10 Amazing Health Hacks You Should Try If You Have One Of These Problems | Healthy Living slideshows | Well Being center

Stuffing Bacon Up Your Nose To Stop Nosebleed

Not too many people have heard of this one, but we're pretty sure it will catch on. Stuffing, by which we mean gently stuffing, slithers, not slices, of bacon up your nose will stop nosebleed, and also give you your daily fix of bacon aroma. Bacon is usually cured with sodium nitrite. The nitrites do open up blood vessels. That's a mixed bag; increasing circulation temporarily increases bleeding but later helps stop it as the circulatory system delivers platelets and clotting factors to the wound. The nitrites kill bacteria that could infect the nose, and speed up healing of the wound. Remove the bacon when the bleeding stops or after 15 minutes, whichever comes first. Make sure the bacon is at room temperature before applying to the nose.

Sources & Links

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Photo courtesy of orangebrompton by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/orangebrompton/3320200309/
spryliving.com/articles/30-amazing-health-hacks/
http://blog.zocdoc.com/healthhacks/
http://visual.ly/health-hacks-15-curious-things-people-do-instead-going-doctor
http://greatist.com/health/54-unexpected-ways-hack-your-health

Black Pepper Helps With Cuts

For thousands of years, Ayurvedic medicine has used black pepper in combination with other simple substances for skin care, especially for stubborn wounds that are slow to heal. The first thing to do when you have a cut is to clean out the wound with running water. Then apply pressure with a clean cloth or paper towel, elevating the part of the body with the cut to reduce, but only slightly reduce, blood circulation. Then sprinkle ground black pepper on the wound before covering with a bandage. Black pepper slows bleeding and accelerates healing, reducing the likelihood of scar formation. Don't use black pepper on any cuts covering a skin surface area of over 1 sq inch (6 sq cm).

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Photo courtesy of JB by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/harvardavenue/712095072/
You may also be interested in an article on ehow.com, http://www.ehow.com/how_2090313_treat-cuts-black-pepper.html.

Fight Nausea With Mint Gum Or Mint Tea

Mint teas, mint gums, and aromatherapy with mint oil are remedies that really work for controlling nausea and vomiting, even the nausea and vomiting caused by morning sickness and chemotherapy. It's the scent of mint that makes the difference. You don't necessarily have to swallow something that contains mint to get the benefits of the herb. Chew mint gum, sip mint tea (made with hot but not boiling water, boiling causes the active ingredient menthol to evaporate), or place a drop of essential oil of mint on the back of your hand and sniff. Don't drink essential oils of mint or any other herb; they are typically too strong for your nervous system. Just a hint of mint is enough.

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Photo courtesy of Shenghung Lin by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/shenghunglin/2074240705/
Pasha H, Behmanesh F, Mohsenzadeh F, Hajahmadi M, Moghadamnia AA. Study of the effect of mint oil on nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2012 Nov.14(11):727-30. doi: 10.5812/ircmj.3477. Epub 2012 Nov 15.

Sleep On Your Left Side To Prevent Acid Reflux

Have a problem with acidic burps or heartburn during the middle of the night? Try sleeping on your left side. Sleeping on your left side keeps pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter, keeping acid in your stomach from coming up into your throat. When infants have heartburn, it is safe to turn on the left side on a relatively hard surface, but don't place them on a pillow into which they could smother. Sleeping on your left side can also relieve a sensation of racing heart during the middle of the night, and it also slightly lowers blood pressure. If you have kidney stones, however, you may have to raise the head of your bead, so your head is elevated as you sleep, rather than sleeping on your side.

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Photo courtesy of Pedro Simões by Wikimedia Commons : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sleeping_the_day_away_-_3087394718.jpg
Kültürsay N. Gastroesophageal Reflux (GER) in Preterms: Current Dilemmas and Unresolved Problems in Diagnosis and Treatment. Turk J Pediatr. 2012 Nov-Dec. 54(6):561-9.

Fight Sore Throat By Gargling Whiskey Or Tabasco Sauce

Gargling whiskey is an old home remedy for sore throat. Over the counter mouthwashes like Listerine contain alcohol, but they only contain about 26% to 28% alcohol. That's enough to sting your throat, but it's not the 46% alcohol that is actually needed to fight germs. Any alcoholic beverage that is more than 92 proof, however, is strong enough actually to kill germs. Just remember you don't absolutely have to swallow your sore throat remedy. Straight tabasco sauce is a little too much for many sore throat sufferers, but tabasco sauce mixed with water, as strong as you can stand it, sets up a "distraction" in your throat that cancels out sore throat pain.

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Photo courtesy of david basulto by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/dbasulto/2856916854/
Quintans-Júnior LJ, Melo MS, De Sousa DP, Araujo AA, Onofre AC, Gelain DP, Gonçalves JC, Araújo DA, Almeida JR, Bonjardim LR. J Orofac Pain. 2010 Summer. 24(3):305-12. Antinociceptive effects of citronellal in formalin-, capsaicin-, and glutamate-induced orofacial nociception in rodents and its action on nerve excitability. PMID: 20664833.

Swearing And Cursing Kill The Pain

In 2009, the Discovery Channel's myth busters Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman tested the proposition that potty mouths have greater resistance to pain. Persuading volunteers to endure a cold tolerance test, the two Discovery Channel hosts found that participants who swore like sailors lasted 30% longer in the pain test than those whose language was pristine. Letting out an expletive when you hit your finger with a hammer or when you have to take a shot really can relieve the pain. It's the naughtiness factor of the words that probably makes a difference. If you swear all the time, swearing on a special occasion probably won't make you feel any better.

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Photo courtesy of Eric Brochu by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/misterwindupbird/26934680/
For more information about the Discovery Channel test, visit http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/cursing-and-pain.htm.

Freeze That Sneeze

Ever have a sneezing fit that you just can't stop? The answer may be an ice cube, held above the center of your upper lip, just below the nose. The chilling of the blood vessels that carry blood to your nose turns off the reflex action that makes you sneeze. Putting an ice pack on the neck has the same effect. Just don't keep the ice on your face or neck indefinitely. Generally, once the sneezing cycle is interrupted, it does not start up again. Pressing a finger across the bridge between your nose and your upper lip also works, although not as well, when you can't find a piece of ice. You can also use ice to stop runny nose.

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Photo courtesy of gabriela talarico by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/ameninadosolhos/2231514459/
For an interesting discussion of this topic, visit http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/2011/01/10/the-sneeze.

Dry Out Pimples With Toothpaste

Just don't have the $20 you need to get Oxy or some other acne cleanser? Try toothpaste. When big, red, oozy pimples pop out on your face, you can fight them with the antibacterial power of triclosan, an ingredient found in most tooothpastes. To be sure, most acne experts will tell you that triclosan actually aggravates acne around the mouth, and they are right. Most people are mildly allergic to this ingredient, and the splash and foam from brushing your teeth can make your face break out if you don't rinse your face, as well as your mouth, after your brush. Apply just a dab of toothpaste to an icky zit, however, can kill bacteria and give that tiny patch of skin a chance to heal.

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Photo courtesy of Brandon Cripps by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/brandoncripps/1875369900/
Choi YS, Suh HS, Yoon MY, Min SU, Kim JS, Jung JY, Lee DH, Suh DH. A study of the efficacy of cleansers for acne vulgaris. J Dermatolog Treat. 2010 May.21(3):201-5. doi: 10.3109/09546630903401454.

Clean Your Teeth With An Apple

Apples, or more precisely apple juice, as a surprisingly effective way to clean the teeth. Having a distinctly acidic pH of 3.4, apple juice literally melts away particles that are stuck to teeth as it cleans and whitens the teeth and freshens the breath. A slow mouthwash with apple juice or very slowly eating a raw apple--no sugar added, kpelase--can do the job. Just don't leave apple juice on your teeth for too long. After several hours of exposure, a feat that would hard to accomplish, apple juice can actually break down dental enamel. It's used in place of stronger acids in laboratory experiments to simulate tooth decay.

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Photo courtesy of eevs sinclair by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/jeeves/174260282/
Azrak B, Callaway A, Kurth P, Willershausen B. Influence of bleaching agents on surface roughness of sound or eroded dental enamel specimens. J Esthet Restor Dent. 2010 Dec. 22(6):391-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1708-8240.2010.00372.x.

Ease Heartburn With Baking Soda

A tried and true remedy for heartburn, popular about 50 years before the advent of Nexium and Pepcid, is mixing a teaspoon (about 3 grams) of baking soda into a glass of plain water and drinking it down to stop stomach acid. Crude yet effective, the baking soda treatment is a temporary but fast and effective remedy for acid reflux. It's certainly a lot less expensive than the prescription medications. If you need baking soda or any other heartburn remedy on a regular basis, it's probably time to rethink your diet. Bitter foods aggravate heartburn (that includes foods like red leaf lettuce and arugula), and eating too much at one time stuffs the stomach so that acid has only one way to go, up. Eating less at each meal will usually also help.

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Photo courtesy of kat by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/katalopolis/3970960290/
Prajapati ST, Mehta AP, Modhia IP, Patel CN. Formulation and optimisation of raft-forming chewable tablets containing H2 antagonist. Int J Pharm Investig. 2012 Oct
2(4):176-82. doi: 10.4103/2230-973X.106988. PMID: 23580933.