Commentary By Mandy Shunnarah

Special to The North Jefferson News



Health care reform and the rising cost of care have been widely debated issues for the past few months.

In the spirit of wishing everyone a healthy 2010, here are a few home remedies that could help you avoid the doctor and prevent a blow to your pocketbook. These remedies, potions and concoctions were taken from “The Foxfire Book” and two Web sites, earthclinic.com and folkremediesforyou.com.

Perhaps you’ve even had an older member of your family recommend one of these to you.

For the common cold, there are some not-so-common solutions. Make tea from powdered ginger. Do not boil the tea, just add the ginger to hot water. Other methods include drinking tea made from boiling pine needles, eating onions roasted in ashes or garlic, and drinking a mixture of vinegar and honey. This can also be used to ease coughing.

To settle the “barking” of croup, drink juice squeezed from a roasted onion. Also, one could make a drink using honey and either onion, vinegar, or lemon, or eating garlic.

Drinking blackberry, blueberry, or carrot juice can relieve diarrhea.

For an earache caused by wax buildup, dissolve table salt in water and pour it into the affected ear. Castor oil or juice from roasted cabbage stalks, warmed garlic juice or a heated mix of cinnamon and olive oil can also be poured into the ear. However, if you prefer not to pour things into your ear, hold a bag with warm ashes against the ear.

Fever can be drawn out by placing slices of potato on the head and chest.

Chamomile tea and lavender aroma are helpful against insomnia.

There are tasty solutions to rid oneself of hiccups. Eating a teaspoon of peanut butter may work. Or, try boiling dried apples and a cup of hot water. Strain out the chunks of apple and drink the juice while hot.

For poison ivy, rub a mixture of salt, vinegar and buttermilk on the affected area. The juice from a green tomato or rubbing the area with slices of banana may do the trick.

To help a sore throat, gargle with either honey and vinegar, salt water or a half-cup of water with two tablespoons of vinegar and a half tablespoon of salt.

These folk remedies may not work for everyone, and serious medical issues require serious medical attention.