Top Natural Health Remedies for Children

Most parents know the basics of keeping kids healthy, like offering them healthy foods, making sure they get enough sleep, exercise and ensuring their safety.

Honey and Lemon Juice for a Sore Throat

Lemon dries up congestion and honey provide a soothing coating. A recent study found that a spoonful of honey eased kids’ coughs even better than cough medicine.

• Mix together a tablespoon of each honey and lemon.
• Microwave for 20 seconds until warm (not hot), and give your child.
• Caution: It’s good to consult with a doctor for under 1-year babies.

Chamomile Tea for Colic

You can give chamomile tea to your infant to relax intestinal muscles and calm down.

• Steep tea for 4 to 5 minutes.
• Let it cool to room temperature, and then put one to two ounces in a bottle.

Don’t give your baby more than four ounces a day so that child has plenty of room in their tummy for breast milk.

Baking Soda for Bug Bites

Baking-soda paste stopped the itching better than artificial products. The alkaline baking soda helps counteract the acidic swelling.

• Mix a teaspoon of baking soda with just enough water to make a thick paste.
• Smear it on the bites, and let it dry.

Cayenne Pepper for Nosebleeds

This spice helps blood clot, and it has been used medicinally in cultures around the world.

• Keep your child’s head upright and pinch his nostrils together for several minutes.
• Then sprinkle a pinch of ground cayenne pepper on a moistened cotton swab and dab inside the nose on the area of the bleeding.

Junk Drawer: Duct Tape for Warts

The grey fabric tape seems to irritate warts — which can be surprisingly stubborn — and inhibit their growth.

• Place a small piece on the skin over your child’s wart, but not so tightly that it hurts.
• Change the tape whenever it starts to get icky; in about a month, the wart should be gone.

A Bubble Wand for Anxiety

Breathing slowly and deeply will help your child relax when she or he is feeling stressed. Have your child blow long, slow streams of bubbles from the soapy wand.

A Bandanna for Headaches

Wrapping several ice cubes in a dish towel will help soothe your child’s head pain (never place ice directly on his skin because it’ll burn), but it’ll be hard for him to hold it in place for long.

To keep the towel-wrapped ice from slipping, press it against his forehead or temples and secure it with a bandanna tied at the back of his neck.

A Sock for Tummy or Neck Pain

Instead of buying a heat wrap, make one by filling a sock with uncooked rice and tying it closed with a string.

• Microwave the sock for one minute or until warm, and place it wherever your child has pain.
• When it cools off, microwave it again.

Your Blow-Dryer for Swimmer’s Ear

This painful inflammation of the outer ear traps liquid and possibly bacteria. If the area has become infected, your pediatrician will probably prescribe antibiotic drops. But for mild cases, you can try evaporating the trapped water by standing a foot away from your child and aiming the dryer on the warm (not hot) setting at her/his ear.

Fresh Ginger Tea for Car Sickness

Ginger stops the stomach contractions that tell your child’s brain he feels nauseous. For children ages 2 and older,

• Add a teaspoon of shredded fresh ginger to four ounces of boiling water, and let it steep for four to five minutes.
• You can add a bit of honey to make it taste better.
• After it has cooled, have your child drink it a half hour before getting into the car.

A Credit Card for a Bee Sting

If a bee or wasp stings your child, remove the stinger to prevent additional venom from entering the wound. In order to avoid squeezing the stinger, which can spread the venom, use the flat edge of a credit card to gently scrape across the area until the stinger comes out.