Official Poll: What's your favorite/most useful natural remedy?

[Support]

My favorite one of late has been castor oil. Useful for so, so, so many things that we have taken to keeping several bottles of the stuff on hand. It's a topical anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antibacterial, antimicrobial. It's a one stop treatment for scale mites in chickens, working long after you can no longer see the oil, helping the leg to grow new and healthy scales and helping the old, affected scales slough off.

It's wonderful for my arthritis pain and can ease the pain within a half hour and last for days instead of hours, unlike the PO pain meds. Also doesn't make me drowsy or loggy like PO pain meds.

It's great for dry and split open feet, causing the old skin to slough and showing new, fresh and smooth skin to appear...my ol' Ma's feet have never looked better and I've tried keeping her feet healthy for several winters now with soaks and the application of numerous emollients...but nothing has worked like castor oil.

Wound dressing...castor oil is great for dressing a wound that you mean to leave open to air, as on dogs or chickens. Slap some castor oil on it and forget it, not only does it heal quickly but it also regrows hair and feathers at record speed. Even faster than NuStock and that's saying a lot.

Hair...use it on hair as a hot oil treatment and causes my hair to shine like the sun, grow longer and thicker and stay stronger. Also seems to restore more color to my greying hair, so that the brown is richer and more evident and the grey is brighter and less dull.

When I get new chickens in the flock I give them each a dose of oral castor oil, slather it into their scales and around their vents, then I dust them with sulfur or lime in case they are hiding any carry on bugs. That's my whole program for introducing new birds to the flock and it's worked like a charm.

I haven't scratched the surface for all the useful purposes for castor oil ~haven't used it yet for its intended purpose of laxative, but as time goes along I'm sure I'll find many more. Any time something stumps me, I always say, "Put some castor oil on it and see what happens" and we are most often amazed at what happens.

That's my favorite natural remedy for the past few years...can't say enough good about castor oil.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...28/castor-oil-to-treat-health-conditions.aspx

Never knew castor oil had soooo many uses. Thanks for sharing this!

 

[Support]

Nice discovery @moxies_chickennuggets

 

[Denim Deb]

Hi Moxie! Long time no see.

 

[Support]

Great input guys!

 

[goatgurl]

going to have to remember to try the castor oil. the jewel weed is also great to use on a poison ivy rash. i use lavender oil for poison ivy too. stops the itch and after just a few applications dries it up.

 

[Denim Deb]

I've used salt water for mouth sores for years.

 

[seedtrader-ss]

Comfrey for bone injuries, arnica for pain, Aloe for burns and scrapes.various homeopathic meds as needed.

This is not the same as grow & make your own, but it's what I do now, until I learn more about medicinal plants.

 

[baymule]

Bone spurs - calcium fluoride. It is one of 12 cell salts your body needs. I had a very painful heel spur, limped badly and could hardly put my foot down. I took Hylands calcium flouride, plus a cell salt consisting of all 12 combined. It took several months, but it disappeared and no more pain. Well worth it.

 

[baymule]

Bleeding diseased gums-swish with hydrogen peroxide several times a day. Spit it out.

 

[baymule]

Arthritus pain-gin and raisins. Fill a jar half full of raisins, cover with gin. Let set for several days, then take a teaspoon of raisins every day. They taste NASTY! But they reduce inflammation and pain. It might take 3 days or 3 weeks for results, but it almost always brings relief.