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Some ailments will not go away despite the best efforts of doctors and endless internet searches. Search no longer! Odd cures is here to share inexpensive strategies that may provide relief when all else has failed. The list begins below:
RESTLESS LEGS
Ailment: Sufferers of restless legs at night may have difficulty falling asleep. Although the cause is unknown, the individual feels a tingly twitchy feeling in the leg that is only temporarily relieved by movement.
Odd Cure: Iron supplement 25 mg (approximately 130% of daily value).
Rationale: Although useful in personal experience, the benefits of iron supplementation, for easing the symptoms of restless legs, has been recognized since the 1950s (ref). Iron also appears as an ingredient in therapeutic strategies offered online (ref). Iron supplementation should be handled with care (ref), however the dose is near the daily recommended allowance and is used infrequently.
ACNE
Ailment: A condition that usually affects younger individuals with red facial sores found typically on face or back.
Odd Cure: Avoiding allergic contributions from cosmetics.
Rationale: Technically, acne arises due to increased activity from a bacterial strain, Propionibacterium acnes - however, allergic reactions from cosmetics, shampoos, and facial cleansers may create "acne" like symptoms. This was evident in one case involving an individual with acne from ages 16-28. Several interventions were attempted including tetricycline, salicyclic acid, benzoyl peroxide, Accutane, and even expensive laser surgery. At 28 years of age, the individual switched brands of shampoo and the acne resolved. Recurrence was noted when using shampoos with similar ingredients.
STRANGE ABDOMINAL PAINS
Ailment: Symptoms may vary, but individual in this case experienced acute pain in upper stomach and occasional radiating pain in back.
Odd Cure: Avoidance of carrageenan.
Rationale: Odd pains and sensations may be due to food allergies. In one case, a female individual in her thirties began to experience shooting pain in her upper abdomen with occasional radiating pain in her back. Medical clinics utilized MRI, CT-scanning and endoscopies in an attempt to diagnose the condition. Patient was diagnosed with gall bladder issues and was scheduled for removal of the organ. One week prior to surgery, a second opinion indicated a food allergy may be involved. Individual then avoided carrageenen and all pain issues resolved. Recurrence occurred anytime carrageenen was consumed.
RECURRING STIES
Ailment: A sty is a red bump that appears on eyelids and sometimes, but not always, painful.
Odd Cure: Cod liver oil, 1000 mg daily.
Rationale: Sties are normally associated with a bacterial infection and some will come and go with no further complications. However, one individual had several recurring sties over the course of several months, affecting a single eye. Individual attempted a warm compress, a compress with black tea bags and further went in for surgical removal of the sties. Afterward, sties continued until the individual used cod liver oil daily for approximately 7-10 days. A second individual with recurring sties claims the use of alpha lipoic acid (ALA) eased symptoms, suggesting supplementation with Omega-3 fatty acids may be beneficial.
FIGHTING COLDS
Ailment: Sore throat that goes away, followed by runny nose, congestion and cough.
Odd Cure: Zinc (80 mg), Echinacea (2400 mg), and Vitamin D3 (2000 IU), daily.
Rationale: The common cold may be due to a multitude of viruses beyond the most common cause, rhinovirus, (ref) and likewise a multitude of cold fighting agents supposedly exist. Among these, three have shown promise including Zinc (ref), Echinacea (ref), and vitamin D (ref). Yet, the science is complicated and reports go both ways as far as whether this really works (ref). Thus, it remains unclear if the anti-cold benefits of zinc, echinacea, and vitamin D may be purely placebo or effective in certain individuals against particular viral strains.
INSOMNIA
Ailment: Difficulty falling asleep, stress (in the form of repeated, potentially worrying thoughts) may be a factor.
Odd Cure: Aspirin (325 mg).
Rationale: The inability to quickly fall asleep may have many causes, including stress and/or pain. Temporary relief of symptoms may provide the necessary window to fall asleep. Aspirin has been effective many times in personal experience to attain sleep. However, it should be noted that these insomnia episodes were sporadic, and individuals who consistently have difficulty sleeping may require consultation with medical professionals. Other forms of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may also be effective such as Advil, Tylenol, ibuprofen and others.
ONE DAY FLU
Ailment: High fever leading to vomiting, weakness, aches and pain. Symptoms typically resolve within 24 hours.
Odd Cure: Hot beverage following consumption of greasy foods.
Rationale: Some individuals may be susceptible to a "one-day flu" episode, which might lead one to suspect food poisoning. For one particular individual with several sporadic recurrences, it was suspected that an allergic reaction to a particular food combination was the reason. Specifically, a mixture of greasy foods (e.g. ribs, pizza, etc.) with an ice cold beverage seem to trigger the sickness. Whether this may be due to solidification of the fats in the stomach is uncertain, but the individual now consumes warm beverages with greasy meals and has had no new occurrences.
CONJUCTIVITIS / PINK EYE
Ailment: Redness and swelling of the membranes that line the eyelid and eye surface.
Odd Cure: Direct application of fresh lemon juice.
Rationale: Pink eye may have bacterial and/or viral causes. Lemon juice should create an inhabitable environment that is tolerable for the eye but not the infecting agents. One individual claims to have successfully treated his pink eye with lemon juice on two separate occasions and a similar approach using vinegar as the acid is suggested (ref). However, lmeon juice may cause nothing but additional irritation (ref) and overall, lemon juice succeeded in one YouTube video (ref) but failed in two others (ref and ref). Lemon juice may work, but only for specific types of eye conjuctivis.
OVER-SPICED FOODS
Ailment: Consumption of hot peppers beyond spice tolerance level leading to several minutes of pain.
Odd Cure: Consumption of 50/50 mixture of milk and olive oil.
Rationale: The burn associated with hot peppers is due to a molecule called capsaicin. Capsaicin is a hydrophobic molecule, which means that it behaves like oil and does not mix with water. For this reason, a milk-olive oil mixture provides a solution that effectively washes away the irritating capsaicin much faster than water or even milk alone. A link to short experiment describing this concept in greater detail is provided here (ref). It is believed that whole milk would be more efficient than skim milk due to the addition fats.
HICCUPS
Ailment: Uncontrolled spasms that lead to a familiar "hiccup" sound.
Odd Cure: Relaxing and controlling the diaphragm.
Rationale: Diaphragm muscles are responsible for opening and compressing the chest to breath and uncontrolled spasms lead to hiccups. Cures for this hiccups are numerous and including being scared, drinking water, and others. One particular method found to be useful is to take control of the diaphragm. This method involves drawing in as much air as possible, pinching lips to contain air and thinking about how spasms of the diaphragm cause hiccups - until breath cannot be held any longer. The individual claims a 80% success rate but variations of this technique, focused on relaxing and controlling the diaphragm, have also been successful.
MILD DEPRESSION
Ailment: Persistent feeling of sadness, hopelessness, despondency.
Odd Cure: News & social media avoidance.
Rationale: Depression is a serious mental illness and medical care should be used in severe cases. Although the contribution of news and social media to inducing depressive symptoms is uncertain, a short experiment (ref) and an article (ref) suggest news avoidance may be a good thing. Additionally, a study out of the University of Missouri reports Facebook envy can cause depression (ref) and further, a second study reports news journalist are at risk for stress and depression (ref). Although, news and social media are not likely to be the sole cause of depression, avoidance of the negativity from these factors might provide a boost to one's spirits.
THANK YOU!
Thank you for reading through our slideshow. We would be happy to hear about your personal experience regarding these various topics so that we can improve on our accuracy. Please fill out the following form to reach us:
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