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Those who suffer from severe sinus and allergy symptoms can testify how painful and annoying a lingering headache, face pain and clogged nasal passages can be. If you are of the many who suffer from such symptoms you probably are most familiar with nasal saline’s – the use of salt water to help flush out the nasal cavity. There are several methods of nasal saline irrigation, but one that has just recently grabbed much attention has been the Neti Pot.
Do these Neti Pots really work? The answer is yes they do! Several close friends and family members of mine, who suffer from severe sinus and allergy symptoms all swear by this product. Throat, nose and ears surgeons have recommended these to patients recovering from surgery to clear any crusting in the nasal passages, and agree that they are very effective for sinus relief. Nasal and sinus cavities are lined with tiny hair-like structures called cilia. The cilia wave back and forth pushing mucus forward to be blown out of the nose, or back toward the throat to be swallowed, saline solution helps increase the speed and improves the cilia’s condition by removing bacteria, allergens and other irritants that cause sinus problems more effectively.
Using a Neti Pot is very simple to use and step by step instructions are provided with your new Neti Pot. You can always consult with your ear, nose and throat doctor to get you more familiar with the process as well. The Neti Pot itself looks like a little tea pot, when filled with lukewarm water and the right amount of salt solution you simply tilt your head over the sink at a 45 degree angle and pour the fluid into the nostril until it goes through the nasal cavity and pours out your other nostril. You may experience some of this going down your throat as well, which is fine, just spit it out and make sure to blow your nose to get rid of any remaining fluid in the nasal cavity. When you are finished with the one side, refill your Neti Pot and repeat the same process for the other nostril.
You may be asking is this safe? Yes this is generally safe, however everyone is different and some are more sensitive to salt than others. If you are uncertain I would recommend consulting with your doctor at first. For those who are regular users of the Neti Pot, only 10% have experienced any side effects, including nasal irritation, stinging, and nose bleeds which are extremely rare. For anyone who does experience these irritations it is said that by reducing the amount of salt in the solution and changing the temperature of the water will reduce these symptoms.
Another question you might me asking is how often I should be using my Neti Pot. I use mine only when I feel I need to, but for anyone who does suffer from severe sinus and allergy symptoms will generally use their Neti Pot once a day, however three times a week until symptoms reside is often sufficient enough.
If you suffer from severe sinus and allergy symptoms, and have not tried a Neti Pot yet, what are you waiting for! A Neti Pot cost less than a night at the movies, and is a natural approach for relieving your sinus condition. No addicting nasal sprays or over the counter and prescription meds that make you drowsy, just a saline solution and lukewarm water.
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There are many skin care products available today that promise healthier and younger looking skin. Most of these products can be very expensive, and not as healthy as the label claims them to be. Here are some affordable and practical skin care tips that will keep your skin looking healthy and young. Also books such as Earthly Bodies & Heavenly Hair: Natural and Healthy Personal Care for Every Body, by Dina Falconi are highly recommended for equipping yourself with practical knowledge for healthier personal care.
- Your skin will experience a significant difference by eliminating the use of harsh soaps and detergents that are loaded with synthetic ingredients. Instead try using natural handmade soap such as goat milk soap. These soap bars still contain all the natural glycerin which promotes moisturizing properties, and have no synthetic chemicals that often cause many skin irritations.
- Drink plenty of water and eat healthy. You are what you eat! You should avoid drinking soda and sugary carbonated drinks, having at least 7-10 glasses of water a day. Also try to avoid snacks, instead eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, you will not only feel better but your skin will shine as well.
- If you exercise, be sure to shower and change your clothes shortly after exercising. When we exercise our body sweats, releasing many toxins. These toxins remain on our clothes and skin afterwards clogging our skins pores.
- Skin exfoliation. This is the removal of dead skin cells from the (epidermis) which is the outermost layer of skin allowing new skin cells to develop from the (dermis) the lower layer of skin. To learn more on skin exfoliation read this previous post, Skin Exfoliation For Healthier Skin.
There are so many products and techniques that promote healthier skin. These are just a few of the many practical and safe ways you can keep your skin healthier and younger looking. There really is no need to buy every new and expensive product that is on the market. Most of what your skin really needs should be pure and simple, not high priced and loaded with harmful ingredients.
I found this to be an interesting story, and a very familiar one to say the least. Although our family soap business has not grown to the size of that which is shown in this video, we started out with the same principles, wanting to make a healthier product to use for the family. It was not too long before the request for soap bars started to get bigger and bigger, that eventually it was suggested that we needed to start selling soap to at least help cover the cost of supplies. To make a long story short, Pure-N-Simple Soap is going into its 4th year of making handcrafted goat milk soaps and natural skin care products and find the demand for such products increasing more and more. We are so encouraged with every new testimony we get of how goats milk skin care products has helped so many with sensitive skin or with skin conditions such as eczema.
I have to admit helping my family grow this business has been one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever done. I have conducted a lot of research and have written many articles on the skin benefits of goat’s milk, and the permeability of the skin, and love to share this information when I am helping the family out when working at our local farmers markets and craft shows. Knowledge is power, and when you are equipped with knowledge you not only help yourself but can help so many others as well.
I encourage you today to do the research and evaluate what you are exposing you and your household to. Find a local soap crafter or visit us today at www.purensimplesoap.com and try a goat’s milk soap bar that is made with all natural ingredients. The story in the above video, goat’s milk was used to treat eczema; I have been using goat’s milk soap for several years now and can immediately tell the difference on my skin if I have to use a commercial synthetically made soap bar. Do you have a goat’s milk testimony, and if so I would love for you to share it by leaving a comment below.
As I have written and shared my understating of the permeability of the skin, and how it affects our health, I find this information very crucial and should be shared. The sun has been demonized as the biggest contributor to skin cancer, which I would have to say too much of anything is not always going to be a good thing. However I do agree with Dr. Mercola, and feel that the right amount of sun exposure is very important to contributing to our overall well being. I feel everyone needs to be educated in this area. Especially educated in what products we are putting on our skin, whether it is sun block, or bug repellent. We are approaching the bug and sun season, and advertisers and marketers will be shoving all their products in front of you before you know it. Before you start slopping layers and layers of sun block and declaring an all out war against biting, buzzing insects with the latest bug repellents, I encourage you to first watch this video and conduct a little research before you decide which products to protect you and your household with this summer.
Here are some natural products that I recommend.
Of course I highly recommend my own product for deterring away those annoying mosquitoes, and that would be our Deep Woods Bar. This is a soap bar that we make that has lemon grass, citronella, eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, and lemon grass in it and does a wonderful job repelling most bugs.
For sun protection and other forms of bug repellents I highly recommend Dr. Mercola’s Summer Family Survival Kit. This Kit includes.
- Dr. Mercola’s Bug Off (8 oz)
- Dr. Mercola’s Natural Sunscreen SPF 50 (5.4 oz)
- Dr. Mercola’s Natural Sunscreen SPF 30 (8 oz)
- Dr. Mercola’s Natural Sunscreen SPF 15 (8 oz)
- Dr. Mercola’s Natural Tanning Oil (8 oz)
Every woman wants to look her best, and that’s not always easy when busy daily schedules get in the way. Long hours and a general lack of sleep can do a number on the health of one’s skin. Once in a while, it’s nice to pamper yourself with a personal facial treatment or body scrub.
Natural skin care products can be distinguished from the others based on the list of ingredients. In general, a long list of ingredients signifies the presence of harsh artificial additives that could prove detrimental to your skin. Before applying a skin care product, be sure to glance at the contents. If you’re trusting the health of your skin to these products, you should at least be able to pronounce most of the ingredients.
Spring is in the air and before we know it, we will be spending much of our free time outdoors. Unfortunately as we get closer and closer to warmer weather, the bugs come out as well. I’m talking about those nasty mosquitoes, and all those other annoying buzzing, biting insects that seem to declare an all out war on all humans. It’s as if our best defenses are not going outside, or spray on loads of bug spray. Of course we will spray on just about anything to keep those annoying little insects from biting, so that we can enjoy our time in the outdoors.
Have you ever considered what might be in the bug repellent that you are spraying all over your body? Chances are the main ingredient would be Deet, (N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) which is a chemical that was patented by the US Army in 1946. Deet is used in just about all insect repellents at different concentrations. The reality of Deet, is that it is a pesticide that kills insects. This pesticide is known to melt plastic, prolong exposure can impair cell function, and is even more harmful when mixed with other chemicals, that are commonly found in many every day skincare products such as deodorants, sunscreens, and soaps.
Short term exposure of Deet is not as harmful, and is recommended to not use a repellent that has over 30% concentration of Deet; however there are natural alternatives that effectively repel these insects, such as handmade soaps that have insect repelling ingredients like citronella in them. When I know that I will be working outside, or going hiking / camping, I use a soap bar that is called Deep Woods. It contains citronella, eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, bergamot, and lemon grass essential oil, and does a wonderful job naturally repelling biting insects. Sometimes I will just rub the bar as its dry on my neck and arms without any water, and is still very effective.
I highly recommend using natural insect repellents such as these soap bars, or products like Mercola’s Bug Off, which is free of Deet having a fresh lemon scent and natural ingredients, such as vanilla, citronella, lemongrass oil, and peppermint oil. Remember that our skin is permeable, what goes on gets in. As we choose safer skin care products to wash our bodies with, let us not neglect the products that we use which are suppose to protect us from the sun and biting insects as well.
Of the many wonderful benefits goat milk has to offer for healthier, younger looking skin, exfoliation is one of them. Goat milk contains lactic acid which contributes to skin exfoliation, and is a natural source of alpha-hydroxy acids, which exfoliates the skin by breaking down the glue holding dead skin cells together. Alpha-hydroxy acids are also often used as a base in many lotions, because it has moisturizing properties as well. It is important especially as we become older and our bodies begin to slow down the process of naturally shedding dead skin cells, to exfoliate our skin. Though a goat’s milk soap alone contributes to exfoliating dead skin cells, you can also find goat milk soap bars molded in natural sea sponges, for a gentle exfoliation or in a loofah sponge for more aggressive exfoliation.
Many factors contribute to healthy younger looking skin. Using natural skin care products is definitely a giant step in the right direction, but other factors will contribute to healthier skin as well, such as diet, making sure your body receives plenty of water, and sleep. Do you get enough sleep, or are you like many of others who complain they have difficulty falling asleep, wake up often during the night, or wake up feeling even more tired than you did before you went to bed. Receiving the right amount of sleep will not only prevent pre-mature aging of the skin, but also will boost your immune system, repair damaged muscles, restore your mind, and help the body to cope with daily stress.
Not being able to fall asleep is very frustrating, for years I struggled falling asleep, and I am such a light sleeper that when I fall asleep, often times I am easily woken up, not being able to fall back to sleep. There were times I would take NyQuil or Tylenol PM in desperation to fall asleep, and when I read statistics such as Americans spending more than 3 billion dollars in sleep aid prescriptions in 2007, proves that I am not alone. One day I was approached by family member who was concerned for my well being, and had asked if I had ever heard of Melatonin, which I had not, and immediately begun to do my research.
Melatonin is something that naturally occurs in the body, produced by a small gland in the middle of the brain called the pineal gland, which is inactive for most people during the day and starts to produce melatonin into the blood at night, typically between 9pm to sunrise, which then the levels begin to decrease. Age does determine how much melatonin the body produces. Young children usually have much higher levels than adults, which as you grow older the levels continue to decrease. This would explain why most sleep problems occur among adults and not children.
After doing my research I bought some Melatonin in a capsule form, and did not notice an immediate change until after taken the pills for several days. I have just recently discovered melatonin in a spray that allows optimal absorption without having to take any pills, and am very well pleased on how well it works. Melatonin Sleep Support Spray accurately distributes the right amount of melatonin without interfering with the absorption of other vitamins, minerals, and supplements. If you are one of the 84% that have difficulty sleeping, before you go to desperate measures and take prescription drugs or over the counter pills like Tylenol PM, please do your body the favor and try using melatonin which will not only give you much better results, but is much safer to use, not having all the side effects that you see on the labeling of those prescribed and over the counter drugs.
If you are suffering from really bad dandruff and are already using a natural shampoo bar, you do not have to give in, and use a chemically infested product to deal with this problem. there are many natural remedies available and here is one that worked great for me.
Herbal Vinegar Rinse
2cups Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Rosemary (or) your choice.( I use fresh herbs )
Place the herb in a glass jar with the vinegar, and let it sit for a week.
Strain threw a cheesecloth.
Add 1 Tablespoon of the strained oil to 8ozs. of water
Use as a hair rinse after shampooing.
There are many ingredients that we want to avoid in our skin care products, such as Triclosan, Formaldehyde, and Sodium Lauryl Sulfates (SLS) due of the health threats these subtle ingredients impose. This is why many consumers are switching to natural skin care products that are made with safe ingredients such as goat’s milk, pure essential oils, Shea butter, and beeswax and so forth. One ingredient that has received much attention in the media in the past that is credited to causing Alzheimer’s is aluminum, which is commonly found in many deodorants, including the very popular natural crystal deodorants stones and sprays.
These deodorants are claiming to be free from the types of aluminum found in the majority of antiperspirants, such as aluminum chlorohydrate, aluminum cholorides, aluminum hydroxybromide, or aluminum zirconium. The aluminum that is found in these crystal stones is known as potassium aluminum sulfate, (alum). So if you are really looking to avoid aluminum these crystal stones may not be the best solution. They may claim that the mineral salts are too large to absorb into the skin, but there is no sound evidence that supports this.
Our body is supposed to sweat, this is how it relieves unwanted toxins, and the arm pit area seems to be the place where much of this takes place. It is not a bad thing to have sweaty armpits; we just do not want the unpleasant smell that follows. There are many natural ways to control the odor from down under that do not involve having harmful ingredients such as aluminum. Washing often with just soap and water works great for many, while others need a little more; like perhaps some baking soda. There are many natural deodorants to choose from, and when looking for aluminum free products remember to also check if it is free from potassium aluminum sulfate as well.
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