By Hannah Powling
It’s always great to have natural remedies at hand to combat common illnesses we all face – and travelling for the holidays can definitely trigger those. So enjoy your well-deserved break to the fullest, and follow some of these simple and effective natural remedies to rid you of any of these troublesome holiday downers.
Ginger for Travel Sickness
Travel sickness is rough, but Ginger Root is commonly thought to be an effective anti-emetic. Ginger has a long history of use for sickness and may help settle your stomach. Take some before you travel and top up during the journey as required.
Peel the ginger root and suck or chew a small cube or slice, its warm, ginger kick will be worth the help! Or treat yourself to a cup of piping hot ginger tea – a healthy drink that’s great for digestion. Simply brew a few slices cut from the stalk in hot water, add some optional lemon/honey to taste.
If raw ginger is a bit strong for you, you can visit your local pharmacy to get your hands on ginger in dehydrated form such as pills, capsules or chewable tablets.
One of my favourites are these chewable sweets Gin Gins by the Ginger People – fondly referred to as ‘little potion for the motion’. They are priced around £1.65 and available to buy from most pharmacies.
Tea for Anxiety
Anxiety isn’t uncommon over those long-haul flights, or just travelling in general can spark some nervousness in us. So if you have a jittery moment, grab yourself a cuppa!
L-theanine is an amino acid found in green and black teas. It is well documented for its anti-anxiety and calming effects on the central nervous system. Camomile tea contains compounds (Matricaria recutita) which bind to the same brain receptors as drugs like Valium.
Have a look at TeaPig’s glorious Camomile Tea. Comes in lovely teabags or loose.
Witch Hazel for Those Pesky Insect Bites
The witch hazel is known to have astringent, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, which comes in handy for treating insect bites and skin irritations. Witch Hazel has so many healing properties – so this is just one way of using this magical plant!
When applied directly to the skin, witch hazel might help reduce swelling, help repair broken skin, and fight bacteria. This incredible astringent has been shown to have long-lasting anti-inflammatory relief.
Witch Hazel essential oils are available to buy from selected health food shops, or check out Witch Products to see the many skin care uses of this fab plant.
Incense for Relieving Stress
After all the planning and the inevitable hassles involved when you’re traveling, it’s only right to take a few minutes for some quiet time and to set aside the worries and stresses. Meditation sessions and using Mayan copal resin incense can help you with that. The fragrant smell of burnt copal can help relieve or soothe symptoms of stress and anxiety, reenergizing you so you can enjoy your travels and have a day well spent exploring.
Aloe Vera for Sunburn
So this one is really well-known. Aloe Vera, best recognised for its soothing, healing and cooling properties and used in tons of sunburn treatment products out there! But it is such a good one, and if you don’t own some aloe vera gel already – get yourself some!
This African plant incredible medicinal plant full of nutritional benefits, and is great for applying topically to burns, abrasions, and even to bug bites. It feels especially good to cut a stem of aloe, place it in the fridge and rub it on sun burnt skin – this immediate soothing effect feels like an absolute life saver.
Aloe Pura Organic Aloe Vera Gel is available at most drugstores (Superdrug, Holland and Barrett) in the UK and is made 99.9% pure for maximum nutritional activity of the aloe plant.
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