Allergy Relief Products – Why There Are So Many And How To Choose The Right One For You

Allergy relief products are big business. That’s the thing you have to remember when you set out to find something to bring relief to your allergy symptoms. That doesn’t mean, however, that they are all bad. So how do you tell the difference between those that are likely to help you and those that are there primarily to make money for the manufacturers?

That many of these products are profitable for the sellers doesn’t mean necessarily that you should avoid them, but the free market system does tend to encourage suppliers to put up their prices for a product that sells well.

High prices and increasing profits in the allergy relief products business have brought in another factor that allergy sufferers have to endure – the hard sell. All this makes it difficult to decide which remedy is right for you.

There are treatments such as Sub-Lingual Immunotherapy (SLIT) – placing a tiny amount of pollen under the tongue to bring about a degree of immunity. This is homeopathy in action. Or you can buy a phototherapy unit to emit pulses of light into your nostrils to inhibit the release of histamines and alleviate the inflammation of nasal mucous membranes.

Then there are the good old pollen capsules, which have been around for many years, and the inhalers that we are all familiar with. Probably most sufferers will find a suitable treatment from these options, and need not venture any further.

But there are more – after all, this is big business, remember? There are air purifiers and filters, both for personal use and for your car, and if you want the top of the range then you can have an ioniser. Or you can have a window filter or screen, a face mask (re-usable) or wrap-around eye protection.

You can even have air purifying light bulbs, steam cleaners, specially filtered vacuum cleaners, room sprays, dustmite-proof boilable pillows, laundry additives and sofa sprays. Have I exhausted the options available?

No, because there are also special mattresses for your bed, and water additives. There’s very expensive pollen blocker balm to put up your nose (you can do the same with very cheap Vaseline or petroleum jelly and it’s just as good), and there are even “acupressure bands” - just an expensive way of using acupressure (on only one of several possible pressure points) to bring relief.

No doubt there are more, all of them promising effective and often instant allergy natural relief from a wide range of allergies, not just hay fever. How can you judge whether any particular one may be right for you?

Only by finding out as much as you can about your own particular allergy. For example, if you believe you are allergic to peanut butter, it may be that the actual cause is an ingredient in peanut butter, and that ingredient may be present in other things you may eat. There may be a kind of peanut butter that doesn’t have that ingredient and that you can therefore eat safely.

Most importantly, if you find out from a skin prick test exactly what it is that causes your allergy problem then you know how you can best bring relief to that problem. It’s unlikely that any given allergy can be dealt with equally effectively by, for example, either a window filter or through a homeopathic remedy.

When it comes to allergy relief products, the simple, natural (and usually cheaper) remedies are the best.

Philip Gegan

If you’re looking for a canker sore remedy then one of your main problems is the sheer number of treatments available. Many of the chemical based remedies won’t work for you, but finding this out takes time, and time for you is of the essence.

The first thing to accept is that the exact cause of canker sores is not known. And without this knowledge most remedies are based on what has worked for the most people rather than on a logical solution. So you’re on your own in trying to pin down just how you came to have this painful condition.

But just a few minutes of thinking about it can reap dividends. Ask yourself a few questions. Do you eat a lot of junk food? Are you under pressure and stress at work or in your domestic situation? Do you often place your fingers in your mouth, such as when biting your nails? Do you wash your hands after visiting the washroom? Do you handle a lot of the food you eat, e.g. chocolate, nuts, fruit?

Even ask yourself if your toothpaste contain ingredients, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, that might irritate your mouth and create the right conditions for canker sores. Check the ingredients listed on the tube.

All of these situations are unnatural. If any of them applies to you then just change your eating or hygiene habits, or your toothpaste, and see if that works. In the case of stress, do whatever you can to avoid or reduce it.

Many experts are of the view that canker sores are caused, or at least exacerbated, by an unhealthy diet. So as well as simply avoiding junk food and take-away meals, actively change your diet to include more fresh fruit. Don’t handle it immediately before eating, and wash it thoroughly beforehand to get rid of any traces of pesticides on the surface.

What about getting more immediate relief? It’s probably better to restrict yourself to alternative health treatment, as orthodox medical treatments work for some people but not for others. Natural treatments that have been widely reported to have worked include the following.

1. Place a slice of onion against each canker sore for a few minutes, several times a day. This is painful but it usually gives you the result you seek. If you prefer, you can use herbs, such as sorrel, myrrh, sage or burdock, or tea tree oil.

2. Dip a Q-tip or cotton wool bud in a solution of salt water (2 tablespoons of salt to 6 fluid ounces of warm water) and apply it directly to each canker sore for several minutes three or four times a day. If you have some Goldenseal powder then add twice as much as the salt to the solution.

3. Add some hydrogen peroxide (available from chemists and drug stores) to warm water in the ratio 1:3 and use as a mouthwash for 10 minutes each day. This will not only see off your canker sores, but will make your teeth gleaming and white without the need for expensive “teeth whiteners”. Some people have suggested using 3 per cent peroxide neat, but this is something you will want to test, using small quantities to start with.

4. As an alternative to 3 above, you can use bicarbonate of soda, adding 1 tablespoon of it to half a cup of water. In each case the solution kills the bacteria on which the canker sore feeds.

If you experiment a little, using just natural foods and herbs, you’ll soon find a canker sore remedy that’s right for you.

Philip Gegan

You can discover many simple exercises you can do to gain relief from many kinds of pain and discomfort, from headaches and back pain to acid reflux and shoulder tension, and many other kinds of pain in between, at  http://www.pressawaypain.com

Thousands of people every year succumb to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or wrist tendonitis. This is a kind of repetitive strain injury, usually caused by repeated and excessive unnatural movements of the wrist and fingers.

This post will look briefly at the possible causes and a few treatments, including one highly effective yet little known one, that do not involve taking pills (other than vitamin pills) or having steroid injections or surgery.

If you have a tingling feeling in your fingers, a feeling of weakness or pain in your grip, or shooting pains that go into your fingers or forearm, then you probably have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or wrist tendonitis (it’s worth checking with your doctor, though, before you do anything else, that it’s not arthritis).

It used to be carpenters and typists who mostly suffered from this most painful condition, which comes on gradually over a period of weeks or months. Now, with so many people using computers and keyboards, the problem has become much more widespread.

Some authorities believe Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is caused simply by a vitamin B6 deficiency. The cure, according to them, is to take large daily doses of vitamin B6. If you choose this course, take medical advice as to how much you should take exactly, as it is toxic if taken in excessive doses. The vitamin B6 route does not bring immediate relief by any means. It is often as much as 6 weeks before you can expect to feel any improvement. After that you should continue but with a smaller dosage.

If you prefer a herbal remedy then perhaps the best herb to take is Turmeric, a common kitchen spice, which is good for reducing inflammation. The typical dosage is up to one teaspoon of powdered spice per day mixed in with your main course, or one 300 milligram capsule containing 95 per cent curcumin (the active ingredient) one to three times a day.

Is there anything you can do to bring more immediate relief? Yes, there is. The first thing is to assess what it is that has caused the onset of the complaint. If it is typing at a keyboard then consider the height of the keyboard compared to your own body position. It’s important not to have the desk too high. If it is, then lower the desk, if possible, or raise your seat. Most office desks these days come at the correct height for a person of average height.

Take a regular break from typing (or whatever activity it is that is causing the problem) every 30 to 60 minutes until your wrists feel relaxed enough to resume. Do stretching exercises regularly throughout your working day. Rest your forearm on the desk and use your other hand to gently pull your fingertips back for 3 to 5 seconds at a time.

Next, raise your arms above your head and rotate and stretch your hands and wrists. Do this for up to 2 minutes around four times a day. You’ll feel much better and relaxed for it, and it will help relieve feelings of stress and tension in your neck and shoulders as well.

Another beneficial exercise every now and then is simply to gently clench your fists and then open your fingers and bend them backwards towards your forearm as far as they will go. Hold for a few seconds and repeat. This is very good for dispersing any tingling sensations.

If you feel like using a bandage or a splint then be careful. If a bandage is applied too tightly it will impede your circulation. Splints with a metal insert and Velcro fasteners are preferable to plastic splints, which are often too hard, and can be hot and sticky. Make sure it fits properly so that your thumb and fingers are free.

Finally, try the following exercise several times a day to obtain lasting relief from carpal tunnel syndrome and wrist tendonitis. With your left thumb, follow the outside of your right arm to the hollow in the centre of your wrist, at its crease. Place your middle finger directly behind it on the inside of your wrist. Gently press with both middle finger and thumb for one minute before changing hands.

At the same time, relax and breathe deeply through your nose. Strange though it may seem, you should find that this simple exercise helps relieve all wrist pain, including carpal tunnel syndrome, wrist tendonitis and rheumatism, and also strengthens your wrist.

Is Ginkgo the marvellous herbal remedy for loss of memory that we have all been led to believe? First used for medicinal purposes by the Chinese over 5,000 years ago, Ginkgo has long been considered to be of vital importance in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and circulatory problems.

But press reports in February 2008 questioned the value of Ginkgo biloba by suggesting it has limited effect on those with memory problems, whilst at the same time maintaining it increases the risk of a stroke.

In this article we’re going to briefly review the pros and cons of these findings, and look at an unusual exercise that can help you reap the benefits Ginkgo offers, without actually having to take it.

What set off this press speculation was a research study published by Oregon State University. It reported that of 59 volunteers given three Ginkgo tablets a day over a three year trial, seven suffered a stroke or mini-stroke, whereas of the 59 who were not given Ginkgo, but a placebo instead, none suffered strokes.

On the face of it this seems to establish that taking Ginkgo tablets or supplements does indeed increase the risk of a stroke. But the defenders of this well-known herb argue that strokes are caused by blood clots, which are not a known side effect of taking Ginkgo. It is known for sometimes causing excessive bleeding, but that in itself is not connected to strokes.

As to the herb’s effect on memory, 21 of the men and women aged 85 and over who comprised the volunteers developed memory problems over the three year period, but only 7 of them were in the group that were taking the genuine Ginkgo tablets. And there is a question mark, apparently, over whether all the volunteers remembered to take all the tablets as instructed.

So the only thing most commentators, whether pro or anti herbal remedies, can agree upon is that further tests should be carried out. After all, it’s no good taking Ginkgo biloba to improve your memory or prevent Alzheimer’s disease if you’re thereby increasing the risk of a stroke coming along and undoing all the good work.

Although a stroke doesn’t necessarily affect memory, it doesn’t do much for your mental (or physical) health either.

Are there any other herbs that can improve your memory apart from Ginkgo biloba? There are three other main herbs that have been known to have beneficial effects, and they are Bacopa Monniera (known as water hyssop), Club Moss and Siberian Ginseng. There’s also Lecithin, an extract of soya beans, which can help prevent age-related memory disorders, as can large doses of vitamins C and E.

No recent studies appear to have been done on any of these, so it may be unfair on Ginkgo to highlight its possible defects when similar studies on any of the alternative treatments could well throw up disadvantages just as serious.

Be that as it may, there is an alternative method for fighting memory loss and preventing diseases such as Alzheimer’s. It involves nothing more than a few very simple exercises you can do almost anywhere. One of these can improve your memory over time, help dissolve headaches, and even relieve arthritic pain that in itself often impedes concentration.

Locate the two hollows at the base of your skull on either side of the very top of your spine. They’re usually two to three inches apart, depending on the size of your head. With your fingers spread upwards towards the top of your head, press with your thumbs into these hollows for one minute.

All the while breathe deeply through the nose and relax. You can close your eyes if it helps, but the important thing is to relax and breathe deeply, using your full lung capacity. If you do this once or twice a day you should find that it’s not long before you experience all the benefits of a better memory, easier concentration and a distinct lack of headaches. All the things that Ginkgo promises, in fact.

Philip Gegan

Learn how to press away all kinds of pain and enjoy good health effortlessly, harnessing the powerful forces of nature, at http://www.pressawaypain.com.

In the first part of this two-part post, Heartburn and Acid Reflux – Understanding the Causes, we discussed some of the causes of heartburn, or acid reflux. Stress and failure to relax while eating, mixing foods that “fight”, such as fries and dairy products, e.g. milk, eating cold foods straight out of the refrigerator before they can revert to room temperature, and drinking hot drinks without waiting for them to cool to a temperature more in line with that of your body. All these things can also cause heartburn.

Lying down too soon after a meal can also set it off, as can simply eating over-sized meals. But all this advice isn’t of any immediate use to you if you are right now suffering from an attack of heartburn. So let’s have a quick look at what you can do to see it on its way when it does strike.

The first thing is not to lie flat. That will only make it easier for the acid escaping into your oesophagus to continue to do so and prolong the pain. Sit upright. That will help keep the acid where it belongs and cause it to retreat from your oesophagus back into your stomach.

If you are about to go to bed, see if you can raise the head of the bed by five or six inches, to assist in forcing the acid back into your stomach. Putting a couple of extra pillows on the bed unfortunately will not help.

There are certain foods to avoid at this stage. These are mainly coffee, tea, cola and other fizzy drinks, chocolate, fatty foods and alcohol. Loosening your belt can bring almost immediate relief as constriction of the stomach often leads to acid reflux and an attack of heartburn. Avoid taking prescription drugs if possible, as they can easily make an attack worse, as can some anti- depressants and sedatives.

There are one or two herbal remedies with a good track record of combating heartburn. The first one is ginger root, preferably in capsule form, available from drug stores. It seems the ginger absorbs the acid causing the pain, and also helps calm the nerves.

The second herbal remedy is to take a teaspoonful of cider vinegar in half a glass of water. If you suffer heartburn during a meal then take this mixture by sipping it regularly throughout the meal. Strange, since cider vinegar is also acidic, but it does work. If you don’t have any cider vinegar then plain water helps bring some relief.

If, in spite of the pain, you can relax and breathe deeply through the nose, try pressing the two points four finger widths below the kneecap and one finger width to the outside of the shinbone. It’s where a muscle flexes when you move your foot up and down. Hold this for one minute, and repeat, if necessary, a few minutes later. That relieves all stomach disorders and fatigue. Strange, but true.

Dealing with a persistent heartburn problem, then, is a two pronged strategy – prevention and cure. Although at the time the pain makes you feel helpless, it’s important to remember that it’s not difficult to get rid of heartburn and acid reflux if you just have the right information and the will to take action.

Philip Gegan

Press Away Pain contains more exercises for combatting heartburn, or acid reflux, as well as 18 other common ailments. More details are on our home page.

If you frequently suffer from heartburn, or acid reflux, you’ll know how debilitating and painful it can be, especially if you’re trying to get a good night’s sleep at the time. But you may not know that there are several easy ways of overcoming it and preventing its recurrence.

In this post you’re going to learn about the various causes of it, how it can be avoided by simply changing a few habits, and how you can get rid of it quickly and with minimum fuss if it does strike (without resorting to questionable drugs or over-the-counter medications that often have unwanted side effects).

Whatever the immediate causes of heartburn may be, and there are several, the one distinguishing feature of this complaint, compared to most other complaints or illnesses, is that it is nearly always a voluntary complaint. That is, it is brought on usually by the sufferer’s own activities immediately before the attack.

Let’s consider what’s involved for a moment. Your whole body in general, and your digestive system in particular, is a miracle of nature. It takes the food you eat, in all its forms, and processes it, often under very difficult circumstances. It digests it, removing waste material, and sends the rest of it on its way via your blood stream. It feeds your muscles, your brain and all your other vital organs.

But if you make things a little too difficult for it, then it will complain in the form of heartburn, or acid reflux. And be assured you will most definitely know about it. It can cause so much pain that the sufferer sometimes thinks he is having a heart attack.

So give your digestive system a little more care and consideration and you’ll have little to fear. In order to do this, we’ll take a brief look at what happens in there to cause this most unpleasant pain.

One of the functions of the stomach is to break down the food we eat in preparation for digestion. It does this with the aid of certain naturally produced acids, including the highly corrosive hydrochloric acid. This is only possible because the stomach has a protective lining that prevents these digestive juices, mainly acids, from digesting the stomach itself.

All well and good as long as everything stays where it is supposed to be. But if for some reason stomach acid escapes through the little flap, which is all that separates the stomach from the oesophagus (the tube that connects your stomach with your mouth) then it attacks the walls of the oesophagus, which have no protective lining.

If you’re a sufferer then the first thing you have to do is examine your activities before each attack to see if you can prevent this from ever happening again. The activity that causes most attacks is eating too quickly. Interrupting your meal to carry out some activity, especially one involving some degree of physical effort, is another main cause.

In the second part of this two-part post we’ll look at a couple of other causes and how to avoid them, and one or two remedies that don’t involve taking questionable drugs or medications.

Philip Gegan

Press Away Pain has several more ways of curing yourself of heartburn, or acid reflux, and is available from our home page.

In the first post of this two-part posting we covered lemon balm and its properties in inhibiting the spread of the herpes simplex virus (cold sores).

Another antidote is liquorice, well known for its general anti-inflammatory properties. In studies it has been shown to inactivate the herpes simplex virus. Look for commercially available treatments containing liquorice. The best are those you can use to apply a liquorice compress or poultice several times a day. Place 2 teaspoons of dried, chopped roots in 0.25 litres of hot water for 15 minutes, and drink 3 cups of this tea each day.

There are other herbal remedies that may be just as effective, including those utilising Mullein, St John’s Wort, and Garlic, but let’s now consider a few immediate measures you can take to give yourself the best chance of showing your cold sores the door in a matter of days rather than weeks.

Keep the area around your cold sore clean and dry. Don’t expose it to harsh sunshine or abrasive winds. Replace your toothbrush with a new one when the cold sore first appears and again when it has healed. And don’t keep your toothbrush in the bathroom – it’s far too damp, and that helps the virus to survive. Keep it somewhere dry.

Your toothpaste tube can harbour the germs as well. Don’t touch the tube opening with your toothbrush (or your fingers) and use small tubes to ensure you replace them regularly.

In fact anything you dip your fingers into can be contaminated by the virus if you use the same fingers to touch the cold sore. So use different fingers in turn, or a cotton bud, to apply any lotions, and this applies particularly to petroleum jelly, a popular treatment to cure cold sores.

Other treatments include applying a water based zinc solution, available from drug stores, and breaking the surface of the sore and applying witch hazel or surgical spirit to dry it out.

Following this advice and applying these remedies in turn should have you free of cold sores within a matter of days. That’s well and good, but what if they keep coming back? Again, consider the likely causes and see if you can counteract them. It seems the major immediate causes are stress and lack of exercise. If you can schedule your life to include sufficient relaxation and exercise, whilst avoiding stress, then your cold sores will soon be a thing of the past.

One highly effective relaxation exercise is to grasp the back of your neck with one hand in the area of the ropey neck muscles. Squeeze them firmly, with all your fingers on one side and the heel of your hand on the other. Do this for about a minute two or three times a day. All the while breathe deeply in and out through the nose. You’ll be surprised at how much this can help you relax, and it has a positive effect on your skin and nervous system as well.

So, what are you waiting for? You can start the relaxation exercises right now. And when you start applying these remedies there really will be light at the end of the tunnel. Remember, the important thing is to find a cure that works for YOU. Let’s hope that the guidance set out here will help you do just that.

To find that you have cold sores on your lips can be not only painful, but severely embarrassing. And that applies especially to young people who have a lot of friends and an active social life. To make matters worse, the general perception is that there is little you can do about it other than to treat it with drugs (whether prescription or over-the-counter) and hope they’ll go away as quickly as possible.

But if you wish to avoid the unpleasant side effects of “orthodox” drugs, which can range from loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting through to diarrhoea, headaches and even allergic reactions, then you’ll want to know about some alternative remedies that have been proven to work.

While there may be no quick fix available to deal with the Herpes Simplex virus (to use its proper name), there are a number of things you can do to heal it naturally and minimise the chances of it recurring.

This two-part post will look at two herbal remedies, either of which may work for you. Then we’ll examine one or two practical things you can do to become free of cold sores. Remember, it’s not a case of applying every conceivable remedy you can find, but rather finding just one that works for YOU.

First of all, though, set out to find the cause of your affliction. It may be that you were doing something different from usual at the time the virus entered your body. See if you can avoid such activities, or amend them so as to avoid coming into contact with the suspected conveyor of it again. However, you have to accept that you have it and the next step is to find a suitable remedy that doesn’t have unpleasant side effects.

One herbal remedy that works for a majority of sufferers uses lemon balm, which is available from most drug stores. This inhibits the spread of a number of viruses, including herpes simplex. In one study where people with cold sores (and people with genital herpes) were treated with cream containing 1 per cent lemon balm extract, 60 per cent reported their cold sores healed within 4 days. Nearly all were free of cold sores after just 8 days. That’s an impressive result.

If you have access to fresh lemon balm then you can make use of a most effective way to treat your cold sores with it. You can make a compress or poultice from its leaves by placing 1 to 2 spoonfuls of dried leaves in 0.25 litres of hot water for 10 minutes. Drink 3 to 4 cups of this tea each day until your cold sores have gone.

In the second of these two posts we’ll cover another herbal remedy and some very practical advice for you to follow and get rid of your cold sores for good.

If you suffer from allergy asthma then you need to know all about getting relief as quickly as possible from an unexpected attack. Allergy asthma can strike at any time of your life. Many infants and children suffer from it, whilst other people may be into old age before they have an attack.

If you haven’t had an allergic asthma attack for a long time, it’s easy to believe you’re never going to have another one. But the chances are that you will, hence the importance of a plan so that you will know how to handle it the next time.

A vital part of that plan is knowing the warning signs of an impending attack. They are always there. They might include a sudden difficulty in breathing, a feeling of anxiety, or simply an itch that won’t go away. You’ll have consulted a specialist at some stage after your first attack, whether that was in childhood or more recently. Make sure you stay in contact with a specialist from time to time throughout your life and have regular checkups so you know as much as possible about the condition you have to live with.

Try and establish the cause of each attack – the allergen that set if off. This could be dust mites, tobacco smoke, grass pollen or just polluted air from a busy main road. Although there’s more to preventing another attack than just avoiding those allergens, it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

Next, always carry your medications with you, whether these be anti-histamine sprays, a homeopathic remedy or anything else. It doesn’t matter, as long as it brings relief from your asthma. Make sure that whoever is with you for any length of time, e.g. a travel companion or work colleague, knows where it is kept in case you’re not capable of getting hold of it owing to the severity of the attack.

Although you won’t want to burden your companions with too much information about your asthma, most genuine friends won’t mind discussing with you occasionally what to do should you have an attack when you’re alone with them. The important thing is that once an attack commences you should immediately take whatever medication you rely on, and then, as far as possible, relax, sit upright, and concentrate on your breathing. Easier said than done, certainly, but that’s all the more reason for anyone with you to know what to do to help you with this.

One thing that assists a more rapid recovery in most cases is to carry out an alternative health treatment in the form of a little acupressure exercise, as follows. Find the two hollows next to your chest muscles just below the collar bone on each side, and press into them firmly but gently for two or three minutes, or for however long you feel comfortable with. If someone else can do this for you it would be even better as you can then relax your arms and increase the effectiveness of the exercise.

It sounds a weird way of bringing allergy asthma relief, but you should find that it helps enormously.

Philip Gegan

You can discover many simple exercises you can do to gain relief from asthma in Press Away Pain. More details at  http://www.pressawaypain.com

In the previous posting in this series on acne and the treatment available for it we looked at some of the treatments available to combat your acne.

Next are some preventive measures. If you’re a woman, check your makeup, and try to avoid products containing lanolins, isopropyl myristate, sodium lauryl sulphate, laureth-4 and red dyes. Rinse your makeup off thoroughly every night and wash with mild soap twice a day.

It’s possible your makeup has too much oil and is at least contributing to your acne problem. Check this out by putting a generous portion of your makeup onto a piece of bond paper and leaving for around 24 hours. Then check it to see how big the ring of grease is. A big ring betrays excessive oil in the makeup.

As another little “experiment” it may be worth giving up seafood for a while to see if it affects your acne. The trouble with seafood is that it contains iodine, which excretes through the oil glands, irritating the pores.

Any medication, such as creams or gels, that you are applying should be spread over the whole area affected and not just the spots themselves. Allow an extra half an inch all round to give the best chance of success. And cleanse your skin thoroughly before each application of over-the-counter medications.

Now for a little advice which may sound weird, but it works. Try a little TLC for your skin. Giving your face a little affectionate squeeze or massage may be just the ticket. This will help your skin rid itself of excess oils and keratin. Do this a couple of times a day. Stretch it gently in all directions, but don’t pinch. You and your skin will feel much better for it.

Finally, here is a little nugget of wisdom I want you never to forget. Your acne may be caused or exacerbated by stress and if you think this may apply to you then try the following little exercise. Locate the two hollow points at the base of your skull on either side of the back of your neck and press them gently but firmly for one to two minutes with your thumbs. Breathe deeply and relax. If you do this two or three times a day then after a week or so you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised at how your acne is receding.

The important thing is to never give up. By assessing what is and isn’t good for your skin, examining the likely causes of your acne, and reviewing the best medications you will give yourself the best chance possible of achieving results you never thought possible.

Philip Gegan

For the full range of exercises for getting rid of acne and seventeen other common ailments, read Press Away Pain, available from our home page.