Save and Conquer

Due to the exorbitant cost of medical insurance, our workplace has gone to using a high-deductible health plan and an HSA. That is not bad for us, since our work puts the full amount of the annual deductible into our HSA, but it means I now think more about the cost of going to the doctor. After all, if I can avoid going to the doctor, the money in the HSA will compound and accrue earnings tax free, and remain available for our later medical needs.

One little way to cut costs is to deal with small medical issues using home health remedies. This is different than homeopathy, where that regards diseases and sickness to be caused by disturbances in a “vital force” or life force in humans and that these disturbances manifest themselves as unique symptoms.

I am referring more to home remedies such as chicken soup for colds. There are many over-the-counter medicines available today that used to require a prescription (and still may for stronger doses). I am not an expert in this area and would point you to sites like the FDA. But many of these medicines can be bought and used without seeing a doctor.

Prior to buying a medicine, or using a home remedy, you have to be able to perform self-diagnosis. Some good sites for this are familydoctor.org and WebMD. Good diagnosis is the most important part of home remedies. You obviously cannot obtain or administer the correct remedy if you cannot diagnose the problem. If you are not good at self diagnosis, then by all means, call your doctor.

Once you have diagnosed the problem, you can look on-line for home remedies. You have to weigh the remedy against who is giving the information. For example, there are lots of web sites that will tell you that ginger root will cure everything from the common cold to arthritis. They are usually selling dried herbs. (The actual healing power of ginger is that it contains a stimulant and has some effect against certain forms of diarrhea – wiki.)

As an example of using a home remedy, a few years ago I developed a fungal infection under one of my toenails. Euwww, gross. At first I thought keeping it clean would help. Nope. Then I tried the athelete’s foot medications. That didn’t work, either. The fungus got a good toe-hold (had to say it) and fully wrecked my right big toenail. I was ready to go to the doctor to get a prescription, but then I read online that two drops of white vinegar every day on a toenail infection would clear it up over the course of a year (toenails grow very slowly.) I gave that a try, and within a couple weeks I could see improvement at the nail root. I kept at it and it did clear up after about a year. Total cost was less than $1. ($0.50 went to buying a small dropper bottle from Target.) Sorry for the gross example, but most medical problems are not pretty, and I have seen lots of people with this affliction that is easy healed at home.

The information for healing this affliction was not well known and is certainly not advertised because there is no profit in vinegar for medicinal purposes. But it is out there. For most any affliction, you have to do some research and then use some common sense. In my case, I read about using vinegar and then did a little more research where I found that vinegar contains acetic acid, which is a weak herbicide. Sounded plausible, and since we eat the stuff, I figured topical applications couldn’t hurt.

Just don’t take everything you read on the internet as correct. You can find conflicting advice on everything. There are lots of scams out there. And you don’t want to play games with your health. Never take prescription medications for anything other than what it was prescribed for. Also, do not ingest anything that does not have FDA approval or isn’t a normal part of your diet. Basically, use common sense.

Obviously, you still should see your doctor for annual checkups and any time there is something you consider to be an emergency. Not to mention regular gynecological visits and mammograms for those of the fairer sex. And if you are over 50, get a colonoscopy.

Don’t play games with your health, but for things like colds and toenail fungus, you can take care of them yourself and save some money.

Stumble it!