6 easy steps in treating ringworm

Ringworm can be a very stubborn skin ailment. I know, because I contracted it from petting a wild cat that showed up in our neighborhood. Besides the traditional prescription ointments, there are many home remedies that are helpful. The following is a guest post by Anna Smith on treating and preventing ringworm that I think you all will find interesting and informative.

Treating ringworm:

Ringworm can be treated with antifungal creams and ointment available over the counter. If secondary infection has occurred then oral medications may also be prescribed by your medical practitioner.
There are also many alternatives available to treat ringworm. Some of these remedies are listed here.
•A paste of ground mustard seeds can be applied on the affected area. This is known to greatly reduce the icing and other symptoms of ringworm.
• Other juices which can be applied to relive the symptoms are turmeric paste, basil leaf juice, papaya juice, carrot juice or spinach juice has also been found to be effective.
• A balanced diet of fruits, juices, milk proteins like curd etc taken if infected with ringworm is also known to treat the infection.
• Especially carrot juice and spinach juice is taken daily reduces ringworm to a great extent.
• Products such as tea, coffee and alcohol should be avoided as they aggravate the symptoms making cure difficult and delayed.
• The herb butea combined with juice of lemon also helps in treatment of ringworm.
• The juice of cassia leaves if applied on the affected area greatly reduces the external symptoms such as swelling, redness and itching. A paste of cassia leaves can be applied daily to the affected area.
Many of these remedies work for a lot of people but may not be so effective for others. The best part of home remedies is that they are easy to apply and does not cost too much money to try it. So, it is best to try a variety of these home remedies for treating ringworm and see which one works the best for you.

Preventing Ringworm

There are many ways through which ringworm can be prevented from spreading:
1) The best way to prevent ringworm from spreading is not to share your personal belongings such as shoes, clothes, comb, etc with anybody as they may behave like a carrier in spreading ringworm.
2) Maintain personal hygiene. This can be done by washing hands with some good antibacterial soap. Doing so you don't allow ringworm’s fungus to enter the skin.
3) Keep your personal belongings dry and clean. Drying is important because ringworm mostly develops in warm areas.
4) To prevent ringworm from spreading apply an anti fungal cream containing selenium sulfide on the affected area.

When to buy organic

Do you ever wonder if it's worth the extra cost to buy organic foods? With rising food costs, we're all looking for ways to make our food budget stretch, and yet eat the best foods to stay healthy and avoid doctor's visits.

Organically grown fruits and vegetables contain up to 40% more antioxidants; organic produce has higher levels of minerals such as iron and zinc; organic milk has up to 90% more antioxidants, and all organic products have lower levels of herbicides and pesticides. Due to the high use of pesticides in non-organic foods, there's a good reason to buy some organic foods. But according to DrWeil.com, there are 12 foods you don't need to buy organic:

Asparagus, avocado, bananas, broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, kiwi, mango, onion, pineapple, sweet corn, and sweet peas.

But there are foods you should buy organic. These are the worst foods for pesticides:

Non-organic butter, non-organic meats, apples, celery, cherries, imported grapes, lettuce, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, spinach, strawberries, and sweet bell peppers.

Non-organic butter is highest in pesticides, followed closely by non-organic meats, so if you can only buy a couple organic items, make it organic butter, followed by organic meats. For more information on organic foods, visit Dr Mercola at Mercola.com.