Home remedies from around the world

Domanic Parekkatt Paul from Saudi Arabia has sent us a household remedy against throat pain. When the symptoms begin, mix a pinch of salt with half glass of warm water. Gargle with this mixture and it should reduce the throat pain immediately.

Sabine Schneider from Panama recommends holding your wrists under running water when you have problems falling asleep. Just gently dab off the water afterwards.

Isela Montoya from Bolivia drinks a cup of hot celery tea with ten drops of lemon juice against indigestion. It is an old household remedy that her mother has taught her. She writes: “It works for me and I hope it works for everybody around the world.”

Seema Garg from India has sent us a home remedy against back pain. She writes that garlic oil on the back gives immense relief from pain. Here is her recipe: take about 10 small cloves of garlic and fry them in oil on a low flame. Fry till the garlic cloves turn light brown. Let the oil prepared from the garlic cool completely. Apply it on the back and let it work for about three hours. She says one could feel its magical effects within a couple of days.

Awuku Emmanuel from Ghana and Kaunak Saha from India have sent us a home remedy to prevent hair loss: they recommend eating a spoonful of sesame seeds every day.

A universally popular home remedy is ginger. Lindah Cherop from Kenya uses crushed ginger mixed with some fresh lemon juice and unsweetened black tea to clear colds and fever. Sebbar Abderahim from Marocco has sent us a remedy against nausea: a mixture of 1 teaspoon of mint juice with 1 teaspoon of lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon of ginger juice sweetened with a teaspoon of honey. Ken Kwabena from Ghana recommends peeled and cut ginger for soothing a cough. Catherine Anne Khoe’s recipe against a sore throat recommends slicing ginger and boiling it until the juice comes out. Drink it hot.