Some of the important things that people complain of when they go to doctors' offices are allergies, backache, "I'm tired," skin problems, headaches... these very common things of life. Most of these can be handled by people in their own homes. And just ordinary people can be taught how to handle these things responsibly in their own homes. So, we'd like to talk with you about some of the ways that, in your own home, you can do SAFE things. You can do effective things for these for the GREAT bulk of human ills that afflict people. For the next half an hour, I and a helper from Uchee Pines Institute will be talking with you about these kinds of things. I'm Agatha Thrash, one of the staff physicians from Uchee Pines Institute. We'd be happy to have you join us. Welcome to "Help Yourself to Health" with Dr. Agatha Thrash of Uchee Pines Institute. And now, here's your host Dr. Thrash. Skin problems make up a large part of the afflictions of mankind. And some of the simple ones are like eczema... and I say simple because even though I can tell you about how to treat it, eczema can be a very great challenge. But some of the things that we have tried for skin eczema consist of soaks in cold water, or cold water soaks on the skin, or moisturizing, or various kinds of liniments and ointments and you will try that too if you have eczema. But one of the most successful things that we have tried is... what we call "Vaseline milk" And I have asked my granddaughter, Melissa, if she will show you how we make up Vaseline milk in our own home. What you do is to simply dip the hands in water, such as we have here, and then shake off the excess as you see And then take a bean-sized lump of Vaseline such as this... and rub it between the palms And Melissa is going to do that now. Just scoop up the Vaseline, or other types of petroleum jelly, from the jar and then vigorously rub it between the palms... trying to make an emulsion. And there's a little resistance here, so you'll need to really work at it a little bit... and then you will see that it does get a little bit cloudy after you have done this for a little while. And, let's see what it looks like. It looks a little cloudy... a little bit milky and that's what you want. Once it gets milky, then it's ready to smooth on. Now, watch the way that Melissa smoothes it on... She's going to go in the direction of the skin lines because the eczema is usually on the hands and the skin lines crack open. Now if you go against the skin lines so that you pull in a wrong direction, then of course, you will have a tendency to open up these skin lines more. Thank you, Melissa. Now once you have this, of course, your hands are sort of greasy and you won't be able to touch anything that's paper for a little while. So, remember that you do not pull in THIS direction... You rub the Vaseline emulsion on the hand in this direction only... not in this direction. And that also brings up another thing... and that is "no scratching" because people usually scratch in this direction, or even if they scratch in this direction... it's still going to open up the skin lines in little microscopic cracks and doing that then keeps the eczema going ...because it allows the substances to which the person is sensitive, to get in those tiny, little cracks and then it's exposed more to the skin cells and that makes the skin continue its eczema. And while the scratching may not have started the eczema, the scratching does continue it. And so your treatment will be largely ineffectual because of the fact that you're continuing to keep it wide open. One time I had a patient who was instructed on not to scratch... so I saw her doing this kind of thing... during the time that I was talking with her and telling her what to do. And, for a moment I thought... "Is she just being noncompliant right here in front of me" But, after a little bit, I said to her, when she began to do this rubbing... "Uh uh, don't scratch it. " She said, "Oh, I wasn't scratching it. " And I said... then I thought, "Well she thinks that the fingernails are the only thing that you can scratch with. " But rubbing it against something else, or rubbing it against your clothing, is just as bad as scratching it with the fingernails. You will try many things and, of course, you should try to avoid soapy water or detergent water, cleaning fluids and that kind of thing which makes eczema much worse. Now, Don Miller is here with me, who is one of the ones that we depend on to teach about home remedies. So, what do you have for us... Don Miller Okay... One of the banes of many peoples lives is staying awake They just can't stay awake in the daytime Every time they turn around they're falling asleep again. Now, I need to stress the fact that the best way to keep from falling asleep in the daytime is make sure you fell asleep in the nighttime... at the right time in the nighttime. The SOONER you go to sleep at night, the BETTER will be your daytime experience the next day. But let's say you're having a hard time staying awake... I remember years ago when I was in college, I was sitting there in geology class and a classmate of mine... I was about 4 rows back and he was about the 1st or 2nd row over to my left and he had a very interesting technique for staying awake while he was in the classroom. He would sit himself at his desk... and he would have a pencil held in his hands sitting on top of the desk... a sharpened pencil. And he had everything measured out. This guy was precise. And he'd be sitting there listening to the professor droning on about circs and about alluvial plains and everything and his head would slowly start going down, down, down and he'd go down so far, he'd hit the pencil and he'd come right back up again. And he'd listen for a while longer and he'd start getting tired and he'd start going back down again ...he'd go down, hit that sharp pencil, and right back up again. Well, he'd leave the class every day with a little brown mark in the middle of his forehead But, he stayed awake for the MOST part most of the class. And so that's one way... I don't recommend that because, you know, the lead, the fact that you might miss one of these days and get some other part of your head So, let's don't do that... Let's think about some much easier ways. One is just... if you know you're going to be falling asleep, OR you have a propensity to fall asleep, carry some things with you. You can have, in a little plastic bag, a wet handkerchief... as cool as possible, when you feel yourself getting tired, pull it out and just press it on the eyes. And that will help you sometimes. Another thing that you can do is open your eyes as wide as they can go and then close them as tight as they can shut... And usually a few actions like that will help you to stay awake Now I don't recommend that while you're driving down the road because that part of keeping the eyes real closed is not very safe. But I'll mention another way to do that in a moment. Other things that you can do is at breakfast time... as you are peeling your orange, keep a piece of the peel. Put it into a plastic bag, then in the daytime when you're feeling tired, bring that peeling out, bend it in half and squeeze it and some of that little oil, that's in the skin, and just smell it. It has a way to wake you back up again. Now, I know some people who carry a little vial of ammonia with them and they'll open... ohhh... and they'll wake themselves up, and they'll wake up everyone else around them. But you can do that... that's what smelling salts used to be... You can try that right there. You can carry with you a brush and start stimulating your skin... stimulating a part of your body with a brush and that will help stay awake. You can squeeze a major muscle... You can be sitting there massaging your arm or reach down there and grab your thigh and just squeeze those muscles... That will help! You can sit there and, if you are driving, ...I've done things like hang my head out the window... I can yell. I can sing and do all these things. But if everything else fails, in my experience to stay awake, there's one, especially when you're driving which you can pretty easily do, especially if you have cruise control, is as you're driving down the road and you're feeling tired, just lift one foot up off the floorboards ...just keep it up and you can do that sitting at home and if you're in a class and you don't want to sleep, just lift the foot up off the floor. And as long as that foot is off the floor, you WILL NOT fall asleep. Pretty soon, your whole concentration is on keeping that foot up in the air... And you're sitting there holding it and holding it... and as a matter of fact, you're getting even more awake because you're holding it there... And when finally the forces of gravity and the weight of your 1 shoe and everything else says, "I can't1 do it anymore" 1 it goes down... the other leg comes1 up. 1 And basically, you pedal yourself...1 1 all the way through class. 1 You pedal yourself all the way through1 Illinois or California 1 or wherever you're going... up and down,1 up and down. 1 I have found this to be a rather effective1 way. 1 Now, the great Winston Churchill had1 a technique which 1 I have found very effective for myself.1 1 When you are so overwhelmingly tired, 1 take a nap!1 1 And this is what Winston Churchill would do,1 1 he'd be sitting there in Parliament, 1 and they'd be droning on... and he had1 a habit 1 He'd be sitting there and all of a sudden1 1 his head would go down... his chin would be on his chest1 1 It would stay down there for just 2, 3, 4 minutes...1 1 and he'd come back up again. 1 And he'd be perfectly refreshed.1 1 I find the same thing for myself. 1 If I'm in my office and I'm just getting1 overwhelmingly 1 tired... I just get up and I lay down1 on my floor 1 I don't sit there and go home.1 1 I just lock the door, lay flat down on my floor,1 1 and I'll be asleep in a second 1 And I find that if I just sleep for1 1 minute, 1 I am completely refreshed...1 1 And it really helps if I wake up to the phone ringing1 1 or a knock at the door... 1 Then I've got some adrenalin flowing...1 1 because... oh-oh, someone's going to catch me1 1 AND the fact that I have had that little bit of rest1 1 to get me over the hump. 1 So, those are some of the things I DO1 to keep awake 1 And I think they're better than taking1 a NoDoz 1 or a cup of coffee, Dr. Thrash.1 1 I think you're right on both of those. 1 Afflictions in the mouth are also problematical1 1 for a lot of people. 1 Something like a toothache can upset1 your budget, 1 as well as your schedule.1 1 Especially if it comes at night and you have to get up1 1 and call a dentist and the dentist has to come1 1 to attend you in the middle of the night. 1 That will be very straining on your1 budget. 1 So, there are some things that you can1 do that will sometimes 1 will tide you over and get you through1 a night. 1 Or can sometimes get you over the toothache.1 1 One of those is clove oil. 1 You can find this sometimes at a grocery1 store, 1 or at a department store, or anywhere1 they sell 1 aromatic oils.1 1 Just get a little bit of clove oil and take up1 1 something like a Q-tip or the end of a Q-tip1 1 that has the cotton on it, 1 wet it with the clove oil and put it1 right against the 1 tooth that aches.1 1 Now as you put it there, you will immediately recognize1 1 that your gum begins to have a little anesthesia.1 1 And it isn't long before the tooth nerve itself1 1 begins to have a little anesthesia. 1 And that's, of course, very delightful1 because 1 the toothache begins to subside.1 1 Another thing for a toothache... 1 is a little compress made of charcoal.1 1 Take a little piece of paper towel, 1 which you can cut in a little square,1 1 maybe an inch or 2 inches in a square. 1 And just make up a little thick paste1 of charcoal 1 Put it on that little square.1 1 And I like to have people put it on a spoon...1 1 and then they can maneuver it a little better back into1 1 the jaw where the tooth is aching 1 And in this way, they can get it into1 the proper place 1 and pull the jaw down, or the lip down1 over it 1 and hold it in place1 1 And often within 5 minutes or so, 1 the charcoal paste will cause the toothache1 to be going away. 1 Another thing in the mouth that you1 can use 1 the charcoal for is a gum boil.1 1 Sometimes you'll have a little swelling on a gum,1 1 or you may even have an abscess. 1 And the charcoal compress is good for1 that. 1 If you have a tooth abscess, you do1 need the services 1 of a skilled dentist but, before you1 can get that, 1 you may need to treat it somewhat yourself.1 1 So the charcoal compress will sometimes take the pain1 1 and swelling out of the gum where the abscess is1 1 and so will aloe vera. 1 If you have aloe Vera growing in your1 home, 1 take a little bit of one of the blades...1 a little segment of it 1 Peel one side of it only.1 1 Leave the other side unpeeled because that makes it stiff1 1 and holds it stiff long enough for you to get it into place.1 1 So then you put it in the gutter... either up or down1 1 where you have the abscessed tooth and that will also1 1 help to remove the inflammation and pain1 1 from the abscessed tooth. 1 Turmeric mouthwashes... Hot turmeric1 mouthwashes 1 can also be helpful.1 1 Take a tablespoonful, or even a teaspoonful 1 of turmeric and stir it in a large glass1 of water 1 and gargle with that, or do your mouthwash1 with that. 1 You can then expectorate that, or you1 can swallow it... 1 either way.1 1 If you swallow some of it, 1 it acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.1 1 It is also a local anti-inflammatory agent on1 1 your abscessed tooth. 1 Now aphthous ulcers, or mouth ulcers1 1 can be treated extremely simply. 1 When you recognize that you're getting1 a mouth ulcer, 1 you feel it there, or you see that swollen1 1 taste bud on your tongue... 1 and you know that the mouth ulcer is1 coming... 1 At that point, don't delay...1 1 at that point, drink a glassful of water 1 every 10 minutes for an hour.1 1 And in most cases, the mouth ulcer will not develop.1 1 But if it does develop, then you can use the turmeric1 1 mouthwash, or take a little paste of turmeric1 1 and simply put it on the place where you have the1 1 mouth ulcer and it will help a lot. 1 But even after it develops, if you've1 neglected it, 1 or it comes on and you weren't able1 to take the glassful 1 of water every 10 minutes for an hour1 at the beginning, 1 when you do recognize that it's there,1 then take the water. 1 Sometimes people will get a mouth ulcer1 to develop 1 from a place where they have bitten1 the tongue, 1 or bitten the inside of the mouth...1 1 Again, it's the glassful of water every 10 minutes1 1 for an hour and in most cases, the water itself1 1 will have a healing effect on the place where you have1 1 bitten it and the interior of the mouth heals,1 1 and so does the entire gastrointestinal tract1 1 has an extremely fast rate of healing... 1 It's one of the fastest tissues in the1 body to heal 1 and so it will often heal very nicely1 without any further ado. 1 And now... Don Miller.1 1 It looks as if you've got some nice things here to show.1 1 Well every time you talk, I think of other things1 1 about what you're talking about. 1 You've got a show and tell.1 1 I do have a show and tell but I want to tell something1 1 about what she was just talking about... 1 Because I used to be plagued with these1 canker sores 1 or mouth ulcers.1 1 And I have found in my experience, 1 if I allow myself to become dehydrated,1 1 I am much more likely to develop a mouth ulcer.1 1 And so, if I'm brushing my teeth, 1 and I jam my gums with my toothbrush,1 1 I KNOW I'm going to get a mouth ulcer. 1 At that point, as Dr. Thrash says,1 1 I drink a glass of water every 10 minutes for an hour.1 1 And normally, it will not develop. 1 Other things you can use on a mouth1 ulcer... 1 I have used, at times, goldenseal paste1 1 A little bit of goldenseal... 1 I just sprinkle it right onto the ulcer1 once it has developed 1 and it has a very nice antiseptic effect1 1 and will sometimes completely take it away overnight.1 1 I've also used things like... 1 I do really strange things to myself...1 1 I'll do ANYTHING to get rid of a mouth ulcer.1 1 I have tried putting cayenne pepper directly on1 1 the mouth ulcer trying to cauterize it because1 1 maybe that came from the thought years ago...1 1 I was stationed in Key West, Florida... 1 a good friend of mine who was a doctor,1 1 I had a REAL bad one on the inside of my lip and he said...1 1 "No problem, I'll take care of it" 1 Went into the clinic there at the Naval1 Air Station... 1 He took out this long stick...1 1 it looked like a match with a black head on it1 1 And he opened my lip up and he dried it off,1 1 and he took this thing and just touched it.1 1 Well it was silver nitrate. 1 It burned like fire for about 5 seconds1 1 and that's the last I ever felt of that particular canker sore.1 1 It was gone with the wind. 1 And so sometimes the cayenne pepper1 WILL help. 1 Sometimes putting salt on it...1 1 I put salt... I've done EVERYTHING I could1 1 to get rid of these things. 1 But I find if I keep from traumatizing1 myself, 1 and if I keep myself well-hydrated,1 1 I'm a whole lot better off. 1 Now I've just mentioned salt...1 1 Let me give you a nice remedy that we can do with salt.1 1 Many times we have sinus infections... we have sinusitis1 1 We've got stuffed up sinuses. 1 MANY people have these things.1 1 First of all, why do you have a stuffed up sinus?1 1 Probably an allergy. 1 Find out where your allergen is and1 get rid of it. 1 But a GOOD thing to do for this type1 of a problem, 1 OR at the beginning of the cold and1 flu season... 1 I recommend that everybody at the beginning1 of the 1 cold and flu season...1 1 OR if people in your environment are coming down sick,1 1 do a nasal irrigation. 1 Very simple to do.1 1 All it takes is... get a pint of water. 1 This isn't a full pint but you get a1 pint jar, 1 and that's the best way to do it.1 1 You just get a pint jar... don't sit there and have to figure out1 1 ...all right 2 cups is this thing or that thing.1 1 2 cups - 1 pint of water that's body temperature...1 1 Just slightly warm water and then take a teaspoonful1 1 of salt... place it into the water. 1 This becomes what we call a saline solution1 1 because your body is saline. 1 Now the first time I heard about this1 treatment, 1 I sat there and listened and I said...2 "Good treatment. " 2 And I learned this treatment by using2 a Waterpik. 2 There is a special attachment for a2 Waterpik that has a 2 bulb on the end and you just sit there2 and you put this 2 bulb up one nostril and you turn the2 machine on 2 and it just pumps that water up, it2 goes through your sinuses 2 comes out your other nostril,2 2 comes out your Eustachian tube... you're spitting it2 2 But it's really GREAT and I thought... 2 "That's a nice treatment. "2 2 Well, about a month or so later, 2 I felt like I wanted to try it because2 I probably 2 needed it at the time.2 2 And I forgot one part that I don't want you to forget.2 2 I forgot the salt. 2 I just put warm water in there...2 2 stuck this Waterpik thing up my nose, 2 turned it on and it felt like I had2 a bunch 2 of little guys in my head with hammers2 just hammering away. 2 Now I thought... Hmm, I must really2 be sick... 2 so I've got to go ahead and endure this2 pain. 2 And I endured a whole pint of warm straight2 water up my nose 2 And then it struck me later on "ah...2 saline" 2 Use saline.2 2 Now you may not have a Waterpik... 2 You may not have all this fancy equipment,2 2 but there's one piece of equipment that 2 almost all of us have and that is the2 good old hand. 2 And all I do when I'm doing this thing2 is I pour some 2 water in the palm of my hand...2 2 I hold one nostril shut and just sniff it up your nose.2 2 And I keep doing that a few times on this side,2 2 a few times on this side... back and forth, back and forth2 2 If you don't want to use your hand, 2 I've used a large spoon.2 2 Just take a large spoon, hold one nostril shut2 2 and... breath it ALL UP in... 2 You're not going to drown in the spoon,2 2 or in the palm of your hand. 2 It doesn't go down into your lungs...2 2 it just goes into your sinus passages, 2 down your Eustachian tube...2 2 And this has a very nice clearing process 2 and clearing effect on the sinus passages2 2 AND it will protect you 2 from the colds that are coming down2 the road. 2 At the beginning of cold season...2 2 stay well-hydrated, do some nasal irrigations, 2 stay away from the sweets...2 2 And just like Dr. Thrash mentioned, 2 if we have one of these things developing2 in us, 2 a cold... she mentioned this about a2 mouth ulcer... 2 If you feel that first symptom of a2 cold, 2 the treatment of choice...2 2 a glass of water every 10 minutes for an hour.2 2 You do that and then in-between the glasses,2 2 you walk outside and you take 40-50 deep inspirations of air2 2 And almost ALWAYS, this will shortstop the disease2 2 as long as you are doing everything else right...2 2 staying away from the sweets, getting to bed on time,2 2 getting your sunshine, and exercise, 2 Paul says, "It's your reasonable service2 to present your body 2 a living sacrifice. "2 2 And I think these are pretty reasonable, Dr. Thrash.2 2 That's why they're called simple home remedies.2 2 Simple home remedies. 2 Earaches are another part of the bane2 of mankind. 2 And earaches can be due to a stopped2 up Eustachian tube. 2 It can be due to an affliction in the2 external ear 2 in what we call the ear canal.2 2 Or, it can be an infection in the middle ear which2 2 has the ossicles... the hammer, anvil and stirrup in it,2 2 just behind the eardrum. 2 Wherever it may be, you can always treat2 it by treating 2 the back of the throat2 2 because the Eustachian tube which comes from the middle ear,2 2 down through the head and the end of it2 2 is back on the back of the oropharynx, way into the2 2 nasopharynx. 2 It's right there where you want to get2 the treatment 2 at the end of the Eustachian tube.2 2 And so, if you gargle, you will gargle so that2 2 the fluid that you're gargling with will be hot against the2 2 opening of the Eustachian tube 2 And that reflexively gives a treatment2 to the middle ear. 2 So for children and for others that2 you don't want to 2 irrigate the ear, or they will not allow2 you to put a 2 compress on the side of the head,2 2 they may allow you to either irrigate, again with a Waterpik2 2 or with a plain bulb syringe that you just inject the water2 2 into the back of the throat as far as you can.2 2 With this, you may get a very good treatment to the ears.2 2 So remember that... that it doesn't have to be2 2 always on the outside that you treat the ear...2 2 You can treat the ear through the gargles in the mouth.2 2 Gargling may also be good for a cough. 2 You might think that gargling would2 not help with that, 2 but because the gargle also helps the2 sinuses, 2 and a postnasal drip from inflamed sinuses2 often goes 2 down into the bronchial tubes and that2 causes you 2 to have a cough... that can be treated2 also by the gargle. 2 Now I'd like to say a word to people2 who are overweight... 2 A lot of times, people who are overweight2 2 make a BIG mistake. 2 They say... "I'm going to go on a diet2 and 2 I heard Dr. Thrash say you eliminate2 free fats and you 2 just take 2 meals a day,2 2 and you eat nothing between meals, 2 and you become a total vegetarian,2 2 and eat nothing after 4 o'clock in the afternoon,"2 2 and these are all very good things. 2 They are good things that I can almost2 guarantee 2 they will cause you to lose weight.2 2 Almost ALL people will lose weight just on those things.2 2 Eliminating the free fats... that's margarine,2 2 mayonnaise, fried foods, cooking fat, salad oils,2 2 and even nut butters for a while. 2 And then being a total vegetarian.2 2 A person can eat a sufficient quantity... 2 so that they do not feel uncomfortable.2 2 And then, another thing is that of omitting the 3rd meal.2 2 Just taking 2 meals a day, and omitting supper.2 2 And in this way, I can almost guarantee 2 that you will lose weight.2 2 But many people say, "Well I will do that but2 2 then I will take a vacation every once in a while.2 2 I will perhaps use one weekend a month 2 that I will eat this or I will eat that...2 that's off my diet" 2 Let me encourage you not to do that.2 2 Because anytime you do that, it is no kindness to yourself.2 2 You may think, I will sort of pat myself a little bit...2 2 I will give myself this kind of vacation, 2 and I will feel better about everything2 2 and I will not TOTALLY leave ALL those things2 2 that I once enjoyed. 2 I can almost guarantee on this too...2 2 that if you take that attitude about it,2 2 the time is coming when you will be back on the same2 2 kind of diet that you have already PROVEN 2 You've already PROVEN that that kind2 of diet 2 makes you overweight.2 2 And so, if you go back to that even one weekend a month,2 2 or when somebody has their 50th wedding anniversary,2 2 or whenever... 2 That vacation from your diet, will do2 the same thing for you 2 that a vacation from your MARRIAGE2 2 would do to your marriage. 2 If you took a vacation from your marriage2 2 one weekend a month, that would not do anything2 2 very beneficial for it. 2 And the same thing is true with any2 lifestyle habit. 2 Let us say you're stopping smoking,2 2 do not take a cigarette every once in a while.2 2 Some people say, "Well, I'll only take 1 cigarette2 2 per day... and that's all... just one. 2 To these individuals, I can almost guarantee2 2 that you will be back on the cigarettes full force2 2 before too long. 2 Simple things make for a strong life...2 2 And our lifestyles are a lot of habit 2 and a lot of hard work at times2 2 ...But they very much pay off. 2 And I recommend to you, that you establish2 2 the very BEST habits 2 that you can for a good life.