We’ve all been there.
You don’t feel well, and you think maybe you should see a doctor… but you don’t.
Perhaps your local clinic is closed for the night, or you can’t get someone to drive
you, or maybe you’re just in the American health care system.
There are plenty of reasons people choose to treat their injuries and illnesses at home.
But, as regular SciShow viewers already know, some at-home treatments cause more problems
than they solve…
Ding!
In the comments of our episode debunking six popular home remedies, a lot of you asked
us if there are any that do work.
Well, ask, and you shall receive!
Here are 6 home remedies that are supported by science.
[ ♪ INTRO ]
Prunes for Constipation
If you’ve ever gone a few days without pooping, you know it’s not terribly fun to be constipated.
Luckily, it’s also pretty common knowledge that a combination of fiber supplements and
water will usually fix the issue.
Keeping well-hydrated can soften your stool so it’s easier to pass, and fiber helps
by making your stool bigger so it’s easier to push against.
While more poop might seem like a bad idea if you’re already stopped up, more bulk
in the colon actually stimulates your bowels to take care of business.
And that’s where prunes come in.
While you could get extra fiber from a concentrated supplement, like I do, research shows that
prunes are better at kick-starting spontaneous bowel movements.
Fiber supplements often use some form of psyllium husk as the source of fiber.
But in a 14-week crossover trial — the kind where participants end up trying both treatments
— a dissolvable psyllium supplement was less effective at treating constipation than
simply eating prunes.
During the prune-eating part of the study, the participants passed more frequent stools,
and their stools were softer.
Both of the options amounted to about 6 grams of dietary fiber per day, so the researchers
think there’s something else in the prunes that increases their effectiveness.
That extra something is probably sorbitol, a substance found in prunes which stimulates
water delivery to the colon.
So if you’re stopped up, you might consider some dried plums instead of a powder or a
pill.
But prunes cannot solve everything.
They aren’t as effective if your constipation is due to irritable bowel syndrome, for example
— and they can even make IBS symptoms worse.
So if prunes don’t help you get things moving, it’s definitely time to check in with an
actual doctor, not a YouTube video.
Severe constipation can lead to much bigger problems, like hemorrhoids or fecal vomiting,
which we did an episode on.
You can watch our episode on what happens if you stop pooping completely if you really
want to learn more about that.
It’s not pretty.
Oatmeal for Dry Skin
People have been using oatmeal for skin conditions for millenia.
But unlike some ancient wisdoms, science actually supports using oatmeal in skin care.
It’s perhaps most well-known for its moisturizing properties.
That’s because oatmeal contains a lot of starches which attract and hold onto water.
When you put powdered oatmeal onto your skin, these starches help create a viscous layer
that traps moisture to keep your skin hydrated.
And that’s not all oatmeal does.
In human clinical trials, it reduces itchiness and soothes irritated skin.
Oatmeal contains a variety of components which basically shut down inflammation — an immune
response that can make your skin painful, swollen, itchy and red.
For example, it has chemicals called avenanthramides in it.
These can soothe itching by reducing the amount of histamine released by your immune cells
in your skin.
And they, as well as other compounds in oatmeal, can act as antioxidants, fighting against
the damaging, highly-reactive molecules that cause long-term skin damage.
There is a slight catch, though.
Researchers don’t just boil a pot of Quaker Oats to use in these studies.
They use colloidal oatmeal, which is oatmeal ground to be so fine that it creates a special
kind of gel when mixed with water.
It takes some fancy machines and super tiny sieves to make the stuff — things not found
in probaby your kitchen.
Luckily, colloidal oatmeal pretty commonly sold in pharmacies.
And though you can’t really make true colloidal oatmeal at home, a good blender or food processor
can grind oats well enough for a DIY oatmeal bath, which honestly sounds lovely right now.
Ginger for Morning Sickness
Sure, babies are cute, but the process of bringing one into the world can wreak havoc
on the body.
In particular, people who are pregnant often experience nausea and vomiting.
Why are you making this even harder?
While this is frequently referred to as “morning sickness”, it’s definitely not confined
to mornings.
And it tends to be worst in the first trimester, but pregnancy is just the gift that keeps
on giving, as some people feel sick basically the whole time.
Luckily, antiemetics — drugs that ease that feeling of queasiness — are totally a thing.
But some studies have rais
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