Good Reasons Not to Use Home Remedies from the Internet

When face with an illness or injury, many people turn to the Internet for help. The Internet is filled with home remedies for everything from acne, rashes, and burns to coughs, runny noses, and sore throats. Some claim to cure the common cold and others promise to rid you of acne for ever. Most of them say they will do this with seemingly innocuous ingredients such as honey and vinegar. However there are several good reasons not to use home remedies found on the Internet.

Just because you can eat it doesn't mean it should go in an open wound. Many people think that because a product is safe to consume it means it's safe to use all over their body. You should remember that things like acne and rashes are basically open wounds. When you eat something it goes through many phases of digestion which only sends certain safe nutrients into your blood, while discarding the rest. When you apply the same product to a wound, all of it goes directly into your blood stream. This can introduce bacteria and cause infections, as well as simply irritating the wound making it take longer to heal.

Home remedies can have side effects. Even though there's no list of side effects on the side of a bottle, they are still there. Since most home remedies aren't tested or studied there can be many possible side affects that aren't well known. Also, home remedies rarely state what allergic reactions are possible. Side effects vary and can include anything from nausea or a rash to causing an ulcer or making the original problem far worse. Some home remedies truly are innocuous, but it is impossible to know which ones they are. Plus, the long term effects of using a particular home remedy are completely unknown.

It probably won't work. The bottom line is that most home remedies don't even work. Home remedies that do work are usually not called home remedies but rather are called treatment and are generally recommended by health professionals. Some examples include getting ample rest, letting injuries heal, and leaving rashes alone. If a condition lasts for longer than a couple days, is causing severe discomfort, or is too worrisome for you then you should see a doctor. The Internet cannot see your injury and it cannot know what complications you may have, so its advice will be limited. Claims for effortless miracle cures that are too good to be true rarely are true.

Where to find safe home treatment. Sources to ways to help different conditions at home can be found through your doctor. Your doctor will also probably be able to recommend other sources of medical information. Some locations for legitimate advice on medical issues on the Internet are WebMD.com, MayoClinic.com, and Healthline.com. Remember: no advice is perfect and getting a second opinion, even if it means two different websites, usually helps.