The pinnacle of my fishing career came at the age of seven, when a hot summer day on a south Florida canal ended with my only catch of the afternoon: my grandfather’s left arm.
The only thing my side arm casting technique had managed to hook for the entire trip was the only person who knew how to get back to the car. Being the tough as nails type that he was, my grandfather looked down, grabbed a pair of pliers from his tackle box and pulled the hook from his arm before I could proceed to reeling him in. But it was his next move that blew my mind.
Instead of chewing me out or writhing around in pain, the old man reached down, grabbed a tube of super glue from the tackle box and pinched a glob of it into the wound.
Since then, I’ve seen countless people use that same remedy to seal a wound, and I’ve been introduced to a never-ending stream of others. Some home health remedies work, some sound ridiculous and some simply make things worse. Here are 10 that science has proven to actually work.
10. Bad Breath? Eat Some Yogurt
Research presented at the International Association for Dental Research indicates that eating yogurt daily can keep your breath smelling fresh and reduce the level of odor-causing compounds in the mouth. Levels of plaque and gum disease, and in particular, the odor causing compound hydrogen sulfide, were all lower among yogurt eaters than people who rarely eat it.
9. Eliminate Calluses and Corns with Licorice
According to the National Institute of Whole Health, licorice contains estrogen-like substances that can soften hard skin that characterizes corns and calluses. The caveat here is that you don’t just eat it. The secret is to grind up a few sticks of the wax-like candy and combine it with some petroleum jelly, then rub the mixture into the rough areas of your feet.
8. Use Baking Soda and Vinegar to Neutralize Bee and Wasp Stings, Then Clean Your Drains
There is no shortage of things to use baking soda for, but neutralizing bee venom may be the one you end up being most grateful for. A simple mixture of baking soda and water into a paste applied to the site of a bee sting can neutralize the formic acid of the bee sting and kill the side effects. For wasp stings, the acetic acid of vinegar is more effective as their venom contains more alkaline. Now that you’ve opened the baking soda and vinegar, you might as well combine the two in the drains of your sink and wash away with boiling water to clean hard to reach areas.
7. Remove Warts with Duct Tape
Forget liquid nitrogen and fancy ointments from the drug store. In 2002, scientists compared a treatment of wearing duct tape daily and exfoliating the dead skin beneath it once a week, to liquid nitrogen treatments. The results showed that 85% of the patients on the duct tape treatment shed their warts, whereas freezing removed 60%. The irritation from the duct tape on the skin causes irritation, which stimulates the body’s immune system to attack the wart.
6. Use Olives or Lemons for Motion Sickness
According to the National Library of Medicine, motion sickness causes the production of excessive amounts of saliva to protect the teeth from high doses of acid present in vomit. The problem is that saliva increases nausea. If treated early, tannins in olives dry out the mouth and can help soothe queasiness, as can sucking on a lemon. In fact, just the smell of a lemon can calm your stomach and combat your nausea, but you can also chew fresh cut lemon, drink lemon water or chew lemon flavored candies and achieve the same effect.
5. Fight Fungus with Vapor Rub
Some people who have used this technique effectively argue that it’s the menthol in this soothing balm that kills fungus, while others believe the gel smothers it. Doctors don’t really have an explanation and there are no available studies to prove that this is an effective treatment for nail fungus. But ask any doctor and they can tell you stories from patients who have had success with this method. If used consistently, vapor rub will not only kill the fungus, it will remove an infected toenail for you too.
4. Use Apple Cider Vinegar For Just About Anything
Apple cider vinegar is practically a super food. Not only is it good for your hair, skin and digestive system, it can be used to treat stuffy nose and sore throat, or used as an anti-diarrhetic if you have a bacterial infection causing diarrhea. It can also be used as an appetite suppressant, muscle relaxant and toothpaste. In addition, it can help lower blood sugar levels, provide an energy boost or treat warts.
3. Play the Didgeridoo = Go to Sleep Without Snoring
An instrument that provides its player with a respiratory workout, the didgeridoo strengthens and tones the tissues of the throat. According to a study by the British Medical Journal, this reduces the collapsibility of the upper airways, making it effective in reducing snoring, thus improving the quality of sleep in people with moderate obstructive sleep apnea. But the didgeridoo can also be used as a meditation aid and according to the study, subjects who played consistently over a four-month period saw significant improvements in their daytime sleepiness and ability to breath.
2. Listerine Gives You Fresh… Feet?
The classic antiseptic mouthwash has the power to combat athlete’s foot, toenail fungus and foot odor, as long as you soak your feet in it once or twice a week. You can also moisten a cotton ball with Listerine and apply it to blisters three times a day. It will dry out the area and lessen the pain. A mixture of Listerine, vinegar and warm water can also be used to treat callused and cracked feet, leaving behind a soft germ-free foot.
1. Ginger Farts Are Not Possible
Whether it is ginger tea or consuming raw ginger, getting some of this powerful root in your system can ease bloating and flatulence and help digestion. Muscle relaxant properties in ginger can help gently release gasses trapped in the digestive system. That relaxing effect on the muscles of the digestive tract allows the gastrointestinal system to move food through more smoothly, eliminating blockages that cause prolonged food fermentation and room-clearing farts.
