What 'alternative' remedies have you tried that really work?

[Magscat]

I swear by Arnica for bumps & bruises but have been disappointed with some other remdies (e.g. pulsitilla for conjuncivitus).

I use lavender oil loads & a few others.

What remedies have you used and which work best - especially on children?

I can't be the only one on here that uses/wants to use alternative remedies !

Echinecea for glue ear (read it in Complimentary medicine for children book) really, really works - on my ds anyway!

Astragulas for lung probs - ds was asthmatic and got loads of chest infections, wonderful immune system support

Kneisology for food intolerance testing

Cranial Osteopathy for dd sleep problems

Reflexology and Acupucuture - for me! wonderful stress relief, system balancing

Some of these are probably not now alternative - but recognised by Main stream medicine too

Found Homeopathy to not work either

cranial osteopathy - it changed my ds1's personality overnight!
acupuncture, luffa complex, saltwater using a neti
and quercertin for my hayfever
phytolacca (homeopathic remedy) for mastitus
never used alternative remedies until i was expecting my first, because i've either been pregnant or breastfeeding for the last 5 years i've had to find alternatives that really work

Oh yes - dh gets relief from his hayfever with Luffa complex

Tea tree oil for skin infections.
Breast milk for conjunctivitis (not sure if that counts as alternative but it worked ).
Passiflora myself for insomnia which worked, valerian which didn't!

Rescue Remedy- great in a crsis ( might be coz it tast4es like brandy!),

Ginseng when I am out of energy and need a perk up

Reflexology

Forgot about reflexology - had a course after 4 years of infertility & got pregnany straight away.

Passaflora is fab! We take it quite often - and always have a bottle in the cupboard

• rescue remedy was my life line when ds was born very premature

Acupuncture - never had period pains since starting it + great for relieving cystitis symptoms

A naturopath recently solved the reason for my ds's incredible constant stream of snot and cured my life long asthma in one £20 sitting. She was like a miracle worker!

Arnica for bumps, bashes and trauma, I agree, really works. You also get cream for bruises.

I've always had successful results with homeopathy.

Echinaecea, definitely.

Cranial osteopathy.

Tea tree oil and garlic for thrush.

Breast milk for sore, chafed skin and, squeezed in the eyes for conjuntivitus.

Sage on mouth ulcers.

Tea tree as gentle disinfectant.

Calendula to help heal skin.

Good, strong cup of cooled camomile tea to get them off to sleep.

Tea tree oil is bloody fantastic stuff. It kills MRSA too!

I went to a healer (this was a in 1997 in NZ) he was also an osteopath and I went for ds (3) as he was just.. lethargic, his eyes were yellowy, he wasn't eating...
Anyway he used a crystal to diagnose him, he announced that my ds had been struck hard on the left side of the head and was severely out of alignemtn so much that one of his legs was an inch longer than the other, so he clicked my ds, there was a loud bang and his eyes brightened, his face pinked up, INCREDIBLE
Then he told me to go easy on potatoes, tomatoes and to take him off cows milk for about a year.
When I moved to the UK he asked if I ever had trouble to send a cutting of ds's hair.
Ds got lathered in warts, sent off the hair. some remedy came back, liquid, to be dropped behind tongie 4 x a day, all warts gone in 7 days
He also cured my asthma (compound called Rutin)
He is truly special man and I still source much from him, I attribute both of my quick labours and deliveries to him.
But our basic tin is lavender, tea tree (use gallons) arnica, belladonna (temperatures) aconite (hayfever/sinus, dry coughs)

magnetic therapy (plasters) which you put on acupressure points, to relieve joint pain (rheumatism/arthritis etc). I'm not particularly a believer in alternative therapies but they worked like a treat on my aching elbow and shoulder. A bit pricey though.

Homeopathic remedies (except a few polycrests like arnica) are not really menat to be used symptomatically, but holistically. You cannot say that remedy A will fix condition A, because the obective of hoemopathy is to treat the whole person so that the body is able to cure itself. People who say homeopathy doesn't work have often just not been treated correctly - or not been treated at all and just picked up over the counter remedies.

Personally, dd was so helped by homeopathy that I'm training myself, but that was after 2 hours worth of consultations and history taking. I do find arnica useful, and cammomilla cream to relieve dry skin conditions. I've also been using a chickweed ointment to relieve my psiorisis until I get round to addressing it homeopathically.

I have acupuncture for sinusitis, and had it for heartburn in pregnancy. It worked for both - I have regular treatments around once a month.

A bachs flower recipe Mimulus is supposed to be good for anxiety - my DD has been on it for 4 months and is a different child - although hard to know if this would have happened anyway with changes in development.

Ooh - some good responses here. I agree with everyone who's mentioned Tea Tree oil & Rescue Remedy - forgot about those.

Prufrock - I know what you mean about homeopathy working on the whole person not just the ailment. I saw a homeopath for about 18 months regarding an ongoing series of stomach/bowel issues (a bit like IBS - had them since a teenager)and it really sorted me out - not sure if it was the remedy or just exploring the triggers (both emotional and physical) that helped though.

As far as the pulsitilla on ds's conjunctivitus went, I did consider his behaviour and emotional state as well as just the infection but maybe I just didn't give enough or stopped too soon.

Used to go to a healer in Ireland for ringworm and chickenpox/shingles when we were kids. Dunno what he put in the cream but it worked. (Mammy said it was he prayed over the cream and being the 7th son of a 7th son he was blessed by God...not sure what the Vatican would think of that mind)

always use warm olive oil for ear aches and cold tea for gunky eyes.

Use aloe vera and teatree on skin complaints.

Camomile tea for nappy rash

olive oil and lavender for dds dry skin. She loves being massaged after her bath.

Agree with tarantula about the olive oil/lavender oil combo for massage and dry skin.
We have found neem shampoo really effective for fending off SE London's supernit population
Arnica and calendula for bumps and scrapes
Kamillosan brilliant for soothing gnawed gnipples
Tea tree oil
Xylitol (birch bark-derived natural sugar) worked brilliantly on ds and ear infections, but seemingly ineffective on dd

love all these lavender also the best thing i have ever used on minor burns
homeo pathic renedies are fantastic you just hace to make sure you get exactly the right one for the job !

and reiki the right type with the right person

Similar but different, has anyone else tried looking at their biorhthms? I started to look on users.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/user/auj/biorhythms.pl sometimes if we were all a bit bored at work, but for the last two years or so have only checked a handful of times if I was really down or really up, and each time my biorhythms were all down or all up accordingly. As the person on this website says, all a bit strange.

Used accupuncture for tendonitis. Man, did it work! Also did wonders for my insomnia.

Arnica and calendula for scraps, bumps and bruises. Good stuff!

Tea tree oil worked on my spots and when I had itchy scalp.

I use lemongrass to scent the vinegar I use as a fabric softener and the cleansers I make and lavender oil in many things.

I also like to make my own oil blends for room freshners and to wear in place of perfume as I don't hold a scent well. I use jojoba oil as a carrier b/c it doesn't go rancid.

Tarantula
My mum has a first cousin (well, she had 52 of them, in fact) who is the 7th son of a 7th son and he is a 'seer'. I thought it was a load of bllcks until I met him. Whoa! I think the legend is that these men are either healers or seers.

lol EIS only 52? what a moderate family . I cant remember much about the healer mum took us to. Wish I could. Im sure they are still around in Ireland but reckon its died out in a lot of places .