Tag Archives: Folk Remedies

Fight Arthritis with Ants

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Researchers from the School of Chinese Medicine at Hong Kong Baptist University are looking at a traditional folk remedy to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic diseases. A certain type of Chinese ant (Polyrhacis lamellidens for you scientific types) has long been used in Chinese folk medicine to treat chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and hepatitis. For centuries, the little ant has been used as a painkiller and an anti-inflammatory agent to help reduce the symptoms of various chronic diseases. The study from the School of Chinese Medicine at Hong Kong Baptist University looked at extracts made from the ants. … Continue reading →

The Natural Healing Debate

Herbal healing can be a somewhat controversial subject. To some people, natural remedies are outdated and useless. To others, natural remedies are far superior to manmade medicines and invasive treatments. I like to take a middle ground, and use natural remedies to supplement other treatments. You may have seen my occasional struggles with sinus infections here in the Health Blog. Because I’ve had chronic sinusitis and ended up having surgery to cut away infected tissue in my sinuses, I try to be very aware of what’s going on in my sinuses. At the first sign of pressure, I break out … Continue reading →

Old Fashioned Headache Remedies

UCLA has an Online Archive of American Folk Medicine that is fun to play with, if you have some spare time and curiosity about how our ancestors used to treat common ailments. For example, if you search for “headache”, you can learn that in a 1935 publication, it was suggested that you could cure a headache by rubbing a stone on your forehead. This unusual (and probably quite unhelpful) solution was reported to be a Native American remedy. A collection of folklore from North Carolina suggested that putting a handful of salt on your head would cure a headache. Alabama … Continue reading →