Amazing Kitchen Cures ~ Sunburn

Check out what book I just "found" amongst my cookbooks.

I totally forgot I had it! I picked it up at a garage sale (only $.25!) a while back b/c I needed it. Yes, I really do need this book.

Maybe it's the blond hair, but I seem to have a hard time remembering what to do for the common cold or a simple cut, scrape or bug bite. (I have never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed.)

Who needs medication when there are all kinds of remedies in the kitchen? I'd like to start referring to this book before searching the web and/or running out to pick up some meds. In the meantime, I'm going to share some of the kitchen cures, strange facts and tips from this book.

And anyway. I thought it would just be fun to share these kitchen remedies. So, let's get started!

NOTE: Using brand name products is not necessary.  :-)   

Summer break is just around the corner. That means time outdoors on field trips or playing in the sprinkler. It's the perfect time to learn what our kitchens offer for.....

SUNBURN

• Afta - Dabbing Afta aftershave lotion on sunburned skin relieve sunburn pain promptly. 
• Arm and Hammer Baking Soda - Dissolve one-half cup baking soda in a tepid bath. Soak for fifteen minutes, then let the powdered solution dry on your skin. 
• Carnation NonFat Dry Milk - Fill a bathtub with warm water and add four handfuls dry milk. Soak in the milk bath for twenty minutes to ease the pain. 
• Cheerios - Pour two cups Cheerios in a blender and blend into a fine powder on medium-high speed. Put the powdered Cheerios into a warm bath and soak in the oats for thirty minutes. The soothing oatmeal bath relieves the pain of sunburn. Use a plastic or mesh drain cover to avoid clogging your pipes. 
• Cool Whip - Spread Cool Whip on the sunburn, let sit for twenty minutes and then rinse off with lukewarm water. 
• Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening - After soaking in a cool bath, seal the moisture into your skin by coating the sunburned area with Crisco.
• Dannon Yogurt - Spread Dannon Yogurt (any flavor you please) on the sunburn, let sit for twenty minutes, and then rinse clean with lukewarm water. 
• Desitin - Coat the sunburn with Desitin diaper rash ointment to reduce the pain and redness. 
  
• Dickinson's Witch Hazel - Moisten a washcloth with Dickinson's Witch Hazel and appy it to the burn. 
• French's Mustard - Rub French's Mustard on the sunburn to stop the stinging and prevent blistering. Let the mustard dry on the skin. 
• Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel - Coat the sunburned skin with aloe vera gel to soothe and relieve the pain.
• Heinz White Vinegar - Saturate a washcloth with Heinz White Vinegar and use it as a compress to cover the sunburn, pressing down lightly. Or add two cups vinegar to cool bathwater and soak. 
• Kingsford Corn Starch - Add enough water to Kingsford Corn Starch to make a paste, and apply directly to the burn. 
• Lipton Tea Bags - Pat the sunburn with wet tea bags. The tannic acid in the tea relieves sunburn pain. 
• Miracle Whip - Slather Miracle Whip liberally over the sunburn to relieve the pain and moisturize the skin.
• Quaker Oats and L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose - Using a blender, grind one cup Quaker Oats into a fine powder. Cut off the foot from a clean, used pair of L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose, fill it with the powdered oats, and tie a knot in the nylon. Tie the oatmeal sack to the spigot, letting it dangle in the flow of water as the tub fills with warm water. Soak for thirty minutes in this inexpensive and soothing oatmeal bath, using the oatmeal sack as a mild washcloth. 

STRANGE FACTS

• You can get a sunburn on a cloudy day. Ultraviolet rays from the sun penetrate clouds, no matter how overcast the sky may be. 
• Turnips turn green when sunburned. 
• Pigs, walruses, and light-colored horses can be sunburned. 
• The place with the most hours of possible sunshine is Yuma, Arizona, where the chance of sunshine during the day is 91%.
• Starting February 9, 1967, St. Petersburg, Florida recorded 768 consecutive days of sunshine, ending on March 17, 1969.

TIPS

1. Play it cool! See your doctor if your sunburn begins to blister or you feel ill. 
2. To avoid getting a sunburn, apply sunscreen thirty minutes before going outside. 
3. To figure out how many hours of protection you can expect from a sunscreen, take the number of minutes it takes your skin to start burning without sunscreen, multiply by the sun protection factor (SPF) printed on the bottle of Coppertone, and divide the result by sixty. For example: if you usually burn in thirty minutes, an SPF 8 lotion should protect you for approximately 4 hours. 
4. The higher the SPF of a sunscreen, the higher the price. 
5. The higher in the sky the sun is, the higher the SPF number you will need. Also, the closer to the equator you are, the stronger the sunscreen you need. 

And there we have it! This was a pretty long list in the book, so I didn't put every single kitchen remedy here. Anyway. I hope this is helpful... if not for you, then for me to remember to take this book off the shelf next time I need a quick home remedy!