Unusual home remedies anyone?

[kath68]

Charlie has a really bad cough, and his Russian DCP suggested a home remedy I had never heard of before. She swears by it, so I figured I'd try it. I am usually not one for such things, but this one seems harmless. I am wondering if anyone has ever heard of it, why it might work, and while we are at it, are there any other unusual home remedies people swear by for different conditions?

Her cough remedy is: dig a hole in a turnip, fill it up with sugar, let it sit for a while, until the sugar turns to syrup from the liquid in the turnip. Use the turnip syrup for cough syrup. Apparently it works great for coughs *and* back pain. :P Everyone does it in the old country, she says!

Charlie is on antibiotics, so I guess I won't know which one works, the antibiotics or the turnip! LOL.

[lmintzer]

Kathy,
Our Polish cleaning lady recommended something similar a month or so ago when both of the kids and I were sick. We never actually did but she swore up and down that a few swallows would "cure" almost anything. I'm not a big believer, but hey--I hardly think turnip and sugar mixture could hurt anything.

[kristenk]

Does putting bacon on splinters count? LOL

My mom always did that for us when we were little. It actually worked really well, although it was a little disconcerting to go to sleep with the smell of bacon around. I've been tempted to do it for stubborn splinters as an adult, but it just seems icky.

She also used kerosene on my foot when I stepped on a broken-off bush and was facing an operation on my food to remove part of the bush that remained inside. Evidently it worked. She got the kerosene idea from her dad who used it on his hunting dogs when they were bitten by snakes. (Where's the shrugging, yeah-I-know-it's-weird smiley when you need it?) And, no, she didn't put kerosene on my foot and leave it there, but I don't really remember the details.

[mudder17]

Actually, every time we had a cold/cough, my mom would make turnip soup. I imagine it's the same thing that ends up working. Of course, I love the turnip soup my mom used to make. :)

Let us know how it works out. I hope Charlie feels better very soon!

Eileen

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[Lynnie]

do you have the recipe for your mom's turnip soup ?? DS2 is on antibiotics again, for the third time since the beginning of january, and I am tearing my hair out.

I will try anything, the poor guy can't take any more of this. So I am buying turnips tonight, and will be making the syrup and the soup !

and, to the OP - I am seeing a homeopathic nurse today, so will ask her about the healing properties of turnips and see what she says !

[kozachka]

Burning garlic 'straw' and letting DS breathe it in helped quite a bit with his runny nose. My grandma used to put a cabbage leaf on her head for headache, also works for breasts when milk comes in. Putting a potato cut in half on the burn seems to make it hurt less. For cough, chicken soup and lots of liquids, including warm milk with honey and tea with lemon seems to work. I even read an article in USA today recently re it being a better remedy for cough than any syrop.

There must be more but I can't think of any of the top of my head.

[mamamayi]

My dad always said that his mom used turpentine and sugar for all kinds of cuts and scrapes. Apparently it worked pretty good according to Dad. I've never tried it myself.

May

[aliceinwonderland]

when we had high fever as kids I seem to recall being massaged by grandma with a very strong alcoholic drink (similar to grappa)--no clue if it worked, by parents used more "western" remedies rather than the traditional ones. Gargles with salt or lemon water too for sore throat...Forget what else...

I do the homemade chicken/veggie soup with lemon as well as tea with lemon for us when we are sick. I am deluding myself in crediting the fact that DS has been sick exactly one day this winter and the rest of us haven't got sick yet on the homemade stuff :) :)
(watch me jinx everything).