Matt Bean for CBS News
(CBS) Looking for some home remedies to stop a cut from bleeding or lower a fever?
Matt Bean, senior editor at Men's Health magazine, has a few you might find strange - but they're true - and known to help.
For instance, Bean said on "The Early Show" Friday, a great disinfectant can be found in the kitchen -- not the medicine cabinet.
"Honey has been shown to beat every type of wound infection," he pointed out. "Pooh Bear had it right when he was digging for that stuff."
Bean said if you put a little dab underneath the Band-aid, honey will have a similar effect as the popular wound disinfectant Neosporin.
Another helpful ingredient in the kitchen is fresh-ground black pepper.
Right after you rinse out a wound, Bean said, sprinkle a little pepper on the wound to stop the pain, and staunch the bleeding with pressure.
"You think pepper might sting because pepper is hot. It's spicy. It doesn't," Bean said. "It actually has analgesics."
Still another helpful item in your kitchen is green apples. They can actually help if you're feeling claustrophobic. Bean suggested that, if you're selling your home, you may want to add a basket of green apples to the room to make it look bigger.
"It might just help!" he said.
Another remedy for a fever, according to Bean, is to place an ice pack in your armpit or groin area. Bean said that will lower the fever faster because the body has temperature sensors in those areas.
Bean said you should also drink a lot of fluid for fevers up to 102 degrees, but a fever over 102 degrees is cause to see a doctor.
While he was at, Bean shared a bathroom secret that you may find handy: The first stall in the bathroom has the fewest germs, based on a study of 51 public restrooms.
What about the dirtiest stall?
Bean said the study found the middle stall to be the most germ-ridden.
Why?
Bean said the study cited alone time in the bathroom as the biggest germ factor.
"They think people want more privacy," he said, "so they go to the middle stall."
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