days. He has fabulous skin otherwise. I am actually thinking these lesions may be a result of the fabric softener I insist on using in my laundry (they contain oils I recently discovered). I am going to try the Purex Crystals to see if these lesions disappear as the Crystals don’t contain oils.

Cat Abscesses

On my cats abscesses I use the ointment the very same way, except of course, no bandaids. As I write this, I am in the processing of nursing Ollie Ollie (cat) back to normal as over the past week he had developed a lump on his hind quarter. It was getting huge, and as it did, I could tell it was an abscess (it ended up being the size of a golf ball by the time it erupted). So three days ago, I began applying the black salve to a good portion of the lump…I couldn’t find the wound that caused it. I also applied a warm wash cloth (only because he let me) to the area. Last night, I went to check it to see how it was as he was lying on it. Well…it had erupted and was draining real well. I am thinking he knew it needed to drain, and it more than likely felt good to relieve the pressure, so he laid on that side which he had been avoiding for the past week. Today, I began using the triple anti-biotic ointment to the area and will continue to do so for a few days. I am sure he’ll be as good as new…he’s already giving me loves again. I did have to clean my couch as that’s where he was lying when it drained…but that’s a small price to pay considering what the vet bill would’ve been!

I have treated MANY abscesses on my cats like this and only once did I have to take one to the vet. Mr. Mu had one near his ear and I just couldn’t get it to go away. No matter what I had done, he would have needed that abscess surgically drained as it was in his ear as well. That’s what he gets for thinking he’s all that and more!

Cost

A tube of black salve costs all of $4 – $8 depending on where you purchase it. I would venture to say I have saved over $2000 over the years treating the cats’ abscesses this way…never mind the doctor visits I would have had to attend for us humans. Below is the very exact product I use. I always keep a tube in the house whether it’s needed at the time or not, as I have run into having to have the pharmacist order it. Of course…when it has to be ordered, this means I have to wait for it to come in…delaying treatment!

Slivers

For slivers, the smalls one that aren’t too deep, I find it works well on. However, when I get a sliver…I want the thing out NOW. I am a baby when it comes to pain so I will get myself some ice, a needle, and a pair of tweezers and get rid of it the old fashion way! That being said, I found my daughter would much rather deal with the sliver and wait for the salve to work…no needles for her. If after reading this you have any questions…feel free to ask. I know sometimes it’s hard to digest whether you can trust an article that’s been written, or wonder if…can I safely use it for? …So please, don’t hesitate to ask…anything! *Taken from the product description of: Ichthammol 20% Draw Out Drawing Salve Ointment

Skin Cancer – black drawing salve made with bloodroot – Do your homework before using this.

The black drawing salve that one needs to be very aware of is the one made with bloodroot. It is often used to treat skin cancer. Some people claim this ointment is a lifesaver for skin cancers. I would have to really, and I mean really, read up on reviews before I would use it for that.

Uses for Apple Cider Vinegar

Daily Meme's, home remedies, Medical Monday, Thursday Thriftiness

Jan 212011

THE MANY USES FOR APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

For all the mommies who use cloth diapers…when you launder then add 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar to the final rinse water. This will make them softer and help prevent diaper rash.

Anti-inflammatory/antibacterial agent: When mixing sea salt with apple cider vinegar and applying it to sprains, Ringworm, nail fungus, bunions, corns, calluses, warts, shingles, boil, ant black fly, mosquito bites, wasp, bee stings and even poison ivy it acts as a powerful antibacterial agent and anti-inflammatory.

For a bloody nose: apply a compress of 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar and 1 cup water to the base of the neck to the top of the nose- this helps constrict blood vessels.

Bugs: Repel lice and bed bugs with a combination of the essential oils of tea tree, rosemary, lavender, and peppermint. Make them into a spray and spray on hair and bedding.

Digestive: It is to be believed that apple cider vinegar improves digestive ailments, correcting constipation, improving digestion and increasing one’s metabolic rate. One cup of warm water mixed with one tbsp apple cider vinegar will help heartburn when sipped slowly.

Indigestion, nausea, and motion sickness is claimed to improve when you drink a mix of 2 tsp. of apple cider vinegar and raw honey in a glass of warm water daily.

Congested anyone? This is a good one….mix 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar and honey in a cup of hot water and drink 3 times a day. It breaks up mucus congestion and cough. Honey, in itself, is known to calm the airways of asthmatics.

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