Some Easy Cures For Slightly Embarrassing Problems

Bad breath, urinary incontinence, and other issues often make people feel like they have no control over their own bodies, which is a very unsettling sensation. When these problems rear their ugly heads, statistics like “X percent of people suffer from chronic whatever” may be of little help, because although it’s nice not to feel alone, it’s even nicer when your chronic whatever either goes away entirely or is at least much less noticeable.

Many times, the key to a cure is a better understanding of the cause.

Flatulence

Excess gas is nearly always a dietary issue. Ironically, some of the foods that are on most healthy living lists, like whole grains, many fruits, and some vegetables, also trigger excess gas in many stomachs. But the best thing to do may be to play detective, because not all foods affect all people in the same way. If your flatulence is worse after you eat certain foods, or certain combinations of foods, don’t eat them again.

The way people eat also contributes to excess gas. Try eating steamed foods instead of fried or grilled foods. Also, cut down on the air you take in while eating by ditching the straw, the cigarette, and the stick of gum.

Flatulence is not always an annoying problem to suppress, because in some cases, it could be a warning sign of a serious illness, such as irritable bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance, or even colon cancer. So, if the food and air cures don’t seem to help, talk to a doctor.

Incontinence

Lack of bladder control is a little harder to address with diet and lifestyle changes, especially if it occurs at night. Many times, the best solution is to use an incontinence pad for beds. They are thin and they get the job done, particularly if your issue is limited to nighttime incontinence.

For daytime incontinence, try behavioral urination. That’s a fancy term for going to the bathroom at certain times of the day whether you need to go or not. Eventually, your body will adjust to the schedule. Many women conquer incontinence through Kegel exercises, and there are similar pelvic exercises for men.

Bad Breath

About 90 percent of the time, halitosis, ozostomia, stomatodysodia, or whatever you chose to call it comes from the mouth or tonsils. Everyone has anaerobic (non-oxygen consuming) bacteria in their mouth to aid in digestion. These bacteria give off various combinations of gases, or volatile sulfur compounds.

These bacteria reproduce faster in a dry mouth, and feed more on certain foods, such as proteins and dairy. Avoiding these conditions should help avoid bad breath, or at least reduce it to the point that a breath mint or mouthwash will take care of it.

Nail Fungus

Excess moisture usually causes discolored, uneven, and ugly nails. So, the solution is to restore the nail’s proper chemical balance. Fortunately, this process is a lot easier than it sounds.

Since Vicks VapoRub has a number of powerful antifungal ingredients, just a cotton swab a day is often enough to greatly reduce the infection or even eliminate it altogether. Listerine has similar ingredients, and once it is combined with the acidic properties of vinegar, there is evidence that soaking your toes in this mixture produces similar results. Finally, over-the-counter Urea paste will often dissolve the diseased part of a nail and leave the healthy part intact so it can grow unhindered.

Some people have also had success with cornmeal and oregano oil.

A few simple changes, when combined with the right intervention, can usually alleviate even chronic flatulence and other conditions, so you can feel more in control of your body.

This is a guest blog post.