In Honduras, my mom would use ashes from firewood when her siblings had breakouts or rashes on their skin. The ashes would apparently lift bacteria, chemicals, and dirt to the skin’s surface so that when the ashes were washed away, so were the toxins.
It’s similar to how people now use charcoal face masks for issues like excess oil.
— Amelia, Chicago
For
mosquito bites, my mom would hold half a lime over the flame of the
stove. Once the lime was charred, she would let it cool only slightly,
as it needs to be fairly hot to work. Then, she would rub the charred
part on the bite — the more juice, the better.
This sped up the
recovery process and eliminated the itch. I definitely still do this
today because it’s so effective and cheap. My mom learned this from her
mom and her mom-in-law. They all utilized this little trick.
— Julyssa, Chicago
On relieving cramps and stomach aches
My
mom would swear on a tea made from onion skins that her mother and
grandmother used to make her that would relieve period pains. As a picky
(and naive) teenager, I always refused her offer and popped one too
many Midol pills.
But one day, my pain was too unbearable, so I gave in. To my shock, it worked.
Sure, it didn’t taste amazing and I sweetened it a bit with honey, but the onion tea soothed my menstrual cramps faster than any pill.
Since then though, I’ve found other better tasting teas that do the
trick, but this one experience will always stay in my book as one of the
many definitions of “mother knows best.”
— Bianca, New York City
Passed down from my great grandmother, I was given spoonfuls of castor oil for various reasons, but mostly as a way to help stomach aches.
It tastes awful, but it definitely works for me. Personally, it usually
takes two to three spoonfuls for it to reach its fullest potential.
— Shardae, Detroit
From
a young age, my mother always emphasized the importance of our Mexican
culture. Whenever we were sick, she always had a remedy she learned from
her mother to help us feel better.
When we had a cold, she would have us sit down on a chair with a bucket of very hot water at our feet. She would spread vapor rub on the soles of our feet and have us dip them in the water.
While our feet were soaking, we had to drink a hot cinnamon tea. We would always feel better after this. I’m open to trying it again for my own children in the future.
— Amy, Chicago
Besides dousing me in vapor rub, [my mother] used to make me sleep sitting upright because it apparently alleviated the onset of a cough almost immediately.
I would just use it as an excuse to read past my bedtime.
— Caylee, Chicago
Growing
up in a Nigerian home, I grew up with a holistic understanding of
wellness. One common cold cure that my mother passed on to me is this:
fill a basin with hot water (not warm, hot) and mix in a teaspoon of
Vicks Vaporub, then grab a dish towel.
Wet the dish towel with the mixture and place it over the top of the basin. Put your face onto the cloth and breathe deeply for 5 to 10 minutes. This will clear your sinuses and undoubtedly have you breathing right again.
It has yet to be published in any health journals I’ve read, but I hold it as a sacred remedy.
— Sarah, New York City
When we were younger, whenever one of my sisters or I would start to feel sick, my mom would have us gargle salt water. If we had a sore throat, runny nose, or any flu-like symptom, we would sometimes wait to tell her because we knew the first thing she’d do is reach for the Morton Salt.
Her mother always had her do it, and she believed that salt killed the bacteria in the throat.
It
did always seem to work, or at least help. I guess I’ll eventually make
my children do it too since I don’t want the burden of ending this
superstitious cycle.
— Charlotte, New York City
My mother lives by ginger.
She’s always been a big advocate for starting from within to rectify an
issue. I’ve never known a time when there wasn’t a freshly brewed
pitcher of ginger beer in the fridge. It’s honestly her cure-all when
cramping, congested, or groggy. She grinds up the ginger with lime and keeps straining until smooth. She
then adds cloves and drinks it daily. She claims it helps with
strengthening her immune system. The stronger the batch, the better!
— Hadiatu, Chicago
My
mom is Greek and swears by hot red wine for colds. Mind you, “hot red
wine” does not mean mulled wine, but putting any red you bought at the
grocery store in a mug and microwaving it for 30 seconds.
She
believes the alcohol cures you, but I think it just makes it more
bearable. I loved it because it meant I was able to drink when I was
younger.
— Jamie, Chicago
