Your home remedies: did they actually work? 

We’ve all heard that “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,” and that might be true, but it’s also a home remedy that can create other health problems. Too many spoonsful of sugar can also wreak havoc with blood chemistry and metabolism, while also triggering taste buds to seek out even more carbs.  

But don’t let that bit of medical caution get in the way of a good snack attack.  

Whether it’s a spoonful of sugar or a can’t-miss herbal concoction, here are some home remedies that our Facebook and Nextdoor friends are passing along.  

Editor’s note: These remedies may or may not have been tested by the Food and Drug Administration, they may or may not be recommended by your physician, and they may or may not work. In other words, if you use any of these and have adverse outcomes, please don’t sue us.  

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For a sore throat, boil hot water, lemon juice, and honey. Don’t let the honey melt. It will coat the back of the throat, and thus the sore throat will be gone after a few cups.  

– Theresa McBride Cupp  

Whiskey. Takes away the blues and pain.  

– Lyle Garrett 

Ginger ale for an upset stomach. 

– Sue Jesse  

Passion flower tincture for anxiety. You can buy it at health food stores, or you can make your own by filling a jar with dried flower heads, pouring some vodka over the flowers, smacking a lid on that bad boy and letting it sit for a month or so. The plants are really pretty, and you can grow them in Missouri. Strain it into a dropper bottle. Then when you get the anxiety scaries, you drop 2-3 drops under your tongue and hold it down for about a minute. 

– Caroline Dohack 

Homemade elderberry syrup daily throughout the fall and winter has really helped me stay well even when my husband is sick. I also take Vitamin C, zinc, and garlic when exposed to people who are sick. I haven’t had the flu in at least ten years.  

– Tara Adinolfi 

Plain rice cooked in homemade chicken broth for upset tummy.  

– Katie K.  

Onion syrup … Cures what ails ya. LOL.  

– Susan Borcherding  

Swallowing a spoonful of sugar cures hiccups.  

– Vanessa Hall  

Sliced onions on a plate in the room (especially while sleeping) as a decongestant. It seemed to work. It’s not real strong but is constant. I actually got this tip from someone not in my family, but a household of two doctors, of whom one said his mother and grandmother did it! 

– Bette Norman 

My mother SWEARS by putting Vicks on the bottoms of your feet when you’re sick. 

– Madeleine Leroux