445 We had a string a while back about the various equipment one should consider bringing on an assignment, particularly to tough places.&nbsp; And of course, antibiotics made everyone's list.&nbsp; However,&nbsp; I remember a long time ago reading a story about one of Steve McCurry's trips to India, where he managed for the umpteenth time to get sick with giardia, but being isolated up near Ladakh, he didnt have recourse to a pharmacy and the usual antidote -- Flagyl (metronidazole), which is sold like candy over most 3rd world counters.&nbsp; The monks he was visiting at the time instead gave him a tea infusion that took care of the problem.<br/> <br/> Many of us who live and/or work in underdeveloped nations often have an unexpected advantage in that the local people probably have home remedies that take care of most parasites, since after all this is a problem that they live with daily, and many do not have access to potable water (water is almost always the culprit when it comes to parasitic infections like this).&nbsp; <br/> <br/> So I thought it would be nice for those of us around the world to share our hard won secrets about these remedies and give others the chance to profit from our knowledge.&nbsp; I just came back from holidays with a churning gut full of some sort of amoeba, and I immediately started a regime of Flagyl, two 500mg pills daily for seven days (the usual dose).&nbsp; It didnt work.&nbsp; So my wife convinced me to try what all country folk round here take, since they dont usually have access to Flagyl:&nbsp; Five cloves of garlic and two carrots in a juicer.&nbsp; Swallow it down and wait for the burn.&nbsp; your stomach gets kind of hot, and the strength of the garlic will make you gasp, but believe it or not, after about 20 minutes, your stomach calms down and you feel better.&nbsp; So far it seems to have worked, though I am not sure one dose is enough.&nbsp;&nbsp; A friend tells me that you have to continue for a few days with it.<br/> <br/> Another remedy for stomach bugs is something we call &quot;te de sen.&quot; This herb, called Senna in English, apparently comes from Asia, but it can be bought in the spice section of most Latin American supermarkets or street markets.&nbsp;&nbsp; (Here is a general web page on Sen in Spanish: <br/> <br/> &nbsp;http://www.puritan.com/vf/healthnotes/HN_Live/Spanish/Es-Herb/Senna.htm<br/> <br/> And here is a website page from a Chilean pharmacy that gives recipes for various teas that can be made with sen: http://www.farmaciasahumada.cl/stores/fasa/html/MFT/DROGAS/D2707.HTM)&nbsp; <br/> <br/> It is common throughout latin American and&nbsp; everyone knows it.&nbsp; You boil a small handful of the leaves, which are about an inch or two long, unserrated, and drink the resulting tea, which is rather tasty.&nbsp; It seems to have two effects, one is purgative, as you will eventually have a cleansing bowel movement, but the other appears to be a change in the chemistry of the gut, making the stomach disagreeable to the bug and compelling them to leave.&nbsp; Anyway, they give it to children regularly down here, and it also works pretty well for most stomach upsets.&nbsp; From the webpages I gather it is mostly thought of in cases of constipation, which brings to mind another remedy:<br/> <br/> For constipation on the road try Aceite de coco.&nbsp; you take a coconut, grate the meat, and put the meat and all the liquid in a pan a &quot;fuego lento&quot; or low heat.&nbsp; The oil will start to rise to the top.&nbsp; When it is all risen, skim off the oil and leave the meat in the pan.&nbsp; Put the oil in a jar, it will keep a surprisingly long time.&nbsp; When you are constipated, take a couple spoonfuls, and bingo.&nbsp; This works, I give it to my daughter from time to time.<br/> <br/> bronchial distress, cold or flu?&nbsp; Onion tea.&nbsp; Take a Spanish onion, chop it roughly (no need to chop much really) and place it in water to boil until the &quot;tea&quot; forms.&nbsp; You take this with sugar, believe it or not.&nbsp; Not bad at all, and it works pretty well. I imagine it is the concentrated vitamin c (though I would think the boiling would kill the vitamins).&nbsp; My mother in law makes a more intense version of this by adding rum or whisky and a spoonful of molasses.&nbsp; I like that one.<br/> <br/> Another cure for parasites I am told down here by everyone is pure molasses.&nbsp; I cannot vouch for that one, as I have yet to try it, but many people recommend this.<br/> <br/> <br/> 11 2006-01-13T11:11:38Z 0 2008-03-12T12:54:10Z true 3248 false 11854 2007-05-17T03:26:45Z Santo Domingo true false home-remediesremedios-caseros 1 Home Remedies/Remedios Caseros 2008-03-12T12:54:10Z 62