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WASHINGTON, Jun 08, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- The answer to an earache, a grandmother from Italy once suggested, is to pour heated salt into a thick sock and place it against the child's ear, taking care not to burn the child's face, said pediatrician Lillian Beard.
"It works," she added.
Beard collected this homemade remedy, along with hundreds of others that can heal minor injuries -- from clearing up acne to ridding warts to easing a headache -- during her 30 years of practicing medicine. She now has provided a physician's take on why they work in her A-to-Z book, "Salt in Your Sock and Other Tried-and-True Home Remedies" (Three Rivers Press).
A practitioner in Silver Spring, Md., Beard also is associate clinical professor at The George Washington University School of Medicine and a contributor to ABC-TV's "Good Morning Washington."
She said the salt-and-sock remedy works because heated salt is able to draw out fluid caught in the ear and can decrease air pressure on the eardrum as well as soothe any facial discomfort.
"Complementary and alternative medicine is indeed changing the face of medicine today," said Beard, adding that more people are returning to this form of therapy.
A 2004 study by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta found, based on a survey of 31,044 adults, as many as 36 percent use some form of CAM, as it is known. It includes acupuncture, naturopath and yoga, and when mega-vitamin therapy and prayer are included, the share rises to 62 percent.
"I'd like to say what is old is new again, and if you stick around long enough, as I did, you will see it," Beard told United Press International.
Beard said earlier in her career she had been dismissive of homemade remedies suggested by families, but over time, after similar remedies were suggested, she began to wonder whether they actually worked.
She explained how a great-grandmother once recommended urine paste to treat a rash on the face of her great granddaughter. At the time, Beard had dismissed such an idea. It was not until years later, while attending an art-history lecture, that she understood the urine use when she learned that soldiers from Hannibal's army crossing the Swiss Alps survived by putting urine on their wounds.
Beard explained that urea, a component of urine, has soothing and healing as well as anti-infective properties and can even be found in skin creams.
In another case, a patient's aunt had suggested cutting an onion and putting it in her child's socks to reduce a fever. As the onion absorbed the heat, it turned brown, smelling like fried onions.
"The book represents what has been tried and true over generations," Beard said. "In fact, generations ago, people used what was in their immediate environment" -- remedies such as cayenne pepper to stop bleeding, aloe for burns, roasted onion on a potential bruise and ginger tea to treat nausea.
Other traditional remedies Beard recommends:
-- To stop a headache, slice strips of potato and place across the forehead to act as a cold compress -- as the Irish did.
-- A couple of teaspoons of vinegar in water in the morning could help one feel more energized, lower blood pressure and speed up metabolism.
-- Use a dry mustard plaster for chest congestion.
-- Use a beanbag to stop bleeding, particularly when having a tooth extraction.
Beard noted these remedies are not laboratory-tested, but they are family-tested.
"I'm not sure if the grandmothers and aunties really understood the biology of why certain things worked," Beard said, but added: "They could pull them out of the yard, they could pluck them from a tree, they canned them, bottled them, saved them from season to season. They can pass this knowledge on to generations. They used them because if they worked, they kept generations of families healthy."
Beard stressed that homemade remedies should not become substitutes for the family physician. They are quick fixes, she said, offering an easier way for parents and others to cope through the night.
"There is the possibility that there is someone who may react to the allium plant or to an onion," Beard said, encouraging people to consult their doctor, because overuse of home remedies or their interaction with prescription medications can be dangerous.
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Stokely Baksh is an intern for UPI Science News. E-mail: sciencemail@upi.com
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
