The Cure Is In The Cupboard

In summertime, the living may be easy, but it's also fraught with sunburn, bug bites, poison ivy, and a host of other minor irritations.

Dr. Emily Senay, CBS This Morning Health and Medicine Correspondent, reports that there's no need to rush to the local pharmacy for a costly over-the-counter preparation to treat these ailments. The cure could be as close as your kitchen cupboard.

"Instead of buying expensive preparations," Dr. Senay says, "why not try a few home remedies that grandparents have been suggesting for years?"

Many of the items needed are already in your home or can be purchased for a small cost at the local supermarket.

Here are Dr. Senay's suggestions:

• Baking Soda. It can be used as a disinfectant and is perfect for taking the itch out of rashes and poison ivy, and the sting out of bug bites. Mix with water to form a paste and spread on affected areas to soothe and heal.
  
• Herbal Teas. Wet and cool herbal tea bags are good for easing the pain of sunburns. Place them all along the burned areas for quick relief.
• Plain Yogurt. It's another quick cure for smaller areas of sunburn. Spread on affected areas.
• Oatmeal. Plain old-fashioned oatmeal is good for removing the itch of poison oak and poison ivy. Pour a cup or two into a handkerchief, drop it into a tub of warm water, and soak yourself.
• Flour. This baking staple has properties that will stop bleeding in cuts. Just dust it on the injury.
• Honey. Honey has anti-bacterial agents that heal cuts and prevent infection. It's also good for healing burns.
• Black Licorice. The natural herb in black licorice will coat and soothe upset stomachs.
• Ginger Root. Another treatment for indigestion is a little grated ginger root in a cup of hot or cold water.