Describe a folk remedy or a home remedy that you know of. Mention the source you heard it from.
An old cold and congestion remedy that my family has used for many years is taking honey that is mixed with ginger and lemon and drinking it mixed in hot tea. Although the smell alone makes me gag, I believe that my "home remedy" works in some ways because whenever we take it we all feel better within days. I know a cold usually takes up to 10 days to clear up, so whether or not there is some truth to using this remedy I will never truly know because even with research everyone is different (so what may work on one person may not necessarily work on someone else).
Is there any truth to it or is there evidence to disclaim it? Find an article and tell us whether the current research supports the "old-wives" tale or disclaims it.
I was suprise to find out that there is some truth to my family's cold/congestion remedy. It turns out that there is research stating that hot tea does help with congestion, but it is no 100% recommended which is fine with me because different remedies work for different people (Davis, 2007). Also, Vitamin C as we know is commonly used for the common cold in America and as I found out honey does contain a lot of Vitamin C. Reseach has shown that Vitamin C is useful towards shortening the duration and severity of the common cold virus (Simasek & Blanino, 2007). Although there is not 100% guarantee that my "home remedy" will work, I will continue to use it and pass it down to my kids (if I have any in the future:) ).
Do you disagree with using "home-remedies" like the one you posted or not? Do they cause more harm than good? or do they serve a purpose?
I very much agree to using "home remedies" to a certain extend, I believe that there are many therapies/remedies out in the world that are being used that are helpful for some medical illnesses. But I also know that there are many medical issues that need to be taken care of by a healthcare provider when possible because in some cases the situation at hand may be too severe and "home remedies" may not be the best idea or option. My "home remedy" I would consider to be harmless for the fact that nutural foods are used which would cause no harm if there is no benefit from the remedy. Everyone in the world have there own therapies/remedies for different illnesses and whether or not it serves a purpose is up to the person to decide; so in my case I would say that my remedy does serve a purpose for my family.
Would you remmend the one you described to a patient?
As far as recommending my "home remedy" to any patient of mine, I would hold back just for the fact that many patients rely on your every word as a nurse (unless they are close friends or family and you know they won't sue you). If they were to a specifically ask me what types of remedy I use at home at this point I would definitely tell them, but if they were to ask me if I would recommend this remedy I would tell them that "it's you own call on whether you decide to use it or not".
References:
Davis, C. (2007). Foods & news that fight colds & flu. Vegetarian times, (338), 46-48.
Simasek, M., & Blandino, D. (2oo7). Treatment of the common cold. American family
physician, 75(4), 515-520. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/
Picture taken from: http://nicoleheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2008/05/2--
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