Scabies : Causes, Prevention and Home Remedies

Scabies is an itchy skin condition caused by the microscopic mites that live off in the body of their hosts only for about 24-36 hours. It is common all over the world, and it affects people of all races and social classes. Scabies spreads quickly in crowded conditions where there is frequent skin-to-skin contact with a person who carries the mite. Scabies can easily infect sex partners and other household members. Sharing clothes, towels, and bedding can also spread scabies. You cannot get scabies from a pet. Pets get a different mite infection called mange.

The following symptoms can affect parts all over the body or in specific areas including the armpits, wrists, elbows, penis, waist, the skin between the fingers and the nipples.

.Pimple-like irritations or a rash
.Intense itching, especially at night
.Sores caused by scratching


Although you cannot cure a case of scabies without prescription medication from a doctor, there are certain things you can do at home to keep from re-infesting yourself or your family.

. Wash all clothing, towels, and bed linens that you have used in the last three days. Use hot water.

. Try to avoid scratching. Keep any open sores clean.

. Garlic is a fantastic scabies treatment because of it's antibiotic properties and it's antiparasitic properties. Take 2 capsules, three times per day.

. Vitamin A helps to heal skin and also aids in the construction of new skin tissue. Take 25,000 IU daily for about 3 months.

. Put several whole walnuts in 2 cups of water and boil until half the water has evaporated. Apply the water directly on the skin.

. Apply evening primrose oil directly to the affected skin. Also, take 1000 mg internally, three times per day.

. Apply aloe vera gel directly to the affected area to relieve the irritation and itch of a scabies rash.

. Add 20 � 30 drops of tea tree oil to a tub of warm water and soak in it.

. Take four parts of neem leaves�ground with one part of a root of turmeric pod. This unfermented spread when applied daily on the patch for 4 - 5 days will combat the infection.

. Lavender oil can be used after you have taken a cool shower and dried off. Use a generous amount of the oil on the infected area. Allow the oil to absorb for ten minutes prior to putting on clothes.


~source:home-remedies-for-you.com~

Common Warts : Causes, Prevention and Home Remedies

Common warts are local growths in the skin that are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Although they are considered to be contagious, it is very common for just one family member to have them. In addition, they often affect just one part of the body (such as the hands or the feet) without spreading over time to other areas.

Common warts are different from moles, and they aren't cancerous. In fact, they're usually harmless and often disappear on their own. But you may find common warts bothersome or embarrassing, and you may want treatment to remove them.

Common warts are:

.Small, fleshy, grainy bumps
.Flesh-colored, white, pink or tan
.Rough to the touch

Other types of HPV tend to cause warts in other places:

.Plantar warts. These occur on the plantar surfaces, or soles, of your feet. They usually look like flesh-colored or light brown lumps with tiny black dots in them. These dots are small, clotted blood vessels.
.Genital warts. A sexually transmitted infection, genital warts can appear on your genitals, in your pubic area or in your anal canal. In women, genital warts can also grow inside the vagina.
.Flat warts. These smaller warts generally occur on your face or legs. They're usually smoother than other types of warts.


Home remedies for common warts are often the most effective, safest, and easiest to use wart treatment methods.

. Cut a fresh pineapple in small pieces. Put these pieces over the warts� affected area. Use this wonderful remedy for warts 2-3 times a day to remove the infection.

. The use of castor oil is one of the most important home remedies for warts. This oil should be applied generously over the affected parts every night. The treatment should be continued for several months.

. Soak the area in warm water for 15-20 minutes and pat it dry. Apply cider vinegar with cotton balls and leave for sometime, till it gets dry. Then again wash it with water and dry the area.

. Rubbing a piece of chalk or raw potato on the area frequently will remove the wart in few weeks.

. Take a piece of banana peel and place the yellow side out on the wart. Tape it there over night. Change the peel every 12 to 24 hours until the wart is gone.

. Application of tea tree oil to the area for 7-10 days will melt the wart.

. Crush the vitamin C tablets and apply on the area, cover it with adhesive bandage.

. Crush a clove of garlic and place it on the area with wart and cover it with bandage.This is one of the useful warts treatment.

. Onions are also precious in warts. They are frustrating to the skin and rouse the circulation of the blood. Warts occasionally vanish when rubbed with cut onions.

. Apply clear nail polish every morning and evening.

. Use vitamin A oil from fish oil or fish-liver-oil by applying it on the wart. Apply this once a day, it takes lot of time but the results would be positive.



~source:home-remedies-world.com~

Jaundice In Adults : Causes, Prevention and Home Remedies

Jaundice is not a disease but rather a sign that can occur in many different diseases.  Most people associate jaundice with newborn babies, but adults can have the condition as well.Jaundice is the yellowish staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) that is caused by high levels in blood of the chemical bilirubin. The color of the skin and sclerae vary depending on the level of bilirubin. When the bilirubin level is mildly elevated, they are yellowish. When the bilirubin level is high, they tend to be brown.

The symptoms of jaundice are extreme weakness, headache, fever, loss of appetite, severe constipation, nausea, and yellow discoloration of the eyes, tongue, skin, and urine. The patient may also feel a dull pain in the liver region. Obstructive jaundice may be associated with intense itching.

Following are some of the effective home remedies for jaundice

. Tomatoes are valuable in jaundice. A glass of fresh tomato juice, mixed with a pinch of salt and pepper, taken early in the morning, is considered an effective remedy for this disease.

. Take a banana and mash it properly. Add 1 tablespoon of honey to it. Eat it twice. It is very well known and simple home remedy for jaundice.

. Limejuice is very beneficial for jaundice patients. Drink it 2-3 times daily.

. Boil 3 lt of water with a cup of barley added to it. Drink this water 5-6 times daily. It is very good home remedy for jaundice.

. Take one glass of sugarcane juice and half a lemon twice daily. This is very good and effective home remedy for jaundice.

. Mix one teaspoon of fresh lime juice to � teaspoon of ginger juice. It is very well known home remedy for jaundice.

. Prune is one of the most favorable fruits for the patients suffering from jaundice.

. Boil 1 cup of water and add 8-10 lemon leaves. Cover and leave for 5-6 minutes. Drink the solution for 4-5 days for jaundice treatment.

. Carrot juice is highly beneficial for the jaundice patients.

. Lemon is also beneficial in the treatment of jaundice. The patient should be given 20 ml of lemon juice mixed with water several times a day.

. In one cup of boiling water add 2 teaspoons of oregano and leave for 10 minutes. Filter and drink this solution.

. Add calcium and iron to your diet. It helps in preventing jaundice.

. Take green leaves of radish and extract their juice. Consume daily to get relief from jaundice.


~source:home-remedies-for-you.com~

Obesity : Causes, Prevention and Home Remedies

 

Obesity,as in Wikipedia is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Body mass index (BMI), a measurement which compares weight and height, defines people as overweight (pre-obese) if their BMI is between 25 and 30 kg/m2, and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2.

Taking in more calories than you burn leads to being overweight and, eventually, obesity. The body stores unused calories as fat. Obesity can be the result of:

.Eating more food than your body can use
.Drinking too much alcohol
.Not getting enough exercise

Dieting and physical exercise are the mainstays of treatment for obesity. Moreover, it is important to improve diet quality by reducing the consumption of energy-dense foods such as those high in fat and sugars, and by increasing the intake of dietary fiber. To fight with this severe condition, you can also take help of some simple home remedies. Below are some easy and simple home remedies.

. Honey is an excellent natural remedy for obesity. 10 grams of honey should be taken with hot water in the starting and the doze can be increased with the time.

. Make a mixture of two teaspoon of lime juice, one teaspoon of honey, in a glass of water, add some pepper to it & have it regularly.

. Drink ginger tea 2-3 times a day. It is also a good remedy for obesity.

. Try to eat 10-12 fully grown curry leaves every morning for 3 to 4 months. It may prove beneficial for the obese people in losing weight.

. Mint is beneficial for losing weight. You can intake mint in liberal amount either as salads or in raw form.

. Regular intake of carrot juice also helps in the reduction of weight.

. Take some fresh jujube leaves. Soak some of them in water overnight. Next morning strain them and drink that water as a first thing in morning. If you continue this for about whole month then you will see a huge difference in yourself.

. Eating tomato early in the morning before breakfast for 3 months also reduces weight.

. Adding cabbage in a meal would be the simplest way to fight with obesity. Raw or cooked cabbage inhibits the conversion of sugar and other carbohydrates into fat. Cabbage has a great value to control obesity.

. Boil sliced ginger in a pot and add lemon slices when boiling, drink it while hot or allow it to cool. This will control overeating and helps in the obesity treatment.

. For obese people finger millet is the best food. It digests slowly and also carbohydrates present in it take longer time to get absorbed.

. Make a mixture of 1/4th teaspoon powdered black pepper, 3 teaspoon lime juice and 1 teaspoon honey in a cup of water. Drinking this for 3-4 months can be helpful for the obese people.

. One should eat papaya as dinner for 2-3 weeks as it helps to lessen obesity.

. Vegetable soups can be taken as the dinner for some weeks continuously as it relieves the hunger pangs and thus it proves wonderful home remedy for obesity.

. Drinking 2 cups of green tea everyday will help in weight reduction. Green tea boost metabolism and keep fat accumulation at bay.

Taking home remedies can address obesity related issues without causing any side effects. They are effective in their job because the ingredients of these remedies do not contain any artificial chemicals.


~source:obesity.ygoy.com~

Food Reward: a Dominant Factor in Obesity, Part I

A Curious Finding

It all started with one little sentence buried in a paper about obese rats. I was reading about how rats become obese when they're given chocolate Ensure, the "meal replacement drink", when I came across this:

...neither [obesity-prone] nor [obesity-resistant] rats will overeat on either vanilla- or strawberry-flavored Ensure.

The only meaningful difference between chocolate, vanilla and strawberry Ensure is the flavor, yet rats eating the chocolate variety overate, rapidly gained fat and became metabolically ill, while rats eating the other flavors didn't (1). Furthermore, the study suggested that the food's flavor determined, in part, what amount of fatness the rats' bodies "defended."

As I explained in previous posts, the human (and rodent) brain regulates the amount of fat the body carries, in a manner similar to how the brain regulates blood pressure, body temperature, blood oxygenation and blood pH (2). That fact, in addition to several other lines of evidence, suggests that obesity probably results from a change in this regulatory system. I refer to the amount of body fat that the brain defends as the "body fat setpoint", however it's clear that the setpoint is dependent on diet and lifestyle factors. The implication of this paper that I could not escape is that a food's flavor influences body fatness and probably the body fat setpoint.

An Introduction to Food Reward

The brain contains a sophisticated system that assigns a value judgment to everything we experience, integrating a vast amount of information into a one-dimensional rating system that labels things from awesome to terrible. This is the system that decides whether we should seek out a particular experience, or avoid it. For example, if you burn yourself each time you touch the burner on your stove, your brain will label that action as bad and it will discourage you from touching it again. On the other hand, if you feel good every time you're cold and put on a sweater, your brain will encourage that behavior. In the psychology literature, this phenomenon is called "reward," and it's critical to survival.

The brain assigns reward to, and seeks out, experiences that it perceives as positive, and discourages behaviors that it views as threatening. Drugs of abuse plug directly into reward pathways, bypassing the external routes that would typically trigger reward. Although this system has been studied most in the context of drug addiction, it evolved to deal with natural environmental stimuli, not drugs.

As food is one of the most important elements of survival, the brain's reward system is highly attuned to food's rewarding properties. The brain uses input from smell, taste, touch, social cues, and numerous signals from the digestive tract* to assign a reward value to foods. Experiments in rats and humans have outlined some of the qualities of food that are inherently rewarding:

• Fat
• Starch
• Sugar
• Salt
• Meatiness (glutamate)
• The absence of bitterness
  
• Certain textures (e.g., soft or liquid calories, crunchy foods)
• Certain aromas (e.g., esters found in many fruits)
• Calorie density ("heavy" food)
  

We are generally born liking the qualities listed above, and aromas and flavors that are associated with these qualities become rewarding over time. For example, beer tastes terrible the first time you drink it because it's bitter, but after you drink it a few times and your brain catches wind that there are calories and a drug in there, it often begins tasting good. The same applies to many vegetables. Children are generally not fond of vegetables, but if you serve them spinach smothered in butter enough times, they'll learn to like it by the time they're adults.

The human brain evolved to deal with a certain range of rewarding experiences. It didn't evolve to constructively manage strong drugs of abuse such as heroin and crack cocaine, which overstimulate reward pathways, leading to the pathological drug seeking behaviors that characterize addiction. These drugs are "superstimuli" that exceed our reward system's normal operating parameters. Over the next few posts, I'll try to convince you that in a similar manner, industrially processed food, which has been professionally crafted to maximize its rewarding properties, is a superstimulus that exceeds the brain's normal operating parameters, leading to an increase in body fatness and other negative consequences.


* Nerves measure stomach distension. A number of of gut-derived paracrine and endocrine signals, including CCK, PYY, ghrelin, GLP-1 and many others potentially participate in food reward sensing, some by acting directly on the brain via the circulation, and others by signaling indirectly via the vagus nerve. More on this later.

Skin Whitening : How To and Home Remedies

Skin whitening, skin lightening and skin bleaching refers to the practice of using chemical substances in an attempt to whiten or lighten the skin. Flawless and clear skin helps get better appearance and boosts confidence. Skin pigment, melanin, is reduced by different methods to make the skin tone lighter during skin whitening procedure.

Using skin whitening products in routine along with proper skin care gives positive results and it will prevent skin from getting darker. The most widely used skin whitening agent is hydroquinone. But recently according to some studies, it has shown some toxic effects. There are safer alternatives like arbutin, kojic acid and licorice derivatives.

Here are some simple home remedies that you can do to lighten the skin tone and get a lighter complexion. However, they must be done regularly and best results are obtained if they are inculcated as a part of daily routine.

. Apply a paste of turmeric powder and lime juice to reduce tan with their natural bleaching abilities.

. Prepare a mixture of 1 tsp milk powder, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp honey and � tsp almond oil. Apply it daily for 10-15 and rinse it off with lukewarm water.

. Rubbing of raw potato over the blemishes and tan gives positive results because of its bleaching qualities.

. Take 4 blanched almonds and grind them with milk. Apply it over your skin overnight and wash with cold water. Within 15 days, you will see the change.

. Combine lemon juice with the same amount of honey and let it remain for roughly 15 minutes on your body. After this, you can gently wash off the lemon and honey mix.

. Mix a tablespoon of the chickpea flour with a pinch of turmeric and a tiny amount of milk. Make a thick paste and apply on your face, hands and neck. As it dries you will feel your skin tighten. You can use a small amount of water to rub off the paste.

. Mix 1 tsp of milk powder, 1 tsp of honey, 1 tsp of lemon juice, and � tsp of almond oil. Apply on face and wash off after 10-15 minutes. This pack helps bring shine to the skin and also removes tan.

. Mix oatmeal with curd and tomato juice and apply on the face. Keep it on for 20 minutes and then wash it off with cold water. It helps lightens the skin.

. Apply a paste of fresh ground mint leaves and leave it for about 20 minutes. Wash with cold water, continue for 15 days.

. Apply a mixture of grated tomato with 2-3 drops of lime juice on the face. Leave it for 20 minutes before washing off. Do this twice a day for 15-20 days for best results.

. Use a good quality sunscreen when going out in the sun to protect the skin from tanning as well as the sun's UV rays.

. Include lots of vitamin C rich foods in your diet like oranges, papaya, strawberries, tomatoes, cabbage, green peppers, dark green leafy vegetables, broccoli and pineapple. These foods would help improve the skin texture.


~source:natural-homeremedies.com~

Grow Thicker Longer Eyelashes Naturally : How To and Home Remedies

Everyone wants to look good. They want to beautiful and different than others. They try out new dresses, hair styles, shoes and fragrances. One important aspect of our body that gives us an appealing look is eyelashes.

Eyelashes are like frames to our eyes and it is important for us to take care of them in order to look beautiful. Long and thick eyelashes are a universal symbol of beauty. Many products, such as mascara and fake eyelashes, will make your eyelashes look longer and thicker. Other cosmetics promise to stimulate eyelashes. But there are also plenty of household items you can use to longer and thicken up your lashes.

. Improve your diet to grow longer eyelashes naturally. Without proper nutrition, your body will cease to grow hair, fingernails and even eyelashes. Likewise, anything that makes your hair grow also will help your eyelashes grow.

. Apply natural lubricants, such as olive oil,castor oil or petroleum jelly, to your eyelashes to make them strong. Put the product on your eyelashes at night and wash it off in the morning.

. Cut a piece of the lemon peel and let some of its moisture dry out. Once it is ready, simply place it inside of the olive oil or castor oil. The lemon-infused oil can then be applied, in the same manner, to the eyelids.

. Apply vitamin E oil to your eyelashes with a clean eyelash brush.

. Brush the eyelashes daily because this will help to keep the lashes healthy and stimulate growth.

. Take off your makeup before you go to bed. If you leave mascara on overnight, it makes the lashes more susceptible to breakage and leaves them brittle.

. Take a B complex vitamin to feed the hair. Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) helps metabolize protein, the material that makes hair and aids in treating anemia, a condition that causes hair and lash loss.

. Take a gelatin supplement daily. The body needs amino acids to grow any type of hair. Unflavored gelatin taken daily supplies 18 amino acids.

. Consider trimming the very tips of the eyelashes. By trimming the lashes, their follicles will be stimulated to grow the lashes back.


~source:ehow.com~