Banishing Life’s Little Annoyances

How to get rid of unwanted things like coffee breath, weeds, and a charley horse.

A Charley Horse 

When a cramp hits, usually resulting from dehydration, don’t fight your instincts. Stretch the affected area and massage in a circular motion, using mild to moderate pressure. Squeezing the area will also work if massaging is too painful.

Scars

“Massage a new scar for five minutes, twice a day,” says Julius Few, associate professor of plastic surgery at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois. “Applying pressure forces the body to make scar tissue that is flatter and lighter in color.” Start the treatment two to three weeks after the injury has healed and scabbing is gone. Stop rubbing after a year; no more improvement can be made to a scar after that.