Contest #6: Tell Me About Natural Remedies/ Traditional Medicines That You Often Use / by @hae-ra

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Greetings @shc-curator and to all steemians here. I hope we are all well. I am here to share with you my natural remedies/ traditional medicines that we often used.

While living in a mountainous area, it's not that easy to consult doctors immediately if we are having health conditions. We have to make an observation first with the response of our body if it's just tolerable in case we would intake and use traditional medicines, or else, that's the time that we would travel for hours to see doctors for consultations.

The Hilot

(Traditional Massage)

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It is an ancient Filipino art of healing through massage. Hilot or Traditional Massage uses manipulation and massage to achieve the treatment outcome, although techniques differ from one practitioner to another. It does emerged from the shamanic tradition of the ancient Filipinos with healers considering their practice as derived from their calling from visions or from having been born by breech. So this means that hilot practitioners will also attempt to detect any “imbalances” that they can feel within your body.

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We often used hilot until now if we experienced stomachache which probably caused by gas pain or any other discomfort, and sometimes when having muscle and body pain caused by overworked, as well as headaches from so much stress. It is performed by the healer using coconut oil or any liniments that could relax the body and with an acupressure. Sometimes, when kids also having fever and believed to have some fractures, parents would bring them to the masseur healer to massage the affected area. I grew up with this kinds of beliefs. After the session we also feel relieved.

Benefits of Traditional Hilot

It is believed to have the following benefits:

• Relieves muscle pain - If I feel like my body is in so much pain, I feel like my blood would not circulate properly because of having muscle pain. And hilot is just an answer for me. Because I am not into pain reliever intakes.
• Relieves pinched nerves - If I feel like I am in so much stress, because of having overload of works, I often get a hilot if I went to my hometown because it can really relax the nerves after it.
• Aids in giving birth, and helps a mother recover after labor - My pregnant sister-in-laws also went to manghihilot and most of the preggys in my hometown because they believed that the baby would be in proper place inside if being performed by hilot.

Hilot is effective after all. It is one of the most effective cure for health conditions in our place. Maybe it's just sometimes, there are some unexplainable things which we believed to be true where in fact, not advisable by doctors.

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Guava Leaves

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Since I was a kid, we often used guava leaves as treatment or medicine for skin disease and infections. Way back then, as a kid, we used to play outside, anywhere in the area, without knowing that while enjoying the moment, we already caught by germs which is the cause of infections and disease.

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Preparations

• Pick 10-20 fresh leaves of guava, or as many as you like. Wash them thoroughly.
• Put it in the kettle with 1 liter of water. Let it boil for 10 minutes or until the water becomes brown.
• After boiling, just leave it for about 5 minutes or until become lukewarm.
• Wash the affected area of the skin. Just repeat it twice a day until the infection is gone.

Benefits of Guava Leaves

Though guava leaves also contain chemicals with antioxidant and other effects, there is no good scientific evidence to support ang uses of guava. But we use guava leaves for stomach and intestinal conditions, pain, diabetes, and wound healin

Other Benefits of Guava leaves

The guava leaves turned out to have a variety of properties that are good for health. Because of this, there's no wonder that this leaf is one of the traditional medicines in Indonesia to treat various types of diseases.

• Treat colds and coughs
  Using of guava leaves, one of the benefits of it, can cure diseases such as flu and cough, because guava leaves contain vitamin C and are rich in iron. Just boil the guava leaves , and drink the lukewarm water out of it, to treat colds and coughs. By means of the decoction of guava leaves, it can remove mucus in the body that causes coughs and colds. After drinking a decoction of guava leaves, the throat feels relieved.

• Good for brain health
  It's leaves content of vitamin B3 and vitamin B6 in guava leaves can increase blood circulation to the brain. With the second content of these vitamins can also stimulate the nerves of the brain to calm down. Which is certainly good for brain health, because the brain also needs the right intake to keep working optimally. By drinking guava leaves, the tea can also improve sleep quality.

• Overcoming diarrheal pain
  Leaves of guava are considered to be a cure for diarrhea, because guava leaf extract can inhibit the growth of bacteria that cause diarrhea. Just make a simple concoction to use guava leaves as a cure for diarrhea. Boil the guava leaves. Then, after that, strain the cooking water and drink the water. Or you can just chew the young leaves.

• Helps reduce weight
  Guava leaves are also efficacious for losing weight. Because, it can block complex carbohydrates in the body from turning into sugar, thereby losing weight.

• Promotes the body's digestive system
  The guava leaves can also treat gastrointestinal problems, also known as things related to the digestive system, namely the intestine and stomach. By eating these leaves, it can reduce the production of extra mucus that can make irritation in the digestive system.

Preparations for drinks

• Wash the guava leaves.
• Put it in the kettle with 1 liter of water.
• Let it boil for about 5-10 minutes.
• Drink the lukewarm water from it.
• Just repeat it until the condition is gone.

Not only that, the content of antibacterial properties in guava leaves can also prevent microbial growth in the intestine. Reference

It is not known how guava works for medical conditions but the fact that we're using it for a long period of time, made us believe more to be a true medicine.

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Traditional Medicine has a long history. With having the sum total of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, or the used in the maintenance of the health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness.

Sometimes, we often believe what we used to, as long as it will benefit us for good.

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Thank you for dropping by and reading my natural remedies/ traditional medicine. I hope you learned something with this. Stay safe and healthy all.

Inviting @mariarosa27 @aziel29 @jenny018.

Thank you @ahyar92.

Best regards,
@hae-ra