Vinegar Makes it All Better

It's not the tastiest thing for many folks, but apple cider vinegar is great for salad dressings and, especially in the South, sliced cucumbers. Mmmm! I grew up with a bunch of vinegar remedies that ranged from coughs and sore throats to sunburn relief. Here are just a few that got me through (and continue to do so) some very miserable points in my life. I never understood why I was made to rinse my mouth though until later on in life. Vinegar is great for soothing and minimizing the effects of misery in the throat, and you can benefit from the small doses of potassium, but it should be rinsed from teeth. (Remember that chicken bone soaked in vinegar for three days experiment back in elementary school?)

My Gramma swore that it killed strep. I thought she was kidding, but no. It was added to my prescriptions by my doctors who said that it can and does kill or diminish the effects of strep and that I should mind my Gramma. If we got a sunburn, out came the vinegar! If we had a cough, out came the vinegar! If we got dandruff, out came the vinegar! Upset stomach? OUT CAME THE VINEGAR!

I have eczema... and I dreaded visiting over there when I had cracked, dry skin, but out came the vinegar! Sometimes it burned if I had a little crack deeper than the rest, but I have to admit, my skin healed a lot faster. (I also learned how to make baking soda pastes and use it in baths to soften my skin, but that's a posting for another time.)

Colds:
Mix one part apple cider vinegar with one part honey. Take a teaspoonful several times a day. Gargle a couple of seconds. Swallow.

Sore Throats:
Gargle a couple of teaspoons straight. Swallow. If you can't handle it straight, add a little water to it (or until it is as strong as you can deal with it) and gargle every hour or two.

Coughing
Mix these in small batches. We mix ours in glass spaghetti jars and just shake it up. Remember to refrigerate.

Mix a cup of vinegar with a cup of water. (You can reduce the water if you desire. We do because we don't mind the taste.) Add about 4 teaspoons of honey, (maybe a couple more if you reduce the amount of water, it's up to you) and about one teaspoon of red pepper (aka cayenne pepper). Shake it up. Take a spoonful (tea or table, whichever you can stand) when you feel like your cough is going to act up. The pepper can take a bit getting used to if you aren't used to home remedies, so it may help to add half the dose the first batch).

Sunburns
I have to offer up the disclaimer to only use this on adults. You can use it on kids but you really have to make sure they are able to follow directions because if not, it's likely to end up in their eyes.

I'm going to add a step involving baking soda only because it works well for me and I hope that it will help soothe you as well. Take a cool shower to wash off the sweat, salt or chlorine water. Do not use soap on the affected areas. Run a small cool bath (as you can stand it) after you are rinsed off. Add about a cup of baking soda. Get out of the tub and dry off.

Dab the vinegar on, full strength. If you can't touch the skin, pour on a little at a time. My mother had that whole "Don't touch it or I'll die" problem covered when we were kids! She covered our heads with a towel, told us not to move a muscle and leave the towel alone and sprayed away using a spray bottle! She was the only person who was allowed to touch the towel. It was THE LAW! If we broke the law, it was likely that we got it in our eyes or she would touch a sore spot (accidentally, of course).

Regular Jelly Fish/Stinging Nettle Stings
I repeat, regular...NOT the Man O'War Stinging Nettles, which call for medical attention.

Outside of the trusty, "Rub some sand on it", which always took forever to work, this works far better because the acid neutralizes the venom and prevents further release of any venom in the stingers still in the skin. Fresh water doesn't always work so well and can also actually cause more venom to be released from the stingers left in the skin (it's a pH issue). Fresh urine can work, but only if it's acidic enough.

Mosquito Bites
Dab on straight.

Dry Skin
Pour a cup in the bath tub. It'll sooth dry cracked skin.

Belly Aches
Mix a couple of teaspoons in a little cup of water and drink it. (Or you can just take a couple of teaspoons).

I haven't even begun to share my recipes for household use. You can also use it to clean glass, counters, freshen the air, clean up after pets, along with quite a few other things, but I'll share that another day!

If your grandparents (or great grandparents...or great great grandparents) ever had jugs of vinegar sitting around the house...now you possibly know why.