World Citizen Wednesdays #21: Home Remedies

Welcome to World Citizen Wednesday!

Each week we pose a question to members of the fabulous Multicultural Kid Blogs group and share their answers here.

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This week we ask…

What home remedies did you grow up with?  Do you use them with your kids?

**Please note: All Done Monkey does not endorse any of the remedies described below.  Users may try them at their risk and under the advice of a healthcare professional.***

MaryAnne of Mama Smiles: Humidifiers for congestion, baking soda for a bee sting, and honey for sore throats – still use all of them with my kids! *Note: the honey is only for children over one year old, as honey can cause infant botulism in a baby.

Ute of expatsincebirth: I have lots of them: fresh ginger with a slice of lemon infusion, a spoon of honey with cinnamon, nasal douche and inhalations against colds, onion poultice ( against ear infections, sore throat, colds in general), fresh aloe vera on scratches and any kind of wounds, poultice with vinegar on the legs against high fever, and a strict diet (no sugar, sweets or too salty things until the fever is gone) with lots of herbal teas and water.  I use all of them (and more) with my kids. (No honey or sugar with kids under 1 year).

Olga of The European Mama: Inhalations, tea with cloves and raspberry syrup and honey, majrojam paste (for when the nose is red from all the wiping), thyme syrop.  Also rice and white bread (and coal tablets) for tummy aches, and I use some of these with my children as well.

Melissa of Vibrant Wanderings: The only one I remember is aloe for burns, and I definitely still use that, plus many more!

Annabelle of the piri-piri lexicon: Apples and rice (not together) for diarrhoea, lemon juice and honey in hot water for colds, dock leaves (I think that’s what they are called in English) for nettle stings, and of course arnica for every bruise or bump in the world!

Varya of Little Artists: A cup of milk, bring to boil, add teaspoon of honey, soda bicarbonate (1/7th of a teaspoon) and a small piece of butter. Helps with bringing down fever and relieving cough: contradictory to popular opinion that milk is bad for cough, it actually isn’t and this was a great remedy during colds and bronchitis!

Alyson of World Travel Family: Honey and lemon juice in hot water for colds was my mother’s favourite. I sort of use it with my children, they get manuka honey and plenty of vitamin C in whatever form I have handy. Mum thought it was a good idea to put butter on a burn, I know better! She also used to give us boiled water to drink if we had any sort of tummy upset, I’m not sure of the logic there, probably thinking the bacteria or virus came from the tap water.

Kristen of Toddling in the Fast Lane: Washcloths – warm ones for styes or infection, cold ones for fever or bumps. I definitely do that.

Cecilia of Spanglish House: Chamomile tea and anis tea for bellies, Coca tea for high altitude and bellies, lemon and honey for colds. Rubbing Mentisan (Bolivian vicks) on feet, chest and neck for chest congestion, Chicken soup for colds with ginger and garlic. Ginger tea with lemon and honey is the best for colds.

Amanda of Miss Panda Chinese: Eat some loquat (Pi Pa) for cough. Another remedy for cough or a sore throat is to steam cook the Asian pear with crystallized sugar (rock sugar) until the pear is very soft. It is so sweet delicious. I loved it when I was a little girl. I’d try with my kids if I can find loquat.

Elika Mahoney: For sore throats – 1 T apple cider vinegar, 1 T honey, 1 T lemon juice in a cup of hot water and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. Always helps relieve my throat of pain when swallowing.

Frances of Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes: Ahhh! I remember one and I guess I was left traumatized by it, because I don’t give it to my son. My Mom used to give us “aceite de higado de bacalao” (cod-liver oil) every time we were sick; and growing up rubs with my grandma’s home-made herb infused alcohol (home-grown herbs) I need to get this recipe from her, these. It was the best!

Thanks to all the bloggers who shared their answers here! You can read answers to earlier questions in our previous installments of World Citizen Wednesday, including tips for traveling with kids!

Find out more about these wonderful bloggers by visiting our Facebook page, subscribing to our Facebook feed, following us on Twitter, or following our group Pinterest board! On Twitter, you can also find us by using the hashtag #multiculturalkids. And watch for our very own website, coming soon!