To avoid headache, avoid eyestrain

Eyestrain is a common cause of headache. In such cases, an eye specialist should be
consulted and proper treatment taken. Simple eye exercises such as moving the eyes up and
down and from side to side, palming, rotating the head, with neck outstretched, forward and
backwards three times, then three times clockwise and three times counter clockwise, can
relieve eyestrain.

A surprising way to relieve eyestrain is to give gentle massage to the neck. Bring the shoulders
together and release. Then take a few minutes to place a moist cool compress over the eyes to
give them rest and recuperation.

Avoid medications for sleeplessness.

Sleeping pills are no remedy for sleeplessness. They are habit forming and become less
effective when taken continuously. They lower the I.Q., dull the brain and can prove fatal if
taken
in excess or before or after alcohol. The side-effects of sleeping pills include indigestion, skin
rashes, lowered resistance to infection, circulatory and respiratory problems, poor appetite,
high
blood pressure, kidney and liver problems and mental confusion.

To overcome the problem, one should adhere to a regular sleeping schedule, going to bed at a
fixed time each night and getting up at a fixed time each morning. Early to bed and early to rise
is a good rule. Two hours of sleep before midnight are more beneficial than four after. It is
sheer
folly for students, at examination times, to keep awake until long after midnight, drinking one
cup of tea after another, as that is only apt to cause blackness and inability to concentrate in
the examination hall.

Remove morbid matter from the surface of the skin with the hot steam bath.

The steam bath is helpful in all forms of chronic toxaemias. It relieves rheumatism, gout, uric
acid problems, and obesity. It also relieves neuralgias, chronic nephritis, infections, tetanus
and migraine.

Steam bath is one of the most important time-tested water treatments which induces
perspiration
in a most natural way. The patient, clad in minimum loin cloth or underwear, is made to sit on a
stool inside a specially designed cabinet. Before entering the cabinet, the patient should drink
one or two glasses of cold water and protect the head with a cold towel. The duration of the
steam bath is generally 10 to 20 minutes or until perspiration takes place. A cold shower
should
be taken immediately after the bath.

Very weak patients, pregnant women, cardiac patients and those suffering from high blood
pressure should avoid this bath. If the patient feels giddy or uneasy during the steam bath, he
or
she should be immediately taken out and given a glass of cold water and the face washed with
cold water.

Control and channel sexual desire with the neutral hipbath.

The quenching of unrequited sexual desire is accomplished through the neutral hipbath.

The neutral hipbath helps to relieve all acute and sub-acute inflammatory conditions such as
acute catarrh of the bladder and urethra and sub-acute inflammations in the uterus, ovaries
and tubes. It also relieves neuralgia of the fallopian tubes or testicles, painful spasms of the
vagina and prorates of the anus and vulva. Besides, it is a sedative treatment for erotomania in
both sexes.

The temperature of the water should be 32º C to 36º C. Here too, friction to the abdomen
should
be avoided. This bath is generally taken for 20 minutes to an hour.

Enhance beauty with the mudpack.

The nature cure practitioners at present are making increasing use of mud packs of moistened
earth in the treatment of diseases. The use of mud packs has been found highly beneficial and
effective in the treatment of chronic inflammation caused by internal diseases, bruises, sprains,
boils and wounds. Mud packs have been found to be a valuable treatment of diseases relating
to general weakness or nervous disorders. It can also bring down fever and is beneficial in the
treatment of scarlet fever, measles and influenza. The mud pack is prescribed for swellings,
eye and ear troubles, gout, rheumatism, stomach troubles, kidney and liver malfunctions,
diphtheria, neuralgia, sexual disorders, headache, toothache and general aches and pains.
This mode of treatment is normally adopted in conjunction with a proper scheme of dietary and
other natural therapies.

The advantage of mud treatment is that it is able to retain moisture and coolness for longer
periods than cold water packs or compresses. The cold moisture in the mud packs relaxes the
pores of the skin, draws the blood into the surface, relieves inner congestion and pain,
promotes
heat radiation and elimination of morbid matter.

Use the mud bath to remove impurities.

The mud or clay bath is another mode of the nature cure. It is applied in the same way as mud
packs, but only on a larger scale on the entire body.

In this, mud or clay is first ground and sifted to remove all impurities, and then made into a
smooth paste mixed with hot water. The paste is then spread on a sheet that in turn is wrapped
round the body. One or two blankets are then wrapped over this, depending on the
temperature of the room and that of the pack. A mud bath is followed with a cleansing warm
water bath and a short cold shower.

The mud bath is found to tone up the skin by increasing the circulation and energising the skin
tissues. Frequent mud baths help to improve the complexion, clear spots and patches on the
skin following skin disorders or due to smallpox. It is very beneficial in the treatment of skin
diseases like psoriasis, leucoderma and every leprosy. This bath is also valuable in getting
relief from rheumatic pain or pain in the joints caused by injuries.

The duration of the bath should be from 30 minutes to one hour. Care should also be
taken to avoid the patient catching a chill during the bath. Mud applications also form a vital
part
of natural beauty treatment.

The hot immersion bath is a valuable treatment in chronic rheumatism and obesity.

It gives immediate relief when there is pain due to stones in the gall bladder and the kidneys.
This bath also relieves capillary bronchitis and bronchial pneumonia in children. It relieves
congestion of the lungs and activates the blood vessels of the skin muscles.

This bath can be taken from two to 15 minutes at a temperature from 36.6º C to 40º C.
Generally
this bath is started at 37ºC and the temperature is then gradually raised to the required level by
adding hot water.

Before entering the bath, the patient should drink cold water and also wet the head, neck and
shoulders with cold water. A cold compress should be applied throughout the treatment. This
bath can be advantageously employed in dropsy when there is excessive loss of tone of the
heart and blood. The bath should be terminated as soon as the skin becomes red.

In pneumonia and suppressed menstruation, the bath should be administered at 37.7º C to 40º
C for about 30 to 45 minutes. This bath should be given when the menstruation is due and may
be
repeated for two to three days in succession. In dysmenorrhoea, this bath should be given at
38º C to 44.4º C for 15 minutes.

In chronic bronchitis a very hot bath taken for 5 to 7 minutes should be accompanied with
rubbing and friction. This relieves congestion of the mucous membrane and provides
immediate
relief. After the bath, oil should be applied to the skin if necessary. The hot bath should not be
taken in cases of organic diseases of the brain or spinal cord, nor in cases of cardiac
weakness
or cardiac hypertrophy.