When I moved from Italy to Finland, I was surprised to find out herbal shops are not a thing here. Despite Finns’ close relationship with nature, there are no herbalists. This was a shock to me: I have never been big with natural remedies but whenever I had a mild health discomfort (period pain, constipation, …) I went to my local herbal shop first to get advice and natural products. My herbalist sold packaged natural preparation, but she also had a huge drawer storing dried herbs. Whenever possible she would put together a herbal tea blend to match my issue and my taste. Herbalists earn a specialised university degree in Italy. I was surprised this is not a thing in Finland and that apparently no one has this certified knowledge!

I believe natural remedies can complement traditional Western medicine. With day-to-day discomforts, medication is often an overkill. Here are few of my effective natural remedies.

Disclaimer: if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, check with your doctor first. Some of these remedies might not be appropriate for children. Some natural products can cause allergies so test lightly before heavy use (ex. propolis can’t be used if you are allergic to bees).

Burns and sunburns: aloe vera

Aloe vera is an amazing plant. I always store a bottle of aloe vera gel at home (make sure to buy one with high or total percentage of aloe, this is the one I use). You can also keep the plant itself and cut a leaf whenever you need. Aloe vera gel is a great natural aftersun cream. My favorite use, however, is to heal light fire burns. I apply some gel on the burn right away and keep adding some as soon as it dries up. Results are simply incredible and burns heal extremely fast (this is a good solution for first- or second-degree burns at most).

Digestion: fennel tea

Whenever we struggle with a heavy dinner or overeat, fennel tea is the solution. I don’t love the taste of fennel but nothing does the job like it. It’s also a great remedy to bad breath caused by stomach issues. You can buy fennel tea in hypermarkets or nature shops. You can also find herbal tea blends containing fennel among other ingredients.
A couple of alternatives to facilitate digestion are hot water with lemon juice and this Detox blend by Clipper (I love its flavour).

Inflammation: camomille tea

Camomille holds powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Camomille tea is an alternative to fennel tea to facilitate digestion, but its true power is to help healing from a cold or a flu. Drinking camomille tea is my relaxing and healing ritual when I am sick. I have even used it with my children since they were babies. I used to mix some in my daughter’s formula when she was fighting a cold. I even use camomille for steam inhalation when I or the children have a cold.

Sore throat: propolis

Propolis is a compound made by bees that has known anti-oxidant properties. It’s my go-to remedy for a sore throat. Now, usually propolis products require you to dilute few drops in water or in a spoon of sugar (it’s awfully bitter). Personally, I like to buy bottles with a drop dispenser and “shoot” propolis on the back of my throat. It is disgusting and burns like hell but it’s able of healing my throat in less than 48 hours! A quick search shows how you can buy propolis product in spray format as well.

Muscle tension and headache: arnica

Both my husband and I suffer from regular headaches due to muscle tension in our back. Sleeping on it doesn’t help and in the past the only thing doing the trick was an aspirin. Until we discovered arnica. It’s been proven that applying a high-concentration arnica cream can replace ibuprofen. Arnica is great to relief muscular tension and pain. This is one of the natural solutions we use most often. We apply some arnica gel or cream where the tension is and massage, just before bed. We wake up the morning after and the headache is gone! You can buy arnica cream for example from Amazon (the concentration level matters, I recommend 50%).

These are the regular proven natural remedies our family uses to find relief without using medication. What are yours? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Featured image by congerdesign from Pixabay.