That's Fit

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition that people who have endured a traumatic event such as war, a violent crime, or abuse sometimes deal with. PTSD includes symptoms such as nightmares, irrational fears, flashbacks, anxiety, and insomnia. It affects about 7.7 million American adults and it can affect children, too.

Preliminary research suggests that PTSD patients may benefit from virtual reality psychotherapy. The virtual reality helps patients relive some of their traumatic experiences while in a safe environment. Iraq war veterans took part in the study -- taking medication and using the virtual reality treatments -- and it's helped many of them confront their fears.

Pixie dust. That's what Ohio resident, Lee Spievak, says helped grow his finger back. But the truth is a little less magical and quite a bit more scientific. Spievak accidentally cut the tip of his finger off in the propeller of a model airplane. The finger was cut down to the bone and the missing tip wasn't found. With such damage and nothing to reattach, doctors told him the tip of his finger was lost for good. But Spievak was lucky enough to have a brother who works in the field of regenerative medicine.

His brother sent him the "pixie dust" (otherwise known as extra cellular matrix). Extra cellular matrix is an experimental medicine made from the cells in the lining of a pig's bladder. The material has yet to go through a complete clinical trial, but scientists hope that the sheets and powdered versions of extra cellular matrix will help reduce scar formations after injury or surgery and help regrow tissue.

In the case of Lee Spievak, that's exactly what the experimental material did. Spievak sprinkled the dust on his fingertip for 10 days. Within four weeks, his fingertip regenerated -- with full functionality, nerves, nail and all. Even his fingerprint grew back intact.

While some debate its efficacy, marijuana has been sparingly prescribed for certain conditions for many years now. It has exhibited some ability to help manage pain, reduce ocular pressure for glaucoma patients, reduce nausea from chemotherapy, and help with AIDS-related wasting syndrome. But, besides the potential addictive qualities, medical marijuana also can cause some loss of memory.

Scientists may have found a way to harness the medical benefits of marijuana without some of the side effects. The psychoactive compound in marijuana is called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC has positive benefits such as relieving pain and anxiety but can result in cognitive problems. In fact, patients on marijuana therapy are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety in the long run. In a lab study on mice, scientists have found that organophosphorus agents (OP) had the same positive effects as THC without the downsides. Much more research is needed before this finding could be applied to humans.

We hear the same old, same old all the time. Eat a healthy diet and get enough exercise and your health will improve. What we don't hear all the time are these eleven odd but simple ways to improve your health, from Dumb Little Man.

Some I can attest to. Using a neti pot has greatly improved my sinus health, reduced my allergic rhinitis and has saved me a headache or two. And there is nothing like deep breathing for relaxation, focus and cleansing.

Others were good reminders, like dry skin brushing. I haven't done this for years, but in the past have done this to help my lymphatic system flow properly. I'm making it a point to dig up my natural bristle body brush and get brushing again.

It's been a busy month for home remedies on That's Fit and AOL Body. First, the AOL Body editors shared our home remedies. Then, we asked for your favorite home cures. Now, we've pulled together our favorite reader health help suggestions -- some a bit unusual (we'd suggest checking in with your doc first). You gave us tips to help everything from colds sores to dry feet. See if your suggestion made the cut, and what other bizarre advice other readers had to offer.

Readers' Favorite Home Remedies: http://body.aol.com/health/home-remedies-real-people.

It's that time of year again. When my son plays outside until the very last minute I'll allow. Then, later, as he's lying in bed he starts to complain of this spot or that spot. Invariably, I don't see anything in the spots he's pointing to. It seems odd because when I get a bug bite I flare up terribly. But flare-up or no flare-up, itchy bug bites drive my son just insane.

I prefer to use home remedies on my son's insect bites more often than not. My old stand-by is mixing baking soda with a bit of warm water and creating a paste. It's soothing and seems to take the sting away quite quickly. I've used it on both mosquito bites and bee stings.

Health911 has some more ideas on home remedies for insect bites. Some of their recommendations include rubbing apple cider vinegar on the skin as an insect repellent, dabbing dissolved Epsom salts on insect bites, using ice packs to reduce swelling, and using a paste of meat tenderizer to reduce the sting of bites.

Alex Lenkei, a 61-year-old hypnotist, opted against using any traditional anesthetic for his recent surgery, choosing instead to send himself into a hypnotic trance for the duration of the surgery.

He was able to hear the cracking of his bones and the surgeon asking for a saw -- he could even hear the surgeon "hammering away at the bone" with a hammer and chisel. He could feel the doctor "pulling and manipulating" him, but felt no pain.

Much of the medical community is quite interested in this, as studies have shown that using less anesthetic can reduce the time patients spend in the hospital and speed healing. Additionally, many patients are nervous about using an anesthetic, and while they might not opt for using hypnosis only, it might help to calm them and allow a lower dose of anesthetic to be used.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz, My question for you is: how can I lose weight when I'm no longer able to exercise due to a life time injury. I'm even stuck relying on the government for my income and food. Lisa

A. Hey Lisa. As if staying in shape isn't hard enough! Dealing with a disability truly makes weight management a challenge. It's not an impossible accomplishment though. It's just going to take a decent amount of education about nutrition for you, and an even greater amount of discipline.

From rubbing whiskey on sore gums (not a good idea) to gargling warm salt water when you have a sore throat (pretty soothing, actually), my mom is a fountain of home remedies. No matter what the ache or pain is, I always know I can count on my mom to have some sort of "cupboard cure."

AOL Body has weeded out the home remedy facts from the fiction. Some of their tips include:

• Rub a small amount of liquid laundry detergent on a mosquito bite.
• Put a few drops of eucalyptus oil on the floor of a hot running shower and inhale the steam to relieve congestion.
• For brighter, whiter teeth, combine a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda with a few drops of peroxide. Brush the mixture on, let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse it off thoroughly.
• To remove dead skin from your feet, soak them in warm water for 15 minutes then scrub with a mix of water and salt to exfoliate.
• Soothe a sore throat with tea infused with clove, ginger, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey.
  

From herbal remedies to eating tips, AOL Health has over a dozen tips to help you overcome your sleeping problems. I am one of the lucky ones, with very few sleeping troubles, and when I read this article I found out why: I drink a lot of water (that helps!), I exercise before bed (tiring myself to sleep), and I don't keep any electronic distractions in my room. Find out more better sleep tips here. Plus, share your favorite trick that always helps you fall asleep.

What works for you? Share your sleep advice in a comment below.

Spring is here and that means flowers, nature in bloom everywhere, and as I just recently learned while working on an article for AOL Body (11 Reasons to Love Spring): the potential for improved health. While doing research for the article, I had the opportunity to discover a new reason to love spring, which is -- at the risking of sounding touchy-feely -- the healing powers of gardening.

"Watching something grow and even smelling flowers can have an impact on someone's health," says Mary Beth Miller, a horticultural therapist with Gardening for Good. A horticultural what? No, not a therapist for plants, but someone who helps her (human) patients address mental or physical health problems through gardening and connecting with nature.

What are the health benefits? The Horticultural Therapy Institute says this unique brand of therapy:

Whoever believes pills can cure every ache hasn't discovered the benefits of home remedies. Frozen vegetables for muscle pains anyone? How about tooth paste for acne? For me, I discovered early on as a kid with my nearly annual bouts of poison ivy outbreaks that all the steroids and anti-itch creams in the world couldn't soothe my skin without the help of my mom's oatmeal baths. The editors at AOL Body dug through our health histories to pick our favorite home cures to share with readers, but in turn we want to know what works for you. Find out more of our favorite home remedies here.

Did we forget to include your favorite home treatment? Post it in a comment below and it might get selected for our "Readers' Best Home Remedies" tips collection.

"I Can Make You Thin" is a new reality show that debuted on TLC last night and promises to help viewers shed pounds without getting off their couches. It follows Paul McKenna, a self-help weight loss guru from , and it chronicles the weight loss progress of four studio audience members. McKenna says that in five weeks he will reprogram viewers' relationships with food, dieting and exercise using his 4 Golden Rules:

• When you're hungry, eat

• Eat what you want

• Eat consciously and

• When you're full, stop eating.

McKenna showed one woman from who lost 160 pounds and kept it off for three years after following his program. Do you think McKenna's psychological weight loss techniques can change a person's relationship with food forever? Or is good old diet and exercise the best bet?

For me, turning up the soundtrack to Rent and singing (questionably well) along can just wipe all my stress away. Finding relaxation through music is a wonderful thing, but it's not the same as true music therapy. So what is music therapy exactly? Music therapy involves a trained therapist who uses music as a medium to promote physical, psychological, and social well-being.

Music therapy can be used to help reduce stress for hospital patients -- reducing pain and improving mood. It has helped Alzheimer's patients remain calm and improve memory. It can help new parents calm infants and reduce anxiety in kids of all ages. Even the Cancer Treatment Center of America keeps a library of music and holds music therapy sessions to help its patients.

For people with potentially fatal food allergies, every day brings with it a challenge to watch what they eat (or come in contact with). More kids seem to developing peanut allergies for example. In the past half-decade, cases of this nut reaction have risen 35 percent. But there's hope that these allergies can be lessened through new methods of combating their effects.

One example for peanut allergy sufferers has children taking a small dose of the peanut protein -- under a doctor's supervision of course. This has been shown to help mitigate the severity of reactions if peanuts are accidentally consumed. It's called oral immunotherapy and the treatment has helped grow their tolerance.

Even though over two million school kids have such allergies, there's hope that through more studies and treatments doctors may be able to curb the reactions altogether! Will we see a pill that can cure allergies someday? Maybe not, but if this research has any implications, then we may not be far away from a reality close to it.