| Home Remedies - Facts or Quacks? | | | | hiccups. No doubt you immediately thought of |
| In a previous article we looked at several possible | | | | scaring the victim, holding your breath while |
| definitions of a home remedy, and patched | | | | drinking a glass of water, and breathing through a |
| together a definition that met our mental image | | | | paper bag. I'm sure some of you even thought of |
| of such a remedy. If you missed it, here's the | | | | others. |
| definition we derived. | | | | At some time, these procedures must have |
| A home remedy is an experience-based or even | | | | worked well enough to stop hiccups that others |
| accidental remedy or cure prepared from herbs, | | | | began using them. I'm sure you've already noticed |
| plants, or other available ingredients by common | | | | that each cure mentioned above changes the |
| folk when modern medical help was unavailable (or | | | | victim's breathing rhythm, which may be why |
| hadn't been devised yet). | | | | they sometimes stop annoying hiccups. |
| But Home Remedies Are From The Dark Ages, | | | | Look Past The Obvious |
| Right? | | | | The hiccup example demonstrates the assertion |
| Not so fast! Countless myths, legends, and | | | | that home cures and folk remedies have at least |
| superstitions have survived for centuries, so why | | | | a grain of truth in them. Think about that the |
| not home remedies too? Think about it: we bless | | | | next time you rub aloe vera juice on a burn, |
| someone after sneezing to ward off evil spirits, | | | | starve a cold (or feed a fever), or hear of a |
| throw a pinch of spilled salt over the shoulder to | | | | mother who puts her child with chicken pox |
| prevent bad luck, say that breaking a mirror | | | | together with her healthy children so they all |
| brings bad luck, and we knock on wood or find | | | | catch it now rather than later. |
| four-leaf clovers to bring luck. | | | | Are home remedies things of the past? I don't |
| How Many Times Have You Used These Folk | | | | think so! |
| Remedies? | | | | Thank you for reading. Learn more about free |
| Home remedies from The Dark Ages are all | | | | home remedies by using the resources displayed |
| around us. Quick: name three ways to cure | | | | below. |