Cramps (hands, legs)
Pickle Juice to the Rescue
Modern medicine is skeptical of most home remedies. It relegates them to the category of anecdotal old wives’ tales. Instead, prescribers prefer FDA-approved medicines that are supported by clinical…
Show 1340: Were the Old Wives Right?
This week’s episode begins with an interview. We talk with Dr. Craig Hopp of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health about why doctors so often dismiss home remedies as old wive…
Be Prepared for Summer with The People’s P…
When was the last time you updated your first aid kit? Now that summer is in full swing, it is high time to make sure you are well equipped for any contingency. Besides all the normal equipment, we ar…
Is Magnesium a Miracle Mineral?
The body needs minerals to function. Without adequate levels of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium we would perish. Doctors often encourage patients to cut back on sodium and increase calcium. P…
Zetia May Cause Muscle Problems
With so many drugs available to lower cholesterol, people naturally would like to know about the benefits and risks of each. We have written quite a bit about the side effects of statins such as atorv…
The Best Soap Story Ever!
We do not know why so many health professionals are offended by home remedies in general and soap in particular. The idea that putting a bar of soap under the bottom sheet of the bed to combat leg cra…
Mustard For Cramps Has Amazing Scientific Explan…
We have been writing about strong flavors for combatting muscle cramps for more than 30 years. Initially, we were told that the quinine in tonic water was the best strategy for overcoming these painfu…
Can Coenzyme Q10 Control Severe Muscle Cramps?
We are always delighted when we learn about a new way to treat a common problem. If it doesn't require a prescription, so much the better! That's why we were excited to hear from a reader who found th…
Can Tonic Water Banish Your Muscle Cramp Pain?
What do you do for muscle cramp pain? Some people use massage, and others swallow a spoonful of yellow mustard. By far the most popular preventive used to be quinine tablets. At one time, doctors woul…
Can Holding Your Breath Stop Painful Foot Cramps…
Have you often been awakened by painful foot cramps? This is a most unpleasant experience. Some people find that stretching the toes back toward the knee is enough to stop the cramp; they may not even…
Will Yellow Mustard Ease Cramps from Statins?
Millions of people take statins to lower their cholesterol levels.Here are just a few examples of the numbers of prescription filled each year: atorvastatin= 97 million; simvastatin= 65 million; prava…
End Leg Cramps At Night (Nocturnal Leg Cramps) F…
Leg cramps are nasty whenever they occur. Leg cramps at night are even worse. That's because they can strike without any notice. You can be fast asleep one moment and the next be writhing in agony. Sa…
How Much Tonic Water Must You Drink to Ease Leg …
People took quinine pills for decades to prevent leg cramps. Quinine comes from the bark of the cinchona tree in South America. The dose was substantial--200 to 300 mg. Researchers have described the …
Will Magnesium Prevent Horrible Muscle Cramps?
Are you taking a medication that could be leaching magnesium out of your body? Prescribers don't always think to warn people of that possible side effect. When magnesium drops too low, the consequence…
Why Do So Many Physicians Pooh-Pooh Home Remedie…
A physician once told us that he had been chastised by a medical colleague for sharing something perceived as implausible. The skeptic was reported to have said: "I wouldn't believe it even if it were…
Should Doctors Embrace Home Remedies?
Scientists often dismiss home remedies as bogus because there is no explanation for how they might work. Doctors like drugs because the pharmaceutical companies often have plausible explanations for t…
How to Stop Hand Cramps with a Bar of Soap
Have you ever suffered from cramps in the muscles of your hand? In addition to hurting like the dickens, such a cramp can make it nearly impossible to use your hand until the muscle contraction is rel…
How to Stop Cramps Instantly with Yellow Mustard
Whether you are are running around a tennis court or spending a lot of time in the swimming pool, you might suffer a painful muscle cramp. Even if you are lying in bed at night, a leg cramp can h…
How to Prevent Foot Cramps with Lavender Oil
Some people are impervious to cramps that curl the toes or punish the arch of the foot. But many more suffer from these muscle spasms. They can happen at any time, but foot cramps are especially disru…
Surprise: Milk of Magnesia on the Soles of the F…
We are constantly amazed at the home remedies people think up using just a few common household products. Vicks VapoRub is one such versatile product that seems to help heal everything from paper cuts…
Holding a Bar of Soap to Banish Hand Cramps
Almost everyone is familiar with a charley horse, a cramp in the calf muscles. Cramps in large muscles of the calves or thighs are not uncommon, especially during or after vigorous exercise. Cramps i…
Drinking Tonic Water Prevents Nighttime Leg Cram…
Nighttime leg cramps that awaken a person from a sound sleep with sudden debilitating pain are common as well as supremely uncomfortable. Worse, doctors do not have much in their medical kit to offer …
Skeptics Become Bed Soap Believers To Overcome L…
If you have ever been awakened in the middle of the night with a cramp in your calf or the arch of your foot, you know how much that can disrupt your sleep. But what can you do to prevent this proble…
Home Remedies for Hand Cramps: Soap Stories to t…
When most people think of muscle cramps what comes to mind are leg cramps. That's because a "Charlie horse" can be super painful. The muscles in your legs are long and strong and when those muscles co…
Lavender Soap Under Sheet Solved Leg Cramp Probl…
Q. I've heard of soap for leg cramps before but sounded more like an urban myth. Lately I have been having cramps at least several times a night. This has been going on for months. I tried potassi…
Did Low-Sodium Diet Trigger Leg Cramps?
Q. I happened across a study showing that low-sodium diets don't offer benefits to people who aren't otherwise at risk for heart disease. I realized that I've been religiously following a low sodium …
Glycerin Gives Leg Cramps the Slip
Q. I suffer with severe cramps in my toes and legs when I am in bed. Soap under the sheet made no difference, but a friend suggested glycerin instead. I found a bottle at Walmart, and it is the best $…
Doctor Embraces Old Wives’ Tale
We sometimes hear from doctors who are disappointed that we write about home remedies. They feel the only topics worthy of discussion are treatments that have been discussed in weighty medical journal…
Soap in Socks Saves Feet from Cramps
When patients suffer leg cramps that wake them up at night doctors have nothing in their black bag to offer. Long ago doctors used to prescribe quinine and many patients found it quite helpful. Ever s…
Home Remedies for Holiday Hazards
Coughs & Colds: As much as we look forward to Christmas and New Years, this time of year can be fraught with unexpected hazards. For one thing, there is the traveling to gather with family and fri…
Simple Remedy Eases Hand Cramps
Q. I have horrible hand cramps, even when I am not gripping anything. Is there a home remedy I can try? A. Many readers have found that soap is helpful against muscle cramps. Some keep a bar under the…
Science Proves Pickle Juice Remedy Works
Q. I would like to tell you about a remedy for leg cramps or spasms. One evening we were playing cards with some friends, and suddenly my husband bent over with a severe leg cramp. Our host went to th…
Yellow Mustard Eases Leg Cramps
Q. We tried a treatment from your column for nighttime leg cramps. My husband used to get them frequently and would have to walk them off while in pain. He read that taking mustard would alleviate the…
Leg Cramps May Signal Celiac Disease
Q. I have been diagnosed with celiac disease. One of the early symptoms was leg and foot cramps, often screamers, early in the morning. The tonic water was by my bed at all times, just in case, as i…