SUNDAY, Sept. 14, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Some old-fashioned home remedies may work as well, or better, than commercial remedies for treating common childhood aches and pains.
Dr. Kenneth Haller, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, suggests that you sometimes need to think outside the medicine box.
"Turn back the clock and listen to what Grandma recommended," he says in a statement.
Haller offers some of his favorite treatments:
- Dab a bit of roll-on antiperspirant on mosquito bites. The aluminum salts in the antiperspirant help the body to reabsorb the fluid in the bug bite. That reduces the swelling and itching.
- Freeze a bagel or washcloth and give it to your child to gum when he or she is teething.
- Stuffy nose. Mix a quarter teaspoon of salt in half a cup of water and spray or drop the solution into the nose. It helps clean out nasal mucus, which washes out pollens and virus bugs.
- Sore throat. Drink plenty of fluids. A dried-out throat is more prone to infection.
- For swimmer's ear, mix a solution of half vinegar and half water. Put the solution in the ear and then let it drain out.
- If a child has diarrhea, feed him or her a lot of starches and the BRAT -- bananas, rice, applesauce and toast -- diet. For constipation, avoid starches and serve plenty of fruits and vegetables, high fiber foods and water.
- Pink eye. Massage the bridge of the nose a couple of times a day and alternate warm compresses on each eye. Pink eye is often caused by a blockage in the ducts that drain tears away. If pink eye doesn't go away in two days, call your doctor.
- Prevent ear wax accumulation by putting a solution of half water and half peroxide in the ears once a month. Never use cotton swabs to remove ear wax. They just push wax deeper into the ears.
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