Today I’m gonna show you the craziest home remedy ever… actually the craziest home remedy ever that actually works!
Don’t stop reading just yet, remember I’m the one who introduced you to Milky-Way Crescents! YUM!
It’s that time of year where my kids always get “the crude”. I’m sure there’s some official name for it, but let me describe it for you. Runny nose, some sneezing, not quite themselves but not full-fledged sick either, and the worse symptom… the cough. They’ll cough a little during the day, but put them to bed and the cough becomes vicious…. just nasty!
Last year during the crude Jett spent the night with a dear friend and the friend’s mom “treated” him… he came home swearing he’d witnessed a miracle.
Are you on the edge of you seat yet? Here’s my inconceivable fix for the crudy cough!
Start with clean bare feet…
Grab some Vicks VaporRub (this is obviously generic)…
Apply a thing layer of Vicks VaporRub to the BOTTOM of the clean feet…
Cover with socks and put them to bed…
It’s that easy.
Got any home remedies worth sharing??
You know they are really sick when this remedy doesn’t work! I didn’t hear about this until a couple of years ago, when mine were well past having Mom treat them! It does work for hubs, though.
My home remedy is for burns; make a thick paste of baking soda and water…really thick! Cover the burn with the paste, put on a band-aid, or whatever you need to to cover it up and in a few hours you’ll hardly be able to tell you were burned at all! I use this alot ’cause I always seem to grab the HOT end of the pan!!!
So you do milky ways, huh? We use Baby Ruth’s in cheap biscuit dough….oh, my, is it ever delish!
Hope your guys are feeling better soon!
By: Pamela on November 6, 2008
at 8:34 am
those pictures are the best! and i will try it!
By: Jessica on November 6, 2008
at 8:34 am
Little kid feet are so cute.
By: bradruggles on November 6, 2008
at 8:35 am
Love that you had the kids demonstrate. Awesome!! Nathan gets really bad coughs when he starts with the “crude”. I will have to try this. Wish I could give you a neat remedy but you know me.
By: Jennifer on November 6, 2008
at 8:53 am
Does it work on adults, too?
I’ll have to try it!
Your kids are too cute!
*You’re a great “photojournalist”!
By: SHerri on November 6, 2008
at 8:54 am
Since we don’t have kids yet, I’ll ask what Sherri asked “does it work on adults too?”
Also, did my spreadsheet make ANY sense?
I also loved that your boys are so willing to demonstrate your remedies!!
By: Carey on November 6, 2008
at 9:07 am
I have actually heard of that before! Have not tried it but have heard. Well, glad it worked and I hope you kiddos are feeling better.
By: Rebekah Walker on November 6, 2008
at 9:35 am
Love the kids demonstration! I bet that was fun.
By: Lisa Ruggles on November 6, 2008
at 9:36 am
yes TOTALLY agree. that’s so funny you blogged this today because just last night during the night Raymond got up coughing and it was the first vicks vaporub of the season! I always put a humidifier in too… so vaporub & humidifier is our winter time cure. awesome stuff!
By: randi :) on November 6, 2008
at 9:44 am
I will definately being trying this. My little Lily gets some cough medicine every other night it seems like. Crazy how that coughing at night works!
By: Tracy on November 6, 2008
at 9:48 am
Thanks for the reminder! I had heard of this, but had forgotten about it the last time “crude” struck our house. Since temperatures are about to drop about 30 degrees here this week, I have a feeling crude will be back soon . . . and I’m going to try the remedy!
By: Denise on November 6, 2008
at 9:55 am
Surprising—Brewer still has on the Titans socks!!!
By: marla P on November 6, 2008
at 10:10 am
What an awesome idea! I will try it for sure!(maybe just for fun even;))
I have found something to help cut back on ear infections/anntibiotics- We put “oil of herbs” drops in ears for ear ache. Just drop in, add a cotton ball and presto,pain gone.
By: Rose Yoder on November 6, 2008
at 10:15 am
Someone told me about this secret remedy a few years ago! It works wonders….even on a sick baby, oops, I mean husband too!
By: Kristen on November 6, 2008
at 10:18 am
Yes, that’s an oldie/goodie my Mom has used for as long as I can remember. And, IT WORKS!
For hiccups: fill a glass about half way. Bend over at the waist and drink a few sips of water (from the side of the cup close to your mouth, which would be the opposite side from if you were standing up). This works every time for me.
Drink hot chicken broth to clear gunk from your throat when you have a cold. Heat and salt from the broth also calms an irritated throat.
By: Starwoodgal on November 6, 2008
at 10:29 am
You are so right! This works like a charm. Oh, and when it doesn’t, and you’re desperate to leave the house, you could torture them like I do my kids. I make a REALLY strong garlic, onion, and cumin chicken broth, and spoon feed it to them all day. That plus chewable vitamin C and they are usually well pretty fast. Of course, I have four three and under, so they tend to pass colds A LOT.
By: Sarah Valente (kingdom twindom) on November 6, 2008
at 11:01 am
Oh we all have it right now! I’m trying that one tonight. I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks!
By: collegeknowledge on November 6, 2008
at 11:02 am
I will be buying some Vick’s on my next trip out. Thanks for the tip. Those are some really cute pictures.
By: Anita on November 6, 2008
at 11:27 am
We do exactly this remedy!
works wonders on the girls too.
I also will rub a little on their chest front and back and pool out the handy dandy cool mist humidifier and whola- it works miracles!
Just like you off brands work just the same so save money.
By: Kara Prater on November 6, 2008
at 12:25 pm
My mom use to do that remedy when we were little and it does work.
By: Cheri on November 6, 2008
at 12:40 pm
we do this same thing. It SO works! I didn’t believe it until my husband proved it to me.
By: Rachel Rowell on November 6, 2008
at 12:54 pm
We use this one all the time ! None of us like the vapor thing on our chest ,but we are all game for the this remedy and it leaves your feet feeling soft
By: lisa gardiner on November 6, 2008
at 1:47 pm
You are a crack smoker.
By: kristiapplesauce on November 6, 2008
at 2:10 pm
This is the second time I’ve heard of this. Just in the past few weeks… How strange.
I wonder what else our bodies might absorb through our feet. S.C.A.R.Y.
By: mandythompson on November 6, 2008
at 3:31 pm
I have never heard of this, it looks interesting though!
By: kaymarie (upturned.barbie) on November 6, 2008
at 3:57 pm
I love the curled up toes on Gage and Brewer… with Jett hanging back like the cool oldest that he is.
I don’t have any secret remedies, but I HAVE to remember to put crescent rolls and milkways on my grocery list. Every time you mention it I’m dying to try it…
By: gitz on November 6, 2008
at 4:06 pm
My hubby used to be a sales rep for whoever owns Listerine. He SWEARS by it for many uses, but one of his favorite remedies is to gargle it when you have a sore throat. He says that it kills the bacteria that make us sick. I’m not saying that it makes a BIG difference but it does help some.
By: loridknerr on November 6, 2008
at 4:10 pm
okay, fully intrigued by the milky way dealie … and the LINK DOES NOT WORK!
i don’t think i can sleep tonight until i know …
By: sara on November 6, 2008
at 5:43 pm
We have done this the last two years for coughs. It really does work. My kids hate the smell of Vicks, but they know it helps them to sleep! My Pastor thinks it’s a crazy thing, but even his wife swears by this remedy!
By: Mary Knipp on November 6, 2008
at 6:07 pm
drink straight white vinegar to ease sinus/allergy pain.
By: Missy (PA) on November 6, 2008
at 6:13 pm
Did it work? Did it work? Come on! We gotta know. I’ve heard this but never tried it.
By: Fran on November 6, 2008
at 10:07 pm
that last picture is hilarious!
um. my grandma, Baba (dont be makin fun of her name now) used to force bacon grease down her cats throat to help with hair balls.
By: tam on November 6, 2008
at 11:34 pm
I’ve never tried that home remedy. But I have always kept a jar of Vick’s in the medicine cabinet and used it as needed. During my 5 pregnancies when I would get a cold I would boil about an inch of water in a covered pan, take it up to our bedroom, then quick spoon a blob of Vick’s into the water and put the lid back down. After a minute or two I’d take the lid off and let the whole room fill with the vapor. Set the pan on your heating vent if you have floor vents, and the aroma stays strong for quite awhile. Got me through some awful head colds. Of course, the bad part is, dh had to smell it all night, too!
By: janconnair on November 7, 2008
at 8:02 am
Hilarious!! I owe some local Quechua ladies an apology! We are missionaries up here 12,000 ft. in the Andes Mountains of Chiquián, Peru. My kids ( I also have 3 little boys- 4 1/2, 3, 1 1/2) were sick the other week and I was chatting with some ladies about it and they told me about this. I smiled and nodded and came home and told my husband, laughing!
I just ran into the living room after reading your blog and told him!!! Unbelievable!!!!! I love the pics, too- too cute! Love reading your blog- I found you through your husband through Angie! Have a great weekend!!
By: jennylovesjohn on November 7, 2008
at 9:55 am
This completely works w/ kids and adults. I’ve used it for years. I come from a polish family who uses all kinds of home remedies. Below are the ones that I use regularly.
To break a fever take a baking potato. Slice it lengthwise and put the freshly cut portion on the bottom of your foot. Then put your socks on. Get under as many covers as you can stand and lay there. The first time it will take a while (a few hours) and your legs hurt b/c you’ve never done it. I can now break a fever in ever family member in less than 1 hr. For children I started this when they were 2.
For bronchitis. Take 1/3 cup of honey, 1/3 cup of lemon juice and 1/3 cup of whiskey 101 proof is best. Heat in microwave 10 sec, stir and bottoms up. This will only take 1 night if you catch it in the beginning stages.
Soar throat. Gargle w/ hot salt water before bedtime. Say nothing when done just go straight to bed. The salt sits on your vocal folds and salt heals.
Ear infection. Pour a capful of Hydrogen peroxide into your ear (tilt head 1st). Let it bubble up or leave it there until the bubbling stops. Tilt your head and dump it out.
I think that’s all for now. My mind is going blank.
By: Angela on November 7, 2008
at 8:17 pm
Hmmmmm…….never learned this trick in medical school.
By: Nate VZ on November 8, 2008
at 8:04 pm
I heard the funniest one this weekend and thought of your home remedies… Someone told my dad that he slices a bar of soap with a veggie peeler. He puts the soap shavings in between his fitted sheet and the mattress. If he feels a leg cramp coming on in the night, he moves his leg on top of the soap shavings and it subsides. Of course, my dad is not one to do something half way, so he just put the whole bar of soap in the bed. He swears by it, but I almost fell out of my chair laughing this weekend when he told me about it. I suppose its worth a try if you suffer from this, but I think it is hysterical! I would love to hear from a third party if this works.
By: annie on November 10, 2008
at 3:55 pm
I hope this works on big kids too! :]
By: Kayla Grace on November 10, 2008
at 8:02 pm
I first saw this on your blog, then it was EVERYWHERE…even in emails. So, when my 5yo kept coughing all night, I went right out and got some vapor rub. Last night I rubbed it on her feet and put her socks on. She hated it because it was sticky, but once she was asleep, we put her socks back on (since she pulled them off). IT WORKED!!! She didn’t cough ALL night long!!! YAY!!! Thanks for sharing this most wonderful remedy EVER!!!!
~ Kellie ~
By: kellie on November 22, 2008
at 9:34 am