The Glade 4.0

I was having some terrible heartburn tonight, and was all out of tums. Then I remembered my Grandmother used to drink a glass of water with sodium bicarbonate for heartburn. It wasn't as bad as I thought and it did the trick.

Does anyone else have any old remedies they learned from past generations that they use?

My wife and her family (moreso her family than her) are very much into holistic medicine. Me, I am firmly planted on the opposite end of the spectrum in the skeptic end. I "pass" when offered things like the "toxin removal from your feet via tub of water and electrodes" (seriously, that's a real thing.... and it does leave icky stuff that look like "toxins" but the reality is it's just oxidation from the metal) or told to "let my body decide what it needs by seeing if it leans toward or away from the item you are holding." Just like colon cleansing, it's complete bunk.

But while I am not the biggest fan of holistic remedies (and truly feel that a lot of them are more damaging than helping), I will say that there are a small amount that came to me from her family that actually do work. The one I use often is for nausea/upset stomach. Peppermint is something that helps a lot with it. And our go-to nausea aid of choice? Altoids. I can't argue with the results. They do help an upset stomach 9 times out of 10.

The other one that inexplicably worked for me was pau d'arco root. A couple years ago I had a discoloration on my thumb. It looked like I had stained it, but it was subdermal (it also didn't hurt or anything). A month went by and it showed no signs of disappearing. I figured it was some kind of fungus like athlete's foot. I saw a dermatologist and he asked me weird questions if I had handled certain vegetables or things like that (a couple weeks later Taly posted her experience with her doctor that reminded her of House, so I realized I wasn't the only one getting asked that exact same question).

He said it didn't look serious, but he couldn't readily identify it without doing a biopsy and that would be the only way to know for sure what they were dealing with. I decided to think about it.

While thinking about it, my wife suggested putting some pau d'arco root paste on it. Supposedly, the root of pau d'arco is known to treat fungal stuff in the holistic world. I sighed and agreed to let her try her "magical root." We tracked some down and she made a balm from it.

Now, a reminder. I had this thing on my thumb for over a month at this point and it showed no signs of regression. But after just a few days of letting her put her stuff on my thumb, it disappeared. And it's never come back.

*shrug*

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Simple problems often have simple answers. Heartburn's a simple problem that's easy to get to. There's other stuff like ginger for sea sickness, jalapenos for a stuffy nose, cold washcloth for a fever headache, etc.

But I'm not really into these much more than that. I heard one this morning for a child's inner ear infection - cut an onion in half and warm it, then hold it to the child's ear. WTF?

Sunburned? Get a cloth, douse it liberally with vinegar, and pat onto the affected areas.

You'll smell like an Easter egg dyeing party for a while, but the relief will be fast and dramatic.

According to the old wives tales, onions are supposed to absorb microorganisms and bacteria and stuff, much like potatoes will absorb the salt out of whatever they are put in. They've long been a folk remedy for chest colds and other illnesses.

Here is an interesting bit that debunks that myth: http://www.hoax-slayer.com/onions-flu-remedy.shtml

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

its not just onion. Anything warm and moist will do that Arathain. Ear infections are largely a result of blockage of the tube from the ear to the throat. The warmth loosens that up and allows it to drain (thus reducing the pressure on the eardrum, the source of the pain). We just used a warm washcloth, but I've also seen a microwaved potato. (both retain heat better than the washcloth) -you're just applying heat to an area to loosen up the blockage. Same is done for blocked tear ducts (though I don't recommend and onion in that case)

Interesting, I once had a medical professional tell me that "hot washcloths draw infections to the surface so you can wipe them away".

http://www.ehow.com/how_4478338_treat-i ... edies.html

I don't recall exactly how I expressed my incredulity but I was shocked that an educated person would have such a silly view of health.

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Actually, breast milk is the folk remedy of choice for eye infections and clogged tear ducts in children.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

The comments on that article make me as sad as a bullied bus monitor.

My father in law has regular problems with clogged tear ducts. His optometrist recommenced the potato. And we dont have easy access to a nursing mother.

It sounds like the exact opposite of what you should do, but for heartburn my grandmother would drink a tablespoon of vinegar. I've tried it and it works in a pinch, although I'd rather take an antacid.

One I've just recently found out about was eating celery to lower blood pressure. Turns out celery is high in phthalide, which is both a smooth muscle relaxant and inhibits enzymes needed for stress hormone production.

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Women are from Hoboken, men are from Trenton. ~ Jimmy Kimmel

Yeah, I've heard the vinegar for heartburn. Reasoning goes that heartburn is your body attempting to rectify an acid deficit, so drinking vinegar makes your body say "oh hey, here's some" and stop.

Another remedy which I've tried and it does work, although it may be worse than the disease for many people, is for a sore throat, take a tablespoon of cayenne pepper and dump it onto the back of your tongue, then wash it down with a glass of water. Have the glass of water handy, and take a breath before throwing the cayenne pepper into your mouth. May require repeated attempts spaced about four hours apart.

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I've heard people espouse not vinegar, but orange juice or other highly acidic things as heartburn remedies. I have to say that having tried it, I find it to be complete and utter bullshit, and made me want to carve a hole in my own chest to end the agony. No **** way I'm going down that road again. I either wait heartburn out, or down some bread or milk, or just take some friggin' antacids.