Home Remedies: For Hangovers

Well, you partied from sundown to sunup, and now you're paying the price. You've got the pounding headache, the queasiness, the dizziness, the sensitivity to light and sound, the muscle aches and the irritability that comes from overconsumption of alcoholic beverages. How quickly last night's fun turns into next morning's nightmare when you have a hangover!.

Although we don't like to think of it as such, especially when we're having such a good time, alcohol is actually a drug. It's a depressant, and when taken in excess, it fills your body with toxins. Your body reacts as it would to any drug overdose: It tries to metabolize and get rid of the offending substances.

The best way to prevent a hangover is, of course, drinking in moderation or abstaining from alcohol. But keeping yourself well-hydrated and well-nourished when you're drinking can go a long way toward minimizing the morning-after symptoms.

The best cure for a hangover: time. Of course, people ignore prevention and don't have "time" for the cure. So, here are some remedies to ease the suffering for those who have had one drink too many.

1: Bananas

Bananas are your best friend! While you were drunk and peeing like a racehorse, lots of potassium drained from your body. Eating a banana bursting with potassium will give you some giddy-up and go. All you have to do is peel and eat.

2: Ginger Root

Ginger has long been used to treat nausea and seasickness. And, since having a hangover is much like being seasick, this easy remedy works wonders. If you're really green, the best bet is to drink ginger ale (no preparation required). If you can remain vertical for 10 minutes, brew some ginger tea. Cut 10 to 12 slices of fresh ginger root and combine with 4 cups water. Boil for 10 minutes. Strain and add the juice of one orange, the juice of half a lemon, and 1/2 cup honey. Drink to your relief.

3: Honey and Lemons

The classic hot toddy (nonalcoholic, of course) is honey, lemon and hot water. Easy to swallow, this beverage replenishes fluids and sugars lost to a hangover. It is vital, however, to use honey instead of white sugar. Honey contains fructose, which competes for the metabolism of alcohol. Some healthy competition is needed, since it prevents the rapid change in alcohol levels that results in headaches. Plain sugar contains sucrose, which isn't absorbed as quickly. To make a toddy, boil 1 cup water and mix in honey and lemon juice to taste. Enjoy a toddy several times a day.

4: Rice, Toast or Soup

Food is probably the last thing you want to look at while recovering, but you do need some sustenance for energy. Stay with clear liquids until you can tolerate something solid. Then start off slowly with mild, easy-to-digest foods such as plain toast, rice or clear soup.

5: Sport Drinks

Sport drinks are a good way to replace fluids as well as electrolytes and glucose.

6: Ice

Put an ice compress on your aching head. Place crushed iced in a plastic bag, wrap in a dry towel and apply it to where it hurts. Or just rinse a washcloth under cold water, place it on your forehead and rest.

7: Juice

Juice, especially freshly squeezed orange juice, will help raise your blood sugar levels and help ease some of your hangover symptoms. However, if your stomach is upset, skip acidic juices such as orange juice and stick with apple juice instead.

8: Water

Next to time, drinking water is the best cure for a hangover. Dehydration does a doozy on your body and causes much of the discomfort associated with a hangover. Stick to water, be it tap, bottled or carbonated. Drink more than eight glasses a day while recovering.

9: More Dos and Dont's

• If you can remember one thing while intoxicated, remember this: Guzzle plenty of water before going to bed. It will help nip dehydration in the bud, and you'll feel much better in the morning.
• Stick to one drink (or less) per hour, and sip it slowly. One hour is about the time it takes for the average adult body to process an alcoholic beverage. One drink is a 5-ounce glass of wine, a 12-ounce beer or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor.
• Rest. Pull the shades down, unplug the telephone and go to sleep.
• Never drink and drive.
• Try Pepto-Bismol or an antacid to relieve queasiness and settle your stomach.
• Take a multivitamin with B vitamins to replace those lost during your night of carousing.

Home Remedies: Uses for Vinegar

Vinegar has had a long history of helping a number of ailments -- scurvy, cholera, diphtheria, high fever, dysentery, urinary infections, scarlatina, tonsillitis, hoarseness, external inflammations, contusions, joint injuries, apathy, obesity, hay fever, asthma, rashes, food poisoning, heartburn, bad eyesight, brittle nails, and bad breath...to name a few.

Modern science doesn't endorse all of the traditional uses of vinegar, but if offers endless healing qualities.

We'll start with those stubborn aches and pains:

Backaches: Soaking in a bathtub of hot water and 2 cups vinegar for 30 minutes will help relieve a minor backache and soothe sore muscles.

Headache: To ease a headache, lie down and apply a compress dipped in a mixture of half warm water and half vinegar to the temples. Also try an herbal vinegar such as lavender to provide aromatic relief.

Leg Cramps: Ease the pain of a leg cramp or other cramp in the body by using a soft cloth soaked in full-strength vinegar as a compress.

Muscle Sprain: Apply a paste of white wine, vinegar, and bran to a recent sprain.

Use a towel soaked in hot vinegar as a compress to ease the pain of a recent muscle strain or sprain. Apply for 20 minutes at a time. If the pain persists, consult a physician.

Ready for flu season!

When flu hits, there's no time to lose. You need to be ready to fight the battle, and vinegar can help.

Cough: Sprinkle your pillowcase with apple cider vinegar to control nighttime coughing.

Respiratory Congestion: To treat head or chest congestion, add 1/4 cup vinegar to a vaporizer, and run it for an hour or more.

Sinus Congestion: Breathing in steam from a vaporizer can be beneficial in treating the facial pain of a sinus infection. Add 1/4 cup vinegar to a vaporizer and breathe in deeply.

Sore Throat: Vinegar can be used for a sore throat. Use 1 teaspoon per 8 ounces of water, and gargle.

When Summer's Not Fun

Summer offers a lot of fun possibilities, but it does have its dangers. Vinegar can help with summer hazards.

Bee Stings and Bug Bites: Use vinegar mixed with cornstarch to make a paste. Apply the paste to a bee sting or bug bite, and let it dry.

Poison Ivy and Poison Oak: Soothe the rash from poison oak or poison ivy by using a vinegar compress. Mix 1/2 cup vinegar in a 1-pint container, then add enough water to fill the container. Chill the container in the refrigerator. When it is cool, dampen a cloth or gauze with the solution, and apply to the rash.

Sunburn: Vinegar has a cooling effect on sunburn. Splash it over the sunburned area, then lightly rub into the skin. Or simply cool sunburn with diluted vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray on the affected area.

Home Remedies: Oily Hair

You wash and style your hair every morning, but within a few short hours, it looks stringy and dirty. You, like millions of others, have oily hair.

But don't get mad at those glands for doing their job. Oil protects your hair shafts from breaking, keeps your scalp in good condition, and gives your hair that nice, healthy-looking sheen. Unfortunately, sometimes it's overzealous.

So why does the dipstick measure too much oil? Several factors can be responsible, including:

• Heredity: If your dad had oily hair, chances are you will, too.
• Hormonal fluctuations: In adult women, it may come with the menstrual cycle or using birth control pills. In teens, it's just part of the ever-embarrassing teenaged experience -- oily hair, zits, the works. When the hormones simmer down, the problem usually evens out.
• Bulking up: Excessive oil is a side effect of using androgenic hormones to increase body mass.
• Hair texture: Fine hair is often oilier than coarse hair because it takes up less room on the scalp. This means people with fine hair are usually crowned with lots more of it than people with coarse hair. And the more hair there is, the more oil because each follicle is supplied with two to three oil glands.

Diet's Not to Blame
Take notice that diet is not one of the oil-producing culprits listed. That's because diet doesn't play much of a role in the development of oily hair, contrary to what many people believe. Eating French fries won't send the grease directly to your scalp unless you rub your French fries through your hair.
The good news is that oily hair can be managed successfully with home remedies, including things you'll find in your very own kitchen.

Home Remedy Treatments for Oily Hair

Although oily hair might be troublesome, it is relatively easy to control with the following home remedies. Follow these simple steps, and you'll be on the way to the hair you've always wanted.

Shampoo often. Don't worry about overdoing it. If you have oily hair, shampooing every day is a good idea.

Use a "no-nonsense" shampoo. Often, shampoos have all kinds of additives and conditioners in them. People with oily hair need a good solvent-type shampoo, one that will cut the grease. To give your shampoo a boost, you can even add a few drops of dishwashing liquid. If you don't like the idea of putting dishwashing liquid on your head, there are plenty of commercial shampoos that will cut through the excess oil, including old standbys such as Prell and Suave and any number of generic and store-brand shampoos. Normal hair needs a shampoo with a pH (which refers to its acid/base balance) between 4.5 and 6.7, but oily hair requires a more alkaline (or base) product. Look for shampoos with a pH higher than 6.7 -- or, simply, those labeled for use on oily hair.

Rinse thoroughly. Whatever shampoo you use, be sure you rinse thoroughly. Soap residue will only collect dirt and oil more quickly.

Forget conditioners. Conditioners coat the hair, something oily hair doesn't need. Apply a small amount of conditioner only to the ends if they've become dried out.

Don't brush your hair too much. Forget 100 strokes. Every time you drag that brush through your hair, you're pulling oil out of the scalp and distributing it throughout your hair.

Try an acidic rinse. One way to decrease the oil is to rinse with diluted vinegar or lemon juice after shampooing. Add two tablespoons white vinegar to one cup water, or mix the juice of one lemon (strained) with one cup water. Rinse the mixture through your hair, then rinse your hair with warm water.

Home Remedies from the Cupboard

Alcohol. Any kind of alcoholic beverage has a nice drying effect. The higher the alcohol content the better. Mix a shot glass full of alcohol with a couple cups of water and rinse through your hair. Yes, you have to rinse it out. And don't drink the rinse water!

Cider vinegar. Soak your hair in a small basin of water with 1/4 cup cider vinegar -- or put the concoction in a spray bottle and rinse through your hair, then wash out with warm water. This helps control nasty shampoo buildup.

Tea. Rinse your hair in diluted tea. Tea contains tannic acid, an astringent, which can cut the oil.

Home Remedies from the Refrigerator

Beer. Beer can have a drying effect, and it cleans right down to your scalp, leaving your hair with a healthy shine.

Lemon juice. Mix the equivalent of the juice from 1 lemon with 1 cup water and rinse through your hair, then rinse with warm water. Lemon juice can help control shampoo buildup, too.

Now you've got plenty of fun home remedies for oily hair to try at home. Figure out what's best for you, and enjoy the soft, silky results!.

Home Remedies: Dry Hair

Oily hair is a drag, but dry hair is no picnic, either. Dry hair is dull hair, and it looks the same after you wash it as it did before. Everyone has bad hair days, but with dry hair you may have those days more often than not.
Along with dry hair, you may also have a dandruff problem. Although it's more often a condition associated with oily hair, people with dry hair get dandruff, too. Common dandruff is simply a layer of skin shedding from your scalp. When the skin cells get trapped on your scalp by your hair and clump together, you have dandruff. And dandruff can make your hair look dull.
Dry hair can result from external factors, such as exposure to harsh chemicals, or from internal causes, such as an illness. These are the primary external factors for those lackluster locks:

• Harsh shampoo
• Shampooing too often
• Hair dye
• Hair perms
• Chlorine in swimming pools and hot tubs
• Overuse of the blow dryer or curling iron
• Too much exposure to sun and wind
• High mineral content in local water supplies

External factors are easy to remedy. You just need to be careful about how you treat your hair, cutting back on activities that cause it to become dry. Switch products. Wear a cap when swimming. Cover your head when you're outside in the sun for prolonged periods.
Internal factors, though, don't have quite such a quick fix. Internal factors that cause dry hair include:

• Cancer treatment
• Certain medications
• Nutritional deficiency
• Prolonged illness

­Before you start to panic, read all the simple home remedies for dry hair. Chances are you'll find something that will put the luster back in your locks.

1: Be Careful With Shampoo

Shampooing too often is one of the most common causes of dry hair. Many people believe that squeaky-clean hair is healthy hair, so they wash it one or more times every day. But shampoos often contain harsh cleaning agents that can strip away your hair's natural oils, which help hold in moisture. On the other hand, a gentle shampoo will stimulate the oil glands, so you probably shouldn't go longer than three days without a good lather.
The ideal shampoos for dry hair have a pH of between 4.5 and 6.7, but here's a good rule of thumb: Don't use any hair cleanser that you wouldn't put on your face. Some people recommend baby shampoos, but their pH is usually far too high; such alkaline shampoos dry out the hair. Acidic shampoos are better for your hair. 

2: Be Kind to Your Hair

Dry hair is the most fragile type of hair and is subject to breakage, so it must be handled with care. When lathering, be gentle. Avoid any pulling or yanking on your hair in any way, which strains the hair shafts. Don't scrub with your fingernails, which can not only break the hair but irritate your scalp. Work up a lather using your fingertips, instead.  Gently rubbing your scalp with your fingertips will also stimulate the oil glands.

3: Pour on the Conditioner
Strawlike hair needs conditioning. Look for products that contain little or no alcohol, which will dry out hair even more. Reading labels will help, but it might be simpler just to take a whiff before you buy: Conditioners with little or no fragrance tend to be low in alcohol or contain none at all. If your hair is really dry, consider using an overnight conditioner, which you apply before going to bed (you sleep wearing a shower cap) and rinse off in the morning.

4: Use Hot Oil

Hair-care professionals often recommend hot-oil treatments to repair dry, damaged hair. Over-the-counter hot-oil products are available that you heat and place on the hair for 5 to 20 minutes (according to package instructions). Wear a plastic bag or shower cap over your hair while the hot oil is on, then wash the hair thoroughly with a gentle shampoo.

5: Brush Less

Despite what you may have heard, too much brushing can actually fracture the hair, causing it to fall out. Fragile, dry hair is even more vulnerable to excessive brushing. Always brush hair gently and never when it is wet (use a comb, carefully, when hair is wet). The type of hairbrush you use is important, too. Boar-bristle brushes or "vent" brushes are good choices, since their rubberized tips don't pull the hair excessively.

6: Hold the Heat

Using hot combs, hot rollers, and blow-dryers is asking for dry hair. Hot rollers are the worst because they stretch the hair while the heat shrinks it. Hot combs also tend to stretch the hair while exposing it to heat. If you must use artificial heat, keep your blow-dryer on a low setting and avoid pulling or stretching the hair while drying.

7: Pace Your Hair Treatments
If you perm on Tuesday, dye your hair on Thursday, and put it in hot rollers on Saturday, your hair is destined to be dry and damaged. You don't have to abandon styling practices such as dyes, permanent waves, or hair straightening if you have dry hair. Just keep in mind that it's important to space those treatments out as much as possible.

8: Try Vinegar

There are several ways you can help your dry hair with vinegar. Vinegar is a great conditioner and can improve cleanliness and shine. Just add 1 tablespoon vinegar to your hair as you rinse it. Keep a travel-size plastic bottle of vinegar in your shower for this purpose, and take one when you travel, too. Since dandruff can make your hair look dull, use vinegar to make dandruff disappear. Massage full-strength vinegar into your scalp several times a week before you shampoo. Or, a brief soak in vinegar and water before you shampoo can help control dandruff as well as remove the dulling buildup from sprays, shampoos, and conditioners.

Add 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar to a small basin of water and drape your hair into it. As an alternative, you can put the concoction in a spray bottle and apply it to your hair. A conditioner that controls dandruff and gives your hair a healthy shine can be made by mixing 2 cups water and 1/2 cup vinegar. Apply the conditioner after rinsing out your shampoo, and let it stay on your hair for a few minutes before rinsing thoroughly with water. If you need a stronger treatment for dandruff control, use this same method, but keep the rinse on your hair for 1 hour, covered with a shower cap. Then rinse it out. This vinegar rinse will also help control frizziness in dry or damaged hair.

9: Use Eggs for Shine
To clean hair and give it a super shine, whip an egg into tepid water (not too hot or you'll be dealing with a poached egg), then lather it into your hair. Rinse it out with tepid water or that egg will poach right on top of your head. To deep-treat damaged hair, give it a healthy sheen, and cure dryness right down to the roots, use this pre-shampoo conditioning treatment: Mix together 3 eggs, 2 tablespoons olive oil or safflower oil, and 1 teaspoon vinegar. Apply it to your tresses, cover with a plastic cap, and leave it on for 30 minutes. Then shampoo as usual.

10: Look in the Cupboard

Nuts and seeds. Try snacking on some seeds and nuts. They contain essential fatty acids that can pop that sheen right back into your hair.

Avocado and banana. Mash a little overripe banana and avocado together, spread in your hair, and leave it there for up to an hour. Then rinse with warm water.

Beer. After your shampoo, rinse your hair with a little beer. This can help restore shine.

Mayonnaise. You'll need the full-fat kind, not a diet or low-fat version. Slather 1 tablespoon or so onto your hair, rub it in down to your scalp, then cover with a plastic cap and wait about 30 minutes. Rinse it out thoroughly or you'll be craving tuna salad the rest of the day.

Oil. Rub a little oil into your scalp. Olive oil works well, as does coconut oil. After you rub it on, cover your hair with a cap and leave it on overnight, then shampoo and rinse the oil out in the morning.

Ways 2 Keep your Relationship Healthy

1. Love eachother.
2. Don't lie.
3. Keep communication open.
4. When you get hurt, forgive & forget.
5. Never talk about break-ups.
6. Never say "it's okay", even when it's not.
7. Forget about "pride".
8. If you say "sorry", mean it.
9. Don't compare your past with your present.
10. Give & Take process.
11. Don't talk about your ex's.
12. Beware of his/her feelings.
13. When you've had a fight, don't let the day pass.
14. Don't be only partners, but best-friends.
15. Don't flirt with another guy/girl.
16. HAVE FUN, go out!.
17. Don't treat their forgiveness like it's expected.
18. Don't hide hwat you're thinking, tell them.
19. Remember: we all make mistakes & have pasts.
20. Don't question eachothers feelings.
21. Don't take him/her for granted.
22. Never go to bed angry.
23. Don't be afraid to be you.
24. Have time, energy & effort.
25. Don't lose yourself in the "us".
26. Don't say things you don't mean.
27. Little things make big differences.
28. Give eachother space, don't be over possessive.
29. Don't spend every waking minute with together.
30. Be independent, not dependent.
31. Keep your promises.
32. Give as much as you take.
33. Offer help anytime you can.
34. Tell eachother how you feel instead of keeping it in.
35. Always tell the truth, no matter what.
36. Don't let arguments end it.
37. Be honest with eachother.
38. Don't be jealous (evil - vengeful jealous)
39. When you don't like something, speak your mind.
40. Be true to eachother.

A Few Benefits of Being a Woman

1. We got off the Titanic first.
2. We can scare male bosses with mysterious gynecological disorder excuses.
3. We never ejaculate prematurely.
4. When we buy a vibrator it is glamorous. When men buy a blow up doll it's pathetic.
5. Our boyfriend's clothes make us look hot - guys look like complete idiots in ours.
6. We can be groupies. Male groupies are stalkers.
7. We've never lusted over a cartoon character or the central figure in a computer game.
8. Taxis stop for us.
9. Men die earlier, so we get to cash in on the life insurance.
10. We don't look like a disjointed pinocchio when dancing.
11. Free moving (you get the point).
12. We can hug our friends without wondering if she thinks we're gay.
13. We can hug our friends without wondering if WE'RE gay.
14. We know The Truth about whether size matters.
15. If we have sex with someone and don't call them the next day, we're not the devil.
16. Condoms make no significant difference in our enjoyment of sex.
17. Nothing crucial can be cut off with one clean sweep.
18. It's possible to live our whole lives without ever taking a group shower.
19. No fashion faux pas we make could rival The Speedo.
20. We don't have to fart to amuse ourselves.
21. If we cheat on our spouse, people assume it's because we're being emotionally neglected.
22. We never have to wonder if his orgasm was real.
23. If we forget to shave, no one has to know.
24. We can congratulate our teammate without ever touching her ass.
25. If we have a zit, we know how to conceal it.
26. We always find room for more shoes.
27. We never have to reach down every so often to make sure our privates are still there.
28. We have the ability to dress ourselves.
29. We can talk to people of the opposite sex without having to picture them naked.
30. Our friends won't think we're weird if we ask whether there's spinach in our teeth.
31. We habe boobs (point made).
32. We know that there are times when chocolate really can solve all your problems.
33. We know that new shoes will make us feel better when we are down.
34. Gay waiters don't make us uncomfortable.
35. We'll never regret piercing our ears.
36. We can fully assess a person just by looking at their shoes.
37. We get to be pregnant.
38. We can cry and not get made fun of.
39. If we don't know anything about cars, it's okay.
40. We can be emotional and blame it on that time of the month.
41. Free drinks. Free dinners. Free movies.
42. If we marry someone 20 years younger, we're aware that we look like an idiot.
43. We know which glass was ours by the lipstick mark.
44. We have way more hair options.
45. We can carry everything we need in a purse, if we want to.
46. We have the little black dress.
47. There is no need for us to act ridiculous to "prove" that we're real women. 
48. We can fix scratches on our cars with nail polish or a sharpie pen.
49. No matter what we drive, we look good in it.
50. We can close our eyes and flinch at a bloody war movie or a horror movie and no one will care.
51. We can borrow clothes and mix and match, from any of our girlfriends or sisters etc, instead of having to go out and buy something.
52. We can act a little childish and it seems cute.
53. We can pull over and ask for directions and get lots of help if we're lost.
54. We know how to pump our own gas.
55. If we have a flat tire we can get help without having to worry about seeming "unmanly." 
56. We can freak out over a mouse or bug without looking foolish.
57. We can have long hair without looking like a 1980's metal rocker.
58. We can wear pink without looking like a sissy.
59. Barbie is a doll, not an action figure.
60. We can call our female friends "girlfriends" and not sound like lesbians.
61. We can wear dresses, skirts and other cute things.
62. Lipgloss, lipgloss, lipgloss.
63. Makeup, makeup, makeup.
64. We can wear flower printed clothing without looking like a waiter from a cruise.
65. We're NOT men.

Trying to Fit In with your Man

We have to be careful of placing too much emphasis on our belief that we have so much in common with a man, when in reality, if he’s not in the relationship with both feet or has already bolted, you don’t share the right common ground.

Because we find it all too easy to sideline ourselves, two things can happen that are dangerous:

He makes himself number one and you make him number one, which is why you don’t have the common interest of a relationship. You certainly don’t even share a common interest of YOU.

You think you have a lot in common when in actual fact, you’ve morphed to fit in with him.

The most common example of this is when you date a guy and because he can’t commit, and he pulls disappearing acts, treats you badly etc, you then decide that it must mean you don’t want a relationship and you let him pretty much abuse what little boundaries that there are left. Suddenly you have assumed the role of the girl who understands her man and is letting him do his thing.This is why it is important to have boundaries and values and to maintain your position.

If you adjust your yardstick to accommodate chump behaviour from men in the name of having a common ground and keeping the relationship, not only will you waste even more time on these men but you will lose your sense of self.

The reason why so many women struggle to let go of assclown men and to No Contact is because by the time you’ve finished morphing to fit in with his agenda, you don’t know who the f*ck you are anymore.

Yes relationships do involve some compromise but actually that doesn’t involve compromising your values and boundaries, or yourself.

No real relationship between two people is going to flounder because one person loves Star Trek and the other likes Sex and the City. Trust me, I know this because the boyf loves all sorts of science fiction sh*te and it’s got sweet f all impact on our relationship. He loves watching football (soccer) and all sorts of annoying sports, has some eclectic taste in music, cycles sometimes (I’m not the exercising sort), and watches annoying guy films with people like Jean Claude van Damme and that stupid man with the pony tail.
Relationships are the sum of two individuals and whilst it is handy to have things in common, it is ok to maintain some individuality too.

Morphing, which in its worst form is when you shelf your own interests, aspirations, values, etc to take on those of your partner, is another form of co-dependency, so of course when you break up with the guy after making him the centre of your universe and in essence, shelving yourself, it will feel like you are no longer an entity.

But let me ask, when do these guys ever try to fit in with YOU? They don’t.

If you have to ‘fit in’ and if you have to ‘adjust’ to feel like you’re on the same planet as him, you should be asking yourself why, because you are your own entity of value and if he doesn’t recognise this and value it, this ship can’t sail.

More importantly, if you don’t see yourself as an entity of value, there are plenty of assclowns out there waiting for you to hand over your life to them whilst they take a hands off approach and accept no responsibility.

Don’t be a morpher! If in doubt, write down everything that you have been doing with your assclown, and ask yourself how many of these things are genuinely YOU.