Despite the fact that there are up to 500 varieties of the aloe plant in the world, only two of them are widely used in medicine and cosmetology.
First – Aloe Vera. The plant is 95% water, has a number of beneficial properties for the body, and even purifies the air in the room. The second is Aloe tree, or agave. This plant is considered unpretentious in care, it is easy to grow it yourself at room conditions, and in terms of healing qualities it is almost as good as Aloe Vera.
Useful properties of aloe
The benefits of a plant for humans are explained by its chemical composition. Vitamins, amino acids, microelements and flavonoids, which protect the cells of the body from the effects of viruses and prevent premature aging, are contained in aloe leaves in large quantities. The juice of this medicinal plant is used for both external and internal use.
Aloe is widely used in the treatment of skin diseases, normalizes the functioning of the stomach and intestines, promotes a speedy recovery from flu, colds and the common cold.
It is used in dentistry for the treatment of stomatitis, in gynecology for painful menstruation, for conjunctivitis,hair loss. Aloe normalizes the circulatory system and increases hemoglobin.
Contraindications
Despite a number of useful properties, agave also has contraindications for use.
- It is forbidden to use the juice of the plant for children under the age of 1 year. In rare cases, and only after the doctor's permission, agave-based drops are used to treat a runny nose in babies up to a year old. If side effects appear, you must immediately stop instillation of aloe.
- Contraindications to the use of plant juice apply to people suffering from heart failure and hypertension, since the active substances of Aloe significantly increase the movement of blood through the vessels.
- The use of drugs containing aloe juice should be excluded for people with allergies. In them, such drops can cause burning and itching of the mucous membrane, the appearance of edema, nausea, and a rash on the skin.
- Aloe will be useless in the treatment of viral rhinitis. It can only cause a stronger manifestation of allergic reactions. Agave juice is only effective against bacteria, not viruses.
- It is strictly forbidden to bury aloe in the nose during pregnancy. The plant's active ingredients cause uterine muscle contraction, which can lead to miscarriage or preterm labor.
Compliance with precautions when using aloe in traditional medicine will avoid negative he alth consequences in the future.
How to get juice from aloe?
Notall plants of this species are suitable for treatment. Active substances accumulate in aloe leaves in sufficient quantities only by the third year of growth. That is why, in order to get he althy juice, you should use the most mature lower leaves, dense and fleshy. They are carefully cut off at the very base of the stem, washed under running water and, wrapped in cloth or paper, sent to the refrigerator for 12 hours. During this time, the concentration of nutrients in the leaves increases several times and the medicinal qualities of the plant increase. This procedure can be neglected if the juice for instillation is needed urgently.
After the specified time, when the aloe leaf has cooled enough, it must be cleaned of thorns, the upper thin film and cut into several pieces of 2 centimeters in length. Then wrap each piece in cheesecloth, folded in half, and squeeze all the juice into a sterile container with a strong finger pressure on it.
Sometimes in some print and online publications there are recommendations that the aloe leaf must first be crushed through a meat grinder, and then strain the juice through cheesecloth. But it is impossible to guarantee the sterility of the drug in this case.
Rhinitis treatment
The effectiveness of aloe juice in the fight against the common cold has been proven for a long time. It is included in the composition of medicines and used in home treatment. Thanks to active substances that act on the blood vessels of the nasal mucosa, it is possible to quickly relieve congestion and improve the outflow of mucus.
Thus, the agave in the fight againstrunny nose:
- has an antibacterial effect;
- relieves mucosal inflammation;
- accelerates the movement of blood through the vessels;
- heals minor damage and wounds on the nasal mucosa;
- helps strengthen the immune system and restore the body's defenses.
Can I put aloe in my baby's nose?
The juice of this plant is effective in the treatment of rhinitis not only in adults, but also in children over the age of one year. However, before you start instilling aloe into your nose, you need to determine the nature of the disease. Homemade agave juice will help in the fight against bacterial rhinitis. If the disease is viral in nature, aloe can even harm, causing a serious allergic reaction.
How to drip aloe into the nose depends on the age of the child. For children from 1 to 12 years old, the juice of the plant is diluted with boiled water (proportion 1: 3) and instilled 3 drops in both nostrils 3 times a day. The duration of treatment is at least 5 days or until complete recovery occurs. In this case, no earlier than three days later, the effect of instillation will be noticeable. To achieve the destruction of dangerous bacteria, you need a concentration of active substances contained in aloe. For children over 12 years old and adults, agave juice is diluted in a ratio of 1 to 1.
After the permission of the pediatrician, freshly prepared medicine can be instilled into babies. Plant juice for such children should be mixed in a ratio of 1:4 and even 1:5. Aloe in the nose of a child is instilled into both nostrils2 drops three times a day. Treatment should be discontinued as soon as possible if any side effects occur.
Aloe juice during pregnancy
A common runny nose for a pregnant woman can be a real problem. It is very difficult to find drugs to treat this disease, especially in the first trimester, when there is a risk of harming the normal development of the fetus. Therefore, pregnant women often resort to traditional medicine in the fight against the common cold, including instilling aloe juice into the nose. However, it is strictly forbidden to perform such actions without prior consultation with a gynecologist.
Most experts are of the opinion that by instilling aloe juice into the nose or taking it orally, you can cause a rush of blood to the pelvic organs and contraction of the uterine muscles. This, in turn, often leads to premature birth or miscarriage. At the same time, aloe does not affect lactation in women and does not change the taste of breast milk, that is, after the birth of a baby, agave juice can be used to treat a runny nose without restrictions.
Aloe runny nose medicine recipes
In the treatment of the common cold, it is not recommended to use pure agave juice. If this advice is neglected, then in adults, and especially in children, burns appear on the nasal mucosa when instilled. Many aloe juice-based cold recipes consist of several ingredients that enhance the effect of the active components in the plant and thereby speed up the healing process. The most effective and affordable agave-based recipes, withwith which you can prepare nasal drops are presented below.
- To successfully treat a runny nose with aloe, simply mix agave juice with boiled water in a certain proportion. For children under 1 year old, it is 1:5 (1 part juice to 5 parts water), from 1 to 12 years old - 1:2 or 1:3, for adults - 1:1. Aloe can be dripped into the nose 4 times a day up to 5 drops alternately in each nostril. Treatment should be continued until complete recovery, at least 5 days.
- To treat a runny nose in children over two years old, aloe juice is combined with honey (proportion 1: 1), the same amount of boiled water is added and 4 drops are instilled into the nose twice a day until recovery occurs. Babies under the specified age are not instilled with aloe, but only wipe the nasal passages with the medicine received.
- In the following recipe, you need to mix olive oil and agave juice in a ratio of 1:3. The resulting oil emulsion is instilled into the nose three times a day, 3 drops each.
- An effective remedy for getting rid of a runny nose can be obtained if you mix honey, lemon juice and aloe in equal proportions. Instill 2 drops into the nose 4 times a day.
- A tincture based on aloe juice is used to wash the nose. To prepare it, you should chop 7 cloves of garlic, pour a liter of hot boiled water and cover with a lid, set aside until the liquid cools down. After that, the tincture should be combined with aloe juice in a ratio of 2: 1 and rinse the nasal passages twice a day. The same medicine can also be used for instillation of the nose. For this agave juicemixed with garlic tincture in equal volume. It is necessary to bury the nose twice a day, 3 drops each.
- One teaspoon of chamomile and the same amount of eucalyptus pour 250 ml of hot boiled water and continue to infuse for an hour. After the specified time, strain the liquid through a gauze cut, let it cool, add one tablespoon of aloe juice. For a runny nose, washing the nose at least three times a day will be effective.
- A folk medicine made from aloe juice and honey (1 tablespoon each), crushed into rosehip crumbs (teaspoon) and ½ teaspoon of eucalyptus oil will help speed up the healing process. Cotton swabs are moistened in the resulting tincture and placed in the nasal passages for 5 minutes 2 times a day.
- In the season of colds, you can prepare a folk remedy for the prevention and treatment of diseases of the ENT organs, which must be taken orally. Aloe leaves cool and grind in a meat grinder or using a blender. Pour a glass of the resulting slurry with three glasses of alcohol (vodka) and let it brew in a dark, cool place for at least 10 days. For the treatment of a runny nose, alcohol tincture is taken 20 drops twice a day, for prevention - 10 drops once a day for a month.
Proven recipes based on agave juice will help improve he alth in case of colds and strengthen the immune system of adults and children.
How to store aloe drops?
In order not to get complications in the process of treatment with folk remedies instead of a positive result, it is importantwhen preparing drops, observe sterile conditions. But even after taking all the precautions, you need to take care of the proper storage of the medicine.
In the treatment of the common cold, preference is given to freshly prepared drops. But since you need to bury aloe in your nose at least 2-3 times a day, squeezing the juice from the plant every time is not very convenient. Therefore, drops from the agave are allowed to be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days. That is, after instillation, the medicine must be refrigerated until the next use. Do not leave squeezed juice at room temperature, as it may spoil.
Aloe juice: positive and negative reviews
Most doctors and some parents have a negative attitude towards traditional medicine. Others, on the contrary, use exclusively aloe juice in the treatment of the common cold, while leaving only positive reviews.
- Agave is a time-tested remedy for the common cold.
- Aloe nose drops are an affordable medicine that grows on every windowsill.
- Agave is not addictive, it can be instilled in the nose an unlimited number of times.
- At the first symptoms of an incipient runny nose, you should immediately begin treatment with aloe, contraindications to which are rare, then it will be possible to defeat the disease very quickly.
- Agave really heals, but does not remove the symptoms of the disease.
Negative feedback is as follows:
- aloe juicedoes not help with a runny nose at all, it can be instilled only for prevention, and not for treatment;
- may only be effective if used in combination with saline nasal rinses;
- helps only with bacterial rhinitis, which in children is much less common than viral;
- after constant use of vasoconstrictor drugs, the effectiveness of aloe decreases;
- it is better to use medications, not the "grandmother's" methods that were used a hundred years ago.
Can aloe replace other cold medicines?
Aloe juice is certainly an effective remedy in the treatment of the common cold, but it is not always possible to replace pharmacological preparations with it. If parents have doubts about whether it is worth using a self-prepared medicine for a child, then it is better not to do this. Aloe in the nose from a runny nose is recommended to be instilled only with the bacterial nature of the disease. At the same time, if precautions are not followed, children often develop burns on the nasal mucosa and allergic reactions in the form of swelling and rashes.
Therefore, it is better to use aloe from a cold after consulting a doctor who will determine what nature of the disease the child has. At the same time, for adults, such restrictions are much less. In the absence of contraindications, you can bury your nose as many times as necessary in accordance with the proposed recipes.
Thus, it is possible to cure a runny nose for the benefit of the body without vasoconstrictor drugs with the help of aloe juice. It is instilled into the nose for both adults and children. The exceptions are babies under 1 year old, pregnant women, patients with hypertension and people with individual intolerance.
