This instructable is a testimony of some of our family's personal health struggles and what natural remedies healed/cured them. There are a plethora of natural health remedies to always keep on hand (ie: honey, essential oils, epsom salt, etc), but I just wanted to focus today on six wonderful things to ALWAYS have on hand for essentially ANY minor health issue.

Granted, some of these help heal--and even cure--deeper, more serious health problems. But I am not a doctor or holistic nutritionist/life coach and would never suggest to you (without knowing your specific health issues, etc) to ever do any of these things without consulting your doctor/life coach first. Although trying any of these cannot hurt you, if replacing your prescribed health care for a serious issue without any monitoring, it could be life threatening (depending on the nature of your health concern).

So, disclaimer: always check with your doctor or health care provider before using these as a SOLE treatment for serious illnesses.

**AUTHOR NOTES: Again, this is our personal experiences with these natural health remedy items. I am NOT forcing anything on anyone and am only sharing as to help others that may experience what we went through and need help and/or a quick fix.

Natural remedies usually work faster then medicinal remedies, and they have no ill side-effects or the need to go on another medication because of the side-effects of the first medication. They are safe for all ages, and all have multiple uses for multiple healing properties.

Step 1: Coconut Oil

I want to bring out the big guns right off the bat...COCONUT OIL.

Coconut oil, specifically organic coconut oil (preferably unrefined, but at the very least just make sure it's organic), is a God-send. It has SO MANY uses (both topically and internally) that it's a wonder more people don't use this little gem! So I want to share our experiences with coconut oil in hopes to shed a little more light on it.

Note: I am NOT debating about the ingestion of coconut oil. There's a constant debate about the fat content of coconut oil versus it's healing properties when ingested, and of course I have my views based off my research and own personal testimony, but we are NOT going there. :) Let's just stick to the reality that we can attest to...

TOPICAL SKIN CARE

FOR ECZEMA (and other skin conditions like psoriasis): At a very tender age, my son was diagnosed with eczema. Immediately the doctor, naturally, prescribed him some steroid cream to use for his rash/dry skin. After only a few applications, I noticed the skin was getting worse, not better. When I took him back to the doctor, the doctor (as any doctor would) advised to continue using the cream a little while longer as the skin must be reacting due to a new thing being used on it. Of course, since he's a DOCTOR, I believed him. Thankfully, before using the cream on my son again, I discovered the many benefits of coconut oil (through some friends). Hallelujah! After only applying this on his skin (I did it over his ENTIRE body just to be sure!) for a matter of a week or less, his skin started clearing up and the rash discontinued. Within a couple weeks, it was gone completely! I continued to rub coconut oil on the areas of his body that would be most sustainable to eczema breakouts (ie: his knees and behind his knees, his elbows and behind them, the base of his hairline, and on his bum)...and after doing this for only about a month straight, he has not had any more issues in the past EIGHT YEARS with eczema! Here is one mom's horror-story with the use of steroid creams and how she cured it with natural remedies (for your consideration): http://dailyhealthpost.com/mom-solves-the-mystery-...

FOR A STY & PINK EYE:Have you ever had a sty in your eye? Or pink eye/conjunctivitis? Whip out the coconut oil! We've experienced both. At the first signs put coconut oil on the eyelid, water line, and inner eyes (or even in the eye as a salve) and it will prevent or kill that sty/bacteria within a day or two. Awesome stuff! Safe for toddlers and babies, too. (Note: if you apply it inside the actual eye, not just on the lid, it will make a little blur over your eyesight--hello, you just put oil in your eyeball! lol--but it does NOT make it so you cannot see or do anything bad to you or your eyes. We did this once for my husband when he had a huge sty swelling up his eye from underneath his eyelid. We put it up under his lid directly onto the sty middle with a Q-tip before he went to bed so when he woke up in the morning everything was perfect and the sty nearly gone! It completely left his eye within another day.)

FOR SWELLING, PUNCTURE WOUNDS, & POSSIBLE STAPH:My youngest daughter has always seemed to have some sort of crazy skin condition. In the beginning of the madness, she was getting these little wounds on her skin that would ooze and spread. Our doctor friend thought this may just be poison ivy and she was treated as such. But over time, the skin issues would start to develop a red circle around them (that was hot to the touch), and then they would begin to rapidly swell to well over twice her normal size arm, leg, etc. It got so bad, and so frequent, that with even the slightest puncture to her skin (where some small point went under her top skin layer), she would develop the red, hot circle and then swell. Once the circle came, we knew there was nothing we could do but watch her swell and race her to the emergency room to intervene. A doctor friend of ours told us that was indicating it had already gone into the bloodstream, as it would usually show up a day or so after the initial puncture.

The first occasion this happened, my husband thought she got stung by a bee on her hand. So we did what you normally do (since she had been stung before and never had a reaction), scrape it with a credit card to make sure there's no stinger and clean it out to disinfect it. But within a day, the red circle came, and her hand swelled so rapidly that by the following day it was black and the skin was pulled extremely tight, being over double to triple her normal hand size. We rushed her to the Emergency Room and watched as they seemed helpless to stop it! They first gave her the usual...an IV drip with an anti-inflammatory and an antihistamine (because they thought it was an allergic reaction to a bee sting). The kicker was, to insert the IV, they needed to find a vein. They pricked her SEVEN TIMES in the non-swollen arm trying to find a vein, but couldn't. Then they decided, as a last resort, to try pricking the swollen side. So they put a tourniquet on both the top and bottom of her arm, and just before they went to prick her, the part of the arm they draw blood from started oozing blood out of the pores! Man, I made them get those tourniquets off so fast!!!

Long story short, they finally got an IV in using her original pin-cushioned arm and gave her the meds, none of which helped reduce the swelling in any sooner-then-later amount of time (it took over a week to reduce to any normalcy of size!), and she just was a trooper through it all! They sent her home with antibiotics ("just in case"), only after we sat there another 8 hours because the doctor thought she might be dying from the "bleed out" that happened when they tried to insert her IV in her swollen arm. My what a frightening day! (We even thought after awhile that it must be a type of staph infection that keeps reoccurring as the top of the skin staph is forced into the under layers by the means of a puncture wound. But that was never confirmed, so the mystery remains.)

When this swelling after any kind of puncture wound happened repeatedly and more frequently, we decided enough was enough! There had to be something out there that could naturally cure this! Especially because a person isn't allowed to have (and shouldn't take) the same antibiotics over and over and over again as this causes one's body to have immunity against the antibiotic's help in the future (or other, worse things like the body's complete rejection of these after awhile). And if the medicine was not an option because of the frequency, then we would be have no other options! So off to find that natural remedy I did! And I re-encountered coconut oil. Duh...the light went on again...how quick to forget.

At the first sign of a puncture wound (or if it was too late to find one, but there was a red circle already beginning) we would put coconut oil directly on the wound, and it never manifested past the red circle stage! In fact, it's been 2-3 years that she's had any swelling caused from puncture wounds (except ONE time, that we will get to, that was a whole other type of wound and home remedy to fix it).

NOTES: I've also used coconut oil on my hands when they are super raw from lots of washing or the winter. I've used it on myself and my kids when we get any kind of rash or skin irritation. In fact, there's over 1,001 different uses for coconut oil. Check out this site for more info: http://coconutresearchcenter.org/hwnl_9-4.htm

INTERNAL USE

FOR BOWEL & INTESTINAL BLOCKAGE: My husband has had a lot of fun (well, "fun") health things happen to him. From his gall bladder failing, to his appendix being removed, to a weird benign growth developing on his back, to his right eye suddenly losing (and then regaining over a week later) his vision completely...he's had his fair share of crazies. So when his stomach started hurting a lot and it was accompanied for over a week or two with vomiting, diarrhea, and even blood in the vomit and diarrhea...he knew he had to get it checked out. (Normal people go quite a bit earlier then a week or two, but my hubby is a stubborn man, lol). At the hospital, the doctors discovered there was a blockage of some sort in his intestines/bowel area and it would probably have to be surgically removed. He had an appointment scheduled the following week to find out a little more and plan the next best option. In this time, I suggested he ingest coconut oil (as it has healing properties for IBS, etc). Over the week, his vomiting and diarrhea ceased, and at his doctor appointment, the blockage was now completely gone! What a miracle!!

So do some research on this amazing natural remedy, and keep a jar on hand at all times :)

Step 2: Garlic, Onions, Potato, and Cabbage

No, we aren't making a St. Patty's Day stew (lol)...we're sharing our testimonies regarding these (somewhat well-known) natural remedies.

TOPICAL GARLIC & CABBAGE

FOR MYSTERIOUS PUNCTURE WOUND INFECTIONS: Remember my daughter's crazy swelling and that one time in 2-3 years she's had another episode of it? Well here's what went down with that. So, we have recently come to Canada from the States (our native country). No, everyone doesn't live in igloos. And no, it's not freezing cold everywhere, all the time (our winter here was quite mild actually). But they do have some "weird" things (maybe that's just because I wasn't raised with them)...like: eating pickles at every meal and/or perogies, poutine (it was so weird hearing the waitress at our first meal in Canada ask us if we wanted gravy with our fries, lol), and calling brussel sprouts the side of choice at all major holidays (like Christmas and Thanksgiving). Welp, add psychotic mosquitoes to your list, Canada ;)

Our first apartment in Canada was by a little lake. In the summer, the mosquitoes weren't just bad...they were so thick you couldn't breathe in without sucking one up your nose or mouth! Even more so down by this--gorgeous!--lake. Well, our little girl got bit by them (I swear they could bite you through a layer of steel on!) and for the first time in years she swelled. Looking pretty typical to what we had seen before, we did our usual coconut oil. When this didn't work, we tried activated charcoal (more on that in the next step), to try and draw out the toxins from the bite. This still wouldn't work! So we asked around, and finally one of our friends said to use one or more of these ingredients: garlic, onion, potato, and/or cabbage (see * below for more info on each of these).

So we decided to go with the cabbage and garlic approach. First, we needed to reduce her swelling. BOTH of her legs were swollen, making it not only painful, but also entirely difficult to walk or play. We took some raw cabbage leaves, beat them up with a rolling pin or meat pounder, and then applied the oozing, juicy cabbage leaves to the bites on her legs (in a staggering fashion to allow all the juices from each leaf to reach her skin), securing them with plastic wrap. When we were done she looked like a salad bar! With a few days, the swelling was totally gone!

Now our problem became getting the swelling to STAY down. Every time we took off the cabbage, within a day the swelling would come back, but then stop again with the cabbage on. Therefore, I figured it must be the infection inside still that is re-causing it to swell again. I took some minced garlic directly out of the jar on a little plastic knife, and applied the garlic directly to each wound. Then I covered it in cabbage and plastic wrap again and let it sit for a couple days. Eureka! That's all it took! We finally solved the "Case of the Psycho Mosquito Bites" mystery!

MEDICINAL ONION WATER AND TOPICAL GARLIC PASTE

FOR INTESTINAL PARASITE REMOVAL: Yes, this one is a yucky topic. But, it's needed to be discussed...Intestinal parasites (aka pinworms). Pinworms are the most common type of intestinal parasite and are easily contracted from eating contaminated food (ie: at a restaurant or from the deli) or from not washing your hands after (probably unknowingly) touching a contaminated surface (of someone with pinworms) and putting your hands then in your mouth. Either way, as disgusting as they are, they aren't unheard of or only found in vacationing to other countries. And quite frankly, as a vegetarian who eats mostly at home, I never thought that 1 in a million chance would hit me. Either way, it did and this is how I cured it. Most doctors will instantly, after verifying you have pinworms (you can Google symptoms to check if you think you have them), give you a very toxic medicine that you have to get your liver checked first to make sure it can handle it. This toxic medicine (though damaging to the rest of your body) only kills the actual pinworms, and isn't guaranteed to kill their eggs (which can stay alive for about 20 days after being "laid" meaning you could get a recurring infestation after the initial pinworms are dead..then you have to start all over).

Natural remedies to the rescue once again! I used two things to rid myself of pinworms AND their eggs...and I did it quicker then the 2-4 weeks the doctors medicines take (along with having to wash EVERYTHING down to an extreme amount EVERYDAY for those 2-4 weeks and do laundry EVERYDAY as pinworms are easily spread around your household). The two miracle cures: Onion water and garlic paste...

ONION WATER: To make onion water, chop up 2 onions and and soak them in a full pint of water overnight (or for 12 hours). Strain the onions out and take the leftover onion water and drink ONE CUP of this three times per day. All the pinworms will be gone in 2 days!

GARLIC PASTE: This sounds nasty but it WORKS, and FAST! Garlic paste is applied directly to the rear-end hole where pinworms (after traveling through your intestines) like to congregate and lay their eggs. This KILLS the eggs and helps kill any pinworms there. To make it simply mix petroleum jelly (or you could use coconut oil) and jarred minced or freshly minced garlic to it. This also instantly relieves the itching caused by pinworms in this area.

For more info on how to naturally remove pinworms...visit here: http://www.findhomeremedy.com/treatment-of-wriggly...

*ADDITIONAL INFO ON THESE POWER FOODS:

Benefits of garlic: This is a great antibacterial, antiviral agent. Here's some more info about the benefits of garlic: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/ART00364 and https://authoritynutrition.com/11-proven-health-be...

Benefits of onions: This is a loaded question. Too much to write here on this Instructable. But basically they have tons of health benefits including these 8: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/8-great-reasons-t...

Benefits of Potato: When cut up/shredded, the raw potato can be applied directly to your wound to release it's many healing properties including: http://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/potato-healt...

Benefits of Cabbage: When you beat up raw cabbage, the juice that leaks out is like medicinal gold! Here are more benefits of cabbage/cabbage juice: http://articles.herballegacy.com/cabbage-part-ii/

Step 3: Activated Charcoal

This one is a lifesaver for so many issues!

INGESTING ACTIVATED CHARCOAL

FOR STOMACH VIRUSES & SICKNESSES: So we all got sick one time. What's new, right? Once someone gets a viral/bacterial infection in the family, it seems that no matter what you do, everyone in the family will get it! This time was no exception when one of us got a HORRIBLE, nothing-can-cure-it stomach virus that completely trashed your insides. The only thing that seems to keep it from reoccurring again is bleach (something I'm not fond of using for multiple reasons). Though bleaching all surfaces will STILL not keep this virus from spreading (even with intense hand-washing and separating everyone from each other, etc etc etc). So this virus was here and here to stay...and it had to be dealt with at the handling-it stage (since no preventative measures seemed to stop it from spreading).

Activated Charcoal. Let these two little words settle in your mind. Repeat them a few times, then go out and buy this wonderful stuff! After the kids started throwing up (they seem to always get sick like this suddenly in the middle of the night), we knew we were not only next, but that we would have to do something to keep this in check REAL quick. Activated charcoal comes in two forms: pill form (with a gluten capsule) or powder form. I like the pill form and here's why...it's properly measured out to the proper amounts you should be ingesting (not that too much charcoal will hurt you) and it's cleaner and easier to swallow when your throwing up (as the powder must be in liquid and when you're stomach is upset, a big glass of liquid is the LAST thing you want to take). Also, it can be opened up to use as a powder form in drinks should you need to (like what we have to do for our kids as they can't swallow the pills). So having the pills makes it a win-win for the adults AND the kids with their versatility.

No, activated charcoal is not like sucking on a charcoal piece out of the bottom of a grill. Hahaha. It's actually designed for internal use (and topical!) and isn't toxic. It helps clean out your intestines and bowels and aids in stomach pains etc. It also helps to "absorb" all the toxic or viral/bacterial things in your body and trap them, pushing them out the other end...so it makes a perfect healer when you are throwing up!

Well, we all took it and (after--forceably--keeping it down by laying flat on the bed) the stomach pain lessened to almost non-existent. The throwing up completely stopped and we now could function and get some much needed rest to finish combating this horrible stomach virus (without throwing up every two minutes)! This is truly a lifesaver! It may cause more to come out the other end, but I found that it's easier to get up and use the restroom when not throwing up all over the place. And it's easier to keep liquids down and replenish your lost electrolytes when you're throwing up has ceased. (Note: it WILL turn your diarrhea black, but that's a good indicator that it's getting all the bad stuff out!)

TOPICAL ACTIVATED CHARCOAL

FOR WOUNDS, INJURIES, & INFECTIONS:We have used activated charcoal paste (simply powder charcoal from a pill put into a little bowl and adding water until it makes a paste) for many an injury as it draws out infectious bacteria, viruses, and fungus. It also aids in the healing process, much in the same way coconut oil does. One time we used it was for our youngest daughter's puncture injuries (applied right after they happened--before coconut oil) to ensure the toxins are removed and her swelling wouldn't occur. You can basically use it anytime you get a cut, puncture, etc that you don't want to get infected. It's been used all throughout history, and you can find out more about that below...

LEARN MORE ABOUT ACTIVATED CHARCOAL HERE:

http://www.natural-holistic-health.com/the-benefit...

That's all y'all! Keep these items on hand and you can combat the majority of your minor health issues.