Wouldn’t it be great if we could be guaranteed perfect health while travelling? Unfortunately, the stress of being on the move often takes a toll on our bodies. Whether it’s an insect bite, an ulcer or a cold, these food-based natural remedies can help cure your ailments while travelling.
Sore throat
There’s nothing like a sore throat or a cold to slow you down on the road. Ginger is an age-old remedy for the common cold. To soothe a sore throat, make yourself a cup of tea with ginger and boiling water. Add lemon and honey if available for extra-soothing comfort.
Mouth ulcers
The stress of travel can often bring on this pesky and painful condition. When mouth ulcers are making you wince on holiday, raid the condiment stand of hotels and restaurants for their salt packets. A mouth rinse of half a teaspoon of salt dissolved in a cup warm water, four times per day, will see your ulcers disappear in a day or two.
Insect repellent
Coffee has a strong odour (and acidity make up) that repels insects such as mosquitoes, ants, maggots and wasps. After some online research, we found that by burning dry ground coffee, you have an instant insect repellent. Simply stand a matchstick in a small container of dry coffee grounds, light it up and watch the bugs disappear.
Insect bites
To stop the itching and swelling from insect bites, you can apply a slice of raw tomato to the area. This will help to reduce pain and inflammation.
Tea tree oil, baking soda and white toothpaste (rather than the gel variety) are also excellent ways of treating bites.
Stings
When treating stings, first make sure the person doesn’t have an allergic reaction. You should remove the stinger using a piece of sticky tape and scrape off any remaining tentacles with a credit card.
Vinegar can help to alleviate the pain of poisonous stings, such as jellyfish and wasp stings. Douse the infected area with vinegar before rinsing with any type of salt water, then apply a cold compress. Avoid rinsing stings with fresh water or applying alcohol-based ointments, as these can aggregative the wound and increase pain.
Stress
As travelling can take a toll on our psychological health as well as our physical health, it’s important to cure any anxiety that may arise too. Eating a banana can go a long way in boosting your serotonin levels, raising your glucose levels and making you feel happy – bananas make healthy travel snacks too.
Sun burn
While sunscreen is the best method to protect against sunburn, in a tight spot, you can slice open an avocado and rub it onto your skin. The oils and nutrients in the fruit are absorbed quickly into the skin and offer some UV protection. Avocado oil is known for its moisturising benefits, so it makes a great cleansing oil, make up base and hair conditioner.
Aloe Vera juice (straight from the plant) has soothing qualities and is widely used for treating a variety of burns. It is also an anti-bacterial that can help with pain and itching.
Stomach problems
Cinnamon has been used by many ancient cultures throughout history to help calm the stomach. Today we can still use it to help alleviate nausea, gastrointestinal problems, urinary infections, colds and travel sickness. Simply steep half a teaspoon of cinnamon in one cup of boiling water and sip slowly. If your stomach allows, you can also eat foods with cinnamon included.
Traveller’s diarrhoea
We’re not saying yoghurt is a miracle food but it is one of the best and healthiest food acids around. It’s a probiotic that boosts your immunity and can help to cure traveller’s diarrhoea, by balancing your gut’s bacteria. Natural Greek yogurt also does wonders for the maintenance of your overall general health.
Do you use any other natural remedies at home or while travelling?
