First-Aid: Emergency Medical Aid from Your Kitchen Shelf and Garden for Scabies, Jaundice and Urinary Complaints

SCABIES

• If there is a localized scabies infection, dry and powder neem leaves. Half a teaspoon of this powder can be taken as a morning drink in a glass of hot water with sugar added to taste for ten days.
• A decoction made from neem leaves, neem tree bark can be used to wash the effected area.
• A paste of neem leaves with an equal amount of turmeric powder mixed with a little mustard oil can be applied over the area. Leave it for 45 minutes to an hour. Wash the area. Continue the process for a week.
• Alternatively, the bark of the neem tree dried and burnt to make washes, mixed with a little coconut oil to make paste and applied on the affected area after a bath, morning and evening, gets rid of the condition.

□ JAUNDICE

Once jaundice presents, it implies that there is an underlying disordered state which needs urgent medical attention. However, in most cases, domiciliary care, which means giving the correct nutrition, is of paramount importance.

• Fresh sugarcane juice is the ideal nourishment during the acute phase.
• Eating fruits like grapes, water melon, papaya is helpful.
• Fresh coconut water.
• Radish, beetroot and carrots as salads or the juices.
• Tea made with mint, or methi leaves.
• Since there is loss of appetite, onions peeled and cut into small bits with fresh lemon juice and a little roasted ground cumin powder is effective both as an appetite stimulant and therapeutic measure.
• Bhuin awla — which botanists refer to an phyllanthus amarus has proven present studies of efficacy in jaundice. The plant is such that any part of it is useful. Make a paste and take a teaspoon full thrice a day with half a cup of milk for ten days to three weeks. This fruit is a smaller version of the amla one uses in chutneys and murabbas. The fruits are slightly larger than mustard seeds. The leaves of the amla and bhuin awla plant are similar.
• Take two teaspoons full of the pulp of the aloe leaf with honey or one thrice a day for 10-20 days.

□ URINARY COMPLAINTS

Drinking plenty of water two to four times a day is the remedy for most urinary tract problems, e.g. a burning sensation while passing urine. However, in case the patient is having difficulty in passing urine and the bladder is obviously full or if there is swelling of the feet/body and retention or scanty urine, it is best to restrict fluid intake and consult a doctor immediately.

For burning in urine, drink plenty of

• Fresh coconut water.
• Make a decoction of barley and drink several times a day.
• Fresh Strawberry juice with plenty of water.
• Boil kidney beans — called ‘kulth ki dal’ and have this soup several times a day.
• Parsley tea can be made by placing freshly-washed parsley leaves in a jar and pouring boiling water over them. When the water cools down, strain and drink regularly if prone to kidney problems.
• Boil washed potatoes and drink the water in which they have been boiled.
• Corn silk — the silky tassels on a fresh young corn cob, can be boiled to make tea. It is soothing for the entire urinary tract.
• Lemon juice and lemon peel boiled in warm water may be had as a drink.
• A few small strips of the outer fibre of the banana tree boiled in water or an infusion made from them can be had two to three times a day.

Fruits and vegetables

Eating cherries, awla, asparagus, grapes, figs, lettuce, runner beans and boiled bhindi (lady’s finger) is good for clearing out urinary tract infections.
Pumpkin and its seeds are excellent for kidney infections and stones, and for those who have prostatic problem too. Rice bran is a preventive for stone formation.

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