Helpful Natural Home Remedies for Common Ailments {+ Free Printable}

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Looking for a more natural means of treating common ailments in your household?  There are other options besides over-the-counter medicines – and you probably have many in your house already. Learn about Natural Home Remedies for Common Ailments- top tips and tricks from crunchy moms! Free printable cheat sheet reference included!

Why Natural Home Remedies?

Truth be told, I’m not always the crunchiest of moms out there. I don’t make my own laundry detergent or house cleaners (yet!), Trader Joe’s isn’t the only place I buy my food, and my kiddos eat frozen chicken nuggets for dinner more nights than they don’t.

But, you know, with kids, that mama bear instinct comes out, and you just want to protect your kids from everything harmful in the environment.  I know I have lots to learn, but I’m definitely making the shift in creating a healthier, more natural home for our family. 

I can’t control the environment and what happens outside my house, but inside these doors?  I truly believe it’s my God-given responsibility to look out for my 2 little guys and my family.

So Over Winter Sickness – Send Help

A few years ago, that upper respiratory thing hit us hard. I got it first for a 2 solid weeks, then my husband, then one of my sons. All right before Christmas.

Right around New Year’s, both of my sons got it. Bad.  Very bad. Then my husband.  Then me again.

The end result: the twins and I were homebound for 21 days.  Twenty. One. Days. In the house.  With twin 2-year-old boys. Sick twin 2-year-old boys.

Lawd, help!

Boost the Immune System & Treat Sickness Naturally

Now, I know that with kids, they just have to look in the general direction of another child, and the chances are great that they’ll get sick.  But I also realized that I can do a better job of keeping my family healthy.

My hope is that I can move away from over-the-counter meds and try more natural means to help with sickness.  My deep-down gut feeling is that God has provided so much of what we need already out in nature. 

I’m not opposed to man-made medicine, but I really want to dig in and see what God has generously given us in His creation to use for our health and healing.

Who better to ask than the crunchy moms out there who are doing it already?

Crunchy Moms Share Their Secrets

I took an unofficial survey of some of my crunchy mom friends on my personal Facebook page, and I also put it out there in a crunchy mom Facebook group or two. 

I wanted to know what their best go-to natural and/or home remedies were for common ailments such as colds, congestion, flu, fevers, muscle aches and a whole bunch more.

The results were amazing! First, I had no idea that so many of my friends were crunchy – ha ha!  Second, so many of these remedies seem so easy – stuff you probably have in your house!

Just from their initial answers, you and I would both be smart to make sure we have some garlic, Epsom Salt, ginger and apple cider vinegar on hand.  Those seem to be the cure-alls, mentioned several times for many ailments.

Below are listed natural home remedies, coming to you from some of the healthiest and crunchiest moms out there.  I’ve also included a free 2-page printable download of all this great content – perfect to have as a handy reference when you need it! 

Tape it right to the inside of your medicine cabinet. Just fill out the box below to get the printable version. (The real version doesn’t have that big ‘Free Printable’ box in the middle, ha ha!)

You Don’t Have to Be an Essential Oil User to Use Natural Remedies

Many crunchy moms referenced essential oils in their answers, but while I do use essential oils, I’m excluding essential oils here for 2 reasons:

First, I want this list to be accessible to everyone, not just those who use essential oils already.  It can be a significant financial commitment to begin the initial road with essential oils, so I want to provide useful information for those who aren’t EO users.

Second, there are other sites that deal with essential oils specifically, and they have the expertise needed. I’m going to leave it to them to address essential oils, as there are very specific ways to use them, especially certain ones that are safe for certain ages.

I’ve also included some links to some healthy remedy recipes – a great idea to have some of these on hand and ready to go. 

These moms also gave me a couple of their go-to websites, which I’ve listed below also.  If there’s something you are specifically looking for not listed here, check out those sites also.

Of course- the disclaimer: “I’m not a doctor, please don’t sue me!”  But seriously, I’m not a doctor nor do I have any health training; I’m just passing on what crunchy moms swear by!

Use your own judgment, pray, use discernment, trust your gut and do what’s best for your specific kid and family and situation!

As always, please check with your doctors first, especially if there are other medications or health issues involved!

Must-Know Natural Home Remedies for Common Ailments {from Crunchy Moms}

This post contains affiliate links.

Boost Immunity

Probiotics

Shot of Wheatgrass

Yoga

Zinc

 

Cold/Congestion

Astragalus

Echinacea

Elderberry Syrup (Make your own here!)

Epsom Salt Bath (Detox bath recipe here!)

Garlic Chopped in Olive Oil (spoonful; mix in applesauce for little ones)

Hot Steam Shower

Tea: Hot Water, Grated Ginger, Honey, Lemon, Cinnamon

Umcka Elderberry Cold Care

 

Cuts/Scrapes

Cold Compress/Elevation

Colloidal Silver

Ginger

Lemon

 

Ear Infections

Colloidal Silver (Great article on colloidal silver and its other uses!)

Garlic Oil in the Ear or 1/2 Raw Garlic placed on ear for 20 min.

Eye Infections/Clogged Tear Ducts

Breast milk

Colloidal Silver

Fever

Apple Cider Vinegar Bath (1 Cup) (More ways to treat a fever using Apple Cider Vinegar here!)

Epsom Salt Baths

Flu

Apple Cider Vinegar (1-2 Tbs in water)

Elderberry Syrup

Epsom Salt Bath

Garlic (1 Clove)

Prevention: Ginger Root Tea + Raw Honey + a Cinnamon stick + a Pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt + a Squeeze of Lemon + 1 tsp of Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

Headaches

Chewing on Bitter Apricot Seeds

Hot Foot Soak and Ice Pack on Neck

Turmeric Capsules (500mg)

Water (Lots of it!)

Insomnia

Deep Breathing Exercises

Magnesium Lotion

Pistachio Nuts (naturally contains melatonin)

Prayer

Probiotics before Bed

Yoga

Joint Pain

Baltic Amber (Wear in the Area of Pain)

Organic Turmeric Powder + Coconut Oil + Ginger Root + Green Tea + Hot Water (Strain out ginger root)

Remove Sugar and Gluten from Diet

Turmeric (some interesting and important info about Turmeric here!)

Water (Lots of it!)

Yoga

Menstrual Cramps

Epsom Salt Bath

Heating Pad

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

Vitex

Muscle Aches/Pains

Apple Cider Vinegar (2 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil and apply)

Epsom Salt Baths

Magnesium Oil/ Oral Magnesium Supplements

Rash

Bentonite Clay

Cocoa Butter

Colloidal Oatmeal Bath

Rosealo

Breastmilk

Skin to Skin

Sore Throat/Cough

Honey

Tea: Hot water, 1-2 Tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar, 1-2 Tbsp Lemon Juice, 1 Tbsp Honey

Tea: Lime, Honey, Cinnamon (or in a spoonful)

Stomach Virus

100% Grape Juice

Teething

Baltic Amber Necklace

Camilla Drops

Toothache

Mouthwash

Oil Pulling

Salt Water Rinse

Upset Stomach

1 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar + 1 C Warm Water + 1 Tbsp Honey

Acidophilus (Mash for young children)

Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice (DGL)

Ginger or Ginger Chews

Ginger Tea made with Real Ginger (Recipe here!)

Rosemary + Warm Water + Lemon (Recipe here!)

For a Variety of Ailments

Baking Soda (Read about its uses here!)

Garlic (Read about its uses here.)

Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar (Read about its uses here!)

Raw Unfiltered Coconut Oil (Read about its uses here.)

Raw Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Read about its uses here.)

Raw Unfiltered Honey (Read about its uses here!)

 

Other Sites with Great Natural Remedy Information

Wellness Mama

Dr. Axe

God Gave Us So Much to Heal our Bodies

I was so encouraged and inspired by this! These moms make it all seem so doable and normal. Even today, I’m having awful muscle pain in my shoulder and neck.  As soon as I’m done here, I’m going to mix up a batch of apple cider vinegar and coconut oil and start smearing it on!

I’m not sure if I’ll ever be full-on crunchy, but I am so looking forward to making natural home remedies a part of our lifestyle.  It makes my heart feel at peace to know I’m doing something proactively to help my kids in their health and to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Are you a user of home or natural remedies?  Are there any that I missed?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

If you enjoyed this article and think others might too, I’d be grateful for any shares!

And don’t forget to grab your free printable download of these Natural Home Remedies for quick, easy access!