If winter has you coughing and sneezing, and your skin and fur parched, however you'd rather not spend another dime on drugstore remedies, steps for what ails could be as near as your kitchen.
This year's Old Farmer's Almanac, which has been a source for weather predictions, recipes and this and since 1792, has an article, "Four Seasons of Homemade 1st Aid." Here are the winter season tricks, compiled by Sarah Perreault:
• Cold and flu season got you down? Include fresh garlic to chicken soup and other foods, or swallow whole chunks of raw garlic as you would pills. Garlic is an organic antibiotic and helps to support your defense mechanisms.
• Unsightly cold sore making you want to stay house? Dab the area two times daily with a warm, wet, black tea bag for 5 minutes. Black tea's tannins have an anti-inflammatory effect on cold sores.
• Home treatment heat drying out your skin? Immerse yourself in a warm (not very hot) bathtub for at least 10 minutes. Oats act as an anti-inflammatory and soothe the itch. Add just about one cup of finely ground oatmeal to your bath.
• Chapped lips making it hurtful to pucker up? Go to sleep with honey on your lips or dab coconut oil on the dry region. Honey's anti-bacterial properties can help to prevent infection as well as moisturize cracked lips. Coconut is loaded with beneficial minerals for moisturizing skin.
Perreault didn't address free of moisture fur needs to have, so we turned to an online Woman's Day newspaper for a few ideas. As it turns out, along with chapped lips, honey goes a very long way in treating parched hair, too.
The article, "8 Homemade Hair Treatments," by Brynn Mannino, quotes Janice Cox, author of "Natural Beauty at Home treatment."
"Whatever your hair-dehydrating demon -- hard water, sun overexposure, your trusty flat iron -- nature's sweetener can help," says Cox. "Honey is an organic humectant, which means it allures and locks in moisture."
