Natural Health Warnings
Hands Off Men's Pills
Women or girls should not help dad or grandpa with their medications. Many pills for men can cause birth defects in females who only touched the pills. Check with his doctor, call a pharmacist, or do research on the internet before touching a man's pills or even the bottles that contain them.
Ipecac Syrup For Poisonings
Ipecac syrup is a must in every medicine cabinet. It will induce vomiting in the event of poisoning. BUT, before using, call a physician, Poison Control Center, or a hospital emergency room immediately for advice --- some poisons will cause twice as much damage if vomited back out. For those, the stomach contents would be pumped out at a hospital.
Ipecac Syrup given within 5 to 10 minutes after swallowing poison caused a reduction in poison of 50% to 76% very quickly. When Ipecac Syrup is used quickly at home, only 8% of victims needed to go to the hospital at all. The use of Ipecac Syrup is especially important if the victim could not reach the hospital in less than 30 minutes. And, if needed, charcoal can be given after Ipecac Syrup, but not vice versa.
Tylenol and Inflammation
Aspirin is the original pain reliever, followed by Tylenol, Advil, Motrin, and Aleve. There are different reasons to prefer one or the other for pain or fever (blood clotting or thinning, preventing heart attack, stomach irritation, etc.) But, all except Tylenol reduce inflammation. Tylenol will work on the pain of arthritis, but not as much as the others since it does nothing for swelling, which makes pain worse. A few other conditions that involve swelling/inflammation include bites, broken bones, sprains, psoriasis, and shingles.
Bacteria Can Be Good
Don't use antibacterial soap. 1) You could end up with a yeast or fungus problem (like athlete's foot, jock itch, or feminine yeast infection) because the soap also kills the bacteria that eat yeast and fungus before they could cause a problem. 2) Antibacterial soaps cause germs to mutate so that our drugs will no longer kill them.
Natural Antibiotics
Very simple infections can become life threatening when antibiotics no longer work. Antibiotics can kill most germs and cause the remaining germs to mutate. When germs mutate, they are resistant to these antibiotics. But tea tree oil , grapefruit seed extract ,
Natural Apple Cider Vinegar , colloidal silver, and
lavender essential oil can all kill germs without causing germs to mutate.
Herbs & Essential Oils
Remedies from herbs or essential oils can be wonderful, but they are not all without side effects for some people.
Those who suffer from hayfever need to be careful since some herbs come from flowers. Echinacea and Chamomile are two that can give hayfever sufferers mild to severe allergic reactions when taken internally (capsules or tea). Chasteberry (or monk's pepper) may counteract the effectiveness of birth control pills. Rosemary essential oil should not be used by those with epilepsy or high blood pressure. These are just a few examples. Before using herbal remedies or aromatherapy, do some research.
Fish Oil Danger
The use of fish oil supplements will reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death, unless you have a defibrillator.
Fish oil supplements will increase the risk of ventricular arrhythmias in people with a defibrillator, so those people should definitely not take them.
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No Aspirin For Kids
Aspirin should not be given to kids under 19 years old. When taken with the flu or chicken pox, aspirin can cause Reye's Syndrome. This is almost always fatal. Acetaminophen (Jr. Tylenol or Children's Tylenol ) or ibuprofen (Children's Advil ) should be used instead for fever or pain.
Some other names for aspirin on labels include acetylsalicylate, acetylsalicylic acid, salicylic, salicylamide, phenyl salicylates. Over-the counter products known to contain aspirin include Alka Seltzer, Anacin, Ascriptin, Bayer Extra Strength Arthritis Pain Regimen Formula, BC products, Bufferin, Doan's Pills, Dristan, Ecotrin, Excedrin, Goody's, Kaopectate, Norwich, Pamprin, Pepto-Bismol, Sine-Off, St. Joseph, Vanquish, and YSP. Many other products may contain aspirin or an equivalent so check medicine labels carefully. Some cough medicines even have aspirin in them.
Even many topical medicines contain aspirin in one form or another, and their labels are not required to include an aspirin warning. These may include acne cleaners and creams, arthritis rubs, astringents, dandruff shampoos, moisturizers that exfoliate, facial scrubs and masks, muscle pain creams, Sport Strength sun block, wart removers, and things that contain Wintergreen oil.
Plastics
Plastic bags, wraps, and containers were not all created equal. Plastic trash bags should not be used with food. They are not made of food-grade plastic, and chemicals can leach into food. These bags are also not air tight so they would also be of little use for food storage.
Plastic wraps used in microwave cooking should be held over the container opening and not touch the food, or chemicals can get into the food. Plastic bags meant for food storage are not safe to use when heating food.
Plastic containers that were made for cold storage (yogurt, butter, cottage cheese, etc.) are not graded for heating. Using these to heat things in the microwave or to store very hot food can taint the food.
Lead Poisoning From Antiques
Some antiques contain lead or lead paint. Old dishes, silver, copper, and brass items should not be used for food or drink unless you a lead test kit indicates that they are safe. (These kits are available at hardware stores and don't cost much.) Old glazes on these items and even some newer ceramics from outside the U.S. can leach lead into food or drinks.
In addition, wooden items as little as 40 years old may be covered with lead paint. This may not matter much with the antique chair in the corner, but it matters greatly if the paint on an old crib contains lead.
Lead Poisoning From Candy
Many types of candies from Mexico have been proven to contain lead. "Made in Mexico" or something similar can be found on the label. Ingestion of lead causes lead poisoning, which is especially dangerous in children.
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