Here is the information about the grandmothers’ recipes. All of the recipes can be altered or completed with your new propositions. Let's start with some of them that have always given me satisfaction.
Important warning: These recipes are not meant to replace doctor’s interventions. If you don’t see improvement, you can discontinue the recipe.

FOR THOSE WHO COUGH OR HAVE CHILDREN THAT COUGH:
The body's natural mechanism to evacuate mucus laden with dust, daily phlegms are normal.

In case of respiratory infection, there will be a larger production of mucus, whose role it is to surround and destroy bacteria with the lysosime it contains. It is not desirable to stop this loose cough. Simple remedies such as turnip syrup and/or IPECA 4CH and Antimonium tartaricum 4CH (2 pills 3 or 4 times daily) will help to detach, fluidify and expectorate the infected mucus.A persistant loose cough is not a catastrophe if it is not due to a mycoplasma. It would be necessary to check the presence of mycolasma, fungi with your GP.

Superficial throat cough is completely different and may be caused by laryngitis or other irritation caused by an upper respiratory infection.

Dry cough caused by choking fits, none mucus productive, is due to a malposition of the first cervical that will irritate a nerve fiber: the glossopharyngeal. The compression of a nerve fiber along its course, suggests to the central system that the ending sensors are transmitting information. In this case, the person will feel like a crust of bread or a piece of something stuck in the throat and may cough a lot, but this foreign body is "ghost" thus can not be coughed up.

This concerns all those children who cough day and night ending up annoying doctors '' buy earplugs, you will not hear them cough anymore "…

Fevers:
1 - Fever with cold and shivering: Aconite CH 4, 2 pellets every 30 minutes, until you notice a fever with heat and thirst. (We called “Aconite” the homeopathic lancet because Aconite increases the symptoms).
2 - Fever with heat and thirst: Belladonna CH 4, two granules every half hour, with that, the fever will be under control. It is important to let it work; don’t try to stop it. Fever is part of the immune system. The body temperature will rise until it stops the mechanism of bacteria’s or virus multiplication and actives the white globules responses that will learn to destroy the aggressor.

In case the fever went up 40 ° c or more, run a hot bath 1 ° below the temperature child’s temperature and call your doctor right away.
If the fever persists, always call the doctor. This homeopathic recipe works very well with those fevers which foretell fever colds, flu, bronchitis, etc…

(Send by Jacques Gesret in January 2007)

Grandmother’s recipes for skin problem in general:
• Sodium bicarbonate
The acidity of our skin depends on peoples and lifestyle. The pH (to measure acidity) is about 6.5 (pH of aquaeous solutions is between 1 and 14). Under 6.5 the skin is acidic and dry, above it is greasy (more or less). A dry skin has a pH below 6.5: it is acidic. A greasy skin is alkaline with a pH above 6.5. Test your skin with a piece of silk paper on your cleaned skin. Wait few minutes and look at the paper. If some greasy traces appear your skin is alkaline, if not dry (acidic, you need alkaline products to restore the balance).

All the cosmetics we use (including soap) can influence the acidity of the skin. The hardness of the water can damage the skin (especially for babies): the calcareous leaves residues which weaken the protector film. In Italy where the use of bicarbonate is a common thing, a lot of mothers are used to add sodium bicarbonate in the water of their children’s bath to soften their skin. Few soaps obtained from petroleum derivative might be to detergent: they are responsible from a sensation of nagging pain, drought or red blotch. Few others, at the contrary make the skin greasy because they have alkali (basic) substances. The sodium bicarbonate will permit to restore the balance. It prevents the development of bacteria and fungi (bacteriostatic and fungistatic) ringworms.

Some skin diseases can be relieved or cured like this: itching and scratching, insect bite, light burnt (sun burnt), erythema (diaper rash in babies), eczema, ringworms, hives, psoriasis, acne, pruritus…

In a bath: Added to the water in a bath sodium bicarbonate cleans the skin. The dosage depends of the hardness of your water (250 to 500g). It is recommended to stay in the bath for about 20 minutes.
As a paste: It can be used as a paste, on the skin to deeply clean it. It allows the skin and the pores to get rid of impurities and excess of sebum. Mix one volume of water and three volumes of bicarbonate to obtain a paste. Apply this paste on the skin; rub it gently for few seconds with little circles. Rinse it with clear water. Eventually you can use a moisturizing lotion. You can also leave the paste under a compress.

• Clayey
Oral use: Drink one glass of clayey milk once or twice a day
External use: Apply a poultice of clayey (quite thick) with some olive oil or mild almond oil and oils of cajeput, geranium, chamomile. After removal of the poultice, use a lotion with propolis, this will help the healing and have an antiseptic action on the wounds.

• Vinegar
External use: Diluted at 50% or pure, the vinegar can be applied (do not rub) on the skin. This will relieve immediately if the zone is small. Otherwise consult your pharmacist.
Bath: Few spoon or one or two glass(es) of vinegar in the bath relieve little itching and tighten the pores. This bath has a soothing effect (it is better in the evening).

Grandmother’s recipes for Psoriasis:
• Sodium bicarbonate
In a bath: Frequent bicarbonate baths can relieve and cure it. A clinical evaluation highlighted the beneficial effect of such baths for people suffering from psoriasis. An improvement was noticed (decrease in itching and irritation) and people kept having sodium bicarbonate bath after the study. Added to the water in a bath sodium bicarbonate cleans the skin. The dosage depends of the hardness of your water (250 to 500g). It is recommended to stay in the bath for about 20 minutes.
A French dermatologist noticed a spectacular improvement with his patients (thanks to bicarbonate baths) and no side effects. After less than 10 baths, the improvements were marked (disappearance of the squames), some patients were even cured. This treatment is cheaper than all the others.

• Cider vinegar:
In local application: Apply cider vinegar each day on the lesions. You can complete this treatment vitamin B6 and E supplements.

• Magnesium chloride:
Oral use: For oral use you can take one glass of magnesium chloride solution per day.
Local application: Directly on the skin you can apply a cotton wool wet with magnesium chloride on the lesions.
In a bath: You can also try a bath with Dead Sea salts (they contains 46% of magnesium chloride).The Dead Sea silt is a clayey mud formed by sediments. We use it on the skin for his properties, it cleans and purifiers. This silt contains a lot of minerals and marine salts and was used in ancient Egypt as a skin care. Rich in magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium this silt has positive effects on skin diseases like psoriasis, acne, eczema…It also relieves rheumatisms. It can be used in a bath (powder) or directly on the face or hairs.

• Other recipes:
To relieve psoriasis you can mix: Burdock 20g / Birch 20g/ pussy willow 20g/ wild pansy 20g/ Myrtle 20g. Add 1 spoon of the mixture to ¼ liter of water. Heat until it boils; then immediately remove from the fire and leave 10 minutes. Take 2 warm cups each day (not with a meal), you can add honey.
You can apply coconut oil or olive oil on psoriasis blotch.

Grandmother’s recipes for Eczema:
• Vinegar:
Some people are very sensitive to washing powder or residue of washing powder on the clothes. In this case it is recommended to avoid softeners and to rinse the clothes with fresh water + 2 spoon of vinegar. The vinegar will dissolve any washing powder residue.

• Clayey:
To cure eczema, Raymond Dextreit recommends internal and external use of clayey.
For internal use: to detoxify the body take one teaspoon of clayey each morning and a laxative infusion if needed.
For external use: apply a paste with clayey and water on the affected location. Use a thin layer and let it dry. Then, rinse with water + sea salt or water + lemon. After that, use a lotion with clayey and almond oil (if itching).

• Magnesium chloride:
Internal use: When a new blotch appears use magnesium chloride (one glass a day).
External use: Apply a compress wetted with magnesium chloride on the affected zone. Leave it drying with fresh air. Do it few times a day.
Bath: Add a glass of Dead Sea salts in your bath. They contain 46% of magnesium chloride and have a soothing effect.

Grandmother’s recipes for Asthma:

• Sodium bicarbonate:
The acidic compounds in our body need to be removed to keep health. A part of the acids are eliminated by kidneys (the “fixed” ones from animal proteins), another by the lungs.
Lungs have to eliminate “volatile” acids (from vegetal proteins) and carbonic acid changed into (in the blood) water and carbon dioxide.
The lungs can adapt (slightly) to the quantity of « volatile » acids. This is the role of the breath (amplitude, frequency). If the quantity of “volatile” acids is too important, lungs cannot breathe out (chronic acidosis). This can leads to asthma or respiratory difficulties.
Asthma can also be caused by a strong allergy to acarids, bicarbonate can fight them. So, the root of the problem is treated.

To improve your breathing:
The consumption of basic (alkaline) food or bicarbonate decreases the acidity. The lungs and the kidneys will be relieved and breathing will be easier.

• Magnesium chloride:
The effects of magnesium on asthma are known for few hundreds of years. The magnesium was recommended to treat asthma.
Nowadays numerous scientific studies showed the link between lack of magnesium and asthma, allergies or hay fever. A specialist of allergies, Dr Favennec showed that magnesium have antihistamine effects. This was observed on rats.
In 1879 Mr Laborde noticed the effects of magnesium on breathing and circulation.

Grandmother’s recipes for Headache, Migraine:

• Magnesium chloride:
If you are suffering for migraine drink some magnesium chloride. Add a teaspoon of magnesium chloride to a glass of lemon or orange juice (eventually you can add some honey). Vessels are dilated, muscles relaxed and pain relieved.

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