For anyone like me who has arthritis or siilar in their hands, but a penchant for knitting/sewing/baking/doing ANYTHING at all with their hands....
make a batch of bathbombs to this recipe:
1 cup Baking Soda
1/2 cup Corn Starch
1/4 cup Epsom Salt
1/2 cup Citric Acid
Wet ingredients:
2-3/4 tablespoons Almond Oil
3/4 tablespoon Water
1/4 teaspoon Borax (optional)
1-1/2 teaspoon Fragrance oil or Essential Oil
Colorant if wanted
Mix all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and then in a separate dish or cup mix wet ingredients and then combine the two. I use a wire wisk….the mix doesn’t really even look wet but it compacts nicely into molds and after drying through the night they are rock hard and fizz for almost 2 minutes.
Make sure to whisk fast when adding wet ingredients to prevent fizzing whisk for a good minute and then press mix into your mold.
as your essential oil, use lavender.
the borax and cornstarch act as a water softener. the epsom salts and lavender are anti inflammatories. the fizing feels like a hand Jacuzzi. I made a batch of these bad boys and instead of using the "proper" big bath bomb moulds, I used little teensy chocolate moulds. about a tablespoon of mixture in each. when my arthritis is bad, I put some very warm water in a big mixing bowl and dump one or two of these in. they work better than the ibuprofen gel the doctor gave me!!!
oh and I didn't have almond oil and wasn't aware that the little indian store near my house sells it (I am now!!!) so I just used veg oil. you can use groundnut too so long as you've not got peanut allergy. I was intending to give these as little xmas gifts so I went the non allergenic route.... but I'm keeping them. they're mine! aaaaall miiiiine!!!! muuuuuwahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!
oh, and these have got me through the knitting of one and a half adult sized Tardis socks so far.
if you eat a tablespoon of your local UNpasteurized honey (ie made in the same state as you live) a day, and you're allergic to pollen, it should reduce your allergic reaction.
my dad has been trying the honey for 2 springs and summers now. he has asthma and it's aggrevated every year by first the tree pollens and then the flower pollens. he used to get really bad (hospitalisation bad) attacks but he's not had a severe attack since he started on the honey therapy. and it was recommended to him but his resp consultant too! mum buys his honey from a guy near her work which is about 2 miles from their house. it's really floral, yummy honey too because the bees feed in a suburban area, so they get a lot of flowers to enjoy.
Gripe Water is FREAKING AWESOME. the main herbal active ingredient is dillweed! so, I always keep a stash of the seeds handy. if I know I'm feeling gripey (IBS is a bitch) I chew some. it really works. and another baby thing, Teething Powders. They work on adult toothache as well. I have a wisdom tooth that coes up for air occasionally, irritates everything around it, eventually infects the whole area, puts me on antibiotics and then decides to bugger off back into my gum again. sinceI've been putting teething powders on, I've not had an infection in the area and it goes away twice as quickly.
store bought "drawing salves" are made from... guess what? EPSOM SALTS. Magnesium Sulfate.
also, honey being antibacterial, is freaking amazing on diarrhoea. 2x5ml tsps after your first wet poop then 1x5ml tsp after every other one until it starts to solidify, but no more than 6 doses in a day... but if you're running a temperature. don't do it. if you're running a temperature, your body is trying to rid you of something VERY nasty and taking honey could delay things and make you sicker. same with immodium and similar stuff.
I'll have to tell the Manflesh about the links of tumeric and gall bladder help, he has gall bladder "gravel" and gets flare ups from time to time.
