Alternative first-aid kit

As we rush to embrace all things pure, natural, organic, eco-friendly and generally untainted by the modern world, why leave out the first-aid kit? Everyday afflictions such as knocks, burns, colds, sickness, indigestion and verrucas can all be eased with natural remedies. They work. And it doesn't involve boiling up evil-smelling herbs – all of these treatments are easily available online or on the high street.

Lavender oil

The burn-healing power of the essential oil of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) was discovered by French perfumer René Maurice Gattefosse in the 1930s. Working in his lab, he burnt his hand and plunged it into the nearest container of liquid, which – luckily for him – was lavender essential oil. He was amazed at how it healed his hand with no scarring.

With its lovely herby, floral aroma (reminiscent of grannies, but in a good way), it's now one of the most-used oils. Whether you've caught yourself with the edge of the iron, or fallen asleep in the sun, apply a couple of drops to burnt or scalded skin (dilute in a vegetable carrier oil for babies).

Don't apply it to broken skin, or during pregnancy without expert advice. Lavender oil is very widely available but make sure you buy an oil labelled as 'essential oil'. Little brown bottles labelled 'aromatherapy oil' or similar may contain just a small amount of the pure essential oil.

Lavender oil - products to try

Try Baldwins Lavender Essential Oil, 10ml, £4.75 (G Baldwin & Co, 'the natural health service since 1844',020 7703 5550); Boots Botanics Aromatherapy Pure Lavender Essential Oil, 20ml, £6.79

Aloe vera

It's now added to everything from baby oil to hair remover, but aloe vera has been used for several thousand years for burns, scalds and sunburn. Aloe vera gel, found inside the leaves of the Aloe barbadensis plant, helps heal the skin.

If you have this as a houseplant, cut off the end of a leaf, and squeeze the colourless gel-like sap from the inside directly onto the sore area. It also helps moisturise dry, rough, chapped skin.

Aloe vera  - products to try

If you don't have green fingers, the high street can help. Go for products with an aloe vera content of over 90%. Try Aloe Pura Aloe Vera Gel, £3.15, from Think Natural; Banana Boat Aloe Vera Gel, £6.99 from Boots; or Lily Of The Desert Aloe Vera Gelly, £4.99 from Baldwins.

You can also drink aloe vera in liquid form to soothe the digestive system. You can swallow it straight or buy it in flavoured drink form. Try Aloe Pura Juice Maximum Strength, £6.32 from Think Natural; or Holland & Barrett Aloe Vera Colon Cleanse Juice, 500 ml, £7.99. Not recommended for pregnant women.

Tea tree oil

The oil from the Australian shrub Melaleuca alternifolia has been used by the Aboriginal peoples for centuries, and its powerful antiseptic properties have been documented since the 1930s. It's also antiviral, which means it can help with verrucas, and antifungal so it's great for such everyday unpleasantness as thrush, ringworm, athlete's foot and fungal nail infection. Use a few drops in a bath or one drop on a tampon for thrush, and apply one drop neat to the affected area for the rest.

Tea tree oil - products to try

Try Boots Botanics Aromatherapy Pure Essential Tea Tree Oil, 10ml, £4.99; or Baldwins Tea Tree Essential Oil, 10ml, £4.19.

Bach Rescue Remedy

It's the best-known of the Bach remedies, and that's pronounced 'batch' – flower remedies weren't a sideline of Johann Sebastian. This is a blend of five of the remedies (cherry plum, clematis, impatiens, rock rose and Star of Bethlehem) homoeopathically prepared from flower extracts by Dr Edward Bach in the 1930s.

Rescue Remedy is useful when you've had a shock, like falling over and hurting yourself, and is also useful for facing difficult situations such as a driving test, exam nerves, speaking in public, after an accident or an argument, a trip to the dentist, at the end of a relationship or redundancy. Suitable for all the family, it's a stalwart of many mums' medicine chests – one calls it 'Mummy's magic' when she uses it on her son.

Bach Rescue Remedy - products to try

Originally available as a tincture with a dropper (Boots, 10ml, £5.08), you can get cream (£7.30, 50g, from Boots) and now spray (Boots, 20ml, £7.68).

Peppermint oil

A hybrid of watermint and spearmint, peppermint (Mentha piperita) was first cultivated in 1750. Its essential oil is proven to ease a tension headache; just rub a couple of drops onto the temples. It feels cold, hot and tingly and is thought to work by dilating local blood vessels. It has also been shown to relax muscles, part of the cause of a tension headache. The clean, fresh smell (which comes from the oil's active ingredient, menthol) also feels like it's clearing your head. Again, make sure you buy an oil labelled as 'essential oil'.

Peppermint oil - products to try

If you are looking for an essential oil, try Baldwins Essential Peppermint Oil, 10ml, £4.85.

A new painkilling product, 4head, uses levomenthol, an active ingredient of peppermint oil, in a roll-on for the forehead (£4.99, 3.6g, Boots).
For indigestion, peppermint oil capsules will help settle your stomach. But don't try to swallow neat essential oil – it will sting and burn like ice on fire! Try Boots Feel the Difference Peppermint Oil Capsules, £5.49 for 60.

Arnica

For bumps and bruises, the alpine plant arnica (Arnica montana, to give it its botanical name) has a long history of using for bruising. You can use the leaves but unless you've got a herb garden, you'll probably find a cream more convenient.

Rub on gently where you, or your child, have had a knock, bump or fall. It eases pain by reducing inflammation and speeds up healing by increasing blood flow to the area. Don't apply it to broken skin.

Arnica  - products to try

Try Nelsons Arnicare Arnica Cream, £4.35 (Nelsons,'natural care since 1860', 020 8780 4200); or Boots Arnica Bruise Relief, £4.25.

Citronella oil

As an insect repellent, citronella essential oil (Cymbopogon), with a lemony, spicy scent, is the no.1 natural alternative to the chemical DEET, which researchers now say should be used with caution, particularly on pregnant women and children. Those insect-repellent outdoor candles are also scented with citronella. Dilute a few drops in a carrier oil and rub on skin. Alternatively, put a few drops on a hanky and tuck it into a pocket.

Citronella oil - products to try

Try Citronella Pure Essential Oil, 10ml, £3.29, Holland & Barrett or Boots Botanics Aromatherapy Pure Essential Oil – Citronella, 10ml, £4.55..

Ginger

With its hot, pungent, spicy flavour, it's not surprising that ginger (Zingiber officinale) has been used traditionally to warm cold hands and feet and colds. It also works on sickness, including travel sickness (NASA's astronauts took it into space as a treatment), and morning sickness. It also loosens phlegm with a cold.

For all these ailments, ginger tea is a very pleasant way to take it. Simply peel a 1cm knobble of ginger root, grate into a pan with a mug and a half of water, bring to the boil for five minutes, then strain, sweeten to taste and sip. Root ginger costs £2.38 per kg at Sainsbury's. If brewing up sounds like too much hassle when you feel sick, chew a piece of crystallised or stem ginger.

Ginger  - products to try

Try HealthAid Ginger tablets, Think Natural, £5.99. More fun for sufferers of morning sickness, or hyperemesis gravidarum as your doctor might call it, are Ginger Preggie Pop drops, which are sugar-free sweets, £5.50 a bag of 21, from Mothers Bliss.

Tiger Balm

Eyewateringly pungent, this unguent contains camphor, menthol, cajuput oil, clove oil and cinnamon oil. It hails from Singapore originally and, according to the label on the exotic-looking jar, can be used for 'the symptomatic relief of muscular aches & pains, sprains, insect bites, itch and lumbago'. It smells like Vicks and can be used in the same way, by rubbing on the chest to ease a stuffy nose. Use sparingly when pregnant, and don't use for children under two years.

Tiger Balm - products to try

Try Tiger Balm, 19g, £4.79, from Boots.

Kiss it better

Sometimes when a child hurts itself, the best cure really is kissing it better. The soothing, comforting power of a cuddle and kiss from someone who loves you shouldn't be overestimated. (Recent Japanese research has shown that it alleviates hayfever.)

It may originate with the use of saliva to heal skin sores and abrasions, or sucking poison out after a snake bite – or, more likely, a parent's instinct to comfort a hurt child. Complementary therapists might say it uses the power of touch to help heal. If you want to get cynical, you could call it the placebo effect. But, remember, thousands of studies show that that works too, and there's no age limit on kissing it better…

Safety first

Remember: Just because a remedy is natural in origin doesn't mean it's not potent so treat with caution. As with all other medicines, always keep them out of reach of children. If you're concerned, see your doctor. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, check with your doctor or a health professional.