Home remedies are awesome ways to fix common little problems like hangovers, headaches, acne, and just about everything else. But how much research goes into them? Let's take a look at which ones have studies behind them.
The human body is a pretty complex machine, so we can't dig into every cure out there. Below you'll find a few of the more common maladies we all face and the home remedies with research to back up their claims. As you'd expect, most home remedies aren't researched that much, but a handful of studies have promising results. As always, we're not doctors, so if you have any serious issues be sure to talk with your doctor first.
Pain Relief
Nobody likes being in pain so you'll find a ton of different home remedies for various types of pains out there. Of course, not that many home pain relief remedies have much research behind them.
Headaches
If you don't want to reach for a bottle of Advil every time you have a headache, a few alternatives might help. For tension headaches, a small study published in Australian Family Physician suggests that a small amount of Tiger Balm on the forehead may help with pain relief.Peppermint oil has a similar effect on headaches, but more research is need for both.
For a spicier solution, we also haveanecdotal evidence that sex helps relieve migraine headaches. The rush of endorphins that comes from an orgasm turns off migraine pain temporarily. Conversely, The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services points to several studies that suggest relaxation training helps with stress-induced headaches. All that said, with headaches, it's best to concentrate onprevention rather than treatment when possible.
Sprains, Twists, and Other Sores
Chances are that if you've ever sprained a body part, you've put ice on it. As it turns out, research from Vanderbilt University shows that ice really is the best solution for most bone and joint injuries. If you do suffer an injury, apply ice and a little pressure for about 15-20 minutes. Then remove it for an equal amount of time, and apply again.
Toothaches
Nobody likes toothaches and they're often hard to deal with because it's hard to get inside your mouth. A 2006 study published in The Journal of Dentistry shows that clove oil is just as effective at relieving tooth pain as other pain medications. Just dab a cotton swab with a small amount of clove oil and apply it to the area that hurts. Within a couple of minutes it should go numb.
Cold and Flu
We've talked a lot about cold and flu curesso we won't spend too much time on them here because the basics haven't changed much over the years.
How to Most Effectively Battle the Common Cold
For a sore throat, a survey published in Pediatrics showed that honey helps relieve both your throat and your cough. Just swallow two teaspoons before bed. If honey isn't your thing, a study by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine shows that gargling with salt water helps with a cough. Dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in a full glass of water, gargle a few seconds, and spit it out.
Skin Remedies
Skin remedies are some of the most common topics for home remedies. Whether it's a bit of acne or athlete's foot, covering your body in household fluids is oddly commonplace.
Acne
Acne is one of those skin issues that has thousands of solutions, but few have stood the scrutiny of a study. A small number of studies have found tea tree oil effective at fighting acne. Just apply a small amount to your acne daily to shrink that zit down.
Dandruff
Dandruff is a common scalp condition where small bits of skin flake off on your scalp. While it's not contagious or serious, it is obnoxious. Unfortunately, it's also difficult to treat and while a ton of remedies exist, none of them definitively get rid of dandruff.
Doctors typically recommend eating healthy and getting a little sun to manage dandruff, but a small study shows that tea tree oil is effective at fighting dandruff. It's still inconclusive how effective it might be, but you can try mixing a drop of tea tree oil into your shampoo to see if it helps.
Warts
The most common home remedy for warts is to put a small piece of duct tape over it to kill it off. A 2012 review of studies showed mixed results, but duct tape is still commonly recommended because it's easy to try. The McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has a simple regimen to follow:
Upset Stomach
Chances are that if you've ever had an upset stomach, you've heard that peppermint is a good solution. Studies show that peppermint helps with irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, and heartburn. If there's such thing as a cure all for a generally upset stomach, peppermint is a good place to start. For an upset stomach, just take 90 mg of peppermint oil a day.
Of course, thousands of home remediesexist that haven't stood the test of a research team. That doesn't mean they don't work for you. Many are more about science and chemistry, so studies aren't really needed to prove their effects