How We Save Money on Health Care Costs

How We Save Money on Health Care Costs

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Guest post from Joy @ Five J’s

Six years ago my husband and I had health insurance coverage through his work. But when the premiums started to rise, we realized we had to do something to save money because we were already struggling to stretch our dollars from week to week.

It was about this time I happened upon this post by Shaun Groves. Shaun’s son came down with a sudden illness that resulted in an enormous medical bill, and even though their family didn’t have insurance, their out-of-pocket costs for the entire bill was just $12! Needless to say, I was intrigued.

Shaun explained that they were members of a Christian health care sharing ministry called Samaritan. Samaritan isn’t insurance; instead a group of Christians share medical needs they have that exceed $300, and the members pay each others’ bills.

It sounded almost too good to be true, so I did a little investigating and talked to some current Samaritan members to find out whether it was a viable option for us. We determined it was, so in 2007 we cancelled our $500+/month insurance policy with a $3000 deductible and became members of Samaritan.

How Health Care Sharing with Samaritan Works

Each month Samaritan sends us the name and address of another Samaritan member and a summary of their medical need. We then write a check for our monthly share of $370, include a personal note, and send the money directly to the other member. This $370 ‘share’ is basically our monthly premium.

Concerning our own medical costs, we pay out of pocket for things like preventative visits, one-time doctor sick visits, and our ongoing prescriptions. But several times our medical bills for an illness or injury have exceeded the $300 threshold, so we submitted those needs to Samaritan members and the bills were paid directly by the membership.

One of these needs was an $80,000 hospital bill from when my daughter shattered her femur and had to undergo two surgeries and spent a total of seven days in the hospital. Samaritan negotiated discounts from several of the providers, saving thousands of dollars, and once we received all the checks from the Samaritan members, our out-of-pocket cost was less than $200. We paid for only her wheelchair rental and the purchase of a walker, definitely thousands of dollars less than if we still had regular medical insurance.

As I just mentioned, Samaritan is not insurance. But even with the changes to the health insurance industry under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), we are not worried. Members of recognized health sharing ministries like Samaritan are exempt from the individual mandate penalty, so even though we don’t technically have insurance, we aren’t subject to the penalty.

How We Save Money on Prescriptions

Not only do we save money on health care costs each month by being members of Samaritan, we’ve also discovered how to save money on prescriptions with GoodRX.com.

Since we have to pay for most of our prescriptions (Samaritan does cover some prescriptions following an illness or injury, but we still have to pay for some), we try to find the lowest cost for prescriptions.

GoodRX is a free website (as well as a mobile app) that allows me to look up both the cash-pay and GoodRX discount price for prescriptions in my area. It has allowed us to save quite a bit of money on our prescriptions, almost as if we had regular prescription coverage.

For example, I recently had to refill two medications for my daughter, and if I’d simply gone to Target as usual, I would have paid more than $60 for the two. But I logged on to GoodRX before requesting the refill and discovered I’d save quite a bit of money if I transferred the prescription to Wal-mart, which I did. I ended up paying just $20 for the prescriptions, and all it took was a little research on GoodRX.com.

Will This Work for You?

Being a member of Samaritan and going without typical health insurance coverage is definitely not for everyone, but it has been such a blessing for our family. So if you’re looking for ways to save money on your health care costs, you might want to investigate health care sharing ministries like Samaritan and discount prescription programs like GoodRX.com to see if they are a good fit for your own situation.

Joy Miller works from home with her husband, Jeff, doing book, graphic, and web design through their business Five J’s Design. She also runs a homeschooling website called Five J’s. In 2012, after being in debt for 18 years, Jeff and Joy became debt free (except for their house) and have recently begun a financial coaching business to help others discover financial freedom. Jeff & Joy live in Texas where they homeschool their three children, Jaden, Jerah, and Joely.

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Original article and pictures take moneysavingmom.com site

How We Reversed Asthma Symptoms in our Family

How We Reversed Asthma Symptoms in our Family

Guest Post by Daniele of Domestic Serenity

Many moms can relate to dealing with children’s health issues. In some way, we all act as Dr. Mom in treating often minor and manageable illnesses.

Our family has faced ups and downs in sickness, but it wasn’t until we dealt with serious asthma attacks that my natural medicine cabinet could no longer keep up.

At first, I was just grateful (and still am) for the level of emergency care available in our country. To race to the hospital, watching your child struggle for every breath and lose energy from fighting, is not a scene I’d wish on any mom. I was simply thankful for the help.

But to also watch him ingest overpowering drugs with known long-term side effects just to breathe? This pushed me to question. Surely, there must be another way; another path to consider?

There was a different direction.

We now have a little boy, hospitalized so many times due to uncontrolled asthma flare-ups, who has been free from asthma attacks for over 18 months! I’ll share what worked for our family.

image by deziner02

How We Reversed Asthma Symptoms

I’ve written a whole series on the topic with plenty of details, so today I’ll share highlights. The path we chose could be described in three steps: cleanse, strengthen, nourish.

CLEANSE the Body

We began by eliminating any possible food triggers. Asthma is basically understood as inflammation of the respiratory passages with extra mucus production and spasms of the muscles in the system. Not fun, huh?

Because asthma is often tied in with allergies (food or environmental), it seemed wise to us to take any of these triggers out first. By keeping a journal of what foods we eliminated and when, we could track the effect. You’ll find more tips on elimination diets here.

Then one day, I came across an article about the inflammatory effects of hydrogenated oils on asthma — this was so significant in our journey! We got an oil change overnight and immediately switched to using coconut and olive oil almost exclusively.

The anti-inflammatory effects of omega 3 oils in asthmatic children are incredibly beneficial, and we saw this firsthand. Our son’s body and breathing began to calm even more just after 2-4 weeks of change. We were hooked!

image by ghindo

CLEANSE the Home

Removing possible environmental triggers was the next step. We concentrated efforts on changing our cleaning products from conventional to natural (often homemade) and to controlling allergens in our son’s bedroom.

I started with the bedroom since so much time is spent in there between sleeping and playing. Early in our journey, allergy testing provided information on which environmental struggles we were dealing with.

Dust mites topped the list and so allergen-proof covers for pillows and mattresses helped. Many more steps and tips of cleansing the home can be found at my post.

image by Mae Cheverette

STRENGTHEN the Body

Taking the bad stuff out is great. But to then strengthen the body and replace with extra-good stuff is even better!

Knowing about 75% of our immune fighting ability is in our gut, our next focus was to give our child (and by this point, the whole family!) a strengthened intestinal tract and therefore stronger immune system.

While we didn’t do anything such as GAPS diet, simple steps and adding in one specific fruit key for asthmatics to eat often — we experienced continued major improvements!

NOURISH the body

The journey is not over as we continue to nourish and care gently for our son’s body — by treating any cold symptoms early, practicing some massage techniques, and many other natural approaches.

All of the details, including books, further resources and which natural products we used can be found in this series of posts.

Our hard work (and yes, it wasn’t always easy) paid off in benefits of a calmer, happier and less-hospitalized child. Less worry, less scary-crazy moments and many less days of breathing struggles. Not to mention money back in our pocket from less medical bills!

Is anyone dealing with asthma issues in children? Have you found other things to be helpful?

Original article and pictures take keeperofthehome.org site

How We Do Birthdays

How We Do Birthdays

Guest post from Sally of SallyLynnHall.com

Some years birthdays are big ol’ parties around our house — homemade elaborate cakes, lots of guests, games, activities, homemade decorations, and oh the food!

Mostly these are the milestone birthdays — 1, 5, 10 and so on — with a few random shindigs thrown in here and there. We’ve had dinosaur hunts, Elmo themed parties (three, to be exact), video gaming parties, picnic/old school kid games parties, and we’ll probably have countless more themes over the years.

However, the majority of the time we don’t. In fact, my kids have only had two big parties each. That does not mean we don’t celebrate — quite the contrary, actually. We just do it differently: we do it a bit more intimately during the “in between” birthdays.

Of course, I do not think blowout birthdays every year are wrong at all. We just choose not to celebrate that way (with multiple kids it’s hard on our wallet and sanity). Plus, we’ve discovered that simple does not necessarily mean less, it can actually mean so much more!

Let me explain.

Recently, my middle kiddo turned seven. It wasn’t a “milestone” birthday, but every birthday is special and we wanted him to feel that.

We started the festivities with a tradition from my childhood: three days of birthday. For three days — the day before his birthday, the day of, and the day after — he got to choose what we made for dinner, what TV show we watched at night, and usually, various family members would surprise him by doing one or two of his chores for him.

During one of those days we went to Cracker Barrel for our traditional “breakfast with the family”, followed by the birthday boy being able to pick one small toy in the shop for his present. (My husband started this tradition a few years back and it has quickly become a favorite. Even the adults take part on their birthdays! Whatever family members that are off work and are in town usually tag along to these annual breakfasts if they can, but there’s no pressure and it’s just as fun with only our clan.)

There are other little things that sometimes happen as well — we might bake or buy treats to take to our homeschool co-op, or an aunt or grandma might take the birthday kid out for ice cream or some other special outing.

But my favorite thing we do?

A very special bedtime story the night of their birthday. We sit down with pictures and scrapbooks of the kiddo we’re celebrating and while we look through years of firsts — baths, trips, foods, parties, Christmases and haircuts — we talk about the day they were born.

We tell the funny moments, the sweet moments, who was there, what was said and on and on. You would think they would get tired of this, but from the two-year-old to the ten-year-old, they soak it up. They could probably tell their birth stories for me. Well, not the toddler… not yet. And even though they know the answers already, each year it’s the same questions:

“And what did I say to the nurse who said that baby is so cute?”

“You said ‘That’s my new baby brother – go away!’ ”

And they laugh and laugh like it’s the first time they’ve heard it. And me? I bask in those first few moments of their lives with the blissfulness that comes years after the exhaustion of labor. I get to relive the good stuff.

So parents who can’t go big or even medium for each birthday, take heart. It can still be special and your child can feel just as spoiled. Maybe not with fanfare and presents, but instead, with cherished memories and special moments just for them that say, “I’m so glad you were born!”

How do you “do” birthdays?

Sally Hall is a part-time freelance writer, full-time wife, mom, and homeschooler, and a foodie at heart living in Texas. She has written for a series of women’s travel books, homeschooling publications, webzines, international ministries, and is currently finishing her own book! Follow her random musings over on her blog.

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Original article and pictures take moneysavingmom.com site

How We Developed a Morning Bible Reading Time With Our Family

How We Developed a Morning Bible Reading Time With Our Family

It might surprise you to know that what originally started our morning Bible reading time with our family was a bit of selfish need on the part of this mama.

What selfish need was my motivation? Oh, just a little something I like to call peace and quiet. The silly little desire for my four small boy children to actually stay in their chairs during a meal and not throw scrambled eggs toward the window or poke each other with forks. The desperate attempt to find some sort of order for our mornings when we were staring down a 7-year old, a 5-year old, a 3-year old, and a 6-month old.

Now truly, motivation for beginning our Bible reading time was the fact that we felt like good Christian parents should probably actually read the Bible to their kids. Funny that I didn’t at first equate Christ-like character and heart training with Bible reading. Good Christians just read the Bible, right?

I could interrupt myself here and ask what I even thought it meant to be a “good Christian” because what? Like there’s such thing as a “bad Christian?” Either you’re a Christ follower or you aren’t. But I digress.

So we wanted to be good Christian parents, and that surely must mean that we should read the Bible to our kids. And we wanted all the eggs and muffins to stay on plates and then get eaten, so it started to make sense to us that if we read the Bible to our kids while they were sitting at the table eating their food, we could get a two-for-one. The kids would sit and eat. The “good Christian parents” could read the Bible. Everyone brushes their teeth and moves on with the day.

Thankfully, before we got much farther into our parenting journey, God convicted us that shaping our kids’ hearts and character meant much more than simply “reading the Bible” to them. Of course, reading the Bible is a fabulous and necessary part of the journey, but it’s so much more than just reading words and moving on. We started talking with our kids frequently about God’s work in our lives. We started using scripture as a part of their training in ways that were fun and meaningful.

We learned that we needed to make Jesus’ life and and love a part of every aspect of our lives so that we, too, could live a life of love.

As parents, we learned along with our kids. There’s no magic formula for perfect parenting, but there is a Holy Spirit, the perfect guide. The more we listen to His leading and direction, the more we know what to say, how to love, and how to guide our kids.

As for our morning family Bible reading time at breakfast, it’s become a practice and tradition that we all hold dear. It’s much more than words in a book. It’s the Words from the Book. It’s Truth. It’s Life.

Reading to our kids during a meal began as a way to keep them focused on both food and words. It worked for us then, and works for us now as it brings our busy family of teenagers together for conversation and Biblical truth before we hit the ground running.

Keeping their hands busy any time I read to them when they were little

was a necessity if I wanted them to actually hear the words I was reading.

No matter how you choose to fill your kids with Truth from the Word, do find the ways that work for you. During meals, in the car, at bedtime – any or all of the above, as the Spirit leads you. Change your times and practices through the years as needed.

Don’t limit scripture training to be something your kids learn on Sunday mornings. Make it a part of every day of your lives, as parents, as individuals, and as a family.

And if you read the Bible at the breakfast table with your little ones, enjoy the added benefit that the eggs will be thrown at the window less frequently and forks will be poked at siblings less often.

Original article and pictures take heavenlyhomemakers.com site

How to use nettles for seasonal allergies

How to use nettles for seasonal allergies

A couple of months ago a wrote an article on helping children who struggle with seasonal allergies for The Bible Herbal Magazine which is a new online magazine. I shared quite a few ways to help your child keep seasonal allergies at bay. One of the things I shared was how we use nettles for seasonal allergies.

Yep, those weeds that sting bare little feet as they run over them are great for helping with seasonal allergies.

Several of our children struggle a bit with seasonal allergies and I often find myself with itchy eyes when the mold count is high. So each March we start supplementing our diet with nettles. Nettles work best for allergies if you start them several weeks before you start experiencing allergy symptoms.

We’ll start adding some dried nettle leaf to our smoothies but we also use it as a tincture, a glycertite, capsules and pastilles. Today I’m going to show you how we make each one. I like having it in different forms because some in our family prefer capsules but some prefer tinctures and, of course, Esther can’t take either one of those since she’s only 6 so the glycerite and pastilles are great for her.

The tincture and glycerite are made almost the same. I use the glycerite for Esther and any of our teens that want to use it and the tincture is for the older teens and adults. Yes, there is alcohol in the tincture but we’re not drinking it, we’re taking just a few drops at a time as needed. If you don’t feel comfortable making a tincture, a glycerite will work the same without the alcohol.

How to make a nettle tincture

20 grams of dried nettle leaf

100 ml vodka (I use 100 proof for my tinctures)

Nettle is fairly “fluffy” when it’s dried so I give mine a whirl in the coffee grinder that I keep for grinding herbs and make it a powder. Put the nettle and the vodka in a jar (a pint size mason jar is great), put a lid on it and give it a shake. Be sure to label the jar with “Nettle Tincture” and the date. Let is sit for 14 days and shake it daily. After 14 days, strain out the plant matter and put the liquid in a small bottle. I really the ones with the dropper tops for tinctures. We take about 2 dropper fulls a day. Some us take it straight and some take it with a bit of water.

How to make a nettle gylcerite

A glycerite is similar to a tincture but the compounds are extracted from the herbs with gylcerine instead of alcohol which makes it great for kids or anyone who doesn’t consume alcohol.

20 grams of dried nettle leaf

80 ml vegetable glycerin (be sure to not get synthetic glycerine)

20 ml distilled water (this NEEDS to be distilled only)

Grind the dried nettle into a powder and put it in a pint size mason jar. Mix the glycerin and water together and pour into jar. Put a lid on the jar, label it and give it a shake. Let is sit for 21 days and give it a shake daily. After 21 days strain out the plant material and put the liquid in a jar with a dropper lid. We take 1-2 dropper fulls a day.

How to make nettle capsules

Capsule making is something new I’m learning and I’m really liking it. We don’t take a lot of supplements but with 6 of us in the house supplements can get quite pricey. I first heard about making my own capsules from Chris at Joybilee Farm.

To make the capsules you just need the herb in powdered form (I just powder my own with the coffee mill), empty capsules and a capsule making “machine”. The capsule maker is wonderful because it holds the capsules, tamps the herb down and then puts the top on. Of course, all of this is manual so you still have to do it, but it’s much faster than I thought it would be. I got mine at Mountain Rose Herbs.

I bought size “0” capsules which hold 500 mg of powder. The capsule maker that I have makes 24 capsules so I needed 12 grams of nettle powder.

After you have your herbs in powder form, open up 24 capsules and put the bottoms (the thinner one) in the machine and then put the tops in the top holder. Fill the bottoms with the herb, tamping it down until you can’t get any more in. You might have a little bit of herbs left over, but it should be an insignificant amount. When the bottoms are as full as they can get, put the tops on. (Be sure to read and follow the instructions in your capsule machine.) Store in jar with lid.

We take one capsule, three times a day, to help keep allergy symptoms at bay.

How to make nettle pastilles

Herb pastilles are are great way to get herbs into your children and they’re super easy to make. You just need powdered herbs and honey. Yep, that’s it.

Weigh your powdered herbs (I had 4 grams) and put them in a bowl. Add some honey and mix until you can form balls with it. Keep adding a little honey until you get a play dough consistency. If you have some crystallized honey, it’s perfect for this project.

Roll the herb and honey mixture into balls that are about the same size. I had 15 balls so each ball has about 260 mg of herbs in it. Let the balls dry out over night and then store in an jar. I put these in the refrigerator but you don’t have to.

Disclaimer: I’m not a health care provider. I’m just a mom who is trying to keep my family healthy and have found nettles to be helpful. The information in this post if for educational purposes only. It is not an attempt to diagnose or treat any medical condition. If you are on ANY medication, have ANY heath issues or are pregnant or nursing, please consult your heath care provider before taking nettle supplements. You can learn more about safely using nettle in this article from the University of Maryland Medical Center.

If you’re interested in studying herbs I highly suggest the courses from The Herbal Academy.

Now it’s your turn, what natural remedies do you use for seasonal allergies?

Original article and pictures take www.schneiderpeeps.com site

How to Use Essential Oils to Stay Healthy This Winter

How to Use Essential Oils to Stay Healthy This Winter

With winter comes the onslaught of coughs, colds, and more…but does it have to be this way? Here are ways to use essential oils to stay healthy this winter…and beyond!

Note from Ann: We’re diving into the “sick” time of year, and I’m so grateful that Dr. Julie Bates is here with her tips for how to use essential oils to stay healthy. Though I like to think I know a lot about this, I’m taking notes and grateful for her guidance! Enjoy…and be sure to chime in with YOUR favorite ways to use oils to stay healthy!

So…how do you weather the winter months?

I meet so many people in my practice and my natural solutions classes and I hear people accept sickness in their life. They say:

“Every year I am going to have two sinus infections. That’s just the way it is.”

“Janie is sick at least once a month. We just go get our antibiotics. That’s just the way it is.”

“This time of year, everyone has the flu. Once we get it, my whole family will get it. That’s just the way it is.”

That’s just the way it is? Why? Why does it have to be that way?

I have a kiddo who started getting a cough every February. The first year, we did two antibiotics, a chest x-ray, a whooping cough test, and blood tests, and still she coughed for six weeks.

During our vacation to Disney, I had to find a pharmacy to refill a prescription in Florida! That is not the way I want her to live!

So the next year, I needed another option. In my house, that meant natural options so I began researching. Essential oils came into our lives during that year, we started chiropractic care, and I changed her diet.

I looked at the impact of sugar and glutens on her skin and her respiratory function. I added a probiotic that didn’t seem to help and then I found a better one this year that has made a world of difference.

Our second February, she coughed for around three weeks. Our doctor said she was doing so much better, the only thing she recommended was something for seasonal irritants. I added more oils. And then this past February, she coughed for maybe three days and we were past it.

Sick is not “just the way it is.”

We have to be active in our healthcare.

We have to go out and create health, not wait to react to health.

Our physical state and our emotional state work in tandem, so an insult to one will impact the other. Looking at how our emotions impact our health is an entirely different topic, so for now, I want to focus on building our immune system.

In my household, there are a lot of pieces to this puzzle: healthy eating, good sleeping habits, chiropractic care, emotional support, and essential oils.

Here’s how I use essential oils to stay healthy:

• For day-to-day immune support, my kiddos take beadlets with oils in them to support immune function.
• I put a protective blend of cinnamon, eucalyptus, wild orange, clove, and rosemary in the diffuser every night.
• When their systems are drooping, I put it on topically as well.
• If they start to feel peaked, I look at what oils can help them physically, but I also look at possible emotional causes.

Here are some additional ways to use essential oils for immune support.

Lemon Essential Oil

The essential oil derived from a lemon has incredible detoxifying effects on the body. Add a little to your glass of water each morning to help cleanse and clear out the blood, and rid the body of toxic buildup.

Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender can help support better sleep, which in turn will allow your body to heal and restore. Diffusing the oil in your bedroom or putting a little on your feet will help support you with an overall sense of well-being.

Frankincense Essential Oil

Frankincense is a great oil for helping the body repair itself on the cellular level. Simply apply Frankincense to the skin wherever the problem is to enable it to get to work at boosting the immune system and supporting the system of the body that is struggling. For example, if you have a cough, apply it to your chest.

A few more tips to consider with essential oils:

Diffuse!

Run a diffuser in your office to protect your immune system. I gave a diffuser with the protective blend to my school secretary. She says it has been life-changing. After all, EVERY sick kid in the school goes through the office!

Take them with you!

Grab a roller bottle and put your favorite oils in it and carry it with you. Apply for emotional boosting as needed. Roll on other people too if they are having a come apart! (I have a recipe for a spray mix I call “Ditch the Witch” posted on my Facebook)

Hand sanitize!

Make your own hand sanitizer spray. It will be so much better than the chemical stuff and will give you protection wherever you go.

Educate!

Get an oils coach. There is always more to learn and a coach will help you find the right options for your family. I’d love to be your coach!

Join my essential oils webinars.

In the next week, I will be starting a regular webinar to talk more about using oils for emotional concerns. If you would like updates about upcoming events, register by clicking here.

If you would like to know more about my specific regimes, send me an email at Julie@drjuliebates.com I would love to help you get started with proactive solutions in your home too.

HEALTH is the way it is meant to be!

What are your favorite ways to use essential oils for health?

Up Next:

Ann Timm considers herself blessed to be the wife of a Christ follower and mother to six amazingly cool kids. She strives to keep a happy, healthy home, although she openly admits to failing often. She loves to share her foibles and encourage other women on their journey to healthy living.

More posts by Ann Timm

Original article and pictures take keeperofthehome.org site

How to Use Aloe Vera and Essential Oils for Sunburn

How to Use Aloe Vera and Essential Oils for Sunburn

For some people it is a love/hate relationship with the sun – love the sun – hate the burn. Here’s how to use aloe vera and essential oils for sunburn.

When I was a teenager we used to lay in the sun for hours, in search of that glowing tan. My skin does tan well – however there was a time when I was in Florida, in the middle of the winter, and I got a bad sunburn. Thankfully, my wise great-aunt knew how to use aloe vera.

The worst part of the burn was on my chest and upper arms. I don’t want to date myself, but this was before anyone worried about skin cancer.

But blistering skin was painful, debilitating and a vacation spoiler, for sure.

Thankfully, my great-aunt was a woman into natural foods and herbs way before her time. She was in her seventies and practiced yoga and meditation every day and ate lots of raw vegetables. She had amazing vitality and flexibility. She was a great influence on both my mother and myself.

She took one look at me and walked me over to her windowseat full of house plants – pulled out the aloe plant – and told me not to worry.

She pulled out one of the longest leaves, cut a piece off, opened it so the gel was exposed and had me gently rub the gel all over the sunburn. She gave me the rest of the whole leaf that she pulled and instructed me to reapply the gel every hour or two.

I did it as she said and in 2 days the inflammation was way down, the pain was gone and my skin did not feel so stiff. I was able to enjoy my vacation again!

Benefits of Aloe Vera for Sunburn

Aloe vera from the leaf of the plant is primarily made up of polysaccharides and glycoproteins. The polysaccharides aid the skin in generating new skin cells and it helps repair the damage from the suns rays. It does this by forming a protective layer over the damaged skin.

Aloe vera continuously hydrates the skin by penetrating the deep layers of the skin – nourishing the cells with the over 150 vitamins, minerals and trace elements contained in the gel.

The glycoproteins are potent in their ability to relieve the pain and inflammation in the skin. Along with the glycoproteins are other substances that aid in reducing pain and inflammation, such as lidocaine.

Pure aloe vera gel has no chemical additives that you would find in some of the aloe products on the market today. Some of these additives can actually clog the skin’s pores and cause irritation to an already damaged tissue.

Importantly, aloe vera gel is also antibacterial and will help prevent a secondary infection. Aloe is incredibly soothing to sunburned skin.

Aloe Vera for Sunburn

For sunburn, simply cut off a small portion of the leaf horizontally (about 1 – 2 inches), make another cut across the leaf to open it up, scoop out the gel or simply use the outer leaf as a holder and rub the gel onto the skin.

Leave the gel on and reapply every 1 – 2 hours for a new burn, less frequently as the burn heals. If it gets sticky, rinse the gel off with cool water and reapply.

Aloe vera can be mixed with lots of other helpful natural products for sunburn and other skin conditions such as eczema and warts. In these conditions, you would use the mixture over a longer period of time.

You can keep a plant growing inside, so you have easy access to this wonderful healing plant whenever you need it. These days, aloe vera leaves are available in most grocery stores.

As always, use your best judgment and if you think your burn needs medical attention, please do so first. See more of my disclaimer here.

Aloe Vera and Lavender Essential Oil for Sunburn

Once you use a natural product and find it works, it becomes easy to incorporate other products you can rely on for home remedies.

Lavender is gentle enough to use undiluted, yet it also has anti-microbial properties that make it helpful in combination with aloe vera for sunburn.

Lavender is also a lovely way to ease aching muscles in a warm bath with epsom salts. You can also simply rub a few drops into tight muscles or your temples for headache relief.

I use lavender in a coconut oil based cream to rub into my feet before bed. Incredibly, this helps with insomnia. A few drops on the pillow is another way to use lavender.

Lavender essential oil is great for relief of the inflammation in sunburn. Simply scoop out a tablespoon of the aloe gel and mix with 5 drops of lavender essential oil. The aroma is as soothing as the mixture.

Do you love to have effective home remedies at your fingertips?

Are you as Fascinated About Herbs and Essential Oils as I Am?

Seriously, just two items that I am interested in – the Cancer, Nutrition & Natural Healing eCourse by Sayer Ji, a $39.00 value and the The Thinking Parent’s Guide to Natural Remedies by Kresha Faber, a $17.99 value, together are way more than the super low price of The Herbs and Essential Oils Super Bundle! and you will get so much more!

Inspire Your Real Food Healing Journey with my FREE Grain-Free Meals e-Cookbook and Getting Started email series!

Original article and pictures take realfoodforager.com site