Latest Stories

Aloe is helping with eczma

ananeves — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:23:34 GMT

I have already mentioned my son’s eczma problems and my quest to find something that controls the flare ups.

Well, last week I decided to experiment with aloe vera. Aloe has been mentioned here (and here) before but never for eczma and I never thought of using it for that until my mum suggested it to me.

She read about it in a book. The book suggested applying the aloe plant directly on the skin (as described on this entry by kathiegodfrey) but, for kids, it recommended applying aloe gel, instead.

I bought aloe gel and have applied it to a patch of my son’s skin one night. The following day the area was quite red and lloked worth. I gave it another go the following evening and the same redness was visible the following morning.

I stopped for a few days thinking that he may be alergic. But then, I decided to give it one last go. So, last weekend, I applied a bit of gel on one of his hands. In order to dillute the gel a bit, I then applied a very thin layer of moisturising cream (the one I always use). I did not notice any redness on his skin during the day. What I did notice was that his skin was getting better.

I have been applying the cream to the most damanged areas of his skin every morning and evening since then (4 days). His skin is sooooooo much better.

I am really happy that I persisted with the gel. I guess the initial redness was probably his skin getting used to it.

Try lemon verbena to treat your cold

ananeves — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:53:52 GMT

Whilst walking in the garden of a friend in Portugal, I have noticed the
lovely smell coming from a lemon verbena plant. I mentioned the smell and he
quickly pointed out how effective lemon verbena tea is to treat colds.

He picks the leaves and leaves them to dry in the shadow. When the leaves are
dry, he then makes tea by infusing them in boling water.

Limeflower tea to help with anxiety and stress

ananeves — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:49:43 GMT

Yesterday, whilst on the phone with my mum, I said that I have been having daily migraines. She asked me if I have been stressed or anxious lately. I said “Not really” and she, in her motherly tone, just answer:

“In any case, go and do yourself a nice cup of limeflower tea.”

I haven’t heard, or anyone really, say this for a long time but when I heard these words I remembered how my grandma used to say this so often to anyone who would complain about being tired, stressed or anxious. She really believed it would help them calm down and relax a bit. So much so that she always stocked dried lime (linden) flowers at home to prepare a nice cup of tea whenever she, herself, felt worried about something.

educating yourself

theone — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:40:11 GMT

I believe
that the best tool to good health is self-education. I mean that all people should not rely on
recipes of their grandparents and do not rush into taking in medication.

Cocoa butter for strech marks

ananeves — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:22:12 GMT

When I got pregnant my friends immediately told me to start using some creams to minimise the appearance of stretch marks. I bought one of the most well known brands in the UK and I have noticed that the main ingredient was cocoa butter. I have to say that, unfortunately, the cream did not prevent the marks from appearing nor did it help much to make them disappear after they were there.

A fortnight ago, my mother-in-law called me very excited saying that she had found out a great cream that made her old stretch marks pretty much disappear in less than 2 weeks.

I ordered the cream straight away and it arrived in the post this morning. Guess what? The main ingredient is cocoa butter and vitamin E.

Let’s see if it works for me as well.