Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 17, 1992 TAG: 9203170099
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: EXTRA 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TERRY LEE GOODRICH FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Yes, sometimes in this high-tech age it seems that technological woes get more attention than human ailments.
That may be why the home remedy - once looked down upon as amateurish in the age of modern medicine and health maintenance organizations - is re-emerging in popularity, a kind of cozy reminder of simpler times. Books dealing with herbal or natural remedies or with foods having healing qualities are selling well now - so well, in fact, that it's hard to keep some in stock, say bookstore employees.
"When you're sick and don't feel good, you just remember being a kid and having these things done to you," said Patty Whitford, a Fort Worth secretary who swears by onion-sugar syrup to quiet a cough and by mustard plasters to break up chest congestion.
"Part of it is that you thought you felt better, but part of it was the attention," she said.
Skeptics would argue that mud on a bee sting or cucumber slices on tired eyes should go the way of the dinosaurs, that home remedies can't compete with more sophisticated medication.
Retta Mannie disagrees, offering her mother's cold cure as proof.
"I'm not telling you what I hear; I'm telling you what I know," Mannie said.
"If you've got a cold, cut up a lemon and a large onion; boil them in water; and when the onion looks clear, strain off the liquid into a cup with a jigger of gin and add enough honey to make it brown," she directed. "Honey sweetens it to the taste and is a natural healer, and the gin will either heal you or make you drunk. Then make sure you're under the covers, and you'll sweat it out. It breaks the fever.
"A lot of people that don't drink gin use rotgut whiskey - Old Crow or something like that. You do this, and in the morning you'll be fine - even though your bed gets wet."
Another home remedy - this one used for premenstrual syndrome before it was called that - consists of raspberry tea with a ginger brandy chaser gulped down as quickly as possible. The remedy is distracting, if nothing else.
"It's so strong it would take your mind off a shark bite," Whitford said.
Perhaps no minuscule malady has provoked more home-remedy theories than a simple case of the hiccups. They range from swallowing a spoonful of sugar to putting a paper bag over one's head.
Whitford shuns those suggestions for another from her father, and "it's never failed me."
"Drink a tablespoon of vinegar," she said. "At work, I keep a little tiny bottle of vinegar in my desk drawer. It takes your breath away, and some people don't like the taste of vinegar, but it works. Try it."
But the home-medicine practitioner does need to exercise care. It's not simply a matter of crushing herbs and flower petals at random, cautioned pharmacist Dean Phillips of Town & Country Drug in Fort Worth. Azaleas, for example, can be deadly, causing vomiting and convulsions, and interrupting breathing.
"If there's any doubt, call a poison center to be sure," he suggested.
People also need to guard against using home remedies for more serious illnesses, said internist Dr. Dorris Morrissette.
"If the home remedy is used for the common cold, more power to them," she said. "But what I find distressing is home remedies and getting on these fads for treatment of things like hypertension and diabetes."
People are turning to books for written verification of home remedies, or why they find "The Doctors Book of Home Remedies" by "Prevention" Magazine Health Books editors (Bantam Books paperback, $6.99; St. Martin's Press hardback, $26.95) especially reassuring.
"With one of the herbal books, we had such a rush we couldn't keep it in the store," said Melissa Robison, assistant manager of a Fort Worth bookstore.
"`The Doctors Book of Home Remedies' was a bestseller when it was a hardback, and now that's it's a paperback, it just flies out of here. Even though it's a doctors' book, it doesn't have the medical jargon."
Some other popular books are "Natural Health, Natural Medicine" by Dr. Andrew Weil (Houghton-Mifflin, $9.95), which includes a section on home remedies; and "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease" (Ballantine Books paperback, $15; Random House hardback, $24.95), which doesn't use drugs or surgery, said Robert Myers, assistant manager for Bookstop in Fort Worth.
But some fans of home remedies say it's just not the same. And Whitford pooh-poohs "The Doctors Book" as too often stating the obvious.
She has a point. The doctors advise against driving in rain or fog; they urge us to eat breakfast; and they counsel us to change socks often to fight foot odor.
But here are some home remedies from "The Doctors Book of Home Remedies" and Weil's "Natural Health, Natural Medicine" that you may not know. Most of the ingredients can be found in health food or herb stores.
Anxiety. Besides recommending exercise and breathing exercises, Weil suggests trying passionflower, a mild tranquilizer he says is calming without being sedating. Weil advises taking one dropperful of the tincture in a little warm water or two capsules of the extract up to four times a day as needed.
Athlete's foot. Apply a light coating of tea plant oil (be sure it's the pure variety) to the affected areas three or four times a day. Continue for two weeks after the infection disappears to be sure the fungus is gone, Weil says.
People who are prone to frequent fungal infections, such as athlete's foot, also might try adding one or two cloves of raw garlic daily to the diet to prevent infections because raw garlic is a strong antifungal agent.
Hair problems. For dry, brittle, thinning hair, Weil suggests adding 500 milligrams of black currant oil to the diet twice a day. Changes will be seen in six to eight weeks. Once improvement occurs, cut the dose in half, but use the oil indefinitely, Weil suggests.
Stomach upsets. Peppermint or chamomile teas are suggested for relief. Both of those can be found in supermarkets in leaf tea or tea bag forms.
Infertility. While there can be myriad causes, and diagnosis can be complex, "The Doctors Book" suggests infertile couples who need to use a lubricant try egg whites rather than a commercial lubricant. That's because sperm is pure protein, as are egg whites, and sperm will travel better in that medium than in another type of carrier.
Sunburn. Sprinkle baking soda in a lukewarm bath; soak yourself. Then, instead of toweling off, let the solution dry on your skin, "The Doctors Book" recommends.
by CNB