Survival medicine: Home remedies for digestive problems, the flu and stress relief

If you’ve come to distrust conventional medicine, you’re not alone. The questionable side effects and poor efficacy of these drugs have many people turning to alternative treatments. While home remedies are certainly a more attractive option right now, they could become downright essential in a collapse situation. Now is the perfect time to start learning how to address common problems without heading for the pharmacy.

Home remedies are natural, inexpensive, and generally safe, but perhaps one of their biggest draws is how accessible they are. In fact, there’s a good chance you already have the things you need to heal in your kitchen.

Digestive problems

One of the most common health complaints people have is digestive upset. Just one meal can be enough to throw you off your game for a few days. Not every digestive problem is quite as dramatic, however; flatulence is a pretty regular occurrence, especially for those who eat a lot of plant foods.

If you’re experiencing the discomfort of flatulence, a cup of sage tea will be your best friend. If you steep a tablespoon of sage leaves in a cup of boiling water for five minutes, you’ll be amazed at the results.

According to Prepper’s Will, a tea made with a teaspoon of sweet anise seeds will also do the job and tastes a lot better if you’re a fan of licorice, although this tea will have to steep for ten minutes.

Stress

If there’s one problem that’s even more common than flatulence, it’s stress. A hectic lifestyle combined with a lack of sleep is a recipe for a weakened immune system and sickness.

Rosemary can calm you down and help you get to sleep. It’s great at soothing your nerves and relieving stress headaches, and it can even help migraines. It also helps fight inflammation.

Make a tea of rosemary and drink it around an hour before bed if you’re stressed. All it takes is one cup of water and a teaspoon of fresh or dry rosemary leaves. After boiling for five minutes, leave it to steep for five minutes more and then strain it, adding honey if desired.

Colds and the flu

The flu might make you feel pretty miserable, but the medications doctors often prescribe for the flu can leave you feeling far worse – not to mention all those side effects. Ditto for the common cold, where medicine can make you feel drowsy or loopy without giving you much in return in the way of relief.

Thyme is a great option when you’re dealing with a cough as it serves as a cough suppressant. Gargling with thyme can provide sore throat relief, and it can also sooth an upset stomach so you can keep your food down.

To make thyme syrup, leave half a cup of the dried herb in a pint of hot water for 20 minutes. Strain, add half a cup of honey, and then heat gently until the honey dissolves. Prepper’s Will recommends taking two tablespoons of this syrup a few times per day.

Horseradish is also a good choice for colds as it can loosen up phlegm in your chest and head. It can cleanse your body of toxins, raise your energy and help heal sore throats. Take some when you feel a cold setting in to stop mucus from building up in your sinuses; it’s also good for the flu and lung congestion.

You can make a tea by steeping 10 grams of fresh horseradish with 5 grams of fresh ginger in 200 milliliters of boiling water for 20 minutes. Drink warm a few times per day.

These are just a few examples of the many ways herbs and other home remedies can address common health problems, and they often do it a lot more safely and effectively than anything your doctor will give you. This knowledge can help you the next time you’re sick, and it will be invaluable in times when getting professional help is out of the question.

Sources for this article include:

PreppersWill.com

Health.HowStuffWorks.com