How My Husband Stopped His Chronic Nosebleed

Ever since I've known him my husband has been susceptible to nosebleeds.  Randomly, it will just start gushing and it won't stop until it's done.  It wasn't so bad in Texas, when we were in college, because there was alot of humidity.  But now we live in a very dry northern state.  He started rubbing petroleum jelly in his nose during the winter months.  And then this summer it started bleeding every day.  Two or three times a day.  I was afraid to touch his face for fear of bumping his nose and setting off the geyser.  We blamed it on the drought.  He took 2 showers a day for the humidity.  He was oiling his nose three or four times a day.  I told him to take multivitamins in case he was missing something.  And still it kept happening.

One day I had enough.  I was ready to send him to a naturopathic clinic 4 hours away to get some answers.  We started doing a little research while we waited for the clinic to call back.  We compared notes and came up with a plan.  He read that multivitamins have fillers in them that can cause nosebleeds.  He quit them as soon as he read that.  He also read that if your body is used to a certain level of Vitamin C and then you suddenly decrease your intake, your nose can take the hit.  We were in the middle of a pantry challenge, and had run out of the bottled stuff.  I started making it from the frozen concentrate again, a chore that I previously despised, but that was now a necessity.  I read that Vitamin K, found in dark leafy greens, is good for blood clotting.  I started adding spinach to the scrambled eggs I made him for breakfast.  We decided to switch from the petroleum jelly to a natural oil.  I was out of coconut oil, which would have been my first choice, but he tried grapeseed and extra virgin olive oil.  He settled on the EVOO because he likes the smell.  He also thinks it cleans AND moisturizes, whereas the Vaseline only moisturized, which he believes makes a difference.

Within a few days of the new regimen, his nose quit bleeding at the drop of a hat.  Now it has been several weeks since his last nosebleed.  The clinic never called back, which is fine with me, because we found our solution.  Just another example of how good nutrition and natural remedies really do work!

How Far I've Come

The first time I visited the ranch, my future in-laws welcomed me by slaughtering a pig.  I was a sheltered suburban girl, and while I wasn't an "animal lover", it bothered me to watch my man kill the pig.  I turned around, shut my eyes, covered my ears, and cried until it was over.  I couldn't even eat eggs at breakfast that day.  I barely got some toast in me.

But at lunch... I ate pork.  I can't remember if it was side pork or pork chops. 

Many people find the idea of killing your own food revolting.  I used to be one of them.  Now that I've lived here awhile though, I believe butchering my own meat has given me a greater respect for the animal I'm eating.  I care about what the animal is eating, and the condition of her health when she is killed, because I don't want to eat a sick animal. 

And of course, I have come to believe in the health benefits of eating the beef we raise.  I know the cow has had minimal, if any, antibiotic.  I know she's eaten lots of grass and hay, has been finished on corn.  I know she hasn't been given synthetic hormones to make her grow bigger, faster.  I know she had a nice life- she has roamed the wide prairie for months and only for the past few weeks has she been confined to the corral.  If I want to, I can watch her die humanely, with a single shot to the head.  I can even kill her myself.  It is a quick and painless death.  I know she doesn't suffer.  I will have the privilege of processing the carcass myself (and it is a privilege to me). 

We've branched out from beef since I've been here.  Now we are raising meat chickens, turkeys, and ducks (for our own consumption, not to sell).  I love seeing the birds run around in the grass eating bugs, just as God intended them to eat.  We got araucuna chickens, and they look great.  I really like their multi-colored feathers.  Amazingly, 11 turkey poults are thriving (I once read that turkey poults are suicides waiting to happen- they are very difficult to raise).  And the ducks are my favorite.  Every morning we herd them out of their "nest" and into the reservoir.  They race through the grass, chirping happily, splashing in every available puddle.  They spend their days swimming in the reservoir.  At night we herd them back inside to keep them safe from predators. 

We are interdependent on these animals.  They would not be alive if we did not care for them.  We would not care for them if we were not going to eat them.  We would not be alive without these animals to eat.

Now, when the time comes, I am able (mentally, emotionally, and physically) to kill them and eat them (although usually not in the same day).  That's one way that I have really changed since moving out here.     

Frugal, Homemade Facewash for Sensitive Skin

My mom has extremely sensitive skin.  For years she used this homemade facewash, until she found one product she could use.  This is a frugal, simple, easy to use recipe.  It takes seconds to mix up.  Just keep a container of oats where you keep your facewash, and you'll be good to go!

Homemade Facewash:
Mix 2-3 tsp dried oats (instant or whole) into 1/4 cup water.  Let sit for a few minutes (use this time to brush your teeth and put on your pajamas).  Rub oat mixture onto face.  Rinse. 



Frugal facewash


That's it!  So simple, so easy.


And using it will make you so happy, as you can see in this picture of me:


I love my homemade facewash!


Okay, I was just goofing around in that picture, but I think you will enjoy using it!

Linked to WFMW.