Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Home Remedies for Toothache: How to Relieve The Pain Before You Get Professional Help

dental_pain_toothache

Everyone who’s ever had a teeth problem knows that a toothache is not something you can ignore. Given the fact that teeth are so close to the brain, the pain feels a few times stronger than you would feel a hit to the foot, for example. If the pain strikes you in the middle of the night, and there is no dentist to call at that hour, you should know a few home remedies for toothache that can help you pass the night. Also, these remedies are extremely important when you’re travelling or you are in an outdoor adventure.
Just imagine how it would be to finally be able to climb that mountain top. You feel tired but satisfied with your achievement and you light the fire to eat your victory dinner. During the dinner you manage to disturb one of the fillings or simply, you take a bite out of something hard and an incredible toothache starts.
From this moment on, nothing is going to matter, not even the fact that you finally managed to conquer the top of the mountain. You won’t be able to sleep, eat and you’ll have difficulties even drinking water. Cold water is not a good remedy when it comes to toothache which is why you’ll feel the pain increasing with every sip. In a situation like this, when there’s no one to help you and the dentist is miles and miles away, there are a few home remedies that can relieve part of the pain.
These home remedies for toothache are also helpful in an emergency situation. If a tornado or a hurricane just hit your area, you won’t be able to find a dentist to treat your pain (sadly). The only way you can help yourself reduce the pain is to try these remedies. Some of them may work only partially but if you find the right one, the pain will go away (for a while). Unless it’s the end of the world and all dentists have disappeared from the face of the earth, you need to look for professional help as soon as you are able to. Don’t wait for the pain to come back!
Causes of toothache
Today we’re going to discuss a few home remedies for toothache that you can apply in the wilderness. Don’t dismiss the idea! When the moment comes it won’t really matter that you have the latest equipment or that you have enough food or water. All your survival skills will be reduced to nothing if you don’t know how to get rid of the nasty toothache.

Prevention – the best home remedy

We think you know by now that prevention is actually the best home remedy you can use when it comes to your teeth’s health. As you prepare your equipment, your house and the necessary food for an emergency situation you also have to take care of your health. Taking care of every aspect of your life and being prepared for action, this is what it actually means to be truly prepared.
Constant toothache
Don’t wait for the apocalypse, make sure that you do your yearly teeth check and when you feel signs of an infection or a cavity, go to the dentist. A toothache can be provoked by many factors, but the basic ones are:
  • cavities that you didn’t take care of in time or you didn’t know you had
  • an infection that fights its way to the surface
  • an exposed tooth root
  • a cracked tooth will hurt as hell as every piece of food that enters your mouth will go there
  • fillings get loose in time and as soon as this happens your tooth won’t be protected anymore
  • gum diseases and a jaw joint disorder
Any of these can be treated and prevented if you keep a c lose relationship with your dentist and take care of your teeth on your own. Even when you go in the wilderness you should have toothpaste and a toothbrush with you. Personal hygiene is as important in the woods as it is in civilization.
Yearly visits to the dentist should be something you put in your agenda. If you wait for the pain to start it might be too late for your teeth’s health. Only think about it, your teeth are made of a hard material and it takes time for a cavity or an infection to break their exterior and reach the pulp (when the teeth actually start to hurt). Regular visits to the dentist may help you never feel that excruciating pain again.

How to get rid of a toothache when there’s no dentist around

There are some home remedies for tooth pain that proven very efficient along the way, besides pain medication.

Option #1 – clove oil

Even the dentists recommend this remedy so if you happen to stumble upon it in a natural shop or in a pharmacy don’t leave it behind. It may be you only relief during the nights your teeth decide to wake up. Clove is an amazing spice and besides giving flavor to our food, it is amazing in treating a variety of diseases and conditions like the common cold, intestinal parasites, running nose, and more.
When it comes to relieving pain, the primary ingredient called eugenol is the one that helps. Still, don’t be too hasty in using too much. When the gums are sensible, pouring the oil over the aching tooth won’t help (it’s very possible to make it worse). Try to put two drops on a piece of cotton ball and place that against the aching tooth. You’ll have to wait for a while for the oil to take effect (we know it’s hard to wait when the pain is excruciating) but the relief should come soon.
Clove oil
If there’s no clover oil in the house, and you happen to have clove, place an entire piece on the tooth. Chew it a bit to make sure the oils are released and wait for the pain to diminish (usually about half an hour).

Option #2 – salt water

Salt has amazing properties when it comes to our health and the most important one when it comes to an aching tooth is that it kills most of the bacteria around it. Dissolve one teaspoon of salt in a cup of boiling water and use it as mouth wash (as soon as you can support it in your mouth).
Salt water
Swish the salt water around for about 30 seconds or more before spitting it up. This salty shower will clean irritating debris in your mouth and reduce swelling if there’s an inflammation.  The area around the tooth will be cleaned and the pain may go away for a while. Repeat the treatment as often as you need it but go to the dentist as fast as possible.
If you don’t like the idea of salty water in your mouth you can make a mixture out of pepper, salt and a few drops of water. Apply the resulting paste on the problematic tooth and let it sit for a while. You can apply this treatment as often as you consider necessary.
We bet you didn’t know that salt is good at something else than giving super taste to our food, right? Well now you know that it can be used as a disinfectant and analgesic.

Option #3 – ginger and Cayenne

Again, we call it to spices. These two will most likely burn your pain away more than send it away. We all know that cayenne is a spice you use when you feel your food is not spicy enough and for those of you who haven’t had ginger yet: it also burns.
Ginger and Cayenne
Scientists discovered that capsaicin, the ingredient that makes cayenne pepper so hot, has the ability to block pain messages from being sent to the brain. If you want a faster way to stop the pain (everyone wants the pain to stop as fast as possible) you should make a mixture out of cayenne powder, ginger powder and water.
You should put a bit of the resulting paste on a cotton ball and hold it against the aching tooth. Just make sure to not get some of the paste on the gums or tongue. The paste will burn your soft tissues, leaving you with wounds and you don’t want to increase the pain, you want it diminished.
You can also use only one of these two ingredients, but if the pain is unbearable, the mixture is the way to go.

Option #4 – garlic and onion

No, we’re not going to make a soup, each of these ingredients are going to be used separately. These are the most common ingredients you can find in people’s homes and they can be used for more than adding flavor to our food.
Everyone knows that garlic has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant and anesthetic properties that help your organism fight all sorts of infections. It also helps in alleviating pain which comes in handy with the toothache problem we’ve been having. So, whenever you leave for an outdoor adventure, don’t forget to stash some garlic in your backpack. You won’t be sorry; if you don’t get to use it for its medicinal properties you can at least use it to make your food taste better.
Garlic and onion
In order to get rid of an annoying toothache all you need to do is crush the garlic and mix it with some table salt. Apply the result on the tooth and try to leave it there for as long as possible. If the pain doesn’t go away from the first try, repeat.
Now let’s talk about onions, they have antiseptic and antimicrobial properties and even if they make us cry when we chop them, they are amazing for our entire organism. The pain relief produced by the onion comes from killing the germs and bacteria that caused the pain in the first place. The treatment here is simple: chew a few leaves of raw onion as soon as you feel a disturbance in the force. If the chewing is out of the question, put a piece of onion on the tooth and hold it in place until the pain goes away.

Option #5 – hydrogen peroxide

If you have some hydrogen peroxide lying around, you can use it to get rid of some pain. Make a 3 percent hydrogen peroxide solution and use it as mouth wash. If the tooth is infected (fever and foul taste), the swishing will stop or diminish the pain for a while.  Still, if you don’t take the adequate treatment to fight the infection, the pain will come back.
Hydrogen peroxide
Make sure to not swallow the solution! It’s only for rinsing your mouth.

Option #6 – ice

Sometimes your toothache will go away if you treat it with something cold as ice. Take a small cube of ice and pack it in a thin cloth. Keep this package on the aching tooth until it numbs the pain. The main problem with this treatment is that once the coldness goes away, the pain is most likely to come back.
Ice for tooth
After you manage to numb the nerves in the teeth using direct application, you can put a bigger bag on your check, to keep the cold at normal levels. There’s also told that if you rub a cube of ice on your fingers, the pain will go away. The main idea behind this logic is that, if your fingers are cold, the pain signals from the tooth will be blocked. There’s no scientific base on this last one but, if nothing else works, you can try it.

How to get rid of a toothache when you crack a tooth

This is a very painful experience and it can happen to anyone (sadly). It doesn’t really matter how good care you take of your teeth; the cracking usually happens when you take a big bite out of something that is harder than your teeth. Sometimes it happens to be small stones in rice or you simply take a bite out of your fork when you’re not careful at what you’re eating. The bottom line is that cracking a tooth is sadly very easy to do (with the right tools and in the right circumstances).
When the tooth cracks open, the pulp is exposed and every breath of air you take will make your pain even harder to endure. To stop or diminish the pain you need something to seal the crack up so the pulp is not disturbed anymore. The best thing you can use is a piece of chewing gum without sugar. Wrap it around the tooth and try to not chew anything on that side.
A piece of gum can also help if one of your fillings is loose. The gum will keep it in place until you get to the dentist. Of course that, if the filling falls before you get the chance to secure it you will be able to cover the hole with chewing gum. Now you see how important it is to have a pack of gum with you at all times?

Importance of the right toothpaste

The syndrome of shrinking gums makes your teeth ache all the time when you drink hot beverages or eat something cold like ice cream.  This sort of pain can be alleviated by using the right type of toothpaste, for sensitive gums and teeth. Your pain comes from the fact that your shrinking gums leave the root of the teeth exposed. The right type of paste will allow you to get rid of a lot of pain.
You have to talk to your dentist about this as there are lots of brands that sell toothpaste for sensitive gums. A professional will be able to tell you which one is the best for your needs.
After reading all this, we consider the final conclusion to be the fact that a toothache can hit you anytime, any moment. The problem is that this type of pain usually comes in the most unwanted moments, when you need to focus 100 percent at what you’re doing or when you try to sleep after a long day at work. Nobody wants to experience the torment of tooth pain but bad things happen and you need to know how to take care of it, with what you have around the house.
Toothpaste
When you leave for an outdoor adventure, make sure to always have pain relief medication and a few of the home remedies for toothache we discussed here. You never know which one is going to be the most efficient as teeth ache from different reasons (as it was described at the beginning of the article). Some remedies work with infections and other are best with physical problems like cavities and cracks.
Remember, all these home remedies are just temporary and they can’t be considered treatment! Seek professional help as soon as it is possible.

Cold Sores: Effective Naturall Remedies List

Dollarphotoclu

A common viral infection caused by the herpes simplex virus or HSV, cold sores are an unwelcome sight on anybody’s face. They often show up at the most unfortunate of times too, sometimes breaking out before a big day in the office or a big day in your life, like weddings or a big date. Cold sores, or fever blisters as they are sometimes called, usually appear around the area of the mouth and lips and is characterized as red and swollen blisters.
Taking a look into their progression, cold sores start out as a mild discomfort around the lips and mouth gradually appearing as smallish, fluid-filled white blisters before ripening into painful, swollen, red blisters. These ulcers will break or erupt after a couple of days, oozing out the clear liquid inside and then closing or scabbing occur over the sore which lasts for days or weeks to some.
The pain caused by cold sores varies from person to person, from ant-bite levels to splitting-your-head magnitude. The outward appearance of cold sores often makes people confuse them with canker sores, which are a completely different type of skin ulcer. Cold sores and canker sores actually share the same preliminary symptoms but the cause and way of treatment and preventive measures are very different.

Differences between canker and cold sores

Canker and Cold sores have the same symptoms, which makes it hard to tell which is which. Both of them will have the same burning sensation around mouth and the pain that goes with this sensation. Differentiating them is quite easy as long as you understand where the differences lie.
The first difference is the location; cold sores often appear around the sides of the mouth and lips whereas canker sores generally appear inside the lip and rarely manifest outside. The second difference is the cause; cold sores, as previously mentioned, are caused by the herpes simplex virus I, canker sores on the other hand, can be caused by anything from hormones to environmental conditions. Some old wives tales point to fever, kissing an infected person and unsanitary oral hygiene (the latter is probably true to most cases).
The general appearance once they ripen is possibly the most telling of all differences. Cold sores are red, fluid filled blisters that often cluster in groups while canker sores are open with varying central colors (red to yellow to gray) with a red border and can appear alone or in a group.
Canker sores, unlike cold sores, are also not contagious since it is not caused by a virus. This difference, in particular, debunks the popular myth that canker sores are infectious.

Causes

As discussed, cold sores are caused by the HSV-1 virus or in rare cases the HSV-2 variant. But how is this passed on from one patient to the next?
The virus often enters the body through open wounds around the mouth or through the transmission of saliva, usually during heavy kissing. Generally, cold sores infect the mouth but it can also enter the body through other means like the sharing of utensils, unsterilized medical equipment, kissing, touching the saliva of an infected individual and through oral sex, especially if the other person has genital herpes, which exhibits the same symptom and appearance albeit in another area of the body.
Probably the most common way of passing the infection is touching, especially if the infected person just touched their blisters before touching you.
The infection doesn’t always happen right away, in most cases, the blisters lay dormant for a very long while but once they do break out, they do so in a very painful manner. These pain-filled outbreaks are usually caused by several factors like heavy stress, relationship issues, fatigue, injuries, even hormonal changes and menstruation.
Not everybody who contracts the herpes simplex virus gets to have a cold sore though; some fortunate ones get the lazy, dormant kind that never break-outs but will always be present in their present. Outbreaks of cold sores can be recurring to most people, ranging from twice to thrice a year while some just experience one outbreak and that’s it.
Probably the most unfortunate part about getting the herpes simplex virus is that once you have it, you will always have it. There are several remedies for HSV out there, both natural and synthetic, but they medicate only the cold sore and offer no assurance of preventing the fever blister break-outs from recurring.
Related post: Home Remedies for Toothache

Quick solutions: home remedies for cold sores

Cold sores last for about two weeks to most people and although the virus causing it may never be cured there are several ways for you to treat the blisters. Some of these can be done safely at home with some proper guidance of course. Here are a few bits of home remedies:
When you feel a slight burning sensation around your lips, immediately place ice on it to prevent further inflammation and clean it as well. Make sure to press the ice on top of the blisters as long as you can and dab the resulting water with hygienic wipes or cotton swabs.
Ice on lips
Never conceal the cold sore with make-up. Some of the chemical agents in most make-up aggravate cold sores, making it worse and even spreading the blisters farther.
Once fever blisters form around your mouth, immediately throw out your current toothbrush and replace it again once the blisters dry up and heal. Dental hygienists even suggest that you change your toothbrush everyday as long as you have cold sores. The reason behind such an expensive advice is that toothbrushes come in close contact with the infection and they help spread the infection from one side to the other, even to the insides of your mouth. This is especially true for blisters that have popped and the clear fluid is freely oozing out.
It is also advised that the area around the cold sore be kept moisturized as dry skin around the infection help spread it. Moisturize the area with lip balm, cold creams, petroleum jelly and/or anesthetic ointments. The latter not only keeps the area moisturized but it also helps keep it clean and sanitized.
When heading outside, especially during summer, always apply lip balm that has sunscreen protection on your lips and use facial sun block as well. This will help keep the moisture in and prevent the sun from irritating the infection.
Cold sores
If the pain is causing severe discomfort or has become unbearable, take pain medication to address it. You may opt to use topical creams or you can consult your doctor regarding the best pain killer for your biological make-up. You can try aspirins, mefenamic acid and such but always seek advice as some contain ingredients that may cause more harm than heal.
Hydrogen peroxide can also be used in treating cold sores. This all-around chemical solution disinfects, speeds up the healing process and dries up the skin around the blister, thereby preventing it from spreading. This compound should be used with caution as too much of it can cause burns and discoloration.
For best results soak a cotton ball in one tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide for about 30 seconds and then press the cotton ball to the infected area. This will hurt as much as the cold sore but this will pass. Press for a minute or so and then dab it around the cold sore before leaving it alone for 5 minutes or more. Once the 5 minutes is up, rinse the area with running water.
Home remedies for cold sores
Adjust your sleeping position as well. For cold sores that have erupted, the fluid inside continuously flows out and sleeping flat on your back will increase the chances of the fluids making it inside your mouth. Stack your pillows up so you will end up in a semi-upright sleeping position so the fluids will have to flow downwards. Place some tissue or paper towel around your neck to absorb any fluid that will make it there.The most important home remedy for cold sore is to not touch it, especially once the blisters have burst. The oozing liquid will get on your hands and anything else that you will touch. Make sure to wash your hands with soap and water after touching the cold sore. If soap and water is not available, you can use hand sanitizers and sanitary wipes.

Natural remedies for this annoying problem

Apart from home remedies listed above, you can also use natural remedies to cure these painful blisters. The solutions listed below are organic, easy to prepare and ensures that chemicals will not be able to worsen the infection.
Lip-balms help moisturize cold sores and lemon lip balms are much better. Studies have shown that lemon lip balm contain herbal properties that speeds up the healing process by 2-4 days. The active ingredient here is eugenol and it can calm muscles, numb tissues and more importantly, it kills bacteria that usually lounge around wounds and blisters. Lemon lip balms also contain tannin which has anti-viral properties and other enzymes that soothe the pain and burning sensation.
You may opt to buy prepared lip balms from herb stores and traditional medicine shops but you can also make lemon based natural cold sore remedy using common household ingredients like milk, lemon juice and salt. To prepare the treatment, mix together about a teaspoon of lemon juice, a splash of milk and some salt. The mixture should be dense enough to be rolled into a small, salty ball. Once the consistency is okay and the mixture has been rolled up, dab it on the cold sore at least once a day.
Repeat until the cold sore has dried up. The mixture can last for the entire treatment as long as it is stored inside the refrigerator. If there is a build-up of mold or dirt, immediately throw the ball away and make a new one.
In addition to the lemon-milk-salt ball, applying aloe vera gel or extract on the blister after the salt ball will soothe the burning sensation and alleviate any lingering pain. Aloe vera extract has been considered to be one of the most effective natural remedy for any skin problem from sunburns, to chicken pox and cold sores.
For cold sores, you have the option to buy ready-made aloe gels or you can take one aloe leaf, the more succulent the better, peel off the outer layer and apply the fleshy part directly to the cold sore. You can repeat the process as necessary but it is recommended that this be done at least once a day.
If you don’t have lemon and salt available but you have access to milk, you can still use it by soaking a cotton ball in a tablespoon of milk and dab it directly over the cold sore.  Cold sores can also be treated using vanilla extract but make sure that you use natural vanilla extract and not the synthetic one often used in baking pastries and desserts. Vanilla is best used once you get that burning sensation around your mouth. Soak one cotton ball in a small amount of extract and apply directly to the cold sore.
Since vanilla extract is considered to be alcohol-based, it is most likely that the virus will find it hard to wreak havoc once the extract has been applied. The extract should be applied at least four times a day and doing so will reduce the number of days of infection by more than half.
Some experts attest to the benefits of chamomile tea in treating cold sores. A naturally occurring enzyme called bisabolol, which is also an alcohol, is extracted by letting the chamomile tea steep. Once ready for drinking, let the hot chamomile tea linger around the fever blisters. The discarded chamomile tea bag will also have bisabolol and it can also be used to treat cold sores. Just apply it directly once it cools down. Don’t steep the bags again though as they have become infected.
Chamomile tea
Herb experts and practitioners of traditional medicine also have their own list of herbs that alleviate one or more of the effects caused by cold sores. Herbal infusions like peppermint oil, lavender oil and melissa oil are applied to cold sores to address the infection and help moisturize the blisters. Saint john’s wart and witch hazel are also used as well as aloe gel as already discussed. Echinacea root has been extensively used too as the extracts of Echinacea root has antiviral properties.
Did you know that licorice can be used to treat cold sores? Yes, that licorice. Although you may want to take caution as to where the licorice was manufactured, some companies have replaced licorice powder with sugar extracts and will not help you with cold sores.
If the candy is not available in your location, you can make your own licorice ointment instead. This ointment is not made for consumption so make sure to story it in a cool, dry place. For the ointment, you will need about one tablespoon of licorice root extract or powder and half a teaspoon of clean water.
You can also use 2 teaspoons of petroleum jelly instead of water if you wish. In small increments, add the two ingredients together, mixing it until you get a consistency similar to most ointments.  Apply it to the blisters as necessary. As an added bonus, the petroleum jelly adds its own healing properties to the mix, increasing the potency of this ointment.
As with most ailments, natural and home remedies would not be as effective if you do not consistently provide nourishment to your body. Eat as much as you can to help speed up the healing process but make sure to avoid acidic foods like citrus and tomatoes. Dishes with vinegar or other similar ingredients should also be avoided to prevent further infection.
It is recommended that you eat food that is rich in lysine, an amino acid that blocks another amino acid called arginine which promotes growth in viral infections. Meat, poultry, fish and beans are some of the food type that are rich in lysine but is low in arginine. In addition to eating lysine-rich food, you should also avoid foods that are rich in arginine like nuts, chocolate, seeds and whole grains.

Prevention

There is no standard procedure or behavior that will totally prevent the transmission of the herpes simplex virus but we can always do something about what triggers the adverse reactions. Stress can be managed thru a lot of ways as well fatigue. More often than not, fatigue and stress go away after a restful sleep and a day of relaxation.
Stress free
If at all possible, avoid kissing someone with cold sores and avoid sharing any utensils or items of personal hygiene with them. Oral sex is a big no-no, especially if the other person has genital herpes; just reassure them that everything will be back to normal as soon as their cold sores heal up.
Food supplements and multivitamins also play a big part in preventing cold sores. Choose those that are high in vitamins C and E as they help boost our immune system. Always wash your hands even if you don’t feel sick; frequent washing of hands is one of the best preventive measures for any communicable illness.

10 Home Remedies for Chapped Lips

Chapped Lips

We’ve all faced the dryness, redness, cracking, flaking, and soreness of chapped lips. Typically, they’re a harmless, yet uncomfortable and unsightly problem. Chapping happens when your lips can’t produce natural oils to moisturize themselves. Vitamin deficiencies, dehydration, smoking, allergic reactions, sun and wind exposure, harsh weather changes, and skin disorders can all cause chapped lips, and chapped lips can lead to other health problems, like cold sores and bacterial infections.
There are plenty of commercial lip moisturizers available over the counter, but their effects are short-lived, and overuse may increase the severity of dryness. Why use those when you can get soft, healthy lips using safe, natural, inexpensive products you probably already have at home? Ready to find out what they are? Let’s get started!

Home Remedies for Chapped lips:

Here are some simple and most effective home remedies which can prevent chopped lips without any side effects.

1. Rose Petals

Rose petals provide your lips with natural moisture and color.
Process:
  • Wash a handful of fresh rose petals.
  • Soak them in milk for 3 hours.
  • Crush them to make a paste.
  • Massage the paste into chapped lips and leave on.
  • Repeat 3 times daily and night before going to bed.
  • Note: if you can’t have milk, replace it with glycerin.

2. Sugar

Sugar exfoliates to remove dry, dead skin cells, encouraging the growth of new, healthy skin.
Process:
  • Mix 2 teaspoons of sugar with 1 teaspoon of honey.
  • Stir well to make a paste.
  • Apply to the copped lips and leave for few minutes.
  • Massage the paste into lips for 1 minute.
  • Rinse with warm water.
  • Repeat regularly to get rid of chopped lips.
  • Note: You can add 1 teaspoon of olive oil instead of sugar and follow the same process.

3. Milk Cream

Full fat cream provides your lips with the natural moisture they need to heal.
Process:
  • Massage milk cream into your lips, leave it on 15 minutes.
  • Rinse with lukewarm water.
  • Do this 3 times a day to get relief from chopped lips.

4. Honey

Honey is a natural moisturizer and it is naturally antibacterial. It will keep cuts and splits from becoming infected.
Process:
  • Rub pure, raw honey into your lips 5 times a day.
  • Or mix honey with glycerin, leave it on overnight.
  • Rinse it off in the morning.
  • Repeat regularly to soften lips.

5. Castor Oil

Castor Oil is a natural moisturizer.
Process:
  • For even better results, mix 1 teaspoon of castor oil, 1 teaspoon of glycerin, and ¼ teaspoon of lemon juice.
  • Rub it into your lips before bed, leave it on overnight.
  • Rinse with lukewarm water in the morning.
  • Repeat regularly.
  • Or Rub castor oil into your lips several times a day.

6. Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is a natural moisturizer and it has anti-inflammatory properties. It will heal and soothe the pain of chapped lips. It also has hygroscopic properties, which means it will attract and hold moisture.
Process:
  • Cut open a fresh aloe vera leaf and squeeze to extract gel.
  • Massage the gel into chapped lips and leave it on 15 minutes.
  • Rinse with lukewarm water.
  • Repeat regularly to heal chopped lips.

7. Cucumber

Cucumber is a natural moisturizer, and it contains vitamins and nutrients that keep skin healthy.
Process:
  • Cut a fresh slice of cucumber.
  • Rub it all over chapped lips.
  • Let the juice absorb into your lips.
  • Leave it on 15-20 minutes.
  • Rinse with lukewarm water.
  • Repeat regularly to treat chopped lips.

8. Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is one of the most effective natural moisturizers available. It soothes and heals cracked, dry lips and provides nutrients skin needs to stay healthy.
Process:
  • Apply organic coconut oil to your lips several times a day.
  • If you need a substitute for any reason, mustard oil and coconut oil also work.

9. Mango Butter or Oil

Mango butter and oil are effective emollients because they are rich in oleic and stearic fatty acids, which act just like sebum, the oil your skin is naturally supposed to produce to moisturize itself.
Process:
  • Apply organic mango butter or oil to your lips.
  • Leave on until dry.
  • Wash with water and repeat regularly to get relief from the dry and chapped lips completely

10. Petroleum Jelly

Petroleum jelly is one of the most economical over-the-counter solutions for chapped lips. Use in combination with honey, it is also one of the most effective.
Process:
  • Rub a thin layer of raw honey onto chapped lips.
  • Cover with a thin layer of petroleum jelly.
  • Leave on 15 minutes.
  • Gently remove both layers with a clean, dry cotton ball.
  • Repeat 2 times a day.

Tips for Preventing and Treating Chapped Lips:

  • Use the above remedies several times a day, and whenever possible, leave them on overnight.
  • Hydration is the key to keeping skin moisturized. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
  • Avoid licking your lips. This gives temporary relief, but in the end, it results in more severe dryness.
  • If you use lip balm, choose one with an SPF of at least 15.
  • If you wear lipstick, choose a high quality brand that contains sunscreen.
  • Mouth wash and toothpastes with fluoride can cause chapped lips. Stop using them temporarily to find out if they’re contributing to your problem. If so, change products.
  • Avoid acidic and salty foods when you have severely chapped lips.
  • Get plenty of vitamins A, B, and E from fresh fruits and vegetables.
  • Avoid breathing through your mouth, especially while sleeping.
  • Use a humidifier at night to moisten your air.
  • Extreme and persistent chapped lips are sometimes associated with diabetes, Kawasaki disease, macrocytosis, and various sexually transmitted diseases. If yours do not heal within ten days, consult a doctor.
  • Don’t pick dry skin or scabs off your lips.
  • Apply cocoa butter or shea butter to lips, leave on 10 minutes, and rinse with lukewarm water.