Have you ever wondered how to get a tickle in your throat to go away, or had to go to the bathroom so bad you think you’ll never make it to the facilities or nearest row of bushes in time to take care of business? At some point, nearly everyone has dealt with things like that and many other issues like a burn, the pain of getting a shot, or a stuffy nose that won’t seem to clear short of huffing antihistamine sprays all day and taking piles of Sudafed or a like countermeasure. The good news is that there are simple ways to deal with all these problems and others that anyone can do to get quick relief.

Having to go to the bathroom really bad with nowhere to relieve yourself is something everyone experiences. You can do the pee pee dance, tap your foot, count to ten – even a hundred, and nothing seems to ever work to relieve the pressure. The easy fix is to think about sex. In studies conducted at Baylor University, researchers found that thinking about sex preoccupies your brain making you notice the discomfort of needing to evacuate immediately tolerable rather than all consuming buying you some time to get to the bathroom – or row of bushes.

A tickle in your throat is one of the most annoying things to deal with your body can throw at you. You can’t get inside your throat to scratch it. Drinking water or any fluid only relives the sensation a few seconds, and clearing your throat over an over just makes your throat hurt more. What can you do? Rub your ear – either one will do. By stimulating the nerves in your ear a muscle spasm in your throat is triggered that makes the tickle go away. It really is that simple.

How about a toothache? The solution to this is just as easy as that pesky tickle in your throat. Open your hand so that the “V” between your pointer finger and thumb is well exposed and rub the “V” area with your other hand. It works better if you have some ice to rub over that area, but either way will do and provide temporary relief until you can get the problem taken care of permanently. This works because that area of your hand has nerves that stimulate the portion of your brain responsible for blocking pain.

When it comes to a stuffy nose there is a fast pain and drug free way to clear your honker up. To relieve sinus pressure, press your tongue against the roof of your mouth, and then using one finger press between your eyebrows. Alternately repeat this process for 20-30 seconds and then stop. Within one minute you should feel the sinus pressure relieving and your stuffy nose going away. The science behind why this works is that the alternating pressure makes the vomer bone that goes through the nasal passage rock back and forth. The motion of the vomer bone rocking breaks up the congestion and allows the sinus to drain.

If you burn your finger on hand on the stove for instance (small burns only not requiring real medical care), can be treated in a very simple way that can greatly reduce the chances of blistering. First clean the skin, and then apply light pressure to the burn using the clean tips of your finger(s) of the unharmed hand. The pain will not go away as quickly as applying ice or some other pain relief agent to the burn immediately, but because the burn is returned to normal skin temperature quicker by not applying ice the odds of a blister are far less.

The final tip is most useful to people that run or engage in most forms of strenuous exercise. One of the worst things you can experience is a stitch – or a cramp if you prefer that term. This is particularly useful for runners. When you run, most people exhale when their right foot touches the ground, and inhale when the left does. When you exhale on your right foot it creates downward pressure on the organs on your right side which most significantly in this discussion includes your liver. When downward pressure is applied to liver, it tugs at the diaphragm which is why you get a stitch. While it is easier said than done, you can reduce the odds of getting a stitch to a minimum by learning to exhale on the left foot instead of the right.

Those are just a few simple steps to remedy everyday situations you may encounter. They require no special tools, drugs, herbs or training to make use of. All you need for them to work is the knowledge of what to do – knowing why they work is just a cool little extra.