Garlic Home Cures

Louis Pasteur discovered the curative powers of garlic in 1858, when he scientifically proved it kills bacteria. However, traditional healers knew about its medicinal properties long before then. Garlic is used as a home remedy for colds and flu, as a topical treatment for skin diseases, and as protection from infections and a variety of aches and pains. Garlic is rich in allicin and other compounds known to boost the immune system and fight fungus, infection and bacteria. For home remedies, use fresh garlic cloves or garlic oil capsules, which are found in health food stores.

Garlic Cold Remedies

• Drink water when eating garlic cloves, to prevent an upset stomach.

  Colds, flu and related illnesses can be relieved with chopped raw garlic. Cooking garlic lessens its efficacy, so it is best to add a clove or two of chopped fresh garlic to your salads or as a topping, with olive oil, for separately-cooked vegetables. Cold-related sinus trouble can be relieved by eating one peeled garlic clove per day, before breakfast. Drink a glass of water along with the garlic, to prevent an upset stomach. Consuming fresh garlic also alleviates bronchitis by helping to break up mucus in the chest.

Anitfungal Garlic Remedies

• Cover garlic pulp with a bandage to hold it in place over a wart.

  Garlic can be applied to the skin to treat fungal infections. Treat athlete's foot by rubbing a few drops of garlic oil on your feet. Ringworm can be cured by rubbing the affected areas of your skin with a cut clove of garlic. A wart may be treated in a similar way, by chopping fresh garlic into a pulp. Apply the pulp to the wart and hold it in place with a bandage; place a sock over the bandage and pulp, if the wart is on an extremity. The treatment should take about 10 days to work.

General Garlic Remedies

• Garlic oil on a cotton ball helps cure an earache.

  If you suffer from earache, open a garlic oil capsule and place two or three drops of oil on a cotton ball. Place the cotton ball in your ear, taking care not to press it in too deeply. Leave the oil-soaked cotton in your ear for about an hour during the day, and then leave it in overnight. Lower blood pressure by eating two or three fresh garlic cloves every day. This amount of garlic also helps protect your liver from Hepatitis C. Eating chopped fresh garlic regularly also helps flush any excess heavy metals in your diet out of your system.

Warnings About Use

• Eating garlic cloves gives you a pungent odor.

  You exude a pungent odor after consuming fresh garlic or garlic oil, and it lasts for several hours, so warn those in close proximity. Eating raw garlic cloves may lead to digestive discomfort; this can be relieved by drinking water at the same time you consume the garlic. If you are taking blood thinners or medication for regulating blood sugar, do not use garlic as a home remedy.