TO TREAT COMMON AILMENTS

City’s Premier Resource on Alternative and Integrative Health Offers Tips for Consumers This Summer

CHICAGO, Ill. , June 21, 2004 –As summer gets underway and Chicagoans are enjoying the outdoors, JoAnn-Luise Hefferle, founder of ChicagoHealers.com, the city’s premier alternative health and healing resource , offers tips on how to prevent and treat minor ailments that typically occur this time of year with easy, home remedies. Ailments that can be managed with home remedies include bee stings, mosquito bites, sunburn, scrapes, heat exhaustion, hay fever and poison ivy.

ChicagoHealers.com offers the following tips for consumers this season:

Bee Sting (after removing stinger):

Ice the sore spot for approximately 10 minutes.

Make a paste using cool water, baking soda, crushed papaya enzyme and a crushed aspirin, and apply the mixture to the sting.

Poison Ivy:

Add 1 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar and oatmeal flakes to bath water and soak to reduce itching and irritation.

Apply Aloe Vera gel to relieve burning and itching.

Rub tofu or watermelon rind for a cooling relief.

Mosquito Bites:

Rub arms and legs with fabric softener sheets prior to going outdoors to ward off mosquitoes.

Eat foods rich in B Vitamins, brown rice and fish before going outside to repel mosquitoes. (avoid refined sugar and alcohol)

Rub toothpaste over affected area to stop itching.

Sunburn:

Take an herbal bath of 6 cups of chamomile tea or 6 drops of chamomile oil to lukewarm water to minimize pain.

Apply chilled Aloe Vera Gel with Vitamin E to decrease burning sensation and assist rejuvenation process.

Skinned Knee:

Clean the cut with soap and water, and apply antibacterial ointment or Aloe Vera.

Keep the wound moist by sealing with a bandage to insure less infection, faster healing and less scaring.

Do not use alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or iodine as this will allow or cause drying.

Heat Exhaustion:

Apply ice packs to the neck, groin and axillae, and alternatively cover with a wet sheet.

Take a cool shower, bath or sponge bath.

Get plenty of rest and drink cool, non-alcoholic beverages to hydrate.

Hay Fever and Allergies:

Place slices of cold cucumbers and alternate with
cool, previously steeped black tea bags to relieve itchy eyes.

Eat foods rich in magnesium such as fruits (especially bananas), vegetables, grains and raw nuts and seeds.

Eat yogurt twice daily to reduce symptoms, especially those triggered by grass pollens.

Bee Sting (after removing stinger):

Ice the sore spot for approximately 10 minutes.

Make a paste using cool water, baking soda, crushed papaya enzyme and a crushed aspirin, and apply the mixture to the sting.

Skinned Knee:

Clean the cut with soap and water, and apply antibacterial ointment or Aloe Vera.

Keep the wound moist by sealing with a bandage to insure less infection, faster healing and less scaring.

Do not use alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or iodine as this will allow or cause drying.