For too long, doctors in this country have given up their common sense - the very thing, which I believe made this country what it is, or sadly, what it was - for the comfort of scientific theory. No thinking, just follow the company line. If patients suffer... well, that's the price you pay for medical "progress." For years, I watched my colleagues ignore common sense evidence and make the most absurd diagnoses simply because they were more inclined to worship scientific procedures than to follow age-old wisdom. Unfortunately, I did the same, until the weight of evidence and the weight on my heart forced me to look, for the first time, at the wisdom of traditional home remedies and the value of my own good old American common sense.So I put a few of them together in this book with the sincere hope that my Grandma Bell's wisdom will help you recover your common sense, and take responsibility for your own health, the same way it did for me. Now I'm not saying all of these natural remedies are viable in all cases. No one in his right mind would claim that. But it's not often, if at all, that natural remedies can cause harm. At their best, they solve your problem without dangerous drugs. At worst, they don't work, but they don't usually harm you. Oftentimes, this non-invasive, non-drug method is the first way to go. Before you spend $50 at your doctor's office and start taking expensive drugs, try the simplest method first. The human body is a wonder. It can repair itself, and usually does without intervention. So, many times, the simplest way is the best. That's what I'm offering here - simple, common sense, tried and true remedies for that oh so painful ailment that just may work for you. - William Campbell Douglass II, MD