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Saltwater Cure for Sore Throat and Poison Ivy

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Photo By Fotolia/Riverwalker
An old-fashioned cure for clearing up the rash of poison ivy involves smearing the affected area with paste made of salt and water.

When I was young,
my aunt told me to gargle with saltwater when I had a sore throat. It
really helped. Many years later, my teenage son went to the doctor for a sore
throat, and the doctor told him the same thing. When my son told me what the
doctor said, we both laughed, as I had suggested that many times over the
years. Recently, I broke off a tooth and had to have the rest of the tooth
removed. As I left the dentist’s office, his last words were that I should
rinse my mouth several times a day for several days with a teaspoon of salt
mixed into a glass of warm water. I did, and it helped ease the soreness and
made my gums heal more quickly.

Another good cure
using salt is for drying up poison ivy. When my son was young, we lived on a
farm. One year, he got a severe case of poison ivy. We ended up having to take
him to the doctor, where he got a shot. It cleared up the rash, but a couple of
weeks later, it was back. This time it wasn’t as severe, and when I mentioned
it to a neighbor, who happened to be the mother of 12, she told me of this home
remedy.

Put salt in a
small bowl and add enough water to make a paste. Smear the paste on the
affected areas and let it dry. As the salt dries and falls off, the rash dries
up as well. It’s a simple and amazingly effective remedy.

Fay
Lawndale, Illinois

Read about
more interesting homemade remedies in
Stories of Natural Cures for Common Ailments.